Plasticity and Functional reovery of the brain after trauma

Plasticity

The brain’s tendency to change and adapt structurally and functionally as a result of experience and new learning.

Functional recovery

The brain’s ability to redistribute or transfer functions usually performed by a damaged area to other undamaged areas following injury or trauma.

Synaptic pruning

The process where rarely-used neural connections are deleted and frequently-used connections are strengthened as we age.

Gopnik et al. (1999)

Found synaptic connections peak at about 15

Maguire et al. (2000)

Found significantly more grey matter in the posterior hippocampus of London taxi drivers compared to a matched control group

Draganski et al. (2006)

Observed structural changes in the posterior hippocampus and parietal cortex of medical students three months before and after their final exams.

Spontaneous recovery

The rapid initial process after brain trauma where unaffected areas take over lost functions

Axonal sprouting

The growth of new nerve endings that connect with undamaged nerve cells to form new neuronal pathways.

Denervation supersensitivity

Occurs when remaining axons doing a similar job become hypersensitive to compensate for lost ones

Recruitment of homologous areas

When equivalent regions on the opposite side of the brain step in to perform tasks normally handled by damaged areas (e.g.

Negative plasticity

The brain's maladaptive response to damage or substances

Phantom limb syndrome

The ongoing painful experience of sensations in a missing limb

Bezzola et al. (2012)

Showed 40 hours of golf training produced neural changes in participants aged 40–60

Real-world application / Neurorehabilitation

Understanding plasticity led to practical therapies like constraint-induced movement therapy to help stroke patients recover motor function.

Cognitive reserve (Schneider et al. 2014)

The concept that prior education influences recovery rates

Small samples limitation (Banerjee et al. 2014)

Demonstration of stem cell therapy aiding stroke recovery