Plasticity and Functional Recovery*

Question 1

Define plasticity.

Answer 1

The idea that the brain can adapt and change in response to acquisition of new knowledge and/or damage.

Question 2

Define functional recovery.

Answer 2

The idea that other areas of the brain can ‘chip in’ and restore functioning of damaged areas.

Question 3

Define neural unmasking.

Answer 3

‘Dormant’ neurological pathways are recommissioned to bypass the damaged area and restore function.

Question 4

Define axonal sprouting.

Answer 4

Damaged neurones form new axons to connect with functioning neurones to form new neurological pathways.

Question 5

Give an advantage of plasticity.

Answer 5

• Supporting evidence - Maguire et al - taxi drivers developed a larger hippocampus due to the required knowledge for ‘The Knowledge’.
• Supporting evidence - Draganski - medical students had a larger hippocampus before completing there final exams in contrast to afterward.
• Kuhn et al - significant increase in grey matter in certain areas after playing video games daily - may be used to explain the influence of video games on behaviour - high practical validity.

Question 6

Give a disadvantage of plasticity.

Answer 6

• Maguire’s findings are correlational - no causation - also low pop validity - all male taxi drivers from London.
• Flawed methodology - lab experiments - however, brain scanning techniques can be accurate and demonstrate causation.

Question 7

Give an advantage of functional recovery.

Answer 7

• Tajiri et al - stem cells in rats specialised to neurones and concentrated in the area of injury - animal study - difficulty extrapolating findings to humans.
• Bezzola et al - adults aged 40-60 learned golf skills and experienced higher activity in the motor cortex - suggesting functional recovery occurs up to at least the age of 60 - high concurrent validity of this explanation.

Question 8

Give a disadvantage of functional recovery.

Answer 8

• Findings come from animal studies e.g. Tajiri et al - difficulty extrapolating findings.
• Functional recovery can deteriorate with age - e.g. Corkin et al. - neural recognition is much more common place in children than adults - functional recovery must be researched on an individualistic basis - case studies would be the most felicitous methodology - findings may lack ecological validity.

Question 9

Name the four factors that affect functional recovery.

Answer 9

1) Perseverence
2) Physical exhaustion, stress and alcohol consumption.
3) Age
4) Gender

Question 10

How has perseverance been shown to affect functional recovery?

Answer 10

Function may be lost but the sufferer takes the opinion that it is inrecoverable. Monkeys have been shown to utilise a damaged limb (where there is no sensory imput) when the other limbs become damaged (Taub and Berman).

Question 11

How has physical exaustion, stress and alcohol consumption been shown to affect functional recovery.

Answer 11

When function is restored the patient may find it more difficult to operate that function.

Question 12

How has age been shown to affect functional recovery?

Answer 12

There is a detrioration of the brain in old age which slows down the rate of recovery - Corkin et al.

Question 13

How has gender been shown to affect functional recovery?

Answer 13

Women are said to recover better from brain damage as they are not as lateralised - e.g. Ratcliffe at al - 325 patients women performed better in attention and working memory whereas men outperformed females in visual tasks.