Practice question · Put in order
Order the events of cortical remapping after the loss of a limb.
- Neighboring regions gradually extend into the idle territory.
- A limb is lost, so its cortical region stops receiving input.
- The freed cortex is reassigned to nearby body parts.
- That cortical territory falls idle.
Hints
- Input must be lost before the territory falls idle and neighbors move in.
- The reassignment is the END result of neighbors taking over.
Show the answer
- A limb is lost, so its cortical region stops receiving input.
- That cortical territory falls idle.
- Neighboring regions gradually extend into the idle territory.
- The freed cortex is reassigned to nearby body parts.
Why
Losing the limb deprives its cortex of input, the territory falls idle, neighbors extend into it, and it is reassigned to nearby parts. This chain is why the cortical map is not fixed but reshapes to use available tissue.
Practise Neuroplasticity
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