Traditionally, paediatricians have sought to reassure parents of children who have suffered a devastating brain injury that children's brains are ‘plastic’, unlike adults', and that other areas will take over the function of damaged parts. This view has been challenged, and a group from Melbourne, Australia set out to answer the question (Anderson V, et al. Dev Med Child Neurol 2014;56:329–36). They identified 138 children with unequivocal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evidence of focal brain damage, that might have occurred any time from early pregnancy to adolescence. The primary insult came from a …