Preview

Psy 340 Neural Plasticity Paper

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1336 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Psy 340 Neural Plasticity Paper
Neural Plasticity Paper
Cassandra Hamel, Christina Scott, Cody Murphy, Deserai Knight
PSY/ 340
March 30, 2015
LaWanda Evans
Neural Plasticity Paper
In this week’s team project we discuss the topic of neural plasticity. Plasticity can be defined as the adjustment of the nervous system to changes in the external milieu (through sensory inputs) or internal milieu (through the effects of damage to the system) and appears to be mainly a property of the cerebral cortex rather than subcortical structures (Huttenlocher, 2002). The participant that we decided to educate is Jamie who has experienced an amputation. The main areas we will expound upon with Jamie are what happens to the brain and body after an amputation, the rehabilitation process …show more content…
According to Ramachandran, and Rogers-Ramachandran (2000), someone who has experienced a loss of their arm experienced dual sensations seemingly because there are two separate points that are activated on the cortical map that can be seen by an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). Ramachandran, and Rogers-Ramachandran (2000), believes that there can be an initial “overshoot” during the brains remapping. They believe because of the irregular input from the loss limb to the face region will dominate the perception and mask or overpower the “real” …show more content…
R. (2002). Neural plasticity: The effects of environment on the development of the cerebralcortex. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Ramachandran, V. S. and Rogers-Ramachandran, D., (2000, March). Phantom Limbs and Neural Plasticity. Neurological Review, 57(), 317-320. Retrieved from http://www.neurosciences.us/courses/systems/CentralPlas/Ramachandran_2000.pdf
Limb pain. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/phantom-limb-pain www.vascular.co.nz. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.vascular.co.nz/Amputation%20surgery.htm
Resources, Inc. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/863560993?accountid=35812
WebMD. (2015, March 18). Pain management health center. Phantom
Westlake, K. P., & Byl, N. N. (2013). Neural plasticity and implications for hand rehabilitation after neurological insult. Journal Of Hand Therapy, 26(2), 87-93. doi:10.1016/j.jht.2012.12.009
353.6 phantom limb syndrome. (2011). (). Capitola: Timely Data
Weiss T., Miltner, WH., Huonker, R., Friedel, R., Schmidt, I., Taub, E., (2000, September). Rapid functional plasticity of the somatosensory cortex after finger amputation. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 134(2), 199-203. Retrieved from
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Phantom Limb Case Studies
    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Phantom Limb Case Studies

    the phantom limb. It is estimated that more than 80% of patients with partial or total loss of a limb…

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Phantom Limb Research Paper
    • 991 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Phantom Limb Research Paper

    Imaging scans like an MRI or a PET, show parts of the brain that were neurologically connected to the nerves of the amputated limb having activity when the person feels phantom pain (Staff, B. M., n.d.). There have also been studies that show the brain may remap the amputated limb's sensory circuitry to another part of the body (Staff, B. M., n.d.). So, because the amputated area is no longer able to receive sensory information, the information is referred elsewhere. For example, from a missing hand to a still-present cheek, when the cheek is touched, it is like the missing hand also is being touched. The result is pain because of tangled sensory…

    • 991 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Phantom Limb Pain
    • 5731 Words
    • 23 Pages

    Phantom Limb Pain

    Phantom limb pain first arose during the sixteenth century by a French military surgeon, Ambrose Pare (Weinstein, 1998). He described this as pain being perceived from a part of the body which no longer exists, therefore belonging to neuropathic pain syndromes. The phantom limb is generally described to have a tingling sensation and a definite shape that resembles the limb pre amputation. Moreover, some claim to feel it move through space in the same way that the normal limb would have, for example, walking, sitting and stretched out (Melzack, 1973). Almost all amputees would report these non painful sensations immediately after surgery (Nikolajsen et al, 2005). Initially, the phantom limb feels normal causing the amputee to use the limb for its would be usual purposes…

    • 5731 Words
    • 23 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Phantom Limb Pain Research Paper
    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Phantom Limb Pain Research Paper

    In this paper I will be discussing phantom limb pain as well as the various causes and effects that amputees experience when suffering from this condition. I first discuss what phantom limb pain is and the way it can disrupt the lives of those suffering from it. Then, I will discuss the causes for phantom limb pain. In many amputees the causes are still unknown but there are several helpful possibilities that help gain some insight into the inner workings of the mind and body.…

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Phantom Limb Pain
    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Phantom Limb Pain

    Dr. V. S. Ramachandran was a one of the first to propose the popular theory of PLP being due to neural plasticity; the brain essentially rewiring its somatosensory system. In Dr. Ramachandran’s breakthrough article, “Behavioral and magnetoencephalographic correlates of plasticity in the adult human brain,” he describes his experiment in which he blindfolded arm amputees and stroked a Q tip on various skin surfaces and each subject described where they felt sensation from the Q tip on their body. Dr. Ramachandran’s subjects both felt sensations on very specific regions on their face as well as a, “ ‘tingling’ sensation in an individual digit” (Ramachandran, 1993, p. 10415) of the amputated arm. Dr. Ramachandran compared the location of senses to the Penfield homunculus and noticed that areas that amputees felt sensations from the Q tip (face and upper arm) are sandwiched between sensations for the hand. With this information, Dr. Ramachandran proposed the theory that the brain is capable of “remapping” sensations with nearby areas, “rewiring” itself so that “sensory input from the face and from around the stump were to ‘invade’ the cortical territory of the hand, “ (Ramachandran, 1993, p. 10417). Dr. Ramachandran further explains a theory for the pain associated with phantom limbs as being due to, “a slight error in the remapping-a sort of ‘cross-wiring’ –so that…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Exploring Phantom Limbs
    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Exploring Phantom Limbs

    After reading the article, the question that came to mind was, “Can people that are born without limbs, still encounter phantom limbs?” I asked this question because one of the studies within the article described how the brain activity increased in participants when a fake hand was threatened (Macknik 20). The study was performed by Henry Ehrsson and his colleagues that the Institute of Neurology and the University of Oxford (Macknik 20). This study made me think of phantom limbs where people sense that their amputated or missing limb is still attached to their body and functioning. Does this occur even when people are born without limbs? Ideally, I would think that the brain would not even register the missing limb since there were no receptors or nerves in place to even send back to the brain. However, after doing…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Phantom Limbs Research Paper
    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Phantom Limbs Research Paper

    For example, in many cases people who have lost limbs often still have the awareness of a limb that is no longer there. This phenomenon is known as Phantom Limbs. Individuals who experience this will often times try to use their missing limbs without or even feel sensations in said limbs. The reason behind this is probably due to the fact that although the limb is missing the nerves in the nervous system that send signals to the limb are not and there fore there may be a mixing of signals in the brain and spinal cord. Phantom Limbs is one of the most interesting way in which people experience sensation differently.…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Theories Of Phantom Poem Pain
    • 257 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Theories Of Phantom Poem Pain

    The pain the amputees are complaining about is called phantom limb pain. This pain usually occurs right after an amputation of either an arm, leg, or a different body part (Flor, 2002). Some professionals believe that phantom pain is developed due to the disruption of the nerve activity. These nerves discharge at the place where they were severed during amputation; therefore, causing the amputee to feel the pain (King, 2006). Other theories believe that phantom pain is all made up in the head. The grief created by the loss of a limb, or body part fosters the psychosomatic disorder. This creates the “phantom pain” that the amputee experiences (Flor, 2002). Mirror therapy is a process that psychologist help with this phantom pain.…

    • 257 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    What Is Phantom Limb?
    • 228 Words
    • 1 Page

    What Is Phantom Limb?

    For many people who have had a limb amputated, the sensation of something actually being there causes a lot of distress which results in the continuation of experiencing phantom limb. Phantom limb is described by many people a tingly, burning, numbness, and itching sensation. Sometimes even the change in weather or temperature can counteract the phantom limb. The characteristics of phantom pain can be placed into four domains. (1) The intensity of the pain; (2) frequency of the episodes; (3) duration and sensation of each episode; (4) pain description. Peripheral changes, like nociceptive input from residual limb, is viewed as important when determining the factors of phantom limb pain. The evidence to support this view is by the high correlation…

    • 228 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Phantom Pain
    • 55 Words
    • 1 Page

    Phantom Pain

    Phantom pain is the pain an individual can feel that seems to come from the body part that has been amputated. In this type of situation, the conflict between the visual feedback that the limb is absent and the proprioceptive representation that it is present leads to confusion in the neuromatrix which generates pain…

    • 55 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Peripheral Neuropathy
    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Peripheral Neuropathy

    Neuropathy or peripheral neuropathy afflicts millions of people across this country. If you suffer from this disorder, your symptoms may include unexplained pain, tingling, numbness or muscle weakness. The symptoms will appear in the legs, feet, arms, hands and other parts of your body depending on the cause of it in a particular sufferer. When you first notice signs of the disorder, you should consult a doctor to receive a proper diagnosis and treatment recommendation. In addition, if there is an underlying health condition present that may influence the onset of the neuropathy the doctor should also address that to bring you relief.…

    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rocking Ocean Causes Sensory Loss
    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rocking Ocean Causes Sensory Loss

    So the result of cutting his hand was that his arteries and tendons were cut off so his Nervous system was affected. Any efforts of pain impulses to be sent to the brain would be ineffective because they would interfere with signals triggering an effective response by the body.…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Cross Wiring In The Brain
    • 211 Words
    • 1 Page

    Cross Wiring In The Brain

    In the brain, there is a map of the body’s surface. For instance, the right side of the body is mapped on the left side of the brain and the left side of the body is mapped out on the right side of the brain. The part of the brain that corresponds to the part of the body that is missing takes over the face function since it is hungry for sensory input. When the cheek, on the side of the body with the missing part, is stroked then the misinterprets it as a sensation on the missing part which is why an amputee experiences phantom limbs. Cross-wiring in the brain is present as reorganization of the sensory pathways occurs as the result of the amputation. The result of the individual with an amputated hand was that he found the mirror box as a…

    • 211 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Primary Sensory Cortex Essay
    • 114 Words
    • 1 Page

    Primary Sensory Cortex Essay

    The primary sensory cortex is where the brain first begins to process and make sense of sensory information experienced by a person’s senses. Each one of the sensations: vision, sound, smell, taste and touch has its own area of primary sensory cortex.…

    • 114 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Healing Affirmations
    • 1090 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Healing Affirmations

    For decades, science believed the brain was hardwired — unchangeable. However, new research in the field of neuroscience shows us that this concept may be untrue. In fact, it’s now thought that the brain is continually changing with each new experience.…

    • 1090 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics