plasticity and functional recovery AO3

Question 1

it has practical application

Answer 1

• Understanding processes of plasticity has contributed to the field of neurorehabilitation
• Techniques include movement therapy and electrical stimulation of the brain to counter deficits to cognitive functioning
  experienced after a stroke
  ➢ However, this shows that this process requires further
  intervention for it to be successful

Question 2

Support from animal studies
- Hubel and Wiesel (1963)

Answer 2

• Hubel and Wiesel (1963) sewed one eye of a kitten shut and analysed the brain’s cortical responses
• The area of the visual cortex continued to process information form the open eye
  ➢ This demonstrates how loss of function leads to compensatory activity of the brain

Question 3

Neural plasticity may be related to cognitive reserve

Answer 3

• Schneider et al (2014) found the more time brain injury patients had spent in education (an indication of their cognitive reserve), the greater their chances of a disability-free recovery

Question 4

The relationship between age and plasticity is complex

Answer 4

• Functional plasticity tends to reduce with age
• However, Bezzola et al (2012) demonstrated how 40 years of golf training produced changes in the neural representation of
  movements in Ps aged 40-60

Question 5

There is potentially negative consequences

Answer 5

Ramachandran and Hirstein (1998) found 60-80% of amputees develop phantom limb syndrome - continued experience of sensations in the missing limb (as if it were still there) → usually painful