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QLDPsychologyQuick questions
Unit 3: Individual thinking
Quick questions on Neuroplasticity: developmental and adaptive plasticity, synaptic change and recovery from injury (QCE Psychology Unit 3)
4short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is developmental plasticity?Show answer
Developmental plasticity refers to the changes that occur as the brain matures from infancy through adolescence. The young brain is built and refined through several processes.
What is adaptive plasticity?Show answer
Adaptive plasticity refers to the brain's ability to compensate for lost function or to maximise remaining function after damage, and to rewire itself in response to ongoing learning in adulthood. Two key mechanisms are involved.
What is recovery from brain injury?Show answer
The brain's response to injury shows adaptive plasticity in action. After damage, surrounding healthy tissue can reorganise to take on lost functions through sprouting and rerouting. Several factors influence the extent of recovery.
What is plasticity across the lifespan?Show answer
Although plasticity is greatest in early childhood, it continues throughout life. Adults form new connections every time they learn a skill or fact, which is why studying, practising an instrument or learning a language physically changes the brain. The maturation of the prefrontal cortex through synaptic pruning and myelination into the mid-twenties also helps explain adolescent risk-taking, since the regions governing impulse control are still being refined.
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