W3480Y WEEK 12: PLASTICITY, "RESERVE" AND RECOVERY OF FUNCTION

REQUIRED READINGS

1.  Ramachandran, V. S. (1993). Behavioral and magnetoencephalographic correlates of plasticity in the adult human brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 90, 10413-10420.

2.  Wilson, B. A. (1998). Recovery of cognitive functions following nonprogressive brain injury. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 8, 281-287.

3.  Stern, Y. (in press). What is cognitive reserve? Theory and research applications to the reserve concept. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.

4.  Snowdon, DA. (1997). Aging and Alzheimer's disease: lessons from the Nun Study. Gerontologist, 37(2), 150-6.
 

OPTIONAL READINGS

1.  Pantev, C., Oostenveld, R., Engelien, A., Ross, B., Roberts, LE, & Hoke, M. (1998). Increased auditory cortical representations in musicians. Nature, 392, 811-813.

2.  Sterr, A., Muller, MM, Elbert, T.l, Rockstroh, B., Pantev, C., & Taub, E. (1998). Changed perceptions in Braille readers. Nature, 391, 134-5.

QUESTION FOR CRITICAL THINKING:

Consider a particular deficit covered in class this semester (it can be related to the topic you presented in class earlier this semester or not), as well as the issues of case studies versus group studies covered at the beginning of class. How might plasticity affect expression of this deficit in different people and/or "recovery" from the damage? Consider the models mentioned in the Stern article (threshold, compensation, and cognitive reserve), the factors influencing recovery mentioned in the Wilson (1998), and the basis for functional plasticity mentioned in Ramachandran (1993). Would the nature of "recovery" from the damage associated with a particular deficit influence whether the case or group study approach would be more appropriate for studying the deficit?

ADDITIONAL READINGS:

1.  Snowdon, DA, Greiner, LH, & Markesbery, WR. (2000). Linguistic ability in early life and the neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular disease. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 903, 34-38.

2.  Pantev, C, Roberts, LE, Schulz, M., Engelien, A., Ross, B. (2001). Timbre-specific enhancement of auditory cortical representations in musicians. Neuroreport, 12(1), 169-174.

3.  Soros, P., Knecht, T., Bantel, C., Imai, T., Wusten, R., Pantev, C., Lutkenhoner, B, Burkle, H., & Henningsen, H. (2001). Functional reorganization of the human primary somatosensory cortex after acute pain demonstrated by magnetoencephalography. Neuroscience Letters, 298, 195-198.

4.  Knecht, S., Henningsen, H., Hohling, T., Flor, H., Pantev, C., & Taub, E. (1998). Plasticity of plasticity? Changes in the pattern of perceptual correlates of reorganization after amputation. Brain, 121, 717-724.

5.  Stern, Y., Albert, S., Tang, MX, & Tsai, WY. (1999). Rate of memory decline in AD is related to education and occupation: cognitive reserve? Neurology, 53(9), 1942-7.