Plasticity and Functional Recovery After Trauma

Question 1

What is plasticity?

Answer 1

The brain can essentially rewire itself and form new neural connections as a result of learning and experience.

Question 2

What are examples of functional recovery?

Answer 2

Axonal Sprouting, Recruitment of Homologous Areas

Question 3

What was Maguire’s research?

Answer 3

Maguire researched London taxi drivers and found significantly more grey matter in the posterior hippocampus than in a control group. This is associated with the spatial and navigational skills in humans and other animals. The longer a cabbie had been working, the larger the hippocampus was.

Question 4

What is the strength - practical application?

Answer 4

This has contributed to the field of neurorehabilitation. Following illness or injury, spontaneous recovery tends to slow down so forms of physical therapy may be required. For example, if one arm was unresponsive then the functional arm would be strapped down and the patient would have to try as hard as they could to lift that arm. This eventually results in the brain rewiring itself to use the unresponsive arm to compensate for the los of function in the functional arm.

Question 5

What is the limitation - negative plasticity?

Answer 5

60-80% of amputees develop phantom limb syndrome - the continued experience of sensations in the missing limb as if it was still there. These are thought to be unpleasant, painful and due to cortical reorganisation in the somatosensory cortex.

Question 6

What is the strength - Bezzola

Answer 6

Bezzola demonstrated how 40 hours of golf training produces changes in the neural representation of movement in participants aged40-60. Using fMRI, the researchers saw reduced motor cortex activity in the novice golfers compared to a control group, suggesting more efficient neural representations after training. This shows plasticity continues lifelong.