Plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma

Question 1

When does functional recovery occur?

Answer 1

Following physical injury, or other forms of trauma such as the experience of a stroke

Question 2

Following physical injury or other forms of trauma such as a stroke, what are unaffected areas of the brain often able to do?

Answer 2

Adapt and compensate for those areas that are damaged

Question 3

True/False: The functional recovery that may occur in the brain after trauma is an example of neural plasticity

Answer 3

True

Question 4

What may healthy brain areas do following physical injury or other forms of trauma such as a stroke?

Answer 4

Take over functions of those areas that are damaged, destroyed or even missing

Question 5

True/False: In functional recovery, healthy brain areas can take over functions of areas that are damaged, destroyed or even missing

Answer 5

True

Question 6

When do neuroscientists suggest that functional recovery can occur?

Answer 6

Quickly after trauma then slow down after several weeks or months

Question 7

Neuroscientists suggest that the process of healthy brain areas taking over functions of areas that are damaged, destroyed or missing can occur quickly after trauma. What is this called?

Answer 7

Spontaneous recovery

Question 8

True/False: Functional recovery only occurs in the days after a trauma

Answer 8

False, there is a period of spontaneous recovery and this then slows down after several weeks or months

Question 9

What may an individual require after spontaneous recovery in order to further their recovery?

Answer 9

Rehabilitative therapy

Question 10

How is the brain able to rewire and reorganise itself?

Answer 10

By forming new synaptic connections close to the area of the damage

Question 11

True/False: The brain is able to rewire and reorganise itself by forming new synaptic connections close to the area of the damage

Answer 11

True

Question 12

The brain is able to rewire and reorganise itself by forming new synaptic connections close to the area of the damage. What is this like?

Answer 12

Avoiding roadworks on the way to school by finding a different route

Question 13

How are new synaptic connections formed close to an area of damage in the brain?

Answer 13

Secondary neural pathways that would not typically be used to carry out certain functions are activated or ‘unmasked’

Question 14

During functional recovery, what becomes activated or ‘unmasked’ to enable functioning to continue?

Answer 14

Secondary neural pathways that would not typically be used to carry out certain functions

Question 15

True/False: When secondary neural pathways that would not typically be used to carry out certain functions are activated or ‘unmasked’, functioning often continues in the same way as before

Answer 15

True

Question 16

The formation of new synaptic connections in the brain in functional recovery is supported by a number of structural changes in the brain. What are these?

Answer 16

Axonal sprouting, denervation supersensitivity and recruitment of homologous areas

Question 17

Axonal sprouting

Answer 17

The growth of new nerve endings which connect with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neuronal pathways

Question 18

Denervation supersensitivity

Answer 18

Occurs when axons that do a similar job become aroused to a higher level to compensate for the ones that are lost

Question 19

What is the main drawback of denervation supersensitivity occurring during functional recovery?

Answer 19

It can have the negative consequence of oversensitivity to messages such as pain

Question 20

What does recruitment of homologous areas mean?

Answer 20

Recruitment of similar areas on the opposite side of the brain

Question 21

What does recruitment of homologous areas enable?

Answer 21

Specific tasks can still be performed

Question 22

What would happen in functional recovery of Broca’s area was damaged on the left side of the brain?

Answer 22

The right-side equivalent would carry out its function and after a period of time, functionality may then shift back to the left side

Question 23

In what sense would the brain appear to be ‘plastic’?

Answer 23

In the sense that it has the ability to change throughout life

Question 24

During which life stage does the brain experience a rapid growth in the number of synaptic connections it has?

Answer 24

During infancy (2-3 years of age)

Question 25

During infancy, the brain experiences a rapid growth in the number of synaptic connections it has, peaking at around how many per neuron?

Answer 25

15,000

Question 26

Who said that the number of synaptic connections in the brain peaks at around 15,000 per neuron at 2-3 years of age?

Answer 26

Gopnik et al. (1999)

Question 27

During infancy, the number of synaptic connections in the brain peaks at around 15,000 per neuron compared to how many in the adult brain?

Answer 27

Around 7500 (50%)

Question 28

Synaptic pruning

Answer 28

As we age, rarely-used connections are deleted and frequently-used connections are strengthened

Question 29

True/False: People once thought that the adult brain was not capable of change

Answer 29

True

Question 30

We now understand that which process enables lifelong plasticity where new neural connections are formed in response to new demands on the brain?

Answer 30

Synaptic pruning

Question 31

Which process enables new neural connections to be formed in response to new demands on the brain?

Answer 31

Synaptic pruning

Question 32

True/False: Functional recovery has real-world application

Answer 32

True

Question 33

Understanding the processes involved in plasticity has contributed to which field?

Answer 33

Neurorehabilitation

Question 34

What does simply understanding that axonal growth is possible encourage in science?

Answer 34

New therapies to be tried

Question 35

What is constraint-induced movement therapy?

Answer 35

Therapy whereby patients repeatedly practice using the affected part of their body, such as an arm, whilst the unaffected arm is restrained

Question 36

The fact that functional recovery has real-world application e.g. in constraint-induced movement therapy shows that...

Answer 36

the research into functional recovery is useful as it helps medical professionals know when interventions need to be made

Question 37

True/False: There is a correlation between level of education and recovery rates

Answer 37

True

Question 38

What did Schneider et al. (2014) find about level of education and recovery rates?

Answer 38

The more time people with a brain injury had spent in education the greater their chances of disability-free recovery

Question 39

Schneider et al. (2014) found that what percentage of those who achieved disability free recover had more than 16 years' education?

Answer 39

40%

Question 40

Schneider et al. (2014) found that 40% of those who achieved disability free recovery had more than how many years' education?

Answer 40

16

Question 41

Schneider et al. (2014) found that what percentage of those who achieved disability free recovery had less than 12 years' education?

Answer 41

10%

Question 42

Schneider et al. (2014) found that 10% of those who had achieved disability free recovery had less than how many years of education?

Answer 42

12

Question 43

Schneider et al. (2014)'s findings about disability free recovery and education imply that...

Answer 43

people with brain damage who have insufficient education are less likely to achieve a full recovery

Question 44

Time spent in education is an indication of people's 'cognitive _______'

Answer 44

reserve

Question 45

True/False: Research is ongoing for new treatments to aid functional recovery

Answer 45

True

Question 46

Who did Banerjee et al. (2014) treat in their ongoing research for new treatments to aid functional recovery?

Answer 46

People who had a total anterior circulation stroke with stem cells

Question 47

What did Banerjee et al. (2014) find when treating people who had a total anterior circulation stroke (TACS) with stem cells?

Answer 47

All participants in this trial recovered compared to the more typical level of just 4% recovery

Question 48

What is the typical level of recovery in people who've had a total anterior circulation stroke?

Answer 48

4%

Question 49

What is the main criticism of Banerjee et al.'s functional recovery study?

Answer 49

Drew conclusions based on just five participants and no control group

Question 50

What is fairly typical of research on functional recovery that decreases its validity?

Answer 50

Small sample sizes

Question 51

True/False: Plasticity may be a life-long ability

Answer 51

True

Question 52

In general plasticity increases/reduces with age

Answer 52

reduces

Question 53

What did Bezzola et al. (2012) demonstrate about the neural representations of movement in his participants?

Answer 53

How 40 hours of gold training produced changes in their neural representations of movement

Question 54

How old were Bezzola et al. (2012)'s participants?

Answer 54

Aged 40-60

Question 55

Which technique to study the brain did Bezzola et al. (2012) use in their study?

Answer 55

fMRI

Question 56

What did Bezzola et al. (2012) observe compared to the control group?

Answer 56

Increased motor cortex activity in the novice golfers

Question 57

What did Bezzola et al. (2012)'s study suggest?

Answer 57

More efficient neural representations after training - shows that neural plasticity can continue throughout the lifespan

Question 58

True/False: Bezzola et al. (2012)'s findings show that neural plasticity doesn't continue throughout the lifespan

Answer 58

False, it does

Question 59

Who did Maguire et al. (2000) study?

Answer 59

London taxi drivers

Question 60

What did Maguire et al. (2000) find about London taxi drivers?

Answer 60

Significantly more volume of grey matter in the posterior hippocampus than in a matched control group

Question 61

Maguire et al. (2000) found significantly more volume of grey matter in the posterior hippocampus of London taxi drivers than in a matched control group. What is this part of the brain associated with?

Answer 61

Development of spatial and navigational skills

Question 62

True/False: The posterior hippocampus is associated with the development of spatial and navigational skills

Answer 62

True

Question 63

True/False: The posterior hippocampus is associated with the development of spatial and navigational skills in humans but not animals

Answer 63

False, it is associated with the development of spatial and navigational skills in both

Question 64

As part of their training, London cabbies must take a complex test called what?

Answer 64

'The Knowledge'

Question 65

What does 'The Knowledge' test?

Answer 65

London taxi drivers' recall of the city streets and possible routes

Question 66

What did Maguire et al. (2000) find about the length of time that taxi drivers had been in their job?

Answer 66

The longer the taxi drivers had been in the job, the more pronounced was the structural difference

Question 67

What did Bogdan Draganski et al. (2006) find about medical students three months before and after their final exams?

Answer 67

Learning-induced changes were seen to have occurred int he posterior hippocampus and the parietal cortex, presumably as a result of learning

Question 68

Give an example of how plasticity can have negative behavioural consequences

Answer 68

Any from prolonged drug use leads to poorer cognitive functioning in later life as well as increased risk of dementia and 60-80% of amputees have been known to develop phantom limb syndrome

Question 69

What percentage of amputees have been known to develop phantom limb syndrome?

Answer 69

60-80%

Question 70

Phantom limb syndrome

Answer 70

The continued experience of sensations in the missing limb as if it was still there

Question 71

What are phantom limb sensations thought to be due to?

Answer 71

Cortical reorganisation in the somatosensory cortex occurring as a result of limb loss

Question 72

The fact that plasticity can have negative behaviour consequences suggests what about the brain's ability to adapt to damage?

Answer 72

It is not always beneficial

Question 73

Research suggests that there may be ________ plasticity in the brain in response to environmental changes

Answer 73

seasonal

Question 74

What does the SCN regulate?

Answer 74

The sleep/wake cycle

Question 75

There is evidence that the SCN brain structure _______ in all animals during spring and _______ through autumn

Answer 75

shrinks, expands

Question 76

What's the main limitation. of research into seasonal plasticity in the brain?

Answer 76

Must of the research has been done on animals, most notably songbirds. Human behaviour may be controlled differently