plasticity Flashcards
What is plasticity?
The capacity of the brain to change.
What are the two primary condition neuroplasticity occurs in?
- During normal brain development and learning
- Functional recovery (compensate for lost function or to maximise remaining function in the event of brain injury)
What is neurogenesis?
Formation of new neurons; most of this happens before we are born but a little continues into adulthood especially in the hippocampus.
What is synaptogenesis?
Formation of new synapses; happens as we learn, particularly when making long term memories.
What is synaptic pruning?
Getting rid of unneeded synapses; peaks between 3 and 16 years of age but continues into adulthood.
Why is Maguire’s study of London taxi drivers evidence of brain plasticity?
The longer they had been taxi driving, the greater the volume of they grey matter in the back of their hippocampi.
What research was done on newborn kittens that showed neural reorganisation?
One eye was sewn shut in newborn kittens.
The brain reorganised itself so that the parts of the visual cortex that should have received information from the shut eye processed information from the remaining eye instead.
What case study shows functional recovery?
Jodie Miller
Aged 3 she had her right hemisphere removed to treat severe seizures.
10 days later she could walk out of the hospital.
This is functional recovery (and plasticity).
What is negative plasticity?
Refers to the negative effects on brain plasticity.
For example, phantom-limb syndrome is the sensation that a severed limb still exists. It can be very painful.
It is thought to be a result of somatosensory cortex reorganisation following trauma.
What is functional recovery?
Brain trauma either through internal injury (stroke) or from a motorbike accident, results in damage and death to neurons, glial cells and blood vessels.
The brain may be able to adapt to this injury; this is a form of brain plasticity called functional recovery.
What is neural reorganisation?
Healthy brain areas may take over the functioning of damaged or missing parts of the brain.
Either areas alongside or a similar area in the other hemisphere.
What is involved in neural regeneration?
- Axonal sprouting
- Reformation of blood vessels
What is axonal sprouting?
Healthy neurons will grow fine nerve endings which connect with other undamaged neurons to form new neural pathways.
What is reformation of blood vessels?
Blood vessels may change structure or function to assist with recovery, particularly the response to swelling and inflammation.
What is cognitive reserve?
The plasticity effect of all that education means the brain is better equipped to reorganise post-trauma.
Schneider et al found that the longer a person with brain injury had spent in education, the greater chance they would have of a disability-free recovery.
