8. functional recovery of the brain after trauma Flashcards
what is the basis of functional recovery after trauma
following physical injury or trauma unaffected areas of the brain are often able to adapt and compensate for those areas that are damaged - functional recovery that may occur in the brain after trauma is another example of neural plasticity.
healthy brain areas may take over the functions of those areas that are damaged or destroyed. neuroscientists suggest this process can occur quickly after trauma (spontaneous recovery) and then slow down after several weeks or months - at this point the individual may need rehabilitative therapy.
what happens to the brain during recovery
the brain is able to rewire itself by forming new synaptic connections close to the area of damage.
secondary neural pathways that would not typically be used to carry out certain functions are activated or unmasked to enable functioning to continue often is the same ways as before.
what is the recruitment of homologous areas
when a homologous area of the brain on the opposite side is used to perform a specific task. example - if broca area was damaged (left hemisphere) the right side equivalent would carry out its functions.
after a period of time functionality may then shift back to the left side.
strength - animal studies
early evidence of neuroplasticity and functional recovery - derived from animal studies.
a pioneering study (hubel and wiesel) involved sewing one eye of a kitten shut and analysing the brains cortical responses.
found = area of the visual cortex with the shut eye was not idle (as had been precited) but continued to process information from the open eye.
strength - practical application
processes involved in plasticity has contributed to the field of neurohabilitation - following illness or injury to the brain, spontaneous recovery tends to slow down after a few weeks so physical therapy may be required to maintain improvements in functioning.
for example - techniques may include movement therapy and electrical stimulation of the brain to counter deficits in cognitive and motor functioning following a stroke.
strength - negative plasticity
the brains ability to rewire itself can sometime have maladaptive behavioural consequences.
research has found that prolonged use of marijuana resulted in poorer cognitive functioning as well as an increased risk of dementia later in life.
60% to 80% of amputees have been known to develop phantom limb syndrome which means they continue to experience sensations in the missing limb as if it were still there - sensations are usually unpleasant and are thought to be due to the cortical reorganisation in the somatosensory cortex that occurs as a result of limb loss. such cortical reorganisation is an example of the brains plasticity.
strength - age and plasticity
functional recovery tends to reduce with age. the brain has greater ability to reorganise in childhood and it is constantly adapting new experiences and learning.
however, research found that 40 hours of golf training produced changes in the neural representation of movement in participants aged 40 to 60.
using fMRI the researcher observed reduced motor cortex activity in the novice golfers compared to a control group = more efficient neural representation after training.
strength - educational attainment
evidence suggests that a persons educational attainment may influence how well the brain functionally adapts after injury.
researchers discovered that the more time brain injury patients had spent in education, the greater their chances of a disability free recovery.
of the patients who achieved disability free recovery 40% had more than 16 years education whereas 10% had less than 12 years in education.
