Biopsychology
- Created by: BethPilsbury
- Created on: 12-11-20 20:09
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- Biopsychology
- Brain plasticity- change and adapt as a result of experience
- During infancy brain had rapid growth in synaptic connections, peaking 15,000 by 2-3yrs(Gopnick et al).2x as many in an adult brain. Rarely used connections deleted, frequently used strengthened-synaptic pruning
- Recent research suggests at any time in life existing neural connections can change, or new ones form as a result of learning
- Evaluation-Kemperman, enriched enviro could after no.of neurons in brain. Found increased no.of new neurons in rats in complex enviros vs lab cages. Complex enviros had increase neurons in hippocampus(navigation)
- Maguire et al- brains on taxi drivers, more grey matter in hippocampusthan control, part of trading in take tests to recall routes, longer they’d been on the job= more pronounced structural difference
- Longitudinal studies show direct changes-Hyde et al, 15 months music lessons in 6 y/o, signif increase in brain tissue in motor and auditory areas,biggestchange-biggest improvement
- Zattore-reviewed effects of music training, greater change in children vs adult- plasticity reduces with age
- Functional recovery of brain after trauma- areas able to adapt to compensate for damaged areas
- Neuroscientists suggest process can quickly occur after trauma(spontaneous recovery), slows down after weeks or months, may require rehab therapy to further recovery
- Brain rewirs by forming new synaptic connections close to area of damage, secondary neural pathways not typically used are activated /unmasked to enable functioning as before (Doidge).supported by:
- Axonal sprouting- growth of new nerve endings, connect with undamaged nerve cells to form new neuronal pathways
- Neural unmasking:Wall- identified dormant synapses in brain(exist anatomically but ineffective), increasing input(like when damaged) opens dormant synapses, opens connections to brain not active, develops new structures
- Recruitment of homologous areas- e.g. if Broca’s damaged right side equivalent would carry out its functions-over time may shift back to left
- Evaluation- age differences-abilities thought to be fixed in childhood can be modified in adults with intense training. Elbert- capacity for neural reorganisation greater in children, shown by extended practical adults require for change
- Educational attainment and functional recovery- Schneider- ps with collie education 7x more likely vs didn’t finish high school to be disability free one t=year after brain injury. Concluded cog reserve could be factor in neural adaptation
- Ways of investigating the brain
- FMRI - changes in blood oxygenation and flow, activity in specific parts.more active=more oxygen and blood flow directed. Procures 3D images of areas involved in mental functioning
- Strengths- doesn’t rely on radiation, non invasive and risk free. High spatial resolution (1mm), clear pic of brain activity
- Limitations- expensive, poor temporal resolution (5sec time lag), measures blood flow now neuron activity
- EEG-eclectical activity via electrodes on skull cap, brainwave patterns from actions of neurons, unusual arrhythmic pattern- neurological abnormalities
- Strengths- useful in diagnosis e.g. epilepsy, used with children for extended periods on time with new wireless ones (can get on with their lives, high temporal resolution (millisecond))
- Limitations- generalised info received, cant pinpoint exact source of neural activity, cant distinguish between activities in adjacent locations
- ERPs- small voltage changes triggered by specific events,require s many presentations of stimulus, cancels out background neural ‘noise’. Waves in first 100milliseconds=sensory, after=cognitive
- Strengths- measure neural activity accurately, great temporal resolution
- Limitations- lack of standardisation-difficult to confirm findings, not easy to completely eliminate background’noise’
- Post-mortems- analysis after death, abnormal areas compared to a neurotypical brain
- Strengths - Broca and Wernick- relied on post-mortems to establish links between language, brain and behaviour decades before scan possible. Help generate hypothesis for further study
- Limitations- causation- observed damage may not be linked to particular behaviour, contribution mainly historic e.g. Broca rsearch, with scans we now know damage was underestimated
- FMRI - changes in blood oxygenation and flow, activity in specific parts.more active=more oxygen and blood flow directed. Procures 3D images of areas involved in mental functioning
- Brain plasticity- change and adapt as a result of experience
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