Lesson 8 - Plasticity and Recovery Flashcards

1
Q

Brain Plasticity

A
  • Refers to 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
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2
Q

Indirect Effects of Brain Damage

A

Swelling or haemorrhage following a road accident, or damage resulting from inadequate blood supply following a stroke

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3
Q

Plasticity - Life Experience

A
  • Nerve pathways that are used frequently develop stronger connections, those rarely used eventually die
  • By developing new connections and reducing weak ones - the brain is able to adapt to a changing environment
  • However, there is also a decline in cognitive functioning with age attributed to these changes
  • Boyke et al 2008 - taught 60 year olds a new skill (juggling)
  • Increased the grey matter in the visual cortex
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4
Q

Plasticity - Video Games

A
  • 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
  • They found that playing video games caused a significant increase in grey matter in t he visual cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum
  • Playing video games results in new synaptic connections in brain areas involved in spatial navigation, strategic planning, working memory and motor performance
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5
Q

Plasticity - Meditation

A
  • Davidson et al 2004 - Compared 8 Tibetan monks with ten students who had no previous meditation experiences
  • EEG scan picked up greater gamma wave activity in the monks, even before they started meditating
  • Gamma waves coordinate neural activity
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6
Q

Kempermann et al 1998 - Rats AO3

A
  • Found far more new neurons in the brains of rats in complex environments that those housed in basic cages
  • Increase in neurons was most prominent in the hippocampus
  • Which is involved in the forming of new long-term memories and the ability to navigate
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7
Q

Maguire et al 2000 Taxi Drivers AO3

A
  • Measured grey matter in the brains of London taxi drivers using an MRI scan
  • Hippocampus in taxi drivers was significantly larger than a control group
  • Positively correlated with the amount of time they had spent as a taxi driver
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8
Q

Functional Recovery

A
  • Form of plasticity
  • Following damage caused by trauma, the brain can redistribute or transfer functions usually performed by the damaged areas to other undamaged areas
  • When the brain is still maturing, recovery from trauma is more likely
  • Brain is still capable of plasticity and functional recovery at any age
  • Studies have suggested that women recover from a brain injury quicker than men do
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9
Q

Methods of Recovery

A
  • Transfer of functions from damaged areas of the brain to undamaged ones can occur, this is called neural reorganisation
  • Growth of new neurons and/or connections (axons and dendrites) to compensate for damaged areas can also occur, this is called neural regeneration
  • Axon sprouting is part of neural regeneration, new nerve endings grow and connect with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neural pathways.
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10
Q

Spontaneous Recovery

A
  • Slows down after a number of weeks
  • Physiotherapy may be required to maintain improvements in functioning
  • Techniques can include movement therapy and electrical stimulation of the brain to counter deficits in motor and cognitive functioning that can be experienced following a stroke
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11
Q

Phantom Limb Syndrome

A
  • Can be used as evidence of neural reorganisation
  • PLS is the continued experience of sensation in a missing limb as if it were still there
  • These sensations are often unpleasant and even painful
  • PLS is thought to be caused by neural reorganisation in the somatosensory cortex that occurs as a result of limb loss
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12
Q

Hubel and Torten Wisel 1963

A
  • Sewed one eye of a kitten shut and analysed the brain’s cortical response
  • Found that the visual cortex for the shut eye was not idle - continued to process information from the open eye
  • Further evidence that brain areas can reorganise themselves and adapt their functions
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