Kids
NeuroDevelopment

Brain NeuroDevelopment
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    Brain Plasticity Concept
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Brain Plasticity simply refers to the capacity of the Central Nervous System to adapt or change after environmental stimulation.

Behavioral Plasticity and Recovery of Function

For developing brains there exist critical periods in which the effects of brain trauma will often cause delayed or impaired development.

Recovery from these situations is possible if the child undergoes a neurodevelopment training program. It takes into account the brain's ability to recover due to the plastic nature of the brain and focuses on developing cognitive functional abilities.

For adults the same response to trauma applies, but recovery is different due to maturation of the brain. Recovery for adults should be viewed as return of previously developed function.

The mechanism for recovery has been discussed in the medical literature for over 200 years. At Crossroads Institute the model that we feel is most accurate, given the current state of knowledge, is based upon the concepts of developmental brain plasticity and denervation supersensitivity.

Developmental Plasticity

Studies of neural connections indicate that afferent cells after damage can produce new connections based upon a process called synaptic reorganization. This discovery forms the bases for brain plasticity (Brauth,et al 1991; Gazzaniga,et al, 1979).

Three forms of synaptic reorganization have been observed 1) sprouting 2) spreading 3) extension.

Sprouting of new axons increases the number of terminals in the normal dendrite area. Spreading is the development of terminals in the new target area and Extension refers to the termination of afferents on cells that are not the normal target areas.

Denervation supersensitivity states that after damage the remaining fibers may become overly sensitive to neurotransmitters and activate pathways that will result in the return of function.

Both concepts require the brain and supporting nervous system to be externally stimulated in order for recovery to occur. The brain plasticity concept requires five important factors to be present at all times:

1. Environmental Stimuli
2. Frequent Stimulation
3. Proper Duration of Stimulation
4. Motivation
5. Consistency