Plasticity and different forms of plasticity, Science

Assignment Help:
The functional organization of the human brain—for instance that the temporal lobe processes auditory and occipital cortex visual information—is largely not hard-wired, unlike in some other species. Rather, the functional organization of the brain that we see in neuroimaging studies, or that which is reflected in the effects of focal brain damage, reflects the way that the brain has adapted to the environmental demands and tasks of the individual that for the most part stay fairly constant throughout the life. Indeed, it can be argued that functional organization of the brain is the end result of an adaptive process, reflecting all of the skills that one has learned to best cope with one’s environment. Consequently, as long as the environment and the tasks and goals of the individual stay the same also the functional organization of the brain remains stable.

Upon changes in the environment, however, such as when moving to another country with entirely different culture and language, changes in the sensory inputs to the brain (that occurs when one of the senses is damaged such as blindness or deafness), or when the functional neuronal networks are themselves altered by for example stroke or some other type of brain damage, there is a sudden need for the brain to re-adapt. As the result of this, there are changes in the functional organization of the brain, with some of these changes occurring surprisingly quickly, in a matter of minutes, and some changes taking place over more extended periods of days, weeks, and months. In some cases these changes are extensive, and in some other cases they are rather subtle. These adaptive changes in functional brain organization are called plasticity. There are multiple forms of plasticity that occur in the brain

There are different forms of plasticity

Different forms of plasticity can be defined based on the reason why re-adaptation is required and by the developmental stage—whether it is a developing brain or an adult brain that is learning or re-learning. Indeed, the developing brain is far more plastic than the adult brain. Developmental plasticity refers to the rapid functional organization that occurs when the developing nervous system starts to adapt to it’s environment, for instance, there are specific periods, called sensitive periods, during which acquiring certain skills such as language is easier than during other times.


Another class of plasticity studies have focused on characterizing robust reorganization in the functional architecture of the brain upon loosing sensory input due to, for instance, blindness, deafness, or loosing of a limb. This is also called activity-dependent plasticity, as the stimulus-related activity changes drastically. A third type of plasticity studies were introduced– perceptual or sensory learning, such as when learning to discriminate the phonemes of a foreign language, is made possible by very fine functional reorganization that takes place in the sensory cortices.


There is also a vast body of literature describing plasticity that follows damage to the neural networks themselves. Following brain damage, the challenge faced by the nervous system is to re-adapt with the remaining neural tissue to coping in the environment after previously learned skills and processing capacity are suddenly lost. In addition to these different types of long-lasting or even permanent plastic changes, rapid (or short-term) plasticity refers to functional re-organization that occurs very quickly, in a matter of seconds or minutes. As was already described in Chapter 6, short-term plasticity supports attentional filtering of task-relevant stimuli. What makes short-term plasticity especially interesting is that some of the rapid changes in neuronal tuning seem to linger, thus making perceptual/sensory learning possible. In the following, these different types of plasticity are described in more detail.

Related Discussions:- Plasticity and different forms of plasticity

Objectives of electricity and water in a laboratory, Objectives After c...

Objectives After completing this exercise you should be able to: 1. Locate the source and control points of gas/electricity/water supply in the lab you have visited, 2. D

Decomposers in a temperate deciduous forest, What are decomposers in a temp...

What are decomposers in a temperate deciduous forest? In the Deciduous Forest, many decomposers that are living there contain fungi, bacteria, and yes, even worms.

Explain specific acquired immunity, Specific Acquired Immunity Body in ...

Specific Acquired Immunity Body in the long run develops specific immune mechanisms for each species. These mechanisms are not innate but are acquired after exposure to the spe

Radiation, Radiation: High doses of radiation are very harmful for huma...

Radiation: High doses of radiation are very harmful for human health. Do you know about the disaster ceated by  the first atomic bombs which were exploded on two cities of Japa

Explain fungiform papillae, Explain Fungiform papillae: These are. situ...

Explain Fungiform papillae: These are. situated mainly at the tip and the edges of the tongue. They have a flat, rounded head like fungus. The fungiform papillae are rich in bl

Determine the bravais lattice of the element, An x-ray diffractometer recor...

An x-ray diffractometer recorder chart for an element that has either the BCC or the FCC crystal structure shows diffraction peaks at the following 2θ angles: 40 0 , 58 0 , 73 0 ,

How different pressures of air force water from a container, How different ...

How different pressures of air force water from a container Fit a test tube with a two-hole stopper. By one hole place a length of glass tube which extends into the test tube a

Explain the reflex control - movements of gall bladder, Explain the Reflex ...

Explain the Reflex control - Movements of Gall Bladder Reflex control: During digestion, reflex stimulation of gall bladder takes place. Entry of acid into the duodenum reflex

Kwashiorkar, Kwashiorkar: This disease was first recognised in  1935,  ...

Kwashiorkar: This disease was first recognised in  1935,  in African children and it  is named from two words of an African dialect, meaning first and second, i.e.  sickness th

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd