Plasticity and functional recovery

• Brain plasticity

  the ability to change and adapt of experience
• Explanation of brain plasticity

  During infancy, the brain experiences a rapid growth in the number of synaptic connections. This is twice as many as the adult brain. Connections that we rarely use are deleted, whereas connections that we use a lot are strengthened. This process is known as synaptic pruning
• Functional recovery

  the transfer of functions from a damaged of the brain after trauma to other undamaged areas
• Explanation of functional recovery

  Following physical injury or trauma to the brain such as a stroke, unaffected areas of the brain are often able to adapt and compensate for those areas that are damaged. Functional recovery is an example of brain plasticity - how the brain is able to change after trauma.