
The brains ability to develop and change
in response to the environment

The brain rearranges connections
between the neurons which means that
the structure of the brain is changed

It can change the functional qualities of
various brain structures

Plasticity occurs wherever neuroprocessing happens

The changes that occur in the structure
of the brain during neuroplasticity is a
result of either:
› Learning
› Experience
› New situations
› Changes in the environment
› High levels of stimulation
The intentional removal of stimuli affecting one or all of the 5 human
senses
› Vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch
 Can be used as a form of relaxation and meditation
 Can also be used for interrogation or torture


Just 15 minutes of near-total
sensory deprivation can bring on
hallucinations in many otherwise
sane individuals.

Six ordinary people are taken to a
nuclear bunker and left alone for 48
hours.

Three subjects are left alone in dark,
sound-proofed rooms, while the other
three are given goggles and foam cuffs,
while white noise is piped into their ears.

Prior to isolation, the volunteers underwent
tests of visual memory, information
processing, verbal fluency and suggestibility

After, they spent two days and two nights in
isolation the subjects noted that their
inability to sense time and the hallucinations
and visions that they experienced made
the 48 hours inside the cell very difficult on
their mind.

Same test were conducted before and
after the experiment.

Supports the hypothesis that sensory
deprivation affects neuroplasticity.

Experiment was conducted on humans.

Each person was put through the same
conditions.

2 women and 4 men

Age not specified

Demand characteristics

The participant variables could not controlled (e.g. personal
experiences)

Can’t look at the brains of the humans (not ethical)

Not repeated

We don’t know what they mean by ‘ordinary’ people

Cannot be generalized to the population due to the small sample size


Sensory deprivation lasting only 15
minutes is enough to trigger hallucinations
in healthy members of the public
This was proven during a new study
published in the Journal of Nervous and
Mental Disease.

In this study a large number of participants
were used

They were given a questionnaire that asked
them about hallucinatory experiences in
everyday life

On the basis of this, they recruited two
groups: one of ‘high’ hallucinators and
another of ‘low’ hallucinators.

They then put the participants, one by
one, in a dark Anechoic chamber which
shields all incoming sounds and deadens
any noise made by the participant. The
room had a ‘panic button’ to stop the
experiment but no-one needed to use it.

They asked participants to sit in the
chamber for 15 minutes and then,
immediately after, used a standard
assessment to see whether they’d had an
unusual experiences.

After a twenty minute break, they were
asked again about any changes in their
perception to see if there were any
difference when normal sensation was
restored.

Hallucinations, paranoid thoughts and low moods
were reported more often after sensory deprivation
for both groups

People who already had a tendency to have
hallucinations in everyday life had a much greater
level of perceptual distortion after leaving the
chamber than the others.

One subject's memory capacity fell 36% and all the
subjects had trouble thinking of words beginning with
the letter "F". All four of the men (neither of the two
women) had markedly increased suggestibility

It was ethical as it went for 15 minutes

The participants could press the ‘panic
button’ if they wanted to end the
experiment which shows that there were
withdrawal rights

They consented

There is no specific number of people
that took part in the experiment

We don't know if there were both males
and females

We don’t know their ages





http://memoryzine.com/2010/07/02/introdu
ction-to-neuroplasticity/
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-sensorydeprivation.htm
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.
asp?articlekey=40362
http://mindhacks.com/2009/10/19/hallucin
ations-in-sensory-deprivation-after-15minutes/
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/
10/hallucinations/