Research on both animals and humans shows that slow oscillations improve neural plasticity -- the brain's ability to change and adapt in response to experiences and injury.

A third paper in eLife explains how the model was then improved further to include the process of synaptic plasticity, the fundamental mechanism that allows us to learn new information.

The brain's ability to learn comes from "plasticity," in which neurons constantly edit and remodel the tiny connections called synapses that they make with other neurons to form circuits.

Her team also has found that reduced myelin plasticity contributes to "chemo-fog," the cognitive impairments that often follow cancer treatment.

One mechanism underlying treatment resistance may be the plasticity of cancer cells: they can change their degree of differentiation and revert to a stem cell-like state, which helps them avoid the effects of hormonal therapies.