Download neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity
Criterion B
1.
Plasticity: brain's ability to alter its own structure following changes within the body or the external environment
2.
The key to learning is memory
3.
Process of learning alters the structure of our brains at a cellular level
4.
Brain cells are always changing connections between each other
5.
Each neurons consists of a central body with dendrites and an axon stemming from it
6.
Neuron transmits signals to each other through the axon and receives information through dendrites via synapses
a.
Synaptic pruning: brain’s way of removing connections that are no longer needed/ winnowing down: unused
connections
7.
The structure of your synapses have been found to change with more stronger dendrites growing to reinforce them :
short term memory
8.
Neurons forge entirely new synapses overtime when learning important stuff: long term potentiation
a.
Neural arborization: neurons form new dendritic trees and branches to create new synapses
Case Study: Rosenweig, Bennet and Diamond
Criterion C
1.
A: the aim of the study…
a.
2.
To investigate whether environmental factors affected the development of neurons in the cerebral cortex.
P: the procedure was done by…
a.
There were three conditions: impoverished condition (IC), control condition (CC) and enriched condition (EC).
b.
In the IC, rats were placed in individual cages. In the CC, three rats were put in a cage. The EC had toys and
many rats in a cage to play with.
c.
3.
a.
4.
The rats were killed to study their brain’s anatomy.
F: the study shows that…
The rats from the EC had bigger and heavier cerebral cortexes and more neuron connections.
C: the study demonstrates neuroplasticity through..
a.
The environment has an effect on the development of neurons.
b.
Intellectual and social stimulation are important for the development of the brain.
Criterion D: three point
High reliability + causation → the study was an experiment and was carried out in a
controlled environment. → Therefore, the study was easily replicable and reliable.
A cause and effect relationship could also be established because of the controlled environment.
Case Study: Maguire et al
Criterion C
5.
A: the aim of the study…
a.
To see whether the brains of London taxi drivers were different because of the training they have to undergo
(they have to build a mental map of the city).
6.
P: the procedure was done by…
a.
A quasi-experiment was done where brains of 16 male London taxi drivers were scanned and compared to 50
males who didn’t drive taxis (control group).
7.
b.
Controls were taken from an MRI database
c.
The sample had a range of ages in order for age to not be a confounding variable
F: the study shows that…
a.
The posterior hippocampi of taxi drivers were larger than the control group and the anterior hippocampus
were smaller.
b.
8.
There was a correlation between volume of right posterior hippocampus and time spent as a taxi drivers
C: the study demonstrates neuroplasticity through..
a.
Extensive practice with spatial navigation affects the hippocampus.
b.
This could also mean the posterior hippocampus is involved when recalling previously learnt spatial
information.
c.
The anterior is used to encode new spatial information.
Criterion D: three point
1.
Only males were used for the study→. although most London taxi drivers are
males, it’s difficult to generalize the findings → (gender bias)
2.
No cause-effect relationship → Since the study was a quasi-experiment, a
cause-effect relationship couldn’t be established because the independent
variable (brain of taxi drivers) wasn’t manipulated but was naturally
occurring.