Theory of the brain - Plasticity and Functional Recovery Flashcards
(19 cards)
What is brain plasticity?
The brains ability to change and adapt as a result of experience
how many synaptic connections do we have in the brain at the age of 3?
15,000
twice as many as we have as adults
what happens to synaptic connections when we age?
Unused connections die and frequently used ones are stengthened?
What is it called when our synaptic connections are frequently used?
Synaptic pruning
What did Boyke et. al (2008) find?
An increase in grey matter of 60 year olds were taught to juggle, this growth reversed when they stopped practicing. Evidence for plasticity.
What did Kugn et al. (2014) study?
That playing video games makes many different complex cognitive and motor demands.
Compared a control group with a video game training group that was trained for 2 month for at least 30 minutes per day on the game Super Mario.
What did Kuhn et al. find?
A significant increase in grey matter in various brain areas including the cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum, this was not found in the control group that did not play Super Mario.
What did Kuhn et al. conclude?
Video game training had resulted in new synaptic connections in brain ares involved in spatial navigation, strategic planning, working memory and motor performance.
Who is Alex Hannold?
A ‘free soloist’, which is a specific form of rock climbing that involves no ropes or supports.
What did Dr. Jane Joseph examine for with Alex Hannold?
An MRI of his brain whilst he was exposed to stimuli ranging from everyday objects to extremely rare or exciting scenes eg. mutilated bodies, nudity, etc.
What were the results from Alex’s MRI scan?
his brain withstands fear and arousal far more significantly than the average person
What is function recovery of the brain?
Certain abilities of the brain may be moved or distributed rather than lost after trauma, eg. a stroke.
What can happen after a stroke?
Unaffected areas of the brain are often able to adapt/compensate for the damage - example of neural plasticity.
What are the 5 methods of functional recovery?
Stem Cells
Neuronal unmasking
Axonal Sprouting
Reformation of blood vessels
Recruitment of homologous areas
What is stem cells functional recovery of the brain?
Stem cells are implanted directly into the brain near the site of damage.
They secrete growth factors that rescue dead or injured cells.
The cells continue to grow and multiply
They create a new neural pathway from the damage site to an uninjured brain area.
What is neuronal unmasking functional recovery of the brain?
Dormant neural pathways near the damage site become active as action potential attempts to cross the lesion.
Neurons unmask, creating a new pathway and diverting the action potential around the damage site.
What is axonal sprouting functional recovery of the brain?
growth of new nerve endings which connect with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neural pathways
What is reformation of blood vessels functional recovery of the brain?
Flow of oxygenated blood to the affected area begins to reform broken vessels
What is recruitment of homologous area functional recovery of the brain?
Similar areas on the opposite side of the brain are used to perform specific tasks.
Example: damage to Brocas are LH, the right side equivalent would carry out its language functions.
