7. Plasticity And Functional Recovery Of The Brain AO1 Flashcards
What happens to the brain during infancy?
The brain experiences a rapid growth in synaptic connections peaking at age 2-3 years
What happens as we age?
Synaptic pruning
What is synaptic pruning?
Rarely used connections are deleted and frequently used connections are strengthened
What has recent research suggested about brain plasticity?
Neural connection can changed or be formed at any time due to learning and experience
What supports the idea of brain plasticity?
Multiple studies
What did Maguire et al find?
Significant more volume of grey matter in posterior hippocampus in London taxi drivers than in a matched control group
What is the posterior hippocampus linked with?
The development of spatial and navigational skills
What do taxi drivers have to do in order to become a taxi driver?
As part of their training, they have to take a complex test called ‘The Knowledge’ to assess the recall of city streets and possible routes
What does ‘The Knowledge’ test case in taxi drivers?
This learning experience appears to alter the structure of their brains, The longer they had been in the job the more pronounced the structural difference
Name a study that supports the idea of placsticity
Maguire et al (2000)
Name a second study that supports brain plasticity
Draganski et al (2006)
What did Draganski et al study?
The image the brains of medical students three months before and after their final exams.
What did Draganski find?
Learning-induced changes were seen in posterior hippocampus and parietal cortex, presumably as a result of exam
What happens following a trauma?
Unaffected areas of the brain take over lost functions from areas that have been damaged, destroyed or are missing
What is functional recovery an example of?
Neural plasticity
What do neuroscientists suggest about functional recovery?
This process occurs quickly after a trauma and then slows down - this is when it may require rehabilitative therapy
What is the brain able to do?
Rewire and reorganise itself by forming new synaptic connections close to the area of damage
What is done to enable functioning to continue?
Secondary neural pathways that would not typically be used to carry out certain functions are activated
What other structural changes may occur?
- Axonal sprouting
- Reformation of blood vessels
- Recruitment of homolohous (similar) areas on the opposite side of the brain to perform specific tasks
What is axonal sprouting?
Growth of new nerve endings which connect with other undamaged cells to form new neural pathways
Give an example of a maladaptive behavioural consequence
60-80% of amputees develop phantom limb syndrome and continue to experience sensations in missing limb - usually painful and thought to be due to reorganisation in the somatosensory cortex
