AOS2 Chapter 5

Question 1

Neuroplasticity

Answer 1

neuroplasticity refers to the nervous systems ability to change its structure and function as a result of experience and in response to injury

Question 2

The developing brain

Answer 2

during infancy and adolescence their are periods of rapid development and change in the brain structure and function

Question 3

Neurogenesis

Answer 3

Neurogenesis is the process of creating new neurons (nerve cells). It mainly happens during early development but can also continue in certain parts of the brain throughout life.

Basically, it’s how the body forms nerves, nervous tissue, and the nervous system.

Question 4

Neural migration

Answer 4

neural migration is the movement of newly formed neurons to their final destination in the nervous system

Question 5

Synaptogenesis

Answer 5

synaptogenesis is the process by which new synapses are formed between neurons

Question 6

synaptic pruning

Answer 6

synaptic pruning is the process of removing extra, weak or unusedsynaptic connection to increase the efficiency of neural transmission

Question 7

myelination

Answer 7

Myelination is the process of coating neurons with a white, fatty substance called myelin. This protects the neurons and helps electrical signals travel faster along the axon.

It plays a big role in thinking and behavior, including things like planning, decision-making, emotions, social skills, and personality.

Question 8

Brain changes during normal aging

Structural Changes:

Answer 8

-decrease in brain volume
-deterioration of myelin
-reduced synaptic connections
-thinning of cerebral cortex
-decline in adult neurogenesis

Question 9

Brain changes during normal aging

Cognitive changes:

Answer 9

-slower processing of stimuli
-decline in multi-tasking ability
-decline in attention
-slower recall of words and names
-decline in ability to recall newly learned information

Question 10

Ways to promote healthy brain development

Answer 10

Maintaining mental stimulation, a healthy diet, physical activity, building social support and engaging in risk reduction

Question 11

Adaptive plasticity

Answer 11

Adaptive plasticity is the brain’s ability to change and rewire connections between neurons to adjust to new experiences or environments.

It helps us learn new things or relearn skills after a brain injury by strengthening or creating new pathways between synapses.

Question 12

Sprouting

Answer 12

sprouting refers to the creation of new connections between neurons

Question 13

rerouting

Answer 13

rerouting involves an undamaged neuron that has lost connection with a damaged neuron connecting with another neuron

Question 14

With what proceses does adaptive plasticity mainly occur?

Answer 14

Adaptive mainly occurs as a result of two processes that take place at the synapse between neurons: sprouting and rerouting

Question 15

What is acquired brain injury (abi)

Answer 15

ABI is brain damage caused by and event after birth, it affects the functional ability of the brains nerve cells.

Question 16

What are the two causes of ABI

Answer 16

traumatic brain injury (tbi) and non traumatic brain injury (ntbi)

Question 17

What is traumatic brain injury (tbi)

Answer 17

-external force damages brain calls and causes dysfunction
-e.g fall, assault, accident, sport

Question 18

What is non traumatic brain injury (ntbi)

Answer 18

-internal factors famage brain cells and cause dysfunction
-e.g. stroke, tumour, infection, lack of oxygen to the brain, neurological diseases

Question 19

damage to the cerebral cortex

Answer 19

-the cerebral cortex is prone to damage because it lies directly beneathh the skull
-the result can be some from of dysfunction
-the degree of dysfunction and how long it will last varies from which part of the brain was damaged and the severity

Question 20

Some symptoms of damage to the frontal lobe

Answer 20

-inability to concentrate
-personality change

Question 21

some symptoms of damage to the parietal lobe

Answer 21

-inability to feel pain
-difficulty judging distance

Question 22

some symptoms of damage to the occipital lobe

Answer 22

-loss of vision
-difficulty recognising visual material

Question 23

some symptoms of damage to the temporal damage

Answer 23

-unable to hear
-difficulty recognising faces

Question 24

what are neurological disorders

Answer 24

-neurological disorders are diseases or events that affects the brain, spinal cord and the nerves that connect them
-they all result from damge to the nervous system either due to genetics or after birth

Question 25

What can be impacted from neurological disorders

Answer 25

communication, vision, hearing, movement, cognition

Question 26

What is epilepsy

Answer 26

epilepsy is a brain disorder that causes recurring, unprovoked seizures -the seizures are caused by surges of electrical activity

Question 27

Causes of epilepsy and the categories

Answer 27

the cause of 50% of epilepsy cases are still unknown the causes of epilepsy are divided into the categories of structural, genetic, infectious, metabolic, immune and unknown.

Question 28

examples of causes of epilepsy

Answer 28

-brain damage (loss of oxygen, trauma during birth, low birth weight), severe head injure, stroke, infection, genetic syndromes, brain tumour

Question 29

What is contemporary research

Answer 29

Contemporary research allows for discovery of new treatments for a range of health conditions, including neurological disorders. These new treatments may be more effective, less invasive, more accessible

Question 30

What is gut-brain axis

Answer 30

-refers to the connection between the gut and the brain through multiple parts of the nervous system -they communicate through microbiota, imbalanced gut microbiota can lead to the progression of neurological disorders

Question 31

what contemporary research found that would help epilepsy

Answer 31

Some studies show that giving probiotics to epilepsy patients can reduce seizures by 50%. Research also found that people with epilepsy have a different gut microbiota compared to those without the condition.

Question 32

what is chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

Answer 32

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive and fatal brain disease caused by repeated head injuries. It is characterised by behavioural problems, personality changes and deficits in thinking.

Question 33

What does CTE cause

Answer 33

Cte causes areas of the brain to waste away (astrophy), which results in the person to loss brain mass repeated injuries affect communication between cells, which can lead to death

Question 34

What causes CTE

Answer 34

There appears to be higher levels of a protein called Tau in some brain areas of people with CTE. after trauma when nerve cells are damaged the tau separates from the cytoskeleton and starts to clump up or form tangles in brain cells these tau clumps and tangles cause the cells to become defective and lose their ability to function.

Question 35

What happens if to much tau builds up over time

Answer 35

If enough tau builds up over time, the affected parts of the brain shrink, adversely affecting the person’s cognition and behaviour, and usually resulting in dementia

Question 36

Stage one of CTE

Answer 36

headaches, loss of attention and concentration, mild short-term memory deficits

Question 37

stage two of CTE

Answer 37

anxiety, depression, suicidality, irritable mood and increased aggression, lack of impulse control

Question 38

stage three of CTE

Answer 38

cognitive impairment and problems with executive functions, specifically planning, organisation, multi-tasking and judgement, more severe memory loss and apathy

Question 39

stage 4 of CTE

Answer 39

a form of dementia (e.g. profound language deficits, psychotic symptoms, motor deficits, memory and cognitive impairments severe enough to impact daily living)

Question 40

symptoms of CTE

Answer 40

CTE often goes undiagnosed because the first symptoms can occur years or decades after brain injury, making it extremely difficult to diagnose. Symptoms are thought to be progressive, starting with: confusion and mood disturbance, and progressing over time to: dementia, speech difficulties and motor decline.

Question 41

diagnosis of CTE

Answer 41

CTE cannot accurately be diagnosed in a living person. The only way to truly diagnose CTE is through testing brain tissue (in an autopsy) to see if there is evidence of degeneration and deposits of tau and other proteins in the brain.

Question 42

treatment in CTE (useful)

Answer 42

Treatment can be challenging however sufferers have reported the following as being useful: behavioural therapy to deal with mood swings pain management therapy to relieve discomfort regular exercise and good nutrition memory exercises to strengthen the ability to recall daily events