brain plasticity and functional recovery

• synaptic pruning


  connections must not be used are delated connections used= strengthened connections must not be used are delated connections used= strengthened

  neural connections can change + form
• brain tendency to change + adapt as a result of experience + new learning 


  • ability to change through out life
  • infancy- brain experiences a rapid growth in number of synaptic connections- 15,000
  • twice as many as an adult
• research into brain plasticity


  Eleanor Maguire

  • studied taxi drivers brain
  • significantly more grey matter in hippocampus than control group
  • this part of the brain (postier hippocampus) associated with development of spatial + navigating skills
  • longer they had the job- more grey matter