BP- Plasticity and Functional Recovery

Question 1

What does brain plasticity mean?

Answer 1

• Brain plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of experience.

Question 2

What is another role of brain plasticity?

Answer 2

• Plasticity allows the brain to cope with the indirect effects of brain damage.
• E.g swelling or haemorrhage that might occur after a road traffic accident.

Question 3

Describe a study regarding to life experience

Answer 3

Boyke et al. (2008) taught 60 year olds a new skill (juggling), this increased grey matter in the visual cortex.

Question 4

Describe a study relating to video games

Answer 4

• Kuhn et al. (2014) compared a control group to a group who had been given video game training for at least 30 minutes a day for two months on the game ‘Super Mario’.
• They found that playing video games caused a significant increase in grey matterin the visual cortex,hippocampus, and cerebellum.
• Playing video games results in new synaptic connections in brain areas involved in spatial navigation, strategic planning, working memory and motor performance.

Question 5

Describe a study relating to meditation.

Answer 5

• Davidson et al. (2004) compared eight practitioners of Tibetan meditation with ten students who had no previous meditation experience.
• An EEG picked up greater gamma waveactivity in the monks, even before they started meditating.
• Gamma waves coordinate neural activity.

Question 6

Who taught 60 year olds a new skill? What skill was this?

Answer 6

Boyke et al in 2008.

Juggling.

Question 7

Where did grey matter increase in 60 year olds?

Answer 7

Visual cortex

Question 8

Who investigated the effect of video games on plasticity?

Answer 8

Kuhn et al

Question 9

Evaluate plasticity. (Advantages)

Answer 9

• Kempermannn et al found far more new neurons in the brain of rats in complex environments compared to those housed in laboratory cages. This increase in neurons was more prominent in the hippocampus, which is involved in the forming of new long-term memories and the ability to navigate.
• Maguire et al measured grey matter in the brains of London taxi drivers using an MRI scan. The hippocampus in taxi drivers was significantly larger than a control group and this was positively correlated with the amount of time they had spent as a taxi driver.
• Huben and Wisel sewed one eye of a kitten shut and analysed the brain’s cortical response.They found that the visual cortex from the shut eye was not idle and continued to process information from the open eye.
  This is evidence that brain areas can reorganise themselves and adapt their functions.
• Phantom limb syndrome is the continued experience of sensation in a missing limb as if it were still there. These sensations are often unpleasant and even painful.PLS is thought to be caused by neural reorganisation in the somatosensory cortex that occurs as a result of limb loss (Ramachandran and Hirstein et al 1998)

Question 10

Who found more neurons in rats living in complex environments?

Answer 10

Kempermann et al

Question 11

Who measured grey matter in brains of London taxi drivers?

Answer 11

Maguire

Question 12

What is functional recovery?

Answer 12

Functional recovery is a form of plasticity. Following damage caused by trauma, the brain can redistribute or transfer functions usually performed by damaged areas to other, un damaged areas.

Question 13

What is neural reorganisation?

Answer 13

Neural reorganisation is the transfer of functions from damaged areas of the brain to undamaged areas.

Question 14

What is neural regeneration?

Answer 14

Neural regeneration is the growth of new neurons and/or connections (axons and dendrites) to compensate for damaged areas

Question 15

What is axon sprouting?

Answer 15

Axon sprouting is part of neural regeneration, new nerve endings grow and connect with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neural pathways.

Question 16

Describe Hubel and Wisel’s study. (Adv of functional recovery)

Answer 16

• Huben and Wisel sewed one eye of a kitten shut and analysed the brain’s cortical response.
• they expected, if localisation is true, that the occipital lobe that processes the shut eye would be inactive (no stimulus)
  they found, however, it was active - it was helping the other occipital lobe process the 1 open eye
  this supports plasticity showing that the brain can re-wire itself following trauma

Question 17

How is the Phantom Limb Syndrome evidence of neural reorganisation? (adv of functional recovery)

Answer 17

PLS is the continued experience of sensation in a missing limb as if it were still there.

• These sensations are often unpleasant and even painful.
• PLS is thought to be caused by neural reorganisation in the somatosensory cortex that occurs as a result of limb loss (Ramachandran and Hirstein 1998)
• 60 to 80% of amputees have been known to develop PLS

Question 18

Give a disadvantage of functional recovery.

Answer 18

Animal studies lack generisability + unethical as permeant damage to kittens eyes (cost benefit analysis)

• Individual differences + other factors affect functional recovery + plasticity: Mathia 2015 meta analysis demonstrated not everyone has high levels of brain plasticity, those with high IQ and educational level seem to recover quicker after trauma