Neuroplasticity (review)

Flashcards cover key concepts of experience-dependent neuroplasticity, along with board-style terms related to intracranial pressure and post-injury ossification.

Use it or Lose it

Failure to drive specific brain functions can lead to functional degradation.

Specificity

The nature of the training dictates the type of plasticity; training must match the targeted function.

Repetition matters

Induction of plasticity requires sufficient repetition.

Intensity matters

Induction of plasticity requires sufficient training intensity.

Time matters

Different forms of plasticity occur at different times during training.

Salience matters

The training experience must be salient enough to induce plasticity.

Age matters

Training-induced plasticity occurs more readily in younger brains.

Transference

Plasticity in response to one training experience can enhance the acquisition of similar behaviors.

Interference

Plasticity in response to one experience can interfere with the acquisition of other behaviors.

Diaschisis

After brain injury, there is functional depression in intact areas at a distance from the damaged area; recovery involves the return of activity in these depressed areas.

Vicariation

Functions are taken over by parts of the brain not originally handling that function.

Redundancy

Recovery can be based on the activity of uninjured brain regions that would normally contribute to the function.

Behavioral substitution

New strategies are learned to compensate for the behavioral deficit.

Cushing triad

Triad of signs and symptoms seen in a patient with increasing intracranial pressure.

Heterotrophic ossification

Abnormal bone formation in soft tissue after brain injury; most common site is the shoulder.