Module 7: Damage Responses and Brain Hemispheres

The Two Hard Facts of Brain Damage Effects

1. Severed brain and spinal cord neurons, unlike cut skin, usually do not regenerate

2. Some brain functions seem preassigned to specific areas

If the facial recognition areas of the temporal lobe are damaged, the person will never be able to recognize faces in their entire lifetime. This is because…

Some brain functions are preassigned to certain areas

Some neural tissue can… in response to damage

reorganize

After serious damage… occurs (especially during childhood)

neuroplasitcity

Constrain-induced therapy

An aim to rewire brains and improve the dexterity of a brain damaged child/adult stroke victim

Neurogenesis

The formation of new neurons

Stem Cells

Special cells that can develop into different types of cells, including brain cells

Lateralization

The tendency for some cognitive processes to be specialized to one side of the brain or the other

Corpus Callosum

A large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

Split Brains

A condition resulting from surgery that separates the brain’s two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly of the corpus callosum) connecting them

The left hemisphere makes … … interpretations

quick, literal

The right hemisphere…

makes inferences, makes our speech clear, and controls our self-awareness