plasticity

Question 1

what is plasticity?

Answer 1

the brain is capable of changing in our life time

Question 2

who did research into plasticity?

Answer 2

maguire

Question 3

what was maguires procedure and findings?

Answer 3

• MRI scans of taxi and bus drivers
• taxi drivers had more grey matter in hippocampus
• taxi drivers must know more routes
• their brain adapted to their job

Question 4

strength of plasticity (useful) - bezolla

Answer 4

bezzola - 40 hours of golf training changes neural representations of movement and fMRI scans showed increased activity in motor cortex compared to control

Question 5

limitation of plasticity (consequences) - drugs

Answer 5

medina - brain adaptions to prolonged drug use leads to poor cognitive functioning
- amputees have phantom limb syndrome which is unpleasant so plasticity is not always beneficial

Question 6

what is functional recovery?

Answer 6

brains ability to change after trauma - undamaged take over damaged

Question 7

how does functional recovery occur?

Answer 7

1. neuronal unmasking = unused neurons become active
2. axonal sprouting = new nerve endings grow to create new pathways
3. denervation = similar axons become aroused when similar axons are damaged
4. stem cells = develop into any type of cell

Question 8

strength of functional recovery (useful)

Answer 8

rehabilitation programmes developed to support functional recovery - use affected body part while unaffected part is restrained which strengthens neural pathways in motor cortex

Question 9

limitation of functional recovery (individual differences) - DFR

Answer 9

• 40% people with brain injuries and >16 years education had higher chance of disability free recovery
• functional recovery less effective for those with <12 years education as 10% had DFR