Lecture notes: Biopsychology - 2.4 Plasticity and Functional Recovery of the Brain after Trauma
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Course
Biopsychology
Institution
AQA
Detailed notes on Plasticity and Functional Recovery of the Brain after Trauma.
Provided key words and summaries that will help answer a range of questions (AO1,AO2,AO3)
Plasticity and Functional Recovery of the Brain after Trauma
KEY TERMS:
● PLASTICITY - (neuroplasticity or cortical) . This describes the brain’s tendency to change and
adapt (functionally and physically) as a result of experience and new learning.
● FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY - form of plasticity. Following damage through trauma, the
brain’s ability to redistribute or transfer functions usually performed by a damaged area (s)
to other, undamaged area (s).
PLASTICITY AND FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY OF THE BRAIN:
● BRIAN PLASTICITY -
➔ Brain is seen as “plastic” - can change throughout life
➔ Infancy - brain experiences a rapid growth in the number of synaptic connections it
has
➔ 15000 synaptic connections approx at the age of 2-3 years (Gopnik et al . 1999)
➔ Twice as many in an adult's brain - aging causes rarely used connections to be
deleted and frequency used connections are strengthened - process called synaptic
pruning
➔ Such changes are restricted in a developing brain at a young age. Adult brain has
passed the critical period. It’s fixed in terms of function and structure
➔ Recent research - at any time in your life, the neural connections can change or new
neural connections can be formed. Results of learning and experience (plactity)
● RESEARCH INTO PLASTICITY -
➔ Eleanor Maguire et al (2000) studied the brains of taxi drivers. They had more
volume of grey matter in the “posterior hippocampus” than in a controlled group
➔ Their brain is associated with spatial and navigational skills in humans and other
animals, due to training as a cabbie driver. The must take a test called “THE
KNOWLEDGE”
➔ This test makes sure if they recall city streets and possible routes. This learning
experience alters taxi driver’s brains. Longer in this career field the more structural
difference (a positive correlation)
➔ Draganski et al (2006) observed medical students' brains 3 months before and after
final exams.
➔ Learning - induced changes occurred in the posterior hippocampus and the parietal
cortex as a result of the exam
➔ Mechelli et al (2004) also found a larger parietal cortex in the brains of people who
were bilingual compared to matched monolingual controls
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