| Course | PS215 Neuroscience |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 5 |
| Paper type | Neuroplasticity and development paper |
| Length | About 520 words, 4 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Psychology |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PS215 Unit 5
A Grandson's Pruning and a Grandfather's Rewiring: A PS215 Unit 5 Neuroplasticity and Development Paper
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
PS215: Neuroscience
Unit 5 Neuroplasticity and Development Paper
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The family and the therapy are composite; the research cited is real.
Plasticity Defined
Neuroplasticity names the way neural tissue remodels itself in response to what a person does and lives through. It operates at several levels: synapses strengthen or weaken with use, new connections form, unused ones are removed, and over time whole regions can take on new roles. Plasticity is greatest early in life but continues throughout adulthood (Kalat, 2019).
Development: Harold's Grandson
Harold's grandson, Eli, is 15. His brain is going through a long period of reorganization that began in childhood and continues into his twenties. Gray matter in many cortical regions thickens in childhood and then thins through adolescence as little-used synapses are pruned, while white matter, the insulated connections between regions, increases. Prefrontal regions involved in planning and impulse control are among the last to mature, which helps explain why teenagers can reason well in calm settings but act impulsively in emotional ones (Casey et al., 2008). Experience shapes which connections survive, so what Eli practices, music, sports or video games, is literally sculpting his cortex.
Recovery: Harold
Harold's brain is changing for a different reason. After a stroke, the brain reorganizes around the damaged area: surviving tissue near the injury can take over some functions, the opposite hemisphere may contribute more, and new connections form. This reorganization does not happen automatically to the extent needed for recovery; it depends heavily on what the person practices.
Development prunes what a young brain does not use; recovery rebuilds what an injured brain is made to use.
Principles From Research
Kleim and Jones (2008) reviewed research on experience-dependent plasticity and drew out principles relevant to rehabilitation. Use it or lose it: functions not practiced decline. Use it and improve it: training can drive plasticity in spared regions. Specificity: the brain changes in ways tied to the particular skill practiced. Repetition and intensity: change requires many repetitions at sufficient intensity. Timing: some kinds of training are more effective at certain points after injury. And salience: training matters more when it is meaningful to the person.
Applying the Principles
Harold's speech therapist designed practice around these principles. Short daily sessions, instead of a long weekly one, provided repetition and intensity. Practice targeted the exact skills he needed, such as naming objects and producing short phrases, rather than general conversation, reflecting specificity. Using hymn lyrics he cared about added salience. And his family was asked to encourage him to speak rather than speaking for him, because avoiding speech would let the skill decline. Over four months his phrases grew longer, though they remained effortful.
What the Comparison Shows
Eli and Harold show the same capacity working under different conditions. In Eli, plasticity follows a developmental schedule shaped by experience. In Harold, plasticity is a resource that therapy must deliberately recruit. Both make the same practical point: what a person repeatedly does changes the brain that does it.
References
Casey, B. J., Jones, R. M., & Hare, T. A. (2008). The adolescent brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1124(1), 111-126. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1440.010
Kalat, J. W. (2019). Biological psychology (13th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Kleim, J. A., & Jones, T. A. (2008). Principles of experience-dependent neural plasticity: Implications for rehabilitation after brain damage. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 51(1), S225-S239. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2008/018)
The Purdue Global PS215 Unit 5 instructions
In PS215's fifth unit, the paper typically asks how the brain changes across development and after injury, and what principles guide rehabilitation. Define neuroplasticity at more than one level, from synapses to regions. Describe a developmental process accurately, such as synaptic pruning or prefrontal maturation, with research support. Describe recovery after injury and explain why it depends on experience. Present principles from the plasticity research and apply each to a real or composite therapy plan, showing how the plan follows them. A comparison between developmental and recovery plasticity can give the paper a strong structure. Cite a biological psychology text and primary research, and avoid claims that the adult brain cannot change or can change without limit.
How this PS215 Unit 5 example is built
The paper defines plasticity from synapses to regions and notes that it continues in adulthood, citing Kalat. Eli's section describes gray matter thinning through pruning, growing white matter and late prefrontal maturation, linking it to impulsive choices in emotional settings with Casey and colleagues. Harold's section explains reorganization around the injury and its dependence on practice, under a highlighted line contrasting pruning in a young brain with rebuilding in an injured one. Kleim and Jones's principles are listed and then applied: short daily sessions, targeted naming, meaningful lyrics and family members who stopped speaking for him. The close says what a person repeatedly does changes the brain that does it.
Reading the PS215 Unit 5 grading rubric
Plasticity papers earn credit for accurate developmental science and for principles applied concretely. Instructors look for synaptic pruning, white matter growth or prefrontal maturation described correctly, with research behind it. Recovery should be explained as experience-dependent, not automatic. Listing principles earns little unless each is tied to a feature of a therapy or plan. A comparison between development and recovery shows integration. Balanced claims, neither denying adult plasticity nor overstating it, are valued. A case or composite plan keeps the paper applied. A biological psychology text and primary studies, accurately cited, meet the expectation, and a conclusion stating a single lesson strengthens the paper. Precise claims about timing, such as which regions mature last, are noticed.
Common PS215 Unit 5 mistakes, and how to avoid them
The most common slip claims the brain stops changing after childhood or, at the other extreme, that any function can be fully recovered with enough effort. Another is describing adolescent brain development only as an immature prefrontal cortex, without pruning or the timing of different regions. Students often list rehabilitation principles without showing them in a plan. Recovery is sometimes described as passive healing rather than learning. Some papers cite brain training products as evidence. Before submitting, check that each principle you list appears in your therapy example, that your developmental claims match a cited study, and that your conclusion avoids promising unlimited recovery. Those checks keep the paper both accurate and applied.
Get a PS215 Unit 5 example written to your instructions
Send the case or topic and the instructions with the rubric. A custom paper explains plasticity in development and recovery with research. The first one costs nothing, back within 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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PS215 Unit 5 questions, answered
What is neuroplasticity?
The brain's capacity to change its structure and function with experience, learning and injury.
Does plasticity end in childhood?
No, though it is greater early in life; adults continue to change with practice.
What principles guide rehabilitation?
Use it or lose it, specificity, repetition and intensity are among those described in the research.
Where can I find a free PS215 Unit 5 sample paper?
This page contains the complete PS215 Unit 5 paper comparing an adolescent's developing brain with a composite stroke survivor's recovery.
Which rehabilitation principles does the PS215 Unit 5 sample apply?
Use it or lose it, specificity, repetition, intensity, timing and salience, drawn from Kleim and Jones's review.