COMBATING DEMENTIA THROUGH
NEUROPLASTICITY
While the brain naturally employs neuroplasticity after
a traumatic brain injury or stroke, this phenomenon
also takes place when the brain tries to fend off
neurodegenerative disorders, such as dementia.
Dr. Meltzer and his team found an example of
neuroplasticity among patients diagnosed with a rare
form of dementia that robs a person of the ability to
communicate, Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA).
Their research found that PPA patients tapped into a
different brain region to process the meaning of words.
Typically, people rely on the left side of the brain to
comprehend words we read or hear, but PPA patients
showed more brain activity on the right. These findings
suggest that the brain tried to counter the damage of
this neurodegenerative disease by reassigning tasks to
different regions.
Previous studies have shown that this preservation
tactic is used after brain damage, but this is one of
the first studies to demonstrate the phenomenon in a
neurodegenerative disease.
"These findings offer hope, since it demonstrates that
despite the brain's degeneration during PPA, it naturally
adapts to try and preserve function," says Dr. Meltzer.
"This compensation suggests there are opportunities to
intervene and offer targeted treatment to those areas."
For more articles like this, visit
baycrestfoundation.org/brainmatters.
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