| Measurement | Plasticity | Adaptation |
| Temporal scale of cause | Longer than inciting factor | Short (∼tracking input statistics) |
| Temporal scale of effect | Long | Short (∼tracking input statistics) |
| Anatomical connectivity | Likely to change | Unlikely to change |
| Receptive field: space | May change | May change |
| Receptive field: gain | May change | May change |
| Reversibility | Not typical, or takes long | Yes |