Plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma

• What is plasticity?

  • A.K.A. neuroplasticity + cortical remapping
  • Brain's ability to change + adapt pathways/structure/functioning as a result of experience, e.g. learning
  • ALSO, brain's ability to replace functions lost through anatomical damage -> functional recovery = type of brain plasticity
• What is functional recovery?

  • Brain's ability to regain abilities/mental processes that were damaged or lost due to disease/injury
  • Occurs through moving functions from damaged area to undamaged area, through neurons becoming more sensitive during synaptic transmission + the growth of new neural pathways/regeneration
• How does plasticity change with age?

  • Infancy = VERY plastic brain
  • 1-year-old = more neurons + synapses than fully matured adolescent brain
  • Needed to adapt to new learning experiences in child's environment
  • Alteration of structure + organisation to process info effectively
  • Through child's growth, frequently used synaptic connections = strengthened
  • Rarely used synaptic connections = deleted
  • This is called 'synaptic pruning'!
• How does plasticity change as we grow older?

  • Adolescent brain = mature BUT plasticity is not lost (despite rate slowing significantly)
  • New memories + skills can be attained = we can still learn = we can still grow new neural connections
  • Recovery from trauma is much more difficult in a matured brain (lost maximal plasticity of infancy)
• How does functional recovery work?

  • Certain processes in the brain associated with the damaged area lost or compromised
  • Functional plasticity = result of physical processes in brain to regain previous abilities
  • Period of spontaneous recovery where some functions are quickly regained after damage -> slows down over following weeks/months
  • This means that rehabilitation therapy is needed
• What is rehabilitation therapy?

  • For help with functional recovery, neurorehabilitation is needed
  • Intensive, focused physical + cognitive therapy used to encourage repeated practice of functions that have been lost
  • e.g. constraint-induced therapy -> repeated physiotherapy work on moving limbs with impaired function while preventing use of healthy limbs (frequently used with stroke patients)
  • CI therapy for aphasia -> patients using language despite struggles rather than being allowed to communicate through drawing or gesturing
  • Electrical stimulation of recovering area is also used