plasticity and functional recovery evaluation

Question 1

what does it mean when we say that there is practical application for the theory brain plasticity

Answer 1

understanding the process involved in plasticity has contributed to the field of neurorehabilitation

following illness or injury to the brain, spontaneous recovery tends to slow down after a number of weeks on forms of physical therapy may be of weeks s on forms physical therapy may be required to maintain improvements in functioning

Techniques may include movement therapy and electrical stimulation of the brain to counter the deficient in motor and/or cognitive functioning that may be experienced following a stroke for instance

This shows that, although the brain may have the capacity to “fix itself” to points, this process requires further intervention if it is to be completely successful

Question 2

what is the negative side to plasticity

Answer 2

the brain’s ability to rewrite itself can sometimes have maladaptive behavioural consequences

e.g. prolonged drug use has been shown to result in poorer cognitive functioning and an increased risk of dementia later in life (Medina et al 2007)
Also, 60 -80% of amputees have been known to develop phantom limb syndrome

Question 3

what is phantom limb syndrome

Answer 3

unpleasant sensations and pain and are thought to be due to cortical reorganisation in the somatosensory cortex that occurs as a result of limb loss (Ramachandran and Hirstein 1998)

Question 4

how does age affect plasticity

Answer 4

functional plasticity tends to reduce with age

The brain is a greater propensity for reorganisation in childhood as it is constantly adapting to new experiences and learning

That said, Ladina Bezzola et al (2012) demonstrated how 40hrs of golf training produced changes in the neural representation of movement in participants aged 40 - 60

Using fMRI, the researchers observed reduced motor cortex activity in the novice golfers compared to a control group, suggesting more efficient neural representations after training

this shows that neural plasticity does continue throughout the lifespan

Question 5

cognitive reserve

Answer 5

POINT: one limitation of functional recovery is that the level of education may influence recovery rates

EVIDENCE: Eric Schneider et al (2014) revealed that the more time people with a brain injury had in education, the greater their chances of a disability-free recovery.
40% of those who achieved DFR had more than 16 years of education compared to about 10% who had less than 12 years of education

This would imply that people with brain damage who have education time are less likely to achieve a full recovery.