How does experience rewire the brain—and why is vision the ideal system for understanding neuroplasticity?In this episode, we speak with Mark Bear, MIT neuroscientist and a pioneer in the study of experience-dependent plasticity. Bear explains how the visual cortex became a model system for uncovering the synaptic mechanisms that allow the brain to change, adapt, and learn, especially during early development.We explore how visual experience shapes neural circuits, why the brain undergoes critical periods of heightened plasticity, and what classic experiments in visual deprivation revealed about how connections are strengthened or lost. Bear walks us through the discovery of binocular vision in the cortex, the role of inhibition in closing critical periods, and how these ideas reshaped our understanding of learning and memory.The conversation also covers modern views of cortical plasticity, including perceptual learning, visual recognition memory, and how the brain distinguishes familiar from novel stimuli. Bear discusses how insights from vision extend to broader questions about brain development, neurological disorders such as amblyopia, and whether adult plasticity can be reopened.Whether you’re interested in neuroscience, brain development, neuroplasticity, learning and memory, or the biology of vision, this episode offers a clear and authoritative look at how experience shapes the brain at the level of neural circuits and synapses.Follow us for more technical interviews with the world’s greatest scientists:Twitter: https://x.com/632nmPodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/632nmpodcast?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/632nm/about/Substack: https://632nmpodcast.substack.com/Follow our hosts!Mikhail Shalaginov: https://x.com/MYShalaginovMichael Dubrovsky: https://x.com/MikeDubrovskyXinghui Yin: https://x.com/XinghuiYinSubscribe:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/632nm/id1751170269Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aVH9vT5qp5UUUvQ6Uf6ORWebsite: https://www.632nm.comTimestamps:00:00 - Intro00:54 - Neuroplasticity in the Visual Cortex05:45 - Critical Periods for Neuroplasticity16:50 - Brain Development in Blind People19:25 - Hallucinations and Sensory Deprivation25:36 - How Mark’s Vision Disorder Led Him to a Career in Neuroscience31:35 - Intro to the Visual System35:52 - Visual System Processing40:52 - Pop Science Neuroplasticity45:00 - Memory Enhancing Pharmaceuticals50:18 - Other Ways of Modifying the Visual Cortex1:14:50 - Declarative vs Procedural Memory1:22:36 - Neural Networks and Memory Degradation1:25:16 - Neuron Transplants and Neurogenesis1:28:58 - Brain-Machine Interfaces1:33:46 - Most Prominent Issues in the Field1:40:47 - Fragile X Syndrome1:51:10 - Advice for Young Scientists#neuroplasticity #neuroscience #hubermanlab #braindevelopment #brainplasticity