Plasticity and functional recovery of the brain Flashcards
What is plasticity?
The brain changes and adapts functionally and physically as a result of experience and new learning.
What happens to the brain during infancy?
There is a growth in the number of synaptic connections, peaking at 15000 aged 2-3.
What is synaptic pruning?
Rarely used connections are deleted and frequently used connections are strengthened.
What research did Maguire et al. carry out?
They studied the brains of London taxi drivers and found a larger volume of grey matter in he posterior hippocampus than in a matched control group. This part of the brain is associated with the development of social and navigational skills.
What research was carried out by Draganski et al. and Mechelli et al.?
Draganski found that medical students had learning induced changes in the posterior hippocampus and parietal cortex. Mechelli found a larger parietal cortex in people who were bilingual than monolingual.
What is functional recovery?
A form of plasticity which occurs after trauma where healthy areas take over the function of damaged areas.
What happens to the brain during recovery?
There is axonal sprouting where new nerve endings connect with undamaged nerve cells to form new pathways. There is the reformation of pathways and the recruitment of similar areas of the brain to perform specific tasks.
What are the strengths of research into plasticity?
There is practical application to understanding the processes involved in plasticity
It has allowed research into age and how plasticity reduces with age
There is supporting evidence from animal studies as Hubel and Weisel sewed a cats eye shut and the visual cortex continued to process information.
Evidence suggests that a persons educational attainment affects how well the brain adapts. The more time spent in education, the greater the recovery.
What are the limitations of research into plasticity?
The brains ability to rewire itself can be maladaptive, such as developing phantom limb syndrome
