Chapter 4 - 'Impact Of Injury To The Cerebral Cortex And Adaptive Plasticity' Flashcards
Difference between sudden and insidious onset?
Sudden happens quite quickly .
Insidious occurs over time.
What is a neurodegenerative disease?
Give an example of two.
A disease characterised by the progressive decline in structure, activity and function of brain tissue.
Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s.
How many Australians have a brain injury?
Over 700,000
3/4ths under 65
The most common acquired brain injury is a?
Occurs when?
Stroke.
Occurs when a blood vessel bursts iris clogged by a blood clot.
This leads to blood deprived brain tissue, causing the cells to die within minutes.
What is the next largest acquired brain injury?.
Give an example?
Traumatic brain injury
A blow is taken to the head and the brain slams against the inner skull wall. Suffers bruising, twisting and may become swollen.
Who suffered a pole through the frontal lobes?
Phineas Gage
Describe the events that shortly followed?
His body began to shake uncontrollably.
Within minutes he was reported sitting up and talking to people near him.
What types of changes do those experience when the frontal lobes are damaged?
Biological changes.
Psychological changes.
Social changes.
Give examples of the biological changes?
Problems with motor activities.
Facial expressions blank.
Reflexes evident in early infancy may re appear, such as grasping hand reflex.
Give examples of the psychological changes?
Lack of apathy.
Impulsive behaviour.
Inability to plan activities or foresight.
Summarise what the lobotomy was?
Who was this performed on?
Surgical procedure by Egaz Moniz, involving the severing of the nerve fibers within the frontal lobes .
Patients who would be described as being controlled by their emotions.
“He shaved only one side of his face”
“Removes a word from compound words, e.g football becomes ball, birthday becomes birth.
What does this signify?
Spatial neglect
Special neglect, AKA?
What does spatial neglect do?
AKA hemispatial neglect.
Patients are unable to notice anything on either the right or left side.
Brain injury that occurs after birth is referred to as?
Give an example.
Acquired brain injury.
Infection (meningitis) Brain inflammation (encephalitis)
The ability of the brain to change in response to experience, this is known as?
AKA
Brain plasticity or AKA neuroplasticity.
Neurons and their connections can be modified as a result of?
3 things?
During development when we are young.
During learning throughout our entire lives.
Sometimes in response to brain injury.
The brain can reorganise and reassign its neutral connections and pathways based on which parts are…
The structure is remodelled by…
Overused, underused or injured.
Everyday life experiences and environmental demands.
How do genes and experience differ in brain development?
Our genes govern the overall architecture of our brain though experience guides, sustains and maintains the details.
If a monkey is made to press a button 10000 times a day, the brain tissue will…
Adapt to reflect that experience.
Why do infants tend to learn languages faster than adults?
The greater plasticity of their brain.
What is adaptive plasticity?
The ability of the brain to compensate for lost function in the event of brain injury.
Give an example when adaptive plasticity may occur?
Speed of recovery for this example of an adult?
After a stroke
1-2 years for an adult
What does the effectiveness of adaptive plasticity depend on?
Location of injury, degree of damage and age at which it was sustained.
Adaptive plasticity enables the brain to compensate by…?
Reorganising its structure.
Two important processes for recovery are?
Rerouting and sprouting
What is rerouting?
The process in which an undamaged neurons that have lost connections with an active neuron seek a new active neuron and connect with it instead.
What is sprouting?
The growth of additional branches on axons or dendrites to enable new connections.
Give an example of a situation where rerouting or sprouting occurs?
Rehabilitation of stroke victims, relearning previously performed tasks again.
After an event of injury or loss of a specific part of the brain, the function can sometimes be…
Reassigned to other undamaged areas of the brain to compensate.
What is the phantom limb syndrome?
Give a summary.
When a limb or part of a limb is removed such as a fore arm, sensations from the missing limb can still be perceived.
