brain Flashcards
What is brain plasticity?
Plasticity, or neuroplasticity, describes how experiences reorganize neural pathways in the brain. Long lasting functional changes in the brain occur when we learn new things or memorize new information. These changes in neural connections are what we call neuroplasticity.
When does neuroplasticity take place?
FACT 1: Neuroplasticity includes several different processes that take place throughout a lifetime.- but some processes happen more at certain ages.
What are the 2 conditions under which neuroplasticity occurs?
- During normal brain development when the immature brain first begins to process sensory information through adulthood (developmental plasticity and plasticity of learning and memory).
Does the environment plays a key role in influencing plasticity.
yes
synapse
Neurons have specialized projections called dendrites and axons. Dendrites bring information to the cell body and axons take information away from the cell body.
how does the brain change with learning? (what happens with neuroplasticity?)
- A change in the internal structure of the neurons, the most notable being in the area of synapses.
difference between short term and long term memory?
Initially, newly learned data are “stored” in short-term memory, which is a temporary ability to recall a few pieces of information. Some evidence supports the concept that short-term memory depends upon electrical and chemical events in the brain as opposed to structural changes such as the formation of new synapses. One theory of short-term memory states that memories may be caused by “reverberating” neuronal circuits – that is, an incoming nerve impulse stimulates the first neuron which stimulates the second, and so on, with branches from the second neuron synapsing with the first. After a period of time, information may be moved into a more permanent type of memory, long-term memory, which is the result of anatomical or biochemical changes that occur in the brain
synaptic pruning
Synaptic pruning eliminates weaker synaptic contacts while stronger connections are kept and strengthened. Experience determines which connections will be strengthened and which will be pruned; connections that have been activated most frequently are preserved. Neurons must have a purpose to survive. Without a purpose, neurons die through a process called apoptosis. Ineffective or weak connections are “pruned” in much the same way a gardener would prune a tree or bush, giving the plant the desired shape. It is plasticity that enables the process of developing and pruning connections, allowing the brain to adapt itself to its environment.
apoptosis
where neurons that do not receive or transmit information become damaged and die.
number of synapses at birth, at 2 years old, in adulthood?i
At birth, each neuron in the cerebral cortex has approximately 2,500 synapses. By the time an infant is two or three years old, the number of synapses is approximately 15,000 synapses per neuron. This amount is about twice that of the average adult brain. As we age, old connections are deleted through a process called synaptic pruning.
3 brain rules
- Exercise boosts brain power
- Human brain evolved too.
- every brain is wired differently
3 more Brian rules
- We don’t pay attention to boring things
- Repeat to remember
- Remember to repeat
3 more brain rules
Sleep we’ll, think well
Stressed brains don’t learn the same way
Stimulate more of the senses
What are. Benefits of synaptic pruning
Increased focus and more complex thought
When do waves of synaptic pruning occur
Two years old and adolescents
