Plasticity and Functional Recovery of the Brain after Trauma

Question 1

what is neural plasticity is the apparent ability of the brain to…

Answer 1

change and adapt its structures and processes as a result of development, experience and new learning

Question 2

during infancy, the brain…

Answer 2

experiences a rapid growth in the number of synaptic connections it has

Question 3

at what age does the brain peak in development?

Answer 3

2-3 years

Question 4

as we age, we frequantly used connections are

Answer 4

strengthened and ‘synaptic pruning’ deletes rarely used connections

Question 5

it was throught that synaptic pruning were restricted to childhood but

Answer 5

it has been descoverd that existing neural connections can change and new ones can be formed from learning

Question 6

what is functional recovery of the brain after trauma?

Answer 6

the way that certian abilities of the brain and cognitive processes rather then be lost, may be redistributed after trauma

Question 7

what happens in the brain during recovery?

Answer 7

the brain is able to recognise itself by forming new synaptic connections close to the area of damage

Question 8

secondary neural pathways that wouldn’t normally be used to carry out certain functions

Answer 8

are activated or ‘unmasked’ to enable functioning to continue

Question 9

the process of secondary neural pathways being activated/unmasked causes is supported by a number of structural changes in the brain including

Answer 9

axonal spouting
reformation of blood vessels
recruitment of homologous areas on the opposite side of the brain to perform specific tasks

Question 10

axonal spouting

Answer 10

the growth of new nerve endings which connect with undamaged nerve cells to form new neurological pathways

Question 11

neuroscientists suggest that secondary neural pathways and the structural changes occur

Answer 11

quickly after trauma and then slow down after several weeks or months

Question 12

after the recovery has slowed down, the patient may need

Answer 12

rehabilitative therapy to further their recovery

Question 13

negative plasticity

Answer 13

the brains ability to rewire itself can sometimes have maladaptive behavioural consequences

Question 14

60%-80% of amputees develop

Answer 14

phantom limb syndrome

Question 15

Eleanor Maguire et al date

Answer 15

2000

Question 16

Maguire et al MRI scanned the brains of London taxi drivers and found

Answer 16

significantly more volume of grey matter in the posterior hippocampus then a matched control group

Question 17

the posterior hippocampus is associated with

Answer 17

the development of spatial and navigational skills

Question 18

Draganski et al date

Answer 18

2006

Question 19

what did Draganski et al do?

Answer 19

imaged the Bains of medical students three months before and after their final exams

Question 20

what did Draganski et al find?

Answer 20

learning-induced changes were seen to have occurred in the posterior hippocampus and the perinatal cortex due to them learning

Question 21

Danelli et al date

Answer 21

2013

Question 22

what did Danelli et al do?

Answer 22

he tested a test subject called EB at the age of 17 to see his language capability 14 1/2 years after having a large tumour and his left hippocampus removed

Question 23

what did Danelli et al find?

Answer 23

EB had the same linguistic abilities as a normal control group

Question 24

weaknesses of plasticity and functional recovery?

Answer 24

theres no record of functioning level prior to the trauma
the ability of the brain to recover varies
generalisation is difficult to make