BIOPSYCHOLOGY - plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma Flashcards

1
Q

what is plasticity?

A

the brains tendency to change and adapt as a result of experience and new learning .
involves growth and new connections

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2
Q

what did Gopnik et al (1999) say about the brain?

A

during infancy, the brain experiences rapid growth in the number of synaptic connections
- there is 2x as many as there are in adult brain
SYNAPTIC PRUNING = as we age= rarely used connections are deleted
- frequently used connections are strengthened
- synaptic pruning allows life long plasticity

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3
Q

outline the procedure + findings of Maguire et al (2000)?

A
  • studied brains of London taxi drivers
  • found more volume of grey matter in posterior hippocampus than in a matched control group
  • longer the taxi drivers had been in the job, the more different the structure of the brain.
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4
Q

explain Maguire et al’s findings.

A

posterior hippocampus is involved in the development of the spatial and navigational skills.
- london taxi drivers must know all routes in london for a recall test = this alters the structure of the taxi driver’s brains.

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5
Q

explain Draganski et al.

A
  • imaged brains of medical students = learning induced changes were seen to have occurred to the posterior hippocampus ad the parietal cortex.
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6
Q

what is functional recovery?

A
  • following damage through trauma, the brains ability to redistribute or transfer functions, usually performed by a damaged area to other undamaged areas.
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7
Q

what is spontaneous recovery?

A

when functional recovery occurs quickly, and then slows down after several weeks or months

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8
Q

what happens in the brain during recovery?

A
  • forms new synaptic connections close to the area of damage.
  • secondary neural pathways are ‘unmasked’ to enable functioning to continue.
  • axonal sprouting
  • denervation supersensitivity
  • recruitment of homologous areas on opposite side of the brain
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9
Q

what is axonal sprouting?

A

growth of new nerve endings which connect with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neuronal pathways

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10
Q

what is denervation supersensitivity?

A

axons that do a similar job become aroused at a higher level to compensate for the ones that are lost.

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11
Q

what are the strengths of research into plasticity?

A

+ life long ability
Bezzola et al (2012) -40 hours of golf training produced changes in neural representations of movements in ps.
fMRI - showed reduced motor cortex activity in golfers compared to a control group.
shows that neural plasticity can continue throughout the lifespan

+ research suggests there is something called seasonal plasticity. there is evidence that the superchiasmatic nucleus shrinks in animals during spring and expands throughout autumn.

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12
Q

what are the limitations of research into plasticity?

A
  • plasticity may have negative behavioural consequences = evidence = brains adaptation to prolonged drug use leads to poorer cognitive functioning = increasing risk of dementia ( medina et al) = brains ability to adapt to damage is not beneficial.
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13
Q

what are the strengths of functional recovery?

A

+ RWA = understanding the processes involved in plasticity has contributed to the field of neurorehabilitation. Understanding that axonal growth is possible encourages new therapies to be tried = this increases the value of functional recovery

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14
Q

what are the limitations of functional recovery?

A
  • levels of education may infleunce recovery rates
    eg Schneider et al = more time people w/brain injury had spent in education, the greater their chances of disability free recovery. = ppl w brain damage who have insufficient disability free recovery may not achieve a full recovery.
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