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    Lecture 10 Plasticity

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    DrGasnas
    The lecture discusses brain plasticity, which is the ability of the brain to change and reorganize itself in response to experience and injury. It covers several key points: 1) The brain demonstrates significant plasticity during development, with higher levels of connectivity in children compared to adults. Critical periods of development exist where plasticity is highest. 2) Plasticity persists to some degree into adulthood through mechanisms like long-term potentiation and neurogenesis. Practice and training can modify sensory and motor maps in the adult brain. 3) Both adaptive and maladaptive plasticity are possible. Carefully designed rehabilitation promotes recovery from injury by encouraging adaptive connections within lesioned networks. 4) While

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    Lecture 10 Plasticity

    Uploaded by

    DrGasnas
    87 views36 pages
    The lecture discusses brain plasticity, which is the ability of the brain to change and reorganize itself in response to experience and injury. It covers several key points: 1) The brain demonstrates significant plasticity during development, with higher levels of connectivity in children compared to adults. Critical periods of development exist where plasticity is highest. 2) Plasticity persists to some degree into adulthood through mechanisms like long-term potentiation and neurogenesis. Practice and training can modify sensory and motor maps in the adult brain. 3) Both adaptive and maladaptive plasticity are possible. Carefully designed rehabilitation promotes recovery from injury by encouraging adaptive connections within lesioned networks. 4) While

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    Lecture 10 Plasticity

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    The lecture discusses brain plasticity, which is the ability of the brain to change and reorganize itself in response to experience and injury. It covers several key points: 1) The brain demonstrates significant plasticity during development, with higher levels of connectivity in children compared to adults. Critical periods of development exist where plasticity is highest. 2) Plasticity persists to some degree into adulthood through mechanisms like long-term potentiation and neurogenesis. Practice and training can modify sensory and motor maps in the adult brain. 3) Both adaptive and maladaptive plasticity are possible. Carefully designed rehabilitation promotes recovery from injury by encouraging adaptive connections within lesioned networks. 4) While

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    87 views36 pages

    Lecture 10 Plasticity

    Uploaded by

    DrGasnas
    The lecture discusses brain plasticity, which is the ability of the brain to change and reorganize itself in response to experience and injury. It covers several key points: 1) The brain demonstrates significant plasticity during development, with higher levels of connectivity in children compared to adults. Critical periods of development exist where plasticity is highest. 2) Plasticity persists to some degree into adulthood through mechanisms like long-term potentiation and neurogenesis. Practice and training can modify sensory and motor maps in the adult brain. 3) Both adaptive and maladaptive plasticity are possible. Carefully designed rehabilitation promotes recovery from injury by encouraging adaptive connections within lesioned networks. 4) While

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 36

    Lecture 8: Brain Plasticity

    Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology

    Developmental Plasticity
    sticity is any change in neuronal
    nction
    tal brains contain 30-60% more
    n adult primate brains. Corpus
    400% more axons
    station there are widespread
    n type and location of cells and
    rconnections
    tion largely ends at birth but
    n local cortical connectivity
    xposure to particular stimuli
    (i.e.

    Developmental Plasticity
    ct of brain lesions
    re age 1 greatest impairment
    -5 reorganisation of brain function
    + - little or no sparing of function

    The brain was constructed to


    change (Merzenich, 2003)
    ck of plasticity once the sensitive periods of development
    ssed
    assumption that the mature brain is hardwired
    vances in cognitive ability were ascribed to alterations in
    ty between existing neurons
    realisation that plasticity still occurs to some degree
    rom injury, learning, memory
    hood onwards the brain modifies its machinery in a more
    way, refinement.
    representation of behaviorally relevant input

    Exploring Neuroplasticity
    ects of Practice
    covery from Brain Injury

    Sensory and Motor Maps can be


    modified with experience
    nich et al (1980s) Primate Studies

    Pascual-Leone et als (1993)


    Braille readers
    ed motor cortex for representations of
    g finger in Braille readers and controls
    rally

    Findings
    representation of reading finger significantly
    at the expense of representation of other
    n Braille readers only
    n observe changes within a day when Braille
    ced for 4-6 hours (Pascual-Leone et al.,

    ed with piano players & other learning


    nts

    Pascual-Leone et al (1995)
    ng on a specific piano exercise with one
    2 hr/day.
    sed motor output maps after 5 days compared
    rained hand.
    rol group played piano at will for 5 days
    rmediate map

    Enhanced Representational Fidelity

    d, goal-directed practice is key

    Experiment asked Ss to practice piano


    exercises stead of physically

    is doing! Uncovers a fundamental link between


    d action

    sticity changes are inherently


    mpetitive
    a result, they are not always
    positive

    aneous stimulation of 5 fingers


    d differentiation in cortical maps

    Phantom Limbs
    anisation in somatosensory cortex following
    ation / denervation
    erented cortex becomes functionally
    ted by surrounding cortex
    m limbs: awareness of a nonexistent body
    mentally competent individuals
    hs post-op: 90% experience phantom limb
    ons, 67% phantom limb pain (Jensen et al,

    d sensations on the phantom limb when


    nt sites are stimulated
    raphical effect: when moving a stimulus
    adjacent area, speed, distance & direction
    vement are felt in phantom limb

    Examples of labile body image


    a car extension of body boundaries
    of balance following lengthy bus or
    urney
    mage illusions
    er hand illusion

    Changing the body image with illusions


    sed on the Pinocchio illusion
    ckner, 1988) sensation that body
    s change size & shape
    se illusions make use of the fact that
    ration of the skin over the tendon of a
    extensor muscle elicits a vivid
    esthetic illusion that the joint is
    ssively flexing:

    Neural Substrate of Body Size: Illusory


    Feeling of Shrinking of the Waist
    (1988) if vibrated body part touches another body
    sensation arises that the touched part changes
    e:

    Results
    vity in the cortices lining the left
    central sulcus and the anterior part of the
    parietal sulcus reflected the illusion of
    st shrinking, and this activity was
    lated with the reported degree of
    king
    gests that altered body images are
    mputed by higher-order somatosensory
    tal areas, through integration of more
    mentary somatic signals

    Mechanisms underlying
    neuroplasticity
    Change in balance of excitation
    inhibition - can happen very quickly
    ibition is removed, regions of functional
    ence are increased

    Strengthening of exisiting
    ses, e.g. through long-term
    ation (LTP)

    change in neuronal membrane


    xcitability
    anatomical changes, e.g. sprouting
    new axonal terminals & formation of new
    synapses
    omical changes take longertraditionally
    considered as feasible mechanisms of
    icity
    chanisms are not mutually exclusive
    ic changes occur on multiple time
    scales

    Hebbian learning
    nt framework for bridging neural and
    oural levels of analysis
    nciple: two neurons or groups of neurons
    disconnected may become connected if
    re repeatedly activated at the same time
    Cells which fire together wire together
    rsely, if the firing pattern between
    neurons atedly nonsynchronous then the
    ction may become inhibited

    Cells which fire apart wire apart

    Maladaptive connections

    in clinical/rehab settings, not all experience


    od
    me type of stimulation may exaggerate
    ts in a vulnerable circuit
    mpetitor network may be activated which
    er inhibits an already malfunctioning
    ork (Kapur, 1996)
    during rehab lecture.

    Promotion of Adaptive
    connections
    case scenario: to foster adaptive
    ections within a lesioned network and
    mise the possiblity of accidently fostering
    y connections with other networks.
    b et al (1993). Patients suffer
    unilateral kes leading to poor function of
    one upper
    t is the best way to activate the
    unctional limb in view of Hebbian

    Taubs approach:

    scourage patients from using their good limb,


    ep hand at rest in pocket.
    courage use of dysfunctional limb
    ndings: significant improvement in motor
    nction after 2 weeks lasting up to two years
    , postive effects resulting from a specific pattern
    stimulation; activation of one limb combined
    th deactivation of the other

    Neurogenesis in the adult human


    brain?
    et al (1998): new cells emerging in caudate
    and hippocampus
    xperience-dependent: more cell genesis in
    n enriched environments than impoverished
    t al, 1999)
    may reduce occurrence of neurogenesis (e.g.
    et al 1999, Vietnam Veterans)

    Evidence of Structural Plasticity in Adulthood


    e et al. (1997) Experienced taxi drivers found to
    larger right hippocampi than novices and
    rols.

    Negative Plasticity and Cognitive Decline?


    point the flipside of this plasticity is that cells
    connections may atrophy and die due to lack of
    negative plasticity
    to keep the mind active into old-age to prevent
    tive deterioration like Alzheimers Disease and
    ntia
    dons Nuns Studies (1996, 1997, 2000)
    arch on plasticity shows we remain amenable to
    degree of change throughout the lifespan

    Cognitive Enrichment offsets Cognitive Decline

    Coq and Xerri (2001) Neuroscience

    Open questions remain


    re the mechanisms and precise principles
    functional & structural neuroplasticity ?
    versus harmful stimulation?
    parts of cortex equally flexible ? What about
    ical structures ?
    t extent are higher cognitive functions
    to experience dependent plasticity?
    lisation?

    Predictors of recovery?
    Age
    Sparing of frontal lobes
    Awareness of deficit
    esion size
    Extent of rehabilitation
    High IQ

    References
    d Whishaw, Gazzaniga et al:
    Plasticity r
    l Merzenich,
    mis.com/brainsciencepodcast/2009/02/54-merzenich/

    son IH, Murre JJ (1999) Rehabilitation of


    amage: Brain Plasticity and Principles of
    Recovery. Psychological Bulletin
    4-575.
    and Cummins (2009). Chapter on Pascualstudy
    chandran Phantoms in the brain youtube

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