Lesson 8 - Plasticity And Functional Recovery Flashcards
What is Brain plasticity?
Brain Plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of experience.
Plasticity allows the brain to cope better with the indirect effects of brain damage, such as swelling following a car accident, OR, damage from a stroke caused by inadequate supply of blood to the brain.
What are three things that affect plasticity?
Life Experience
Video Games
Meditation
How does life experience effect plasticity? (3)
Nerve pathways that are used frequently develop stronger connections (axons and dendrites) as nerve impulses that are used rarely develop weak connections and eventually die. If new connections are developed and weak connections are reduced, brain plasticity increases where the brain can more easily adapt to changes in its environment.
Life experience, for example, older people, results in a decline in cognitive functioning.
Boyke et al. (2008) taught 60 year olds to juggle (a new skill) which increased grey matter in the visual cortex.
How do video games effect plasticity? (2)
Kuhn et al. (2014) compared a control group to a group who had been given video game training for at least 30 minutes a day for 2 months on the game ‘Super Mario’ and discovered that playing video games caused an increase in grey matter in the visual cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum.
Playing video games also results in new synaptic connections in brain areas involved in spatial navigation, strategic planning, working memory and motor performance.
How does Meditation effect plasticity?
Davidson et al. (2004) compared 8 practitioners of Tibetan meditation with ten students who had never practiced meditation and discovered that those who had practiced meditation had greater gamma wave activity (this is good as gamma waves coordinate neural activity).
What are two advantages of plasticity?
+ Kempermann et al. (1998) found that rats, in complex environments, had more neurons in their brains compared to rats in laboratory cages. These neurons were most prominent in the hippocampus which is involved in forming new long-term memories AND navigation.
+ Maguire et al. (2000) measured the grey matter in the brains of London taxi drivers using an MRI scan. He discovered that their hippocampus’ were significantly larger than those of the control group. This was positively correlated with the time they spent as a taxi driver / life experience.
What is Functional Recovery?
Functional Recovery is a form of plasticity where the brain recovers from damage, caused by trauma. This is achieved where its functions are either transferred (to undamaged areas of the brain from damaged areas) OR redistributed.
WHEN is recovery from brain trauma more likely to occur?
When the brain is still maturing, however, the brain is still capable of plasticity and functional recovery at ANY age.
Who recovers from brain trauma faster?
Women
What is neural reorganisation?
Neural reorganisation refers to the transfer of functions. This is where undamaged areas of the brain take over the functions of damaged areas of the brain.
What is neural regeneration?
Neural regeneration refers to the growth of new neurons and connections (axons and dendrites) which compensate for damaged areas.
What does axon sprouting?
Axon sprouting is part of neural regeneration where new nerve endings grow and connect to other undamaged nerve cells of the brain which creates new neural pathways.
When is physiotherapy necessary?
Spontaneous recovery from brain injury tends to slow down after a few weeks. Therefore, physiotherapy is introduced to help maintain recovery and improvements in functioning.
What are techniques used in physiotherapy? (2)
What are the purposes of this?
- movement therapy
- electrical stimulation of the brain
These techniques serve to counter deficits in motor AND cognitive functioning which usually occur following a stroke.
What are 2 advantages of Functional Recovery?
+ Ramachandran and Hirstein (1998) discovered how Phantom Limb Syndrome (PLS) can support the theory of neural reorganisation. This refers to when patients continued to experience painful sensations in a missing limb which was thought to be caused by neural reorganisation in the somatosensory cortex.
+ Huber and Torten Wisel (1963) sewed one eye of a kitten shut and analysed the brain’s cortical response. They found that the visual cortex continued to process information from the open eye. This shows how neural reorganisation exists.
