neuroplasticity Flashcards
what is neuroplasticity?
neuroplasticity is the brains ability to change shape and grow grey matter in accordance to its enviromental demands and practices
how does neuroplasticity work?
the changes in shape and grey matter occur through the making and breaking of synaptic connections between neurons
what are the 3 parts of a neuron?
the body
the dendrites
the axon
what are the dendrites responsible for?
to receive signals from other neurons
what is the function of the axon?
to transmit the signals further
what is the structure that connects to neurons called?
a synapse
what is grey matter?
grey matter consists of neural cell bodies, their dendrites and all the synapses and it is the areas where the actual “processing” is done in the brain
what is white matter?
the white matter is composed of bundle of axons and no processing or transmission happens here
what is synaptic/neural pruning?
the brains ability to remove synapses no longer used or under stimulated to leave more space for the remaining ones or new ones
what is long-term potentiation (LTP)
the repeated stimulation of neurons due to the environment
what are 2 studies that support neuroplasticity?
Draganski et al (2004)
Maguire et al (2000)
between the two studies which support neuroplasticity which one focuses more on neural/synaptic pruning?
Draganski et al (2004)
what is the aim of Maguire?
to investigate changes in the brain of London taxi drivers as a result of enviromental stimulation
what were the results of Maguire?
posterior hippocampi of taxi drivers was larger that control
anterior hippocampi of taxi drivers was smaller than control
what are 2 strengths of Maguire?
ethically sound
eliminating demand characteristics