Plasticity and Functional Recovery of the Brain Flashcards
What is brain plasticity
Refers to the brains ability to change and adapt in reaction to the environment and through experience
3 ways the brain plasticity occurs
- Life experience
- Video games
- Meditation
How do new experiences impact neurons?
Stronger connections between the frequent use of nerve pathways and neurons that are rarely/never use die (Synaptic pruning)
How does age impact cognitive functioning?
natural decline in cognitive functioning with age which can be attributed to changes in the brain which researchers have investigated ways new connections can be made to reverse the change
- Younger = more plastic
Explain Kuhn’s experiment in regards to video games and plasticity?
Compared a control group with a video game training group who were trained for 2 months and at least 30 mins per day on Super Mario
- Significant increase in grey matter in brain areas including the cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum however not evident in control group
- Concluded that video game training had led to new synaptic connections which involved spatial navigation, planning and motor performance which were important in playing the game
Explain Davidson study regarding meditation
He compared 8 practitioners of meditation with 10 volunteers who had no prior meditation experience
- Both groups fitted with electrical sensors and meditate and the sensors picked up much greater activity of gamma waves in monks (gamma coordinate neuron activity)
- Students showed only a slight increase in gamma wave activity whilst meditating
- Concluded meditation changes the workings of the brain in short term but also permanent changes based on the monks increased gamma wave activity even prior to meditating when comparing to the control group
What is functional recovery?
Transfer of functions from a damaged area of the brain after trauma (eg stroke) to other undamaged areas to compensate for damage
Why do children have maximum plasticity?
To organise all the new information they’re developing
- Having twice as many synaptic connections than in adulthood
What is neuronal unmasking?
When dormant neurons (not had enough input to become active) open connections to compensate for nearby damaged areas.
- Brain can rewire and reorganise by new synaptic connections close to damaged area
How are stem cells mechanism for recovery?
Stem cells are unspecialised cells that have the potential to give rise to different cell types that carry out different functions, including taking on characteristics of nerve cells
- Replace dying or dead cells
- Transplanted stem can secrete growth factors to ‘rescue’ cells
- Transplanted cells form a neural network, which link an uninjured brain site, where new stem cells are made, with the damaged region of the brain
What is axonal sprouting?
Undamaged axons ‘sprouting’ (growing) nerve endings and connect with other undamaged nerve cells and reconnect to neurons where connection was damaged/severed
- New links and pathways made to accomplish the damaged function
