Plasticity and Functional Recovery

• What is Brain Plasticity?

  The brain has the ability to change neural connections or create new ones
• Research into Plasticity:

  • Maguire et al
  • Found that London taxi drivers had a larger volume of grey matter in their hippocampus compared to a matched control group
• Research into Plasticity:

  • Draginski et al
  • Found changes in the hippocampus and parietal cortex in medical students before and after exams
• Strength of Plasticity - Understanding of amputees:

  • Research has shown that 60 - 80% of amputees suffer from phantom limb syndrome
  • This is thought to be caused by the reorganisation of the somatosensory cortex to compensate for the missing limb.
  • Allows us to better our understanding of how to help amputees
• Evaluation of Plasticity - Debated how long our brains remain 'plastic':

  • It was originally thought that the brain will stop developing after a certain age.
  • However, although plasticity reduces with age research has found evidence of brain changes throughout life.
  • e.g. Bezzola – Golf training produced changes in the motor cortex of 40 - 60 year olds
• Strength of Plasticity - Support from animal studies:

  • Hubel and Wiesel
  • Sewed shut one eye of a kitten and found that the associated area of the visual cortex started to process information from the other eye. 
• What is Functional Recovery of the brain?

  • Healthy brain areas take over lost functions after trauma
  • Happens quickly
• What happens in the brain during recovery?

  • Axonal Sprouting - The growth of new nerve endings to connect with undamaged neurons
  • Reformation of blood vessels - Restoring blood flow to damaged areas
  • Recruitment of similar areas - E.g. if Broca’s area is damaged the right hemisphere equivalent could take over.
• Strength of Functional Recovery - Real world application:

  • Knowledge of axonal growth can lead to new treatments / therapies
  • Constraint movement therapy
• Limitation of Functional Recovery - Cognitive Reserve:

  • Level of education may influence recovery rates
  • Eric Schneider et al found that the more time people with a brain injury had spent in education the higher their chance of DFR
  • 40% of those who achieved DFR had been in education for 16 years compared to 10% who had less than 12 years education