plasticity and functional recovery

Question 1

5 defining characteristics of neuroplasticity

Answer 1

1. can vary by age
2. involves a variety of processes - involves cells other than neurons
3. can happen for 2 different reasons - learning or damage to the brain
4. environment plays an essential role - interaction between genetics and environment
5. brain plasticity is not always good (drugs) + schizophrenia

Question 2

2 types of brain plasticity

Answer 2

1. functional plasticity = brains ability to move functions from a damaged area of brain to other undamaged areas
2. structural plasticity = brains ability to change its physical structure as a result of learning

Question 3

brain plasticity definition

Answer 3

brains ability to change at any age for better or worse, it can shrink or thicken etc brain is malleable

Question 4

functional recovery definition

Answer 4

the transfer of functions from a damaged area of the brain after trauma to other undamaged areas. It can do this through a process termed neuronal unmasking where ‘dormant’ synapses (which have not received enough input to be active) open connections to compensate for a nearby damaged area of the brain

Question 5

brain plasticity excersises

Answer 5

• non-invasive treatments - drug free retrains brain through repetitious activities
• plasticity revolution - institutions beginning to l;ook at plasticity-based therapies - may be able to help people with schizophrenia
• excersising the brain in everryday life - scientifically designed plasticity based programs target specific brain machinery to improve function

Question 6

Maguire reseach (london taxi drivers)

Answer 6

studied brains of london taxi drivers using MRI scan, found significantly more grey matter in hippocampus than in control group which is associated with spatial and navigational skills + longer they had been doing the job the more pronounced the differences were

Question 7

evaluation of maguire research

Answer 7

• correlation not causation, may have became a taxi driver because of their good spatial skills
• used a control group so had results to compare to increasing the validity
• used scientififc, objective measures (MRI) which increases validity and makes conclusion credible
• can be applied to real life, has real life application increasing eco validity

Question 8

brain plasticity evaluations

Answer 8

• real-life application - we can adapt our proffesional practises to improve lives e.g neuro rehabilitation - techniques such as movement therapy and electrical stimulation are used and can reverse alzheimers by repetitive activites = positively impacts lives
• wealth of research supporting brain plasticity (Maguire taxi drivers found positive correlation of size of hyppocampus and length of service = brain can respond to changes in environment However cant establish cause and effect
• research by Kuhn found brain can adapt and change - asked p’s to play a video game for 30 mins a day for 2 month and found increased grey matter compared to control group = proves different activities can result in change of structure of brain