Drug Unlocks Malleable, Fast-Learning, Child-LIke State In Adult Brainvia +Adam Black Original Post from Wayne Radinsky: A way to revert the adult brain to the "plastic", child-like state that enables fast learning by being able to form new connections quickly has been found. A protein expressed in brain cells called PirB in animals and LilrB2 in humans stabilizes neural connections to protect against loss of learned skills or information, and using a molecule called an ectodomain can interfere with its functioning enabling the more "plastic" fast-learning state to return. Ectodomains are membrane protein that normally extend extends through the membrane of a cell into the extracellular space outside the cell. Professor Carla Shatz of Stanford University and her colleagues have discovered a way to revert an adult brain to the “plastic”, child-like state that is more able to form new connections quickly. The technical term “plastic” implies the ability to adapt or shape itself to new... - Daniel W. Crompton