10: Brain and Behavior Flashcards
What are the different stages of memory?
4 Stages
- Registration- sensory input and attention
- Encoding: lay down of new information (problem in Alzheimers)
- Storage of new information
- Retrieval (remembering) -recall layed down memory –> Disfunction can be present at any stage

Explain how Memory can be distinguished accordint to its duration
- Conceptual divisions in memory systems
- Sensory- very short time (not everything processed)
- Working or short term memory (the information that is laid down) –> technically few seconds
- Long-term memory
Be aware of different languages used (e.g. patients referring to short time memory often referes to things happening weeks/days ago)
Explain how different types of memory
- Sensory memory
- can either go into working memory store (limited capacity) or
- directly into long term memory (but always a lot of information is lost)
- Some of working can be transformed into long term memory
- Long term memory can be retrieved into working memory

Explain the different types of long term memory
- Declerative memory
- Episodic
- ike went to my trip to my hilday semantic
- factual
- E.g. what is the capital
- Episodic
- Non-declerative
- Procedural
- knowing how to do things (walking/talking)
- Priming
- Conditioning
- Non-assiciative learning
- a relatively permanent change in the strength of response to a single stimulus due to repeated exposure to that stimulus
- Procedural

What are the types of memory that are often assessed in clinic
Often: Declerative learning (Hippocampus) + Diencephalon
Which part of the brain is involved in semantic memory?
Inferolateral temporal lobe
Semantic memory= knowing of facts etc.

Which part of the brain is associated with working memory (short term)
Prefontal Cortex

Explain the different modalities of memory
Very broadly speaking: • Left hemisphere: Mainly concerned with verbal information processing • Right hemisphere: Mainly concerned with non-verbal information (e.g. face)
Explain the role of the serioal position effect in memory formation
- Primary effect (absent in Alzheimers) –> remembrering first part of memroy
- Recency effect –> Remember the most recent experiences/words

Explain the different factors that influence the probability of recalling a word from a words list
- Order in the list
- Personal salience of words
- Number of words
- Chunking or other encoding strategy (e.g. occupation, animal etc.)
- Delay time
- Distraction
Explain the gross structure of language
Phonemes (sounds) give rise to morphemes (small unit with meaning) which are combined to words (which then give sentences)

Summrise language development in childhood
There is a critical period of language (the younger the more, up to about 5-6)
But general
- 0-3 Month: recognition of language vs no language
- 4-6: babbling with phenomes from any language
- 7-11: babbling with phenomes heard in language spoken, imitates words
- 1year: starts words
- 12-18: using single words to communicate
- 18-24: expansion of vocabulary, simple sentences
- 2-4 years: further expansion of vocabulary and whole sentences
In which hemisphere is language located?
95% left hemisphere dominance (for right handed people)
In left handed people: a bit less but still right sided dominance
Where is a lesion present with someone with expressive aphasia?
In the Broca’s area located in left hemisphere (frontal(between frontal and temporal lobe)
What are the characteristics of expressive aphasia?
Intact comprehension but problem to produce speech:
- Non-fluent speech
- Impaired repetition
- Poor ability to produce syntactically correct sentences
Where is a lesion present with someone with receptive aphasia?
Wernicke Lesion
Posterior part of Temporal lobe (+part of parietal lobe)

What are the characteristics of Wernikckes aphasia?
Problems in understaning spech but are able to talk
- Fluent meaningless speech
- Paraphasias – errors in producing specific words
- semantic substituting words similar in meaning (“barn” –“house”)
- Phonemic substituting words similar in sound (“house” –“mouse”)
- Poor repetition
- Impairment in writing
Explain the Language Circuit
Many areas are involved
- Information from primary auditory cortex to Wernickes area
- Wernicke analyses words said Trasnmitted to Brocas area via the arcuate fasciculus
- Brocas area forms motor plan
- Motor cortex implements plan
Not just the individual areas are important but also their connecting pathways
What are different conditions that can cause aphasia?
- Stroke
- Traumatic brain injury
- Cerebral tumour
- Progressive neurodegenerative conditions
What is dysexecutive Syndrome?
Behavior change as result of direct damage of frontal lobe –> Disruption of executive function (e.g. planning, focus attention, remember instructions etc)
- Involving: cognitive, emotional and bahavioural symptoms
Cause: head trauma, tumours, degenerative diseases, and cerebrovascular disease, as well as in several psychiatric conditions
What are behavioral aspects of dysecutive syndrome
Can be different in everyone ususally on of the sides:
- hypoactivity vs hyperactivity
- lack of drive vs impulsive
- apathetic vs disinhibited
- poor initiation of tasks vs perseverative
- Emotional bluntness vs dysregulation
All togehter:
- theory of mind difficulty, social inappropriate and rude due to lakc of empathy
What are the cognitive aspect sinovled in dysexecutive syndrome?
- Attentional and working memory difficulties
- Poor planning & organisation
- Difficulty
- coping with novel situations and unstructured tasks
- switching from task to task
- keeping track of multiple tasks
- with complex/abstract thinking
What are the different parts of the frontal lobe that are associated with dysexecutive syndrome
- Orbito-frontal
- Impulsivity, disinhibition
- Medial
- Loss of spontaneity, initiation (akinetic mutism)
- Posteriolateral
- Inability to formulate and carry out plans
+ signaling/ communicating pathways involved (subcortical areas)
Which part of the brain is associated with procedual memory?
Basal Ganglia
Supplementary Motor Area
Cerebellum

Which parts of the brain are associated with episodic memory?
Involves the medial temporal lobes including
- the hippocampus,
- entorhinal cortex,
- mammilary bodies, and
- parahippocampal cortex

What is total amnesia?
It is a rare form of amnesia –>expecially rare if isolated with otherwised preserved cognition
Which parts of memory are often defect and intact in people with memory disorders?
Intact: Implicit memory or learning often intact in memory disorders
Othwerwise:
- depending on the disease different parts of memory can be affected
Briefly state four ways in which you can reduce the amount of information forgotten by a patient during a consultation
- Reduce amount of info
- Stress importance
- Be specific
- Give written info
- Follow up
- Order of information (rist and last information)
- Mode of presentation