brain plasticity + functional recovery

• Brain plasticity - the brain has the ability to change and adapt throughout life as a result of experience and new learning
• The brain is made up of millions of synaptic connections. As you get older brain connections that are not used anymore are deleted and those connections that’s are used a lot are strengthened. This is called synaptic pruning.
• The process of getting rid of unused connections is called the ‘use it or lose it‘ principle.
• Maguire‘s research:

  • studied brains of London taxi drivers
  • asked them to recall as many city streets and possible routes around London
  • used FMRI scanners (cognitive neuroscience)
• Maguire’s research findings:

  • taxi drivers had more grey matter in the hippocampus compared to non-taxi drivers
  • she found a positive correlation between time spent driving a taxi and hippocampus size
  • shows that experience directly influences the brain and it has the ability to change in response to it
• Functional recovery is a form of brain plasticity.

  When the brain experiences trauma, the unaffected areas are able to adapt and compensate for the damaged areas.
• Healthy brain areas take over the functions of those areas that are damaged, but the patients need rehabilitative therapy to recover further.
• How does recovery happen?

  This happens via a process called neural unmasking, where dormant synapses compensate for damaged areas of the brain.
• Neural reorganisation - the recruitment of homologous regions, the function is completed by a healthy part of the brain
• Neural regeneration - new neurons grow to compensate for damage.

  an example is axonal sprouting, where the brain forms a new synaptic connection close to the area of damage
• Factors affecting functional recovery:

  • age
  • education
• Evaluations:

  🙂 evidence to support - Bezzolla

  🙂 evidence to support - Hubel and Wiesel

  🙂 functional recovery - Danelli, E.B

  🙂 practical application- neurorehabilitation