plasticity and functional recovery of brain after trauma Flashcards
define brain plasticity
brains tendency to change and adapt as a result of experience and learning
what did Gopnick (1999) say regarding plasticity
rapid growth in number of synaptic connections in infancy, it peaks at approximately 15,000 at age 2-3 years
this is x2 as many than in the adult brain
define synaptic pruning
as we age rarely used connections are deleted and frequently used ones are strengthened
what is the critical period for adults
it was once believed that when an adults brain was developed plasticity wouldn’t be possible as it would of gone past a critical period of development
more recent research suggests that any time in life existing neural connections can change or new neural connections can be formed due to learning and experience
define functional recovery
form of plasticity following damage through trauma
(e.g: injury or stroke)
its the brains ability to redistribute functions usually performed by a damaged area to other undamaged areas
why is functional recovery an example of neural plasticity
health areas of the brain take over the functions of the damaged ones
what is the name for how the redistribution of brain function can occur quickly after a traumatic event
spontaneous recovery
what may people also need after a traumatic event to aid their recovery
rehabilitation therapy
what happens during brain recovery
the brain rewires and reorganises itself by making new synaptic connections
define unmasking
neural pathways that would normally be used to carry out certain functions are activated to allow functioning to carry on same way as it was before
(Doidge 2007)
explain Maguire’s research in 2000 on the Knowledge
studied the brains of London taxi drivers and found more grey matter (neural connections) in the posterior hippocampus than in a control group
this area of the brain is associated with spatial and navigational skills.
cabbies take a test called the “knowledge” which assesses the recall of streets and routes
it appeared that learning the knowledge altered the structure of the cabbies brains - the longer they were in the job the more pronounced the structural changes
how could you improve Maguire’s research on the knowledge
image people’s brains before they learn the knowledge and after to see how their brains change
what are the issues regarding Maguire’s research
- research is correlational
doesn’t show cause and effect
(it just assumes that learning the knowledge causes an enlarge posterior hippocampus
it could be people who found map learning and spatial awareness easily chose to be cab drivers)
explain Draganski’s research
image the brains of medical students 3 months before and then after their final exams
changes due to learning were found in the posterior hippocampus and the parietal cortex
explain Mechelli’s research
found larger parietal cortex in the brains of people who were bilingual compared to those matched monolingual controls
