“I always thought the brain was mostly hard-wired,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. Rafael Yuste, a neuroscience professor at Columbia University. “But then I saw the results and said ‘Holy moly, this whole thing is plastic.’ We’re dealing with a plastic computer that’s constantly learning and changing.”

Is this quote being taken out of context or do many neuroscience researchers really think the brain is some sort of static thing? Basic life experience would seem to tell me that this isn't the case. I'm assuming they just mean they haven't been able to observe this reprogramming ability, or do they really think the brain is some sort of immutable object?