Plasticity and Functional Recovery of the Brain After Trauma Flashcards
What is plasticity?
The apparent ability of the brain to change and adapt its structures and processes as a result of experience and new learning.
What was the past view on plasticity? What is now said to be the cause of neural adaption?
Researchers used to believe that changes in the brain only happen in infancy/childhood.
More recent research has demonstrated that the brain continues to create new neural pathways and alter existing ones to adapt to new experiences as a result of learning.
Outline Machin’s study from 2018.
Found that when men become fathers, their brain changes as a result.
The areas associated with planning and problem solving (in the cortex) become more active, and in the unconscious brain we see changes in areas related to risk-assessment and nurturing.
How does plasticity link to functional recovery?
The way certain abilities of the brain may be moved or redistributed rather than lost following damage or trauma to the brain.
Give 2 case studies that show how plasticity has assisted with the functional recovery process.
Cameron Mott and Jodie Miller: Left hemisphere, being so plastic due to their ages, was able to compensate for the loss of her right hemisphere. Language was not affected, but motor functions of the left of her body was.
EB: Loss his left hemisphere, so also speech functions. This was compensated by the right hemisphere.
What are 3 different types of brain trauma/ injury?
Traumatic brain injuries from traffic accidents.
Traumatic brain injuries from assaults.
Traumatic brain injuries from falls.
Can everyone recover from brain injuries? What does this depend on though?
Almost all people who suffer brain injury can make some recovery.
The extent of this depends on the trauma itself and subsequent care of the patient.
What is the most common way the brain can recover after injury or trauma? What can happen instead?
New branches of axons and dendrites grow within neurons.
In some cases the brain adapts to the trauma and finds another way to complete a function.
Is recovery always complete? What does this depend on? Give an example.
Recovery is not always complete and depends on the level and type of damage.
E.g. the size of the stroke/the part of the brain infected - deprived of oxygen - therefore resulting in tissue death.
What did Maguire noticed when comparing the brain structures of taxi drivers and a control group?
(Maguire et al, 2000)
Noticed a significantly greater volume of grey matter in the posterior hippocampus of taxi drivers than in a matched control group.
What is the posterior hippocampus associated with?
(Maguire et al, 2000)
Spatial and navigational skills in humans and other animals.
What do taxi drivers have to pass to complete their training? Explain what it is.
(Maguire et al, 2000)
Drivers have to undertake intense training and take a test called “The Knowledge”.
This assesses their recall of city streets and possible routes.
What (supposedly) happens as the taxi drivers learn ‘The Knowledge’ training test?
(Maguire et al, 2000)
The result of having this learning experience is to alter the structure of the taxi drivers’ brains.
What correlation was their between time in job and the pronouncement of the structural differences?
(Maguire et al, 2000)
A positive correlation.
(Denser grey matter in hippocampus).
Outline the 2006 study completed by Draganski et al.
Imaged the brains of medical students 3 months prior to and after their final exams.
Learning-induced changes were seen to have occurred in the same location (posterior hippocampus) and also the parietal cortex, presumable as a result of learning for their exams.
Supports Maguire et al.
Outline the 2004 study completed by Mechelli et al.
Found a larger parietal cortex in the brains of people who were bilingual compared to matched monolingual controls.
Outline the 2014 study completed by Kuhn.
PPs played Super Mario for at least 30 minutes per day over a 2-month period.
Compared their brain development to a control group who were not playing video games.
Found significant differences in the grey matter of the video-gaming participants, particularly in the cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum.
These improved spatial navigation, strategic planning, working memory and motor performance.
E.g. Used as a form of rehab, or for those who are retired to increase plasticity.
The presented video game training could therefore be used to counteract known risk factors for mental disease such as smaller hippocampus and prefrontal cortex volume in, for example, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and neurodegenerative diseases.
How can the case study of EB be applied to brain plasticity?
This case study can be used to provide a sensible commentary on brain plasticity.
Show that the brain is able to adapt to profound injury, at least in early childhood.
How can the brain learn to function again?
Through compensation.
The brain can be taught how to use the working faculties (i.e the undamaged parts of the brain) to compensate the ones that are lost forever (e.g. by ablation).
Much recovery after trauma is due to anatomical compensation, brought about by what process?
Intensive rehabilitation.
