Plasticity and Functional Recovery of the Brain after Trauma Flashcards
what is neural plasticity is the apparent ability of the brain to…
change and adapt its structures and processes as a result of development, experience and new learning
during infancy, the brain…
experiences a rapid growth in the number of synaptic connections it has
at what age does the brain peak in development?
2-3 years
as we age, we frequantly used connections are
strengthened and ‘synaptic pruning’ deletes rarely used connections
it was throught that synaptic pruning were restricted to childhood but
it has been descoverd that existing neural connections can change and new ones can be formed from learning
what is functional recovery of the brain after trauma?
the way that certian abilities of the brain and cognitive processes rather then be lost, may be redistributed after trauma
what happens in the brain during recovery?
the brain is able to recognise itself by forming new synaptic connections close to the area of damage
secondary neural pathways that wouldn’t normally be used to carry out certain functions
are activated or ‘unmasked’ to enable functioning to continue
the process of secondary neural pathways being activated/unmasked causes is supported by a number of structural changes in the brain including
axonal spouting
reformation of blood vessels
recruitment of homologous areas on the opposite side of the brain to perform specific tasks
axonal spouting
the growth of new nerve endings which connect with undamaged nerve cells to form new neurological pathways
neuroscientists suggest that secondary neural pathways and the structural changes occur
quickly after trauma and then slow down after several weeks or months
after the recovery has slowed down, the patient may need
rehabilitative therapy to further their recovery
negative plasticity
the brains ability to rewire itself can sometimes have maladaptive behavioural consequences
60%-80% of amputees develop
phantom limb syndrome
Eleanor Maguire et al date
2000
Maguire et al MRI scanned the brains of London taxi drivers and found
significantly more volume of grey matter in the posterior hippocampus then a matched control group
the posterior hippocampus is associated with
the development of spatial and navigational skills
Draganski et al date
2006
what did Draganski et al do?
imaged the Bains of medical students three months before and after their final exams
what did Draganski et al find?
learning-induced changes were seen to have occurred in the posterior hippocampus and the perinatal cortex due to them learning
Danelli et al date
2013
what did Danelli et al do?
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
what did Danelli et al find?
EB had the same linguistic abilities as a normal control group
weaknesses of plasticity and functional recovery?
theres no record of functioning level prior to the trauma
the ability of the brain to recover varies
generalisation is difficult to make
