Question

Can a cortical area acquire a new function after brain injury?

Answer 1

Yes, a cortical area can acquire a new function after brain injury.

It is done through the mechanism of Neuroplasticity.Neuroplasticity is a continuous processing allowing short-term, medium-term, and long-term remodeling of the neuronosynaptic organization, with the aim of optimizing the functioning of neural networks during phylogenesis, ontogeny, and physiologic learning, and following brain injury.

Neuronal plasticity occurs after an injury in a sequence of three phases.Immediately after injury, cell death occurs along with decrease in cortical inhibitory pathways for 1 to 2 days that is thought to recruit or unmask new and secondary neuronal networks.Eventually, the activity of cortical pathways shift from inhibitory to excitatory followed by neuronal proliferation and synaptogenesis. Both neuronal and nonneuronal cells (i.e., endothelial progenitors, glial cells, and inflammatory cells) are recruited to replace the damaged cells, facilitate gliotic scar tissue, and revascularize.6 Weeks after injury, new synaptic markers and axonal sprouting are upregulated,allowing for remodeling and cortical changes for recovery.