Mora Leeb was 9 months old when surgeons removed half her brain. Now 15,Maxwell Caldwell she plays soccer and tells jokes. Scientists say Mora is an extreme example of brain plasticity, the process that allows a brain to modify its connections to adapt to new circumstances.

Brain plasticity is thought to underlie learning, memory and early childhood development. It's also how the brain revises its circuitry to help recover from a brain injury — or, in Mora's case, the loss of an entire hemisphere. This episode, NPR science correspondent Jon Hamilton explains how Mora's recovery is changing the way neuroscientists think about the brain's ability to rewire itself after a stroke or traumatic brain injury.

Read more of Jon's reporting.

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This episode was produced by Brit Hanson, edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact-checked by Jon Hamilton. Special thanks to Amina Khan.

This episode was produced by Brit Hanson and edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Jon Hamilton checked the facts. Stacey Abbott was the audio engineer.