Pushing the boundaries of human brain plasticity through sensory deprivation and learning

Tamar is based at the FMRIB, the University of Oxford’s neuroimaging centre. Her ultimate aim is to characterise and extend the boundaries of plasticity in the adult human brain, by combining experimental approaches from neuroscience, experimental psychology and rehabilitation. Her work addresses both scientific and clinical needs to better understand the relationship between two drivers of brain plasticity: input loss and altered behaviour. Her main clinical model is arm amputation, which introduces sensory deprivation, adaptive motor behaviour and phantom pain. Based on her experimental work, Tamar hopes to harness these drivers to enhance adaptive plasticity and reverse maladaptive processes in the clinic.