Plasticity and functional recovery
Plasticity – brains tendency to change and adapt (functionally and physically) because of
experience and new learning.
Functional recovery – form of plasticity. Following damage through trauma, the brains’ ability to
redistribute or transfer function performed by damaged areas to undamaged areas.
Synaptic pruning – process by which extra neurons and synaptic connection are eliminated to
increase the efficiency of neuronal transmissions.
Plasticity
- In infancy the brain rapidly grows in synaptic connection, peaking at about 15,000 at age
2-3 (Gopnik et al)
- As we age rarely used connections are deleted and frequently used connections are
strengthened (synaptic pruning)
- It was thought these changed were limited to childhood, recent research suggests neural
connections can be changed or formed at any time due to learning and new experience.
Taxi driver study: Maguire et al (2000)
- Found significantly more volume of grey matter in the posterior hippocampus in London
taxi drivers than in a matched control group.
- This part of the brain’s linked with development of spatial and navigation skills.
- The longer they had been in the job the more pronounced the structural differences.
Research on learning: Draganski et al (2006)
- Imaged brains of medical students 3 months before and after final exams.
- Learning induced changes were seen in the posterior hippocampus and the parietal
cortex because of learning for the exam.
Video game study: Kuhn et al (2014)
- compared a control group with a video game training group that was trained for 2
months for at least 30 mins per day on the game Super Mario.
- found increase in grey matter in brain areas including the cortex, hippocampus, and
cerebellum.
- concluded that video game training resulted in new synaptic connections in brain areas
involved in spatial navigation, strategic planning and working memory and motor
performance – skills important in playing the game successfully.
Plasticity – brains tendency to change and adapt (functionally and physically) because of
experience and new learning.
Functional recovery – form of plasticity. Following damage through trauma, the brains’ ability to
redistribute or transfer function performed by damaged areas to undamaged areas.
Synaptic pruning – process by which extra neurons and synaptic connection are eliminated to
increase the efficiency of neuronal transmissions.
Plasticity
- In infancy the brain rapidly grows in synaptic connection, peaking at about 15,000 at age
2-3 (Gopnik et al)
- As we age rarely used connections are deleted and frequently used connections are
strengthened (synaptic pruning)
- It was thought these changed were limited to childhood, recent research suggests neural
connections can be changed or formed at any time due to learning and new experience.
Taxi driver study: Maguire et al (2000)
- Found significantly more volume of grey matter in the posterior hippocampus in London
taxi drivers than in a matched control group.
- This part of the brain’s linked with development of spatial and navigation skills.
- The longer they had been in the job the more pronounced the structural differences.
Research on learning: Draganski et al (2006)
- Imaged brains of medical students 3 months before and after final exams.
- Learning induced changes were seen in the posterior hippocampus and the parietal
cortex because of learning for the exam.
Video game study: Kuhn et al (2014)
- compared a control group with a video game training group that was trained for 2
months for at least 30 mins per day on the game Super Mario.
- found increase in grey matter in brain areas including the cortex, hippocampus, and
cerebellum.
- concluded that video game training resulted in new synaptic connections in brain areas
involved in spatial navigation, strategic planning and working memory and motor
performance – skills important in playing the game successfully.
