Session 16: Brain Plasticity: Injury, Recovery, and Rehabilitation

Define neural plasticity

The capacity of the nervous system to be shaped by experience

Examples of neural plasticity

Synaptogenesis, functional reorganization

What are some techniques used to measure structural and functional changes

Electroencephalography (EEG), MRI and fMRI, Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs)

What does an fMRI do?

Measures changes in brain activity through MRI based on blood flow changes

Describe Normal (adaptive) Map plasticity

“Resolution” of cortical maps is dependent on innervation densities, maps differ in terms of proportions, but topographical sequence remains stable

Map plasticity in response to injury

Animal experimentation reveals that when a digit is removed the cortical areas redistribute (can take weeks to months)

Maladaptive Plasticity: Phantom Limb Sensation/Pain

Following amputation, some people report vivid and often painful sensations from the missing limb; this is because cortical representations in the postcentral gyrus (primary somatosensory cortex) remain, despite the amputation

What does cortical reorganization following injury depend on?

Age, extent and location of injury, specific pathology, implementation of rehabilitation

What is constraint-induced movement therapy?

Constraining the less affected limb to force more use of the affected limb

Neuroplasticity Principle 1:

Use it or lose it

Neuroplasticity Principle 2:

Use it and improve it

Neuroplasticity Principle 3:

Specificity of Training matters

Neuroplasticity Principle 4:

Repetition matters

Neuroplasticity Principle 5:

Intensity matters

Neuroplasticity Principle 6:

Timing matters

Neuroplasticity Principle 7:

Salience matters

Neuroplasticity Principle 8:

Age matters

Neuroplasticity Principle 9: 

Transference

Neuroplasticity Principle 10:

Interference