functional recovery

Question 1

Real-world application

Answer 1

One strength of functional recovery research is its real-world application
Understanding the processes involved in plasticity has contributed to the field of neurorehabilitation. Simply understar.ng that axonal growth is possible encourages new therapies to be tried. For example constraint-induced movement therapy is used with stroke patients whereby they repeatedly practise using the affected part of their body (such as an arm) while the unaffected arm is restrained.
This shows that research into functional recovery is useful as it helps medical professionals know when interventions need to be made.

Question 2

Cognitive reserve

Answer 2

One limitation of functional recovery is that level of education may influence recovery rates.
Eric Schneider et al. (2014) revealed that the more time people with a brain injury had spent in education - taken as an indication of their ‘cognitive reserve - the greater their chances of a disability-free recovery (DFR). 40% of those who achieved DFR had more than 16 years’ education compared to about 10% of those who had less than 12 years’ education.
This would imply that people with brain damage who have insufficient DFR are less likely to achieve a full recovery