functional recovery Flashcards
what is functional recovery
the recovery of abilities and mental processes that have been compromised as a result of brain injury
(Functional recovery is a form of plasticity)
how does functional recovery work
following damage through trauma, functional recovery is the brain’s ability to redistribute or transfer functions - healthy brain areas take on the functions of the damaged area ie. the brain changed functionally as a result of the experience of trauma
how does the brain ‘rewire’ itself
the brain is able to rewire and reorganise itself by forming new synaptic connections close to the area of damage. Secondary neural pathways that would not typically be used to carry out certain functions are activated to enable functioning to continue
three structural changes in the brain
axonal sprouting, reformation of blood vessels, recruitment of homologous
what is axonal sprouting
new nerve endings grow and connect with undamaged areas
what is recruitment of homologous (similar) areas
the opposite side of the brain takes over specific tasks eg. language production
research into functional recovery (Tajiri)
Tajiri et al provided evidence for the role of stem cells in recovery from brain injury. They randomly assigned rats with traumatic brain injury to one of 2 groups. One group received transplants of stem cells into the region of the brain affected by the injury. The control group received a solution infused into the brain containing no stem cells. Three months after the brain injury, the brains of stem cell rats showed clear development of neuron like cells in the area of injury.
support for functional recovery (human echolocation)
human echolocation is the ability of humans to detect objects in their environment by sensing echoes from those objects by actively creating sounds.
Studies using fMRI techniques have shown that parts of the brain associated with visual processing are adapted for the new skill of echolocation.
