Functional and Brain Plasticity

• Brain Plasticity - refers to brain’s ability to change and adapt because of experience, these experiences change the functions and processes of the brain.
• Brain shows evidence of functional recovery : transfer of functions from a damaged area of brain after trauma to other undamaged areas

  • process called neural unmasking where ‘dormant’ synapses open connections to compensate for a nearby damaged area of the brain, synapses then become active
  • Allows new connections in the brain to be activated, thus recovering any damage occurring in specific regions - injury, damage, strokes, surgery
• Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers ( 2000 )

  Maguire
• aim: Examine whether structural changes could be detected in the brain of people with extensive experience of spatial navigation
• method: Structural MRI scans were obtained

  • 16 right-handed male London taxi drivers participated and all had been driving for more than 1 1/2 years
  • Scans of 50 healthy right-handed males who did not drive taxis were included for comparison
  • Mean age did NOT differentiate between the two groups
• results:

  1. increased grey matter was found in the brains of taxi drivers, compared with controls in two brain regions, the right and left hippocampi, increase volume was found in posterior ( rear ) hippocampus
  2. Changes with navigation experience - a correlation was found between amount of time spent as a taxi driver and volume in the right posterior hippocampus
• conclusion: Results provide evidence of structural differences between hippocampi of London taxi drivers and control participants, therefore suggesting that extensive practice with spatial navigation affects the hippocampus
•  Kuhn et al. found a significant increase in grey matter in various regions of the

  brain after participants played video games for 30 minutes a day over a two-

  month period than those who didn’t.
• Similarly, Davidson et al. demonstrated the permanent change

  in the brain generated by prolonged meditation: Buddhist monks who

  meditated frequently had a much greater activation of gamma waves (which

  coordinate neural activity) than did students with no experience of meditation.
• These two studies highlight the idea of plasticity and the brain’s ability to adapt as a result of new experience, whether it’s video games or meditation.
• Maguire et al. found that there is research to support the claim for functional recovery.
• • Taijiri et al. (2013) found that stem cells provided to rats after brain

  trauma showed a clear development of neuron-like cells in the area of injury. This demonstrates the ability of the brain to create new connections using neurons manufactured by stem cells.

   
• While there is evidence for functional recovery, it is possible that this ability can deteriorate with age.

   
• • 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.

   
• Real-life application using research - in hospitals, rehabilitating patients through motor therapy etc.
• A final strength of research examining plasticity and functional recovery is the application of the findings to the field of neurorehabilitation. 
• Understanding the processes of plasticity and functional recovery led to the development of neurorehabilitation which uses motor therapy and electrical stimulation of the brain to counter the negative effects and deficits in motor and cognitive functions following accidents, injuries and/or strokes. This demonstrates the positive application of research in this area to help improve the cognitive functions of people suffering from injuries.