Reorganization of the injured brain: Implications for studies of the neural substrate of cognition
In the search for a neural substrate of cognitive processes, a frequently utilized method is the scrutiny of posttraumatic symptoms exhibited by individuals suffering focal injury to the brain. For instance, the presence or absence of conscious awareness within a particular domain may, combined with...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2011-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00007/full |
| _version_ | 1811241895480786944 |
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| author | Jesper eMogensen |
| author_facet | Jesper eMogensen |
| author_sort | Jesper eMogensen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the search for a neural substrate of cognitive processes, a frequently utilized method is the scrutiny of posttraumatic symptoms exhibited by individuals suffering focal injury to the brain. For instance, the presence or absence of conscious awareness within a particular domain may, combined with knowledge of which regions of the brain have been injured, provide important data in the search for neural correlates of consciousness. Like all studies addressing the consequences of brain injury, however, such research has to face the fact that in most cases, posttraumatic impairments are accompanied by a functional recovery during which symptoms are reduced or eliminated. The apparent contradiction between localization and recovery, respectively, of functions constitutes a problem to almost all aspects of cognitive neuroscience. Several lines of investigation indicate that although the brain remains highly plastic throughout life, the posttraumatic plasticity does not recreate a copy of the neural mechanisms lost to injury. Instead, the uninjured parts of the brain are functionally reorganized in a manner which – in spite of not recreating the basic information processing lost to injury – is able to allow a more or less complete return of the surface phenomena (including manifestations of consciousness) originally impaired by the trauma. A novel model (the REF-model) of these processes is presented – and some of its implications discussed relative to studies of the neural substrates of cognition and consciousness. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T13:43:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8f02e9d25f904602b2f7437dd9ed93b8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T13:43:09Z |
| publishDate | 2011-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-8f02e9d25f904602b2f7437dd9ed93b82022-12-22T03:30:47ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782011-01-01210.3389/fpsyg.2011.000078075Reorganization of the injured brain: Implications for studies of the neural substrate of cognitionJesper eMogensen0Department of Psychology, University of CopenhagenIn the search for a neural substrate of cognitive processes, a frequently utilized method is the scrutiny of posttraumatic symptoms exhibited by individuals suffering focal injury to the brain. For instance, the presence or absence of conscious awareness within a particular domain may, combined with knowledge of which regions of the brain have been injured, provide important data in the search for neural correlates of consciousness. Like all studies addressing the consequences of brain injury, however, such research has to face the fact that in most cases, posttraumatic impairments are accompanied by a functional recovery during which symptoms are reduced or eliminated. The apparent contradiction between localization and recovery, respectively, of functions constitutes a problem to almost all aspects of cognitive neuroscience. Several lines of investigation indicate that although the brain remains highly plastic throughout life, the posttraumatic plasticity does not recreate a copy of the neural mechanisms lost to injury. Instead, the uninjured parts of the brain are functionally reorganized in a manner which – in spite of not recreating the basic information processing lost to injury – is able to allow a more or less complete return of the surface phenomena (including manifestations of consciousness) originally impaired by the trauma. A novel model (the REF-model) of these processes is presented – and some of its implications discussed relative to studies of the neural substrates of cognition and consciousness.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00007/fullConsciousnessRecovery of Functionneural plasticityRecoveryBrain Injuryreorganization |
| spellingShingle | Jesper eMogensen Reorganization of the injured brain: Implications for studies of the neural substrate of cognition Frontiers in Psychology Consciousness Recovery of Function neural plasticity Recovery Brain Injury reorganization |
| title | Reorganization of the injured brain: Implications for studies of the neural substrate of cognition |
| title_full | Reorganization of the injured brain: Implications for studies of the neural substrate of cognition |
| title_fullStr | Reorganization of the injured brain: Implications for studies of the neural substrate of cognition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reorganization of the injured brain: Implications for studies of the neural substrate of cognition |
| title_short | Reorganization of the injured brain: Implications for studies of the neural substrate of cognition |
| title_sort | reorganization of the injured brain implications for studies of the neural substrate of cognition |
| topic | Consciousness Recovery of Function neural plasticity Recovery Brain Injury reorganization |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00007/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jesperemogensen reorganizationoftheinjuredbrainimplicationsforstudiesoftheneuralsubstrateofcognition |