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Learning Engineering Applies the Learning Sciences
Published in Jim Goodell, Janet Kolodner, Learning Engineering Toolkit, 2023
Jim Goodell, Janet Kolodner, Aaron Kessler
We previously discussed how the brain is wired and how learning, in a sense, rewires your brain. Neuroplasticity, also known as brain plasticity or neural plasticity, is the ability of the brain to change throughout an individual’s life.30 At the single cell level, synaptic plasticity 31 refers to changes in the connections between neurons, whereas non-synaptic plasticity 32 refers to changes in their intrinsic excitability, for example, how responsive they are to the chemical signals they receive.33 The structure of the brain can change throughout life but may be more “plastic” during developmental periods from prenatal to early 20s. For more detailed explanations of what researchers have discovered about changes that occur with age and learning across the life span, see How People Learn II. 34
Yangsheng in the twenty-first century
Published in Vivienne Lo, Michael Stanley-Baker, Dolly Yang, Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine, 2022
This raises a further key issue in the nature of yangsheng practices; the plasticity of the human brain. Neuroplasticity in the brain is a well-observed phenomenon. It is described thus: The brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. Neuroplasticity allows the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or to changes in their environment.Shiel (2017)
Physiology of ageing, risk factors and rehabilitation
Published in Rebecca Allwood, Working with Communication and Swallowing Difficulties in Older Adults, 2022
Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to reorganise and change neural pathways, and create new pathways and connections between neurones. The brain is able to navigate around damaged areas and recruit functioning areas to fulfil the role of the damaged areas. An example of neuroplasticity is how the brain can redirect functions to working areas of the brain during rehabilitation following brain damage caused by stroke.
Using activity-based therapy for individuals with spinal cord injury or disease: Interviews with physical and occupational therapists in rehabilitation hospitals
Published in The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 2023
Hope Jervis Rademeyer, Cindy Gauthier, José Zariffa, Kristen Walden, Tara Jeji, Shane McCullum, Kristin E. Musselman
To help people with spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D) meet their functional goals through a restorative approach, rehabilitation seeks to achieve neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the ability of neurons to change their structure and/or function in response to different stimuli1. For people living with SCI/D, activity-based therapy (ABT) can be used to promote neuroplasticity by targeting activation of the neuromuscular system below the level of the lesion.2 To achieve neuroplasticity, ABT aims for a high dosage (e.g. many repetitions, increased time spent in therapeutic activity) and a moderate-high cardiovascular load.3 Some types of ABT involve technology that facilitate higher doses during training; for example, when individuals with motor incomplete SCI/D participated in one hour of treadmill training, they achieved significantly more steps, greater walking speed, and a higher peak change in heart rate compared to one hour of overground walking training.4 Individuals living with SCI/D who participated in ABT appreciated its high dosage and felt it was a significant contributor to their neurological and functional recovery.5
Constraint Induced Movement Therapy in Infants and Toddlers with Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy: A Scoping Review
Published in Occupational Therapy In Health Care, 2022
Casey Walker, Angela Shierk, Heather Roberts
Predictive tools can help deliver an early diagnosis of hemiplegic CP by detecting signs in children as young as three months. The Hand Assessment for Infants (HAI) (Krumlinde-Sundholm et al., 2017) and Mini-Assisting Hand Assessment (Mini-AHA) (Greaves et al., 2013) are commonly used tools that are reliable and valid in assessing the use of the affected limb and detecting asymmetry between hands in infants at risk of developing hemiplegic CP. (Krumlinde-Sundholm et al., 2017). Assessment tools play a critical role in early diagnosis of CP to help optimize infant motor and cognitive plasticity (Novak et al., 2017). There is increased neuroplasticity throughout the first two-three years of life where new neural connections are being formed and refined (Hadders-Algra, 2014). Neuroplasticity helps with the development of motor and learning skills imperative for functional hand use. Infants and toddlers with hemiplegic CP may begin to demonstrate developmental disregard in the affected limb (Zielinski et al., 2014). Developmental disregard is the diminished awareness or use of the affected side of the body. Often it is observed that children will have a strong tendency to avoid voluntary use and sensory experiences of the affected limb. In extreme cases, developmental disregard can cause the child to behave as if the affected limb does not exist (Ramey et al., 2013). Early intervention and treatment can potentially prevent developmental disregard while improving fine and gross motor performance of the affected limb, and independence in everyday activities (Tanner et al., 2020).
Virtual reality therapy for upper limb rehabilitation in patients with stroke: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials
Published in Brain Injury, 2020
Destaw B. Mekbib, Jiawei Han, Li Zhang, Shan Fang, Hongjie Jiang, Junming Zhu, Anna W. Roe, Dongrong Xu
Current clinical practice for UL rehabilitation relies on promoting neuroplasticity following brain injury (7,8). Neuroplasticity, after a brain injury, can be defined as the ability of the brain reorganizing itself by forming new neural connections in the adjacent normal tissue of the lesioned hemisphere or in the non-lesioned hemisphere to take over the lost function (9). To maximize the effect of brain plasticity, training should be learning-based, repetitive, challenging, motivating, and intensive (9,10). Conventional therapies including occupational and physical treatment help patients to improve the UL motor deficits following brain injury (11–13). However, these approaches are time consuming, tedious and outcomes often depend on the ability of medical staff. Also, repetition, intensity, and dose in conventional rehabilitation settings are reported to be insufficient to achieve plasticity-based optimal motor recovery (14). The limitation of conventional rehabilitation settings motivated the introduction of new types of efficient therapeutic approaches. Virtual reality therapy is deemed as one such therapy (7,15,16).