Plasticity and functional recovery Flashcards
What was Lashley’s research?
He removed areas of the brain in rats and tested their ability to learn a maze
What were the findings of Lashley’s research?
No area was proven to be more important than the other
What were the conclusions of Lashley’s research?
Learning requires the whole brain, not just an area
What is evidence for holistic theory?
Lashley’s research
What is evidence for localisation?
The case of Phineas Gage
What was the case of Phineas Gage?
He had a metal rod pass through his brain, taking out his whole left frontal lobe, which changed his personality into being very aggressive and impatient but he lived normally
What is plasticity?
The brain has the ability to change and adapt over time to adapt to function, including loss and growth of connections
What is plasticity evidence for?
Holistic theory - the brains ability to adapt and change
What is research support for plasticity?
Eleanor Maguire and Draganski
What is Eleanor Maguire’s finding?
Found significantly more volume of grey matter in posterior hippocampus of London taxi drivers which is associated with navigational skills
What are the conclusions from Eleanor Maguire’s study?
Learning experience alters the structure taxi driver’s brains and the more time spent as a driver, the greater the difference
What were the findings of Draganski’s study?
He imaged brain of medical students 3 months before and after final exams where learning-induced changes occurred in posterior hippocampus and parietal cortex as a result of learning
What is functional recovery?
After the brain has been damaged, it has the ability to reassign the duties of a damaged part of the brain to another functioning part
What are the types of functional recovery?
Axonal sprouting, denervation supersensitivity and using homologous areas on opposite side of brain
What is axonal sprouting?
Growth of new nerve endings to connect to new pathways
What is denervation supersensitivity?
Axons that do a similar job to the damaged area become aroused at a higher level
What are homologous areas on opposite sides of brain?
Specific tasks can still be performed by the same area on the opposite side of the brain
How dos denervation supersensitivity occur?
Axonal sprouting is the underlying process by unmasking
What is an issue of plasticity?
There are individual differences as we don’t all recover to the same extent
What does individual differences mean?
The brain deteriorates with age, affecting the extent and speed of recovery so there may be more axonal sprouting and reorganisation in younger brains
What are examples of individual differences?
Age and education
What is research evidence for age?
Teuber found 60% of brain damaged soldiers under 20 recovered from movement and visual problems, but only 20% of those over 26 did
What is research evidence for education?
Schneider studied people with head injuries from traffic accidents and falls and all he been treated in casualty and followed a rehabilitation program
What were the findings of Schneider’s study?
Overall, 28% recovered but there were individual differences as 39% of graduates recovered and returned to normal life, but only 10% of those who left school at 16 did
