plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma

• Define plasticity of the brain

  plasticity of the brain refers to the brain's ability to change it's corganisatio n and/or structure s in response to experience. One way which this is acheived is through creating or altering neural pathways
• plasticity of the brain : when a new peice of info/skill is learned...

  A new neural pathway is created in the brain
• plasticity of the Brain: when the info /skill is rehearsed...

  the neural pathway is strengthened
• plasticity of the brain: when info/skillis no longer used ...

  the neural pathway is weakened and May eventually be removed
• Describe the supporting evidence from taxi drivers for PoB

  • supporting evidence from taxi drivers
  • MRI's of London taxi drivers found significant More grey chatter in the posterior hippocampus than in the control group
  • this shows that experience can change the structure of the brain
• Describe the difficulties in establishing C+E in the taxi driverstudy for PoB

  • Difficult to establish C+E between experience and differences in brain structure/function
  • we cannot be sure that increased grey matter in the posterior hippocampus was a result of taxi driving
  • they may have already had a large one, this became a taxi driver
• counter argument with correlational evidence for taxi drivers for PoB

  • there is further correlational evidence
  • positive correlation between num of years of taxi- driving and grey matter volume in the posterior hippocampus
• Describe neural regeneration

  The regrowth or repair of neurons that have been damaged
• Describe the Neurogenesis


  Growth of new neurons that are typically created through the implantation of steam cells. stom cells have the ability to develop into many different cell type (such as neurons) as the body needs them. They can also replicate rapidly to help overcome brain trauma
• Describe Neuronal unmasking


  when brain trauma occurs, 'dormant'synapses (synapses that exist but rarely used) receive an increasing anmount of input. This is because the synapse typically used is damaged. The unmasking of these synapses opens new connects in the brain.
• Describe axonal sprouting


  Undamaged axons can grow/sprout) rewardon terminals. These connect with underage neurons to form new neural pathways.
• Name all the ways the brain recovers after trauma

  • neural regeneration
  • Neurogenesis
  • Neuronal unmasking
  • Axonalsprouting
• Supporting evidence from steam cell research for recovery of the brain after trauma

  Rats study with transplants
• limitation of functional recovery of the brain is that it depends on individual differences

  factors come into play such as:

  • Age
  • Stress
  • Location of Damage
  • Severity of Damage
  • Alchohol consumption