ALPHABETICAL BRAIN VOCABULARY Flash Card #10 - Details WHAT ARE YOUR "NEURAL PATHWAYS" AND WHY ARE THEY SO IMPORTANT? Your NEURAL PATHWAYS are nerve fibers that connect your bodily organs with various parts of your brain due to the experiences that you have. Your NEURONS send electrical signals (impulses), which become NEURAL PATHWAYS and then develop into NEURON NETWORKS, due to the number of times that you repeat an activity on purpose or that you experience strong emotions due to either positive or negative feelings (happiness or trauma). The electrical signals (impulses) that get reinforced become NEURAL PATHWAYS due to the process of "potentiation," which allows you to have control over your behavior, including all your thoughts and feelings and bodily movements, whether conscious or unconscious. Also the special way your NEURONS become NEURAL PATHWAYS is made possible by an "ionic exchange" process technically known as neuroplasticity or "synaptic plasticity," which emphasizes the role of your brain's SYNAPSES in the exchange of calcium and potassium ions. This electrochemical exchange process allows you to change your mind and to remember things that are important for your survival and pleasure! Return to #10: NEURAL PATHWAYS or BRAIN FACTS MATRIX