Page 46 - Biblical Counseling II-Textbook

Prefrontal Cortex
Understanding this area of the brain is very important. We briefly looked at this part of the brain when
we learned about adolescence and development. Take a look at the picture of the prefrontal cortex and
notice all it is responsible for. Scientists used to think the prefrontal cortex was fully developed by the
late teens. Now the belief is that it is not fully developed until the mid-twenties. Does this make sense to
you? Depending on your age, you may struggle with some of the functions of the prefrontal cortex. Or
you may be able to think about how you’ve developed in some of these areas recently (Myer, 2009).
(photo:www.actualized.org) (photo: neuroscienceofdating.com)

The Brain’s Plasticity
When damaged, can the brain repair or reorganize itself?
Plasticity is the brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by
building new pathways based on experience. Some of the effects of brain damage can be traced to two
hard facts. (1) Severed neurons, unlike cut skin, usually do not repair themselves. (If your spinal cord
were severed, you probably would be permanently paralyzed.) And (2) some brain functions seem
forever linked to specific areas. One newborn who suffered damage to the facial recognition areas on
both temporal lobes later remained unable to recognize faces (Myers, 2009).

But there is good news: Plasticity is the brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by
reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience. The brain’s impressive
plasticity allows it to modify itself after some types of damage. Some brain tissue can reorganize in

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