Plasticity and Functional Recovery

• Plasticity


  The brain adapts in both its function and structure as a result of changes in the environment, such as learning new skills, developmental changes, direct trauma, or indirect effects of damage
• Functional recovery


  Functions that were performed by damaged areas of the brain are performed by undamaged areas through processes like synaptic pruning, axonal sprouting, and neural generation
• Factors affecting recovery include age (children have the best ability), gender (women are more able), access to rehabilitative therapy, and focused effort
• Constraint-induced therapy, which stops patients from using coping strategies, can result in improved functional recovery
• Research on London taxi drivers found the posterior hippocampi were significantly larger than controls, suggesting the physical structure of the brain is plastic and able to reconfigure
• Axonal sprouting


  Existing neurons grow new axons to connect to adjacent neurons
• Neural generation


  Growth of new neuronal cells
• Denervation supersensitivity


  Remaining axons become more sensitive and more likely to fire, can result in side effects such as pain
• Factors affecting recovery


  • Age (children have best ability to recover, then young adults)
  • Gender (women more able to recover from brain damage)
  • Access to rehabilitative therapy
  • Focused effort
• Constraint-induced therapy


  Stopping patients from using coping strategies (e.g. using undamaged limbs)
• Maguire 2000 study: Posterior hippocampi of London taxi drivers was significantly larger than controls, suggesting brain plasticity
• Danielle E. case study: 14-year-old had hemispherectomy, lost all language ability but recovered after 2 years
• Research on brain plasticity and functional recovery has practical benefits, e.g. in rehabilitation therapy
• Not everyone has high levels of plasticity, IQ and educational background are positively correlated with better outcomes after traumatic brain injury