Lesson 8 – Plasticity and Functional Recovery

Question 1

What is brain plasticity?

Answer 1

🧠’s ability to change and adapt as a result of experience- allows 🧠 to cope better with indirect effects of 🧠 damage e.g. swelling or haemorrhage or damage resulting from inadequate 🩸 supply following stroke

Question 2

What are 3 examples of brain plasticity?

Answer 2

1) Life experience
2) Video games
3) Meditation

Question 3

How does life experience effect brain plasticity?

Answer 3

Life Experience:

• Nerve pathways frequently used develop stronger 💪 connections and those that are rarely used eventually die
• By developing new connections and reducing weak ones- 🧠 able to adapt to changing environment
• ⬇️ cognitive functioning with age BUT Boyke et al. (2008) taught 60 year olds new skill (juggling)-> ⬆️ grey matter in visual 👀 cortex

Question 4

How do video games effect brain plasticity?

Answer 4

Video Games:

• Kuhn et al. (2014)- compared control group to group given video game training for at least 30 minutes a day for 2 months on game ‘Super Mario’
• found that playing video games caused significant ⬆️ in grey matter in visual 👀 cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum
• Playing video games-> new synaptic connections in 🧠 areas involved in spatial navigation, strategic planning, working memory and motor performance

Question 5

How does meditation effect brain plasticity?

Answer 5

Meditation 🧘‍♂️ :

• Davidson et al. (2004)- compared 8 practitioners of Tibetan meditation 🧘 with 10 students who had ✖️ previous meditation experience
• EEG picked up ⬆️ gamma wave (coordinate neural activity) activity in monks even before meditation 🧘‍♀️ started

Question 6

What are the evaluation points of brain plasticity?

Answer 6

👍- Kempermann et al. (1998)- found ⬆️ new neurons in 🧠 of 🐀 in complex environments compared to those housed in lab cages
- ⬆️ in neurons most prominent in hippocampus- involved in forming of new long-term memories and the ability to navigate
👍- Maguire et al. (2000)- measured grey matter in 🧠 of London 🚕 drivers using MRI scan
- hippocampus in 🚕 drivers significantly larger than control group
- positively ➕ correlated with amount of ⏰ spent as 🚕 driver

Question 7

What is functional recovery?

Answer 7

Functional recovery- form of plasticity

• Following damage caused by trauma- 🧠 can redistribute or transfer functions usually performed by damaged areas to undamaged areas
• more likely when 🧠 still maturing BUT 🧠 capable of plasticity and functional recovery at any age

Question 8

What are the ways in which functional recovery can occur?

Answer 8

1) Neural reorganisation

2) Neural regeneration

Question 9

What is neural reorganisation?

Answer 9

Transfer of functions from damaged areas of 🧠 to undamaged ones

Question 10

What is neural regeneration?

Answer 10

Growth of new neurons and/or connections (axons and dendrites) to compensate for damaged areas

Question 11

What is axon sprouting?

Answer 11

Part of neural regeneration- new nerve endings grow and connect with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neural pathways

Question 12

Why may physiotherapy be required in recovery?

Answer 12

Spontaneous recovery from 🧠 injury slows down after number of weeks … physiotherapy required to maintain improvements in functioning

Question 13

What physiotherapy techniques can be used to aid recovery?

Answer 13

Techniques can include movement therapy and ⚡️ stimulation of 🧠 to counter deficits in motor and cognitive functioning (can be experienced following stroke)

Question 14

What are the evaluation points for Functional Recovery?

Answer 14

👍- Phantom Limb Syndrome (PLS) used as evidence of neural reorganisation- PLS is continued experience of sensation in missing limb as if it were still there- sensations often unpleasant and painful
- PLS 💭 to be caused by neural reorganisation in somatosensory cortex- occurs as result of limb loss
👍- Hubel and Torten Wisel (1963)- sewed 1 👁 of kitten 🐱 shut and analysed 🧠’s cortical response
- found that visual 👀 cortex for the shut 👁 ✖️ idle BUT continued to process info from open 👁- further evidence 🧠 areas reorganise themselves and adapt their functions
👎- Schneider et al. (2014)- found that patients with college education 7 times ⬆️ likely to be disability free 1 year after moderate/severe 🧠 injury than those who ✖️ finish secondary school- concluded that neural reserve factor in recovery from 🧠 injury