brain plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma Flashcards
what is plasticity
brains tendecy to chnage and adpat due to experience
During infnacy- rapid grownth of synaptic connections
define synaptic pruning
as we age rarely used synaptic connections are deleted and frequently used connections are strenghthened.
describe maguries study on plasticity
Studied brains on london taxi drivers. These driver typically need thorough knowledge of london streets. Compared to a control group, taxi drivers had a larger psoterior hippocampus. Largest being in drivers with 40 plus experience.
plasticity
ao3: research support
Elbert et al (1985)
A professional violinist relies on extraordinary finger dexterity in their left hand. Much less dexterity is required in the fingers of the right hand. Brain scans of the somatosensory cortex in violinists reveal that the right somatatosensory cortex(responible for the left hand movement) is bigger than left.The asymmetry suggests that the brain has responded to the demands placed upon it - the brain adapts by creating synaptic connections to help support finger control in the left hand.
plasticity
a03: plasticity may decline with age
elbert studied children and adults brain plasticity and had them complete different learning tasks Brain scans before and after learning showed there were more plastic changes in children than adults. Older adults had less brain change. Therefore research into plasticity may not be applied to certain age groups.
a type of brain plasticity
What is functional recovery
recover abilities previously lost due to brain injury
what process does this occur through and explain
nueronal unmasking - activate ‘dormant’ synapses to compensate for damaged areas - that typically arent used for certain functions.
what structural changes support neuronal unmasking
- axonal sporuting - Grownth of new nerve endings forming new pathways
- Denervation supersenitivity - axons that do similar functions/jobs are aroused to higher levels to compenstae for connections that are lost
- RECRUITMENT OF homologous areas on the opposite side of the brain - e.g. if brocas area was damaged on the left; right hand side equivalent would carry out its fuctions.
functional recovery
ao3: support from animal studies
There is research to support the claim for functional recovery. Taijiri et al. (2013) found that stem cells provided to rats after brain trauma showed a clear development of neurons in the area of injury. This demonstrates the ability of the brain to create new connections using neurons manufactured by stem cells.
functional recovery
ao3; functional recovery declines with age
While there is evidence for functional recovery, it is possible that this ability can deteriorate with age. Elbert et al. concluded that the capacity for neural reorganisation is much greater in children than in adults, meaning that neural regeneration is less effective in older brains. This may explain why adults find change more demanding than do young people. Therefore, we must consider individual differences i.e. age when assessing the likelihood of functional recovery in the brain after trauma.
ao3: funactional recovery research has real world application
understanding of recovery processes has contributed to the field of nuerorehabilitation. For example constraint- induced movement therapy is used with stroke patents whereby the effected part of the body is repeatedly practised with, while the uneffected part is restraint. hELPS MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS; INCREASE QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS AND HAS REAL WOLRD VAUE.
