PSYB65H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Central Nervous System, Spinal Cord, Pia Mater
Document Summary
The brain"s primary function is to produce behavior, or movement. Brain must absorb information about the world about the objects around us: their size, shape, and location. Without stimuli, the brain cannot orient the body and direct it to produce an appropriate response. The nervous system"s organs are designed to admit information from the world and to convert this information into biological activity that produces perception, subjective experiences of reality. The brain is plastic: neural tissue has the capacity to adapt to the world by changing how its functions are organized. Cerebellar agenesis: a person blind from birth has enhanced auditory capacities because some of the brain"s visual regions have been co-opted for hearing. The basis for change in the nervous system is neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity, the nervous system"s fundamental potential for physical or chemical change that enhances its adaptability to environmental change and its ability to compensate for injury.
