Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 29 views

    Plasticity and Functional Recovery of The Brain

    Uploaded by

    arunima2001
    The document discusses brain plasticity and functional recovery after trauma. It explains that the brain can change and develop new neural connections throughout life due to learning and experience. While most changes occur during childhood, the adult brain remains plastic. The brain can also recover lost functions after injury through neuronal unmasking which activates dormant synapses. Recovery occurs quickly at first but slows after weeks or months, and rehabilitation therapy may be needed. The brain rewires itself by forming new connections near damaged areas and activating secondary pathways. Factors like age, gender, and education level influence plasticity and recovery speed.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Plasticity and Functional Recovery of The Brain

    Uploaded by

    arunima2001
    29 views3 pages
    The document discusses brain plasticity and functional recovery after trauma. It explains that the brain can change and develop new neural connections throughout life due to learning and experience. While most changes occur during childhood, the adult brain remains plastic. The brain can also recover lost functions after injury through neuronal unmasking which activates dormant synapses. Recovery occurs quickly at first but slows after weeks or months, and rehabilitation therapy may be needed. The brain rewires itself by forming new connections near damaged areas and activating secondary pathways. Factors like age, gender, and education level influence plasticity and recovery speed.

    Original Title

    plasticity

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document discusses brain plasticity and functional recovery after trauma. It explains that the brain can change and develop new neural connections throughout life due to learning and experience. While most changes occur during childhood, the adult brain remains plastic. The brain can also recover lost functions after injury through neuronal unmasking which activates dormant synapses. Recovery occurs quickly at first but slows after weeks or months, and rehabilitation therapy may be needed. The brain rewires itself by forming new connections near damaged areas and activating secondary pathways. Factors like age, gender, and education level influence plasticity and recovery speed.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    29 views3 pages

    Plasticity and Functional Recovery of The Brain

    Uploaded by

    arunima2001
    The document discusses brain plasticity and functional recovery after trauma. It explains that the brain can change and develop new neural connections throughout life due to learning and experience. While most changes occur during childhood, the adult brain remains plastic. The brain can also recover lost functions after injury through neuronal unmasking which activates dormant synapses. Recovery occurs quickly at first but slows after weeks or months, and rehabilitation therapy may be needed. The brain rewires itself by forming new connections near damaged areas and activating secondary pathways. Factors like age, gender, and education level influence plasticity and recovery speed.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    Plasticity and Functional Recovery of the Brain

    What is Brain Plasticity?

    This refers to the fact that the brain can change and develop as a result of our experience and learning, and

    also that it can recover after trauma.

    The brain changes throughout the lifespan. During infancy, the brain experiences a rapid growth in the

    number of synaptic connections there are to other neurons, peaking at around 15,000 at age 2-3 years. This

    is around twice as many as there are in the adult brain. As we age, connections that we don’t use are deleted

    and connections that we use a lot are strengthened. This process is known as synaptic pruning.

    Even though the majority of changes in neural connections happen during childhood, adult brains still

    change and develop, on a smaller scale, as a result of learning and experience.

    The brain is not a static organ, and the functions and processes of the brain can change as a result of

    experience and injury. Brain plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to change and adapt because of

    experience. Research has demonstrated that the brain continues to create new neural pathways and alter

    existing ones in response to changing experiences. 

    The brain also appears to show evidence of functional recovery: the transfer of functions from a damaged

    area of the brain after trauma to other undamaged areas. It can do this through a process termed neuronal

    unmasking where ‘dormant’ synapses (which have not received enough input to be active) open

    connections to compensate for a nearby damaged area of the brain. This allows new connections in the brain

    to be activated, thus recovering any damage occurring in specific regions.

    Functional Recovery of the Brain after Trauma

    The brain is often able to recover from trauma that is caused by physical injury or illness (e.g. stroke). This

    is another example of neural plasticity. Unaffected areas of the brain are often able to adapt and compensate

    for the areas that have been lost or damaged. Healthy brain areas may take over the functions of the areas

    that have been affected. Neuroscientists suggest that this process can occur quickly after the trauma, but
    then slow down after several weeks or months. The person may then require rehabilitative therapy to assist

    their recovery.

    How Does Brain Recovery Work?

    The brain is able to reorganise and rewire itself by forming new synaptic connections close to the area of

    damage. Secondary neural pathways that would not usually be used to carry out certain functions are

    activated to enable functioning to continue, often in the same way as before. Support for this comes from

    structural changes that are known to take place in the brain. Examples are:

     Axonal sprouting: The growth of new nerve endings which connect with other undamaged nerve

    cells to form new neuronal pathways

     Reformation of blood vessels

     Recruitment of homologous (similar) areas on the other side of the brain to take over specific tasks

    Evaluation of Plasticity and Functional Recovery of the Brain following Trauma

     Practical application : Our increased understanding in this area has contributed to the field of

    neurorehabilitation. In other words, it has helped in the treatment of those who have suffered brain

    trauma. The fact that we know that spontaneous brain recovery slows down after a few weeks,

    means that we are aware of when it may be necessary to start physical therapy to maintain

    improvements in functioning.

     Negative plasticity: The brain’s ability to rewire itself does not always have positive consequences.

    Some adaptations may be maladaptive (unhelpful). Prolonged drug use, for example, has been

    shown to result in poorer cognitive functioning as well as an increased risk of dementia in later life.
     Individual differences: Age& Gender: Functional plasticity tends to reduce with age, and this

    therefore affects the speed of recovery.

     Individual differences: Education: Evidence suggests that the person’s level of educational

    attainment will influence how well the brain recovers after trauma. Schneider (2014) found that the

    more time brain injured patients had spent in education, (known as their cognitive reserve) the

    greater their chances of a disability-free recovery.

    You might also like