AO3

• Practical application - understanding has helped in neurorehabilitation: techniques may include movement therapy and electrical stimulation to counter deficits in functioning.
• The brain's ability to rewire itself can sometimes have maladaptive behavioural consequences: 60-80% of amputees develop phantom limb syndrome (having sensations in the missing limb as if it were still there) which is thought to be due to cortical reorganisation in the somatosensory cortex that occurs as a result of limb loss.
• Maguire showed that London taxi drivers had more grey matter in the posterior hippocampus compared to control subjects. This area of the brain is linked to spatial awareness and navigation skills. The amount of change was positively correlated with how long they had been a London taxi driver for.
• Elbert et al concluded that the capacity for neural reorganisation is much greater in children than in adults, meaning that neural regeneration is less effective in older brains. This may explain why adults find change more demanding than do young people. Therefore, we must consider individual differences when assessing the likelihood of functional recovery in the brain after trauma.
• There is research to suggest that women recover better from brain injury as their function is not as lateralised
• Evidence suggests that a person’s educational attainment may influence how well the brain functionally adapts after injury.