VCE Psychology — Unit 3
Neural Plasticity — Flashcards & Quiz
Neural plasticity is the brain's ability to change its structure and function in response to experience and injury. VCE Psychology Unit 3 distinguishes developmental plasticity (changes during early development) from adaptive plasticity (changes throughout life in response to learning or damage), and asks you to apply the concept to both learning and recovery from brain injury.
Key Points
- Neural plasticity: the brain's ability to reorganise through strengthening, weakening, pruning, or growing new neural connections.
- Developmental plasticity: shapes the young brain through synaptogenesis (making connections), synaptic pruning (removing unused connections), and myelination.
- Adaptive plasticity: ongoing response to experience throughout life — learning a skill, recovering from stroke, compensating for sensory loss.
- Long-term potentiation (LTP): repeated activation of a synapse strengthens it — the cellular basis of learning and memory.
- Sprouting: a neuron grows new branches to connect with neighbours; rerouting: signals find new pathways around damage.
- Experience-dependent plasticity: specific to what an individual does — London taxi drivers have larger hippocampi from navigation practice.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Claiming plasticity stops after childhood — adaptive plasticity continues throughout life.
- Confusing LTP (synapse strengthening) with LTM (long-term memory).
- Treating developmental and adaptive plasticity as completely separate — they overlap and both involve similar cellular mechanisms.
- Forgetting that plasticity can be maladaptive (e.g. chronic pain pathways strengthening).
- Missing named studies (London taxi drivers) when asked for evidence.
Exam Strategy
VCAA Unit 3 plasticity questions ask you to describe mechanisms or apply the concept to learning/recovery scenarios. Method: (1) define plasticity, (2) distinguish developmental from adaptive, (3) explain cellular mechanisms (sprouting, rerouting, LTP), (4) link to a named study or recovery scenario, (5) evaluate implications for rehabilitation.
Sample Flashcards
Q1: What is synaptic plasticity and why is it the basis of learning and memory?
Synaptic plasticity is the ability of synapses to change their strength and connections in response to experience. Through long-term potentiation and long-term depression, synapses are strengthened or weakened and connections are modified by sprouting (growth of new dendrite and axon branches), rerouting (forming new connections with other neurons, e.g. when a pathway is damaged) and pruning (elimination of unused synapses). These changes form the neural basis of memory formation and learning.
Q2: Compare long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD).
LTP is the long-lasting strengthening of synaptic connections that results from repeated, high-frequency stimulation of the postsynaptic neuron by the presynaptic neuron (mostly glutamate signalling). Communication across the synapse becomes more efficient. LTD is the long-lasting weakening of synaptic connections that results from low or infrequent stimulation. LTD removes or weakens unused connections, making room for new learning. Together they modify connections between neurons.
Sample Quiz Questions
Q1: Long-term potentiation is the long-lasting weakening of synaptic connections due to infrequent stimulation.
Answer: FALSE
That describes long-term depression. LTP is the long-lasting strengthening of synaptic connections after repeated stimulation.
Q2: Pruning is the elimination of synaptic connections that are not used.
Answer: TRUE
Pruning removes unused connections; sprouting forms new branches and rerouting forms new connections with other neurons.
Revision Tip
Plasticity mechanisms pair with examples — build a Revizi deck with each mechanism and a supporting study.
Related Concepts
Last updated: 9 October 2026 · 2 sample flashcards · 2 sample quiz questions