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brain plasticity - Coggle Diagram
brain plasticity
synaptic pruning
axon pruning
process of synapse elimination
early childhood-onset puberty
can be due to life experiences
e.g learning a new skill
ability to change is important for brain development/behaviour
experience dependent plasticity
neurogenesis
new neurons grown
responsible for populating brain w/ neurons in infancy
also happens in adulthood
experience dependent plasticty
computer gaming
kuhn et al
benefits to playing super mario 30 mins a day
over the course of 2 months
conclusion
increase in neural connections
increase in grey matter
responsible for key behaviours
working memory
planning
motor performance
synaptogenesis
taxi driving
maguire et al
studied brains of london taxi drivers
used MRI
control group of non-taxi drivers
conclusion
found more grey matter in posterior hippocampus than the control group
taxi drivers had more spatial + navigational skills
longer they had done the job- more pronounced the structural difference
positive correlation
astronauts
spending months in a space station
koppelmans et al
studied effect of no gravity on brain
27 astronauts scanned before/after mission
2 weeks- 6 months in space
cerebellum shrunk (coordination)
positively correlated with time in space
swollen motor and somatosensory regions
conclusion
structural and functional changes
brain is actively adapting to microgravity of space
processes sensory info
performs motor tasks differently
experience expectant plasticity
in infancy
brain experiences rapid growth in number of synaptic neurons
peaks @ approx. 15,000 at age 2/3
synaptogenesis
expolsion in synaptic connections
conclusions
aging
rarely used connections strengthened
synaptic/ axon pruning
brain plasticity in infancy/childhood
experience expectant plasticity
synaptogenesis
new synapses formed
occur throughout life
infancy has an explosion of synaptic formation
exuberant synaptogenesis
the brains ability to change and adapt (functionally + physically) as a result of experience/new learning