1. Plasticity and functional recovery
Lesson 2

2. Learning aims and objectives
Localisation of the brain
Explain what is meant by localisation of function
Describe one study investigating localisation of function
Evaluate the extent to which brain functions are localised
Plasticity and functional recovery
Define what is meant by plasticity
Outline and evaluate research into plasticity of the brain
You could have an essay for these topics

3. Homework Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI)
Electroencephalogram (EEGs)
Event Related Potential (ERP)
Post-Mortem examinations
Give student mock back – mark scheme will be available on the website

4. Starter… Label the brain

5. Using the arrows for guidance, can you label the areas of the brain
Auditory area
Broca’s area
Motor area
Somatosensory area
Visual area
Wernicke’s area
Occipital
lobe
Frontal Lobe
Parietal Lobe
Temporal Lobe

6. Research to support/refute localisation
Describe one study in which localisation of brain function was investigated. Include details of what the psychologists did and what was found. (3 marks) There is research using brain scans to support a theory of localisation. Peterson et al used brain scans to demonstrate how Wernicke's area was active during a listening task and Broca’s area was active during a reading task. Peterson et al findings support a theory of localisation as the findings highlight specific areas of the brain having specific and different functions. Point There is research using brain scans to support a theory of localisation. Evidence Peterson et al used brain scans to demonstrate how Wernicke's area was active during a listening task and Broca’s area was active during a reading task. Link Peterson et al findings support a theory of localisation as the findings highlight specific areas of the brain having specific and different functions.

7. Individually…
Describe one study in which localisation of brain function was investigated. Include details of what the psychologists did and what was found. (3 marks) Ensure you use Point, Evidence, Link back
Extension: find someone else in the classroom who described a different study and share your descriptions.
Brain scan evidence of Localisation
Petersen et al (1988) used brain scans to demonstrate how Wenicke’s area was active during a listening task and Broca’s area was active during a reading task. These findings support a theory of localisation as the findings evidence specific areas of the brain having specific and different functions.
Neurosurgical evidence
Surgically removing or destroying areas of the brain to control behaviour was developed in the 1950s. Controversially neurosurgery is still used today to treat extreme cases of psychological disorders. Dougherty et al (2002) reported on 44 OCD patients who had undergone a cingulotomy which is a procedure that lesions the cingulate gyrus. Findings showed a third of patients significantly improved and a further 14% showed partial improvement. The success of these procedures strongly supports that the symptoms and behaviours of mental disorders are localised.

8. 5 minute essay plan
Construct a bullet point essay plan for the following
“ Discuss the extent to which brain functions are localised. Refer to evidence in you answer”
(16 marks)
Essay plan

9. Essay Plan- The Extent to which brain functions are localised
Ao1 Outline- (6 marks = 6 points)
Localisation vs holistic theory - define
Hemispheres of brain (two) and Cerebral Cortex (subdivided into 4 lobes- frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal)
Frontal= motor which controls movement
Parietal= somatosensory which represents sensory info
Occipital= visual cortex sent information from the eye
Temporal= auditory analysing speech- Broca and Wernickes areas
A03 Evaluate (potential content) (10 marks)
Remember- 3 good elaborative points are better than 5 weaker points
Supportive research- Case studies (Phineas Gage/ Clive Wearing)
Supportive research- Neurological studies (Peterson et al)
Evaluation of research- Case study methods   or lab experiments  
Challenging research- Lashey/ Phineas Gage?
Challenging theory- Plasticity
Application- Mental health disorders/ Memory

10. 16 mark essay
“ Discuss the extent to which brain functions are localised. Refer to evidence in you answer” (16 marks) As additional homework, I want you to write up the essay. You MUST time yourself. 15 minutes

11. Plasticity and functional recovery of the brain.

12. Define the following terms:
Aphasia
Aphasia is a condition that affects the brain and leads to problems using language correctly.
Production/expressive aphasia
difficulties with expressing language
Receptive aphasia
difficulties with understanding language
Global aphasia
difficulties with understanding and expressing language.

13. Starter Read and discuss
Brain plasticity, also known as neuroplasticity, is a term that refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience. When people say that the brain possesses plasticity, they are not suggesting that the brain is similar to plastic. Neuro represents neurons, the nerve cells that are the building blocks of the brain and nervous system, and plasticity refers to the brain's malleability.
Up until the 1960s, researchers believed that changes in the brain could only take place during infancy and childhood. By early adulthood, it was believed that the brain's physical structure was mostly permanent.
Modern research has demonstrated that the brain continues to create new neural pathways and alter existing ones in order to adapt to new experiences, learn new information and create new memories.
It is thought that the brain has a high level of plasticity up until your mid twenties. How can we apply this knowledge to make life better?

14. ‘Your brain is plastic’
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What is meant by the term ‘brain plasticity?
When do most changes in the brain take place?
What does the term ‘synaptic pruning’ refer to?

15. What is Brain Plasticity?
1. The brain can change and develop as a result of our experience and learning. It can recover after damage through trauma where functions may be distributed to other areas of the brain (argument against localisation)
2. The brain changes throughout the lifespan. (During infancy, the brain experiences a rapid growth in the number of synaptic connections there are to other neurons, peaking at around 15,000 at age 2-3 years.
3. Synaptic pruning: connections that we don’t use are deleted and connections that we use a lot are strengthened.

16. Brain Plasticity
The brains ability to modify its own structure and function as a result of experience

17. Research into Brain Plasticity
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(Colin Blakemore does terrible things to kittens)
Evaluation
Research method: As this was a laboratory experiment, the kittens’ environments were highly controlled and therefore causal conclusions can be made. The study has levels of internal validity - we can infer that the IV (environment) caused visual impairment and neurophysiological damage (DV). The study could also be easily replicated in order to test the reliability of the findings (although this wasn’t done).
Ethical considerations: Exposing animals to a dark room for two weeks and then up until 5 months of age a visually depriving environment, could be considered to be psychologically harmful for the kittens. However, Blakemore and Cooper reported no distress from the animals. Furthermore, the study complied with the ethical guidelines for animal research. It could also be argued that any harm to the animals were outweighed by the usefulness of this research.
Sampling bias: Blakemore and Cooper would argue that due to some physiological similarities between cats and humans, we can generalise results to humans. However, critics would argue against this due to obvious differences between the species. Furthermore, as the sample was very small (only 2 cats’ neurophysiology was examined) we may not be even able to generalise to other cats!

18. Research into Brain Plasticity
Maguire et al (2000) studied the brains of London taxi drivers and found that there was a significantly greater volume of grey matter in the posterior hippocampus than in a matched control group. This part of the brain is associated with spatial and navigational skills in humans and other animals. Part of a London taxi driver’s training involves taking a test known as ‘the knowledge’, which assesses their ability to recall the names and locations of the streets in the city. The results of the study suggest that the learning the drivers undertake as part of their training alters the structure of their brains. It was also noted that there was a positive correlation between how great the volume of grey matter was and how long they had been in the job.
Task: Read through the piece of research. How does Maguire et al (2000) research support brain plasticity?

19. Maguire Study

20. Exam focus Define what is meant by plasticity of the brain (3 marks)
Brain plasticity refers to the fact that the brain has the ability to change and adapt as a result of learning and experience (1 mark). This includes the ability to adapt, following damage through trauma (2 marks), where functions may be redistributed to other areas of the brain (3 marks)

21. Functional Recovery
The recovery of abilities and mental processes that have been affected as a result of brain injury or disease.

22. What do you think ‘functional recovery of the brain after trauma’ is?
The brain is often able to recover from trauma that is caused by physical injury or illness (e.g. stroke).
Unaffected areas of the brain are often able to adapt and compensate for the areas that have been lost or damaged.
Healthy brain areas may take over the functions of the areas that have been affected.
Neuroscientists suggest that this process can occur quickly after the trauma, but then slow down after several weeks or months.
Task: In your own words, define what is meant by functional recovery
This is another example of neural plasticity.

23. Functional Recovery after Trauma
Physical trauma – injury to the body
Cerebral haemorrhage – Blood vessel bursts and areas supplied with that vessel die.
Cerebral Ischaemia – Blood vessel blocked by a clot or thickening of the vessel. Areas supplied will die.
Viral or bacterial infections

24. How Does Brain Recovery Work?
The brain is able to reorganise and rewire itself by forming new synaptic connections close to the area of damage. Secondary neural pathways that would not usually be used to carry out certain functions are activated to enable functioning to continue, often in the same way as before. Support for this comes from structural changes that are known to take place in the brain. Examples are:
Task: use your packs/ internet to write a brief description of the ways the body can replace axon function on the brain after trauma
Axonal sprouting:
Denervation supersensitivity
Recruitment of homologous (similar) areas
Find on your handout a piece of research to support functional recovery

25. What factors affect recovery of the brain after trauma
Task: Read the research on your handout. What does the research suggest are the factors that affect recovery of the brain. Tauber: Age of the trauma – Functional plasticity reduces with age. Therefore the capacity for neural reorganisation is much greater in children than adults. Ratcliffe: Gender affects recovery. Overall the results suggest a better recovery for women.

26. What can be done to help functional recovery?
Task: Find information and write up a short summary of the following:
Rehabilitation
Drugs
Transplants

27. Girl with only half a brain

28. Outline and evaluate one study that investigates brain plasticity (6)
Plenary
Outline and evaluate one study that investigates brain plasticity (6)

29. Model Answer
One study investigating brain plasticity is Maguire et al (2000). In this study Maguire examined the brains of London taxi drivers using MRI scans. She compared the brains with a group of matched controls. Maguire found that the hippocampi of the taxi drivers differed from that of the controls as their posterior hippocampus was larger. It is thought that this is because learning the ‘knowledge’ causes reorganisation of the brain and the area responsible for navigation and spatial skills becomes larger. This study was a highly controlled investigation that used scientific methods to examine the brain. The use of MRI scans allowed for easy comparison between the groups and provided objective measurements of the hippocampus. In the study Maguire only used male participants. This means that the results cannot be generalised to female taxi drivers and so is an unrepresentative sample. We can also argue that, because the sample were all left handed, we cannot generalise the results to left handed taxi drivers as the organisation of their brains may be different. A final point is that although Maguire used scientific methods to examine the brain, the research method was quasi experimental. This is because Maguire could not randomly allocate the participants to the two groups. This lack of control over the independent variable means that other factors (rather than being a taxi driver) may have influenced the results.