What is meant by brain plasticity?

The brain's ability to change and adapt its structure and function throughout life as a result of experience and learning.

How do experiences change the brain at a synaptic level?

Frequently used synaptic connections are strengthened, while rarely used connections are lost through synaptic pruning.

What is synaptic pruning?

The process by which rarely used neural connections are eliminated and frequently used ones are strengthened, refining the brain's wiring.

What did Maguire's study of London taxi drivers demonstrate about plasticity?

Taxi drivers had more grey matter in the posterior hippocampus than controls, and this increased with time in the job, showing experience physically changes the brain.

What is functional recovery?

A form of plasticity in which the brain transfers functions from damaged areas to undamaged areas following injury or trauma.

When does functional recovery typically occur?

It can happen quickly after trauma (spontaneous recovery) and then slows down, often requiring rehabilitative therapy to continue.

AQA A-Level Psychology 7182

Social Influence

Topic overview Types of conformity and explanations for conformity Conformity to social roles: Zimbardo's prison study Explanations for obedience Resistance to social influence Minority influence Social influence and social change

Memory

Topic overview The multi-store model of memory Types of long-term memory The working memory model Explanations for forgetting Factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony

Attachment

Topic overview Caregiver-infant interactions: reciprocity and interactional synchrony Schaffer's stages of attachment Multiple attachments and the role of the father Animal studies of attachment Explanations of attachment Ainsworth's Strange Situation and types of attachment Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation and effects of institutionalisation Influence of early attachment on relationships Cultural variations in attachment

Approaches in Psychology

Topic overview Origins of Psychology: Wundt, introspection and the emergence of Psychology as a science Learning approaches The cognitive approach The biological approach The psychodynamic approach Humanistic Psychology Comparison of approaches

Biopsychology

Topic overview Divisions of the nervous system Structure and function of neurons and synaptic transmission The endocrine system The fight or flight response Ways of studying the brain Localisation of function and hemispheric lateralisation Plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma Biological rhythms: circadian, infradian and ultradian

Clinical Psychology and Mental Health

Topic overview Definitions in the field of mental health Characteristics of phobias, depression and OCD Behavioural approach to explaining and treating phobias Cognitive approach to explaining and treating depression Biological approach to explaining and treating OCD

Research Methods

Topic overview Experimental method Observational techniques Self-report techniques Correlations Content analysis Case studies

Scientific Processes

Topic overview Aims and hypotheses Sampling Pilot studies Experimental designs Observational design Questionnaire construction and design of interviews Variables Control Demand characteristics and investigator effects Ethics Peer review Implications of psychological research for the economy Reliability Validity Features of science Reporting psychological investigations

Quantitative and Qualitative Data

Topic overview Quantitative and qualitative data; the distinction between qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques Primary and secondary data, including meta-analysis Descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion Presentation and display of quantitative data: graphs, tables, scattergrams, bar charts Distributions: normal and skewed distributions Introduction to statistical testing; the sign test

Data Handling and Analysis

Topic overview Primary and secondary data Descriptive statistics Presentation and display of quantitative data Distributions Analysis and interpretation of correlation Levels of measurement Coding in content analysis

Inferential Testing

Topic overview The sign test Probability and significance Factors affecting the choice of statistical test

Issues and Debates in Psychology

Topic overview Gender and culture in Psychology Free will and determinism The nature-nurture debate Holism and reductionism Idiographic and nomothetic approaches Ethical implications of research and social sensitivity

RelationshipsOption 1

Topic overview Factors affecting attraction in romantic relationships Evolutionary explanations for partner preferences Theories of romantic relationships Online relationships Parasocial relationships

GenderOption 1

Topic overview Sex, gender, sex-role stereotypes and androgyny Chromosomes and hormones in biological sex Cognitive explanations of gender development Psychodynamic explanation of gender development Social learning theory as applied to gender development Gender incongruence

Cognition and DevelopmentOption 1

Topic overview Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development Piaget's theory of cognitive development Baillargeon's explanation of early infant abilities The development of social cognition

SchizophreniaOption 2

Topic overview Symptoms of schizophrenia and issues in diagnosis Biological explanations for schizophrenia Psychological explanations for schizophrenia Drug therapy for schizophrenia Psychological therapies for schizophrenia The interactionist approach to schizophrenia

Eating BehaviourOption 2

Topic overview Explanations for food preferences Neural and hormonal mechanisms in eating behaviour Biological explanations for anorexia nervosa Psychological explanations for anorexia nervosa Biological explanations for obesity Psychological explanations for obesity

StressOption 2

Topic overview The physiology of stress The role of stress in illness Sources of stress Measuring stress Individual differences in stress Managing and coping with stress

AggressionOption 3

Topic overview Neural and hormonal mechanisms in aggression Genetic factors in aggression Ethological and evolutionary explanations of aggression Social psychological explanations of human aggression Institutional aggression in prisons Media influences on aggression

Forensic PsychologyOption 3

Topic overview Offender profiling Biological explanations of offending behaviour Psychological explanations of offending behaviour Dealing with offending behaviour

AddictionOption 3

Topic overview Describing addiction Risk factors in the development of addiction Reducing addiction Prochaska's six-stage model of behaviour change Theory of planned behaviour as applied to reducing addiction

Explanations for Nicotine AddictionOption 3

Topic overview Brain neurochemistry, including the role of dopamine Learning theory as applied to nicotine addiction, including reference to cue reactivity

Explanations for Gambling AddictionOption 3

Topic overview Learning theory as applied to gambling, including reference to partial and variable reinforcement Cognitive theory as applied to gambling, including reference to cognitive bias

Biopsychology

Plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma

4 things to know
Paper 2

Overview

How the brain reorganises in response to experience, Maguire's taxi driver research, the mechanisms behind recovery after injury, and what affects how fully someone recovers.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What is brain plasticity?

Study

What did Maguire's taxi driver study demonstrate?

Process

By what mechanisms does the brain recover function after injury?

Evaluation

What affects how fully someone recovers after brain trauma?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is meant by brain plasticity?
Model answer
The brain's ability to change and adapt its structure and function throughout life as a result of experience and learning.
2
How do experiences change the brain at a synaptic level?
Model answer
Frequently used synaptic connections are strengthened, while rarely used connections are lost through synaptic pruning.
3
What is synaptic pruning?
Model answer
The process by which rarely used neural connections are eliminated and frequently used ones are strengthened, refining the brain's wiring.
4
What did Maguire's study of London taxi drivers demonstrate about plasticity?
Model answer
Taxi drivers had more grey matter in the posterior hippocampus than controls, and this increased with time in the job, showing experience physically changes the brain.
5
What is functional recovery?
Model answer
A form of plasticity in which the brain transfers functions from damaged areas to undamaged areas following injury or trauma.
6
When does functional recovery typically occur?
Model answer
It can happen quickly after trauma (spontaneous recovery) and then slows down, often requiring rehabilitative therapy to continue.

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Social Influence

Memory

Attachment

Approaches in Psychology

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