Neuro Plasticity In The Recovery Process
Neural Plasticity Paper
Dijante Fowler, Aloysius S Paasewe, Lotonya Lodman, Amanda Kensinger
PSY/340
June 6, 2015
Stephanie Sencil-White, PsyD, PhD, LCSW
Neural Plasticity in the Recovery Process
Introduction
Neuro plasticity refers to the ability that the brain has to rewire or reorganize by creating new neural pathways to adapt, as it needs. Neuro stands for the nerve cells or neurons as well as the nervous system. Plastic is to mold, sculpt or modify. The brain builds new neural pathways as it is challenged by new information from the environment. Regaining body function due to a stroke is very possible from neuro plasticity shaping techniques. For example, the stroke patient must engage in physical, occupational, and speech …show more content…
Stephanie’s brain urgently needs healthy neurons and a large amount of synaptic connections in order to recover these functions. According to "Stroke-Rehab" (2015), “Neuro plasticity after a stroke allows the brain to rebuild these neurological connections and compensate for dysfunctional information pathways”.
Stephanie has experienced a stroke; we all know that brain damage has been done. The cause of a stroke or cerebrovascular accident, (this is another name for stroke) can come from blood clots or some other obstruction in the artery. The stroke has damage neurons from the overstimulation by blocking glutamate synapses, and calcium entry. Tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) is a drug that the doctor will give to a person who have had a stroke, this drugs helps to break up blood clots (Barinaga, 1996). To get the best outcome the person needs to get to the hospital fast, within three hours or less after the stroke. There are a catch to taking tissue plasminogen active drug, this drug is useful to when a person have had an ischemia stroke, if an person have had an hemorrhage stroke this drug might make the situation worse. The doctors have to the patients to do an MRI scan; the scan will be able to tell the difference of what kind of …show more content…
Research is still needed in the area of plasticity and stokes rehabilitation. Brain reorganization can occur, but the rehab treatment that has been developed is limited. However, the knowledge of repetitive tasks and neural plasticity can give a stroke patient hope for the future. Though there are limitations to recovery, with intensive physical, occupational and speech therapies, a patient can regain some of what was lost. The human brain is an awe-inspiring mechanism with endless possibilities to discover.
References
1. Cramer, S. C., Moore, C. I., Finklestein, S. P., Rosen, B. R., (200) A Pilot Study of Somatotopic Mapping After Cortical Infarct. Stroke 31: 668-671
2. Davenport, R., & Martin, D. (2000). Neurological emergencies: Acute stroke. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 68(3), 277-88. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195720379?accountid=458
3. Ding, Y., & Zwagerman, N. T. (2009). Research progress in stroke therapy. Neurological Research, 31(4), 329-330. doi:10.1179/174313209X443964
4. Minagar, A., & Kelley, R. E. (2009). Translation of stroke research into stroke therapy. Neurological Research, 31(8), 773-774.
Dijante Fowler, Aloysius S Paasewe, Lotonya Lodman, Amanda Kensinger
PSY/340
June 6, 2015
Stephanie Sencil-White, PsyD, PhD, LCSW
Neural Plasticity in the Recovery Process
Introduction
Neuro plasticity refers to the ability that the brain has to rewire or reorganize by creating new neural pathways to adapt, as it needs. Neuro stands for the nerve cells or neurons as well as the nervous system. Plastic is to mold, sculpt or modify. The brain builds new neural pathways as it is challenged by new information from the environment. Regaining body function due to a stroke is very possible from neuro plasticity shaping techniques. For example, the stroke patient must engage in physical, occupational, and speech …show more content…
Stephanie’s brain urgently needs healthy neurons and a large amount of synaptic connections in order to recover these functions. According to "Stroke-Rehab" (2015), “Neuro plasticity after a stroke allows the brain to rebuild these neurological connections and compensate for dysfunctional information pathways”.
Stephanie has experienced a stroke; we all know that brain damage has been done. The cause of a stroke or cerebrovascular accident, (this is another name for stroke) can come from blood clots or some other obstruction in the artery. The stroke has damage neurons from the overstimulation by blocking glutamate synapses, and calcium entry. Tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) is a drug that the doctor will give to a person who have had a stroke, this drugs helps to break up blood clots (Barinaga, 1996). To get the best outcome the person needs to get to the hospital fast, within three hours or less after the stroke. There are a catch to taking tissue plasminogen active drug, this drug is useful to when a person have had an ischemia stroke, if an person have had an hemorrhage stroke this drug might make the situation worse. The doctors have to the patients to do an MRI scan; the scan will be able to tell the difference of what kind of …show more content…
Research is still needed in the area of plasticity and stokes rehabilitation. Brain reorganization can occur, but the rehab treatment that has been developed is limited. However, the knowledge of repetitive tasks and neural plasticity can give a stroke patient hope for the future. Though there are limitations to recovery, with intensive physical, occupational and speech therapies, a patient can regain some of what was lost. The human brain is an awe-inspiring mechanism with endless possibilities to discover.
References
1. Cramer, S. C., Moore, C. I., Finklestein, S. P., Rosen, B. R., (200) A Pilot Study of Somatotopic Mapping After Cortical Infarct. Stroke 31: 668-671
2. Davenport, R., & Martin, D. (2000). Neurological emergencies: Acute stroke. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 68(3), 277-88. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195720379?accountid=458
3. Ding, Y., & Zwagerman, N. T. (2009). Research progress in stroke therapy. Neurological Research, 31(4), 329-330. doi:10.1179/174313209X443964
4. Minagar, A., & Kelley, R. E. (2009). Translation of stroke research into stroke therapy. Neurological Research, 31(8), 773-774.