10. Brain and behaviour Flashcards
what is the structure of language?
phenomes –> morphemes –> words –> phrases –> sentences
how does language develop from birth?
1-3months: can distinguish speech from non-speech sounds, prefers phenomes 4-6 months: babbling, vocalisation in response to others 7-11 months: babbling sounds narrow to only include the phenomes heard in the language spoken, begins imitation of word sounds heard from others 12 months: first words spoken 12-18 months: increased knowledge of word meanings, more words used to express requests, primarily nouns 18-24 months: 50-100 words, first short sentences appear usually consisting of 2 words 2-4 years: rapid expansion of vocabulary (several hundred every 6 months), longer sentences 4-5 years: basic grammatical rules grasped, combines nouns, adjectives, verbs into meaningful sentences
what is language development dependent on?
environment and genes
which brain structures are involved in language?
mostly left hemisphere of brain (for both left and right handed people) - broca’s area (speech) - wernicke’s area (language)
what is aphasia? Whats the most common cause
Aphasia
Aphasia is the disturbance in formulation and comprehension of language. The most common brain injury that causes aphasia is a stroke although it can result from other forms of brain damage including degenerative conditions e.g. as primary progressive aphasia
what are the features of broca’s aphasia?
EXPRESSIVE - non-fluent speech - impaired repetition - poor ability to produce syntactically correct sentences - intact comprehension - high risk of developing low mood and depression.
Broca’s Area
- In the LEFT FRONTAL LOBE
- Important for producing speech
- Broca’s Aphasia:
–Non-fluent speech
–Impaired repetition
–Poor ability to produce syntactically correct sentences
–Intact comprehension
what are the features of wernicke’s aphasia?
RECEPTIVE - problems comprehending speech - fluent meaningless speech - paraphasias (errors producing specific words) - substituting words similar in mean and similar in sound - nonsense words - poor repetition - writing impairment.
Wernicke’s Area
- In the POSTERIOR TEMPERO-PARIETAL AREA
- Wernicke’s Aphasia: problems in understanding language
–Fluent meaningless speech
–Semantic paraphasias (substituting words with similar meanings)
–Phonemic paraphasias (substituting words similar in sound)
–Neologisms (non-words)
–Poor repetition
–Impairment in writing
what are the language and speech areas of the brain connected by?
the arcuate fasciculus
outline the language circuit
- information will be heard and the auditory cortex will process it and transmit it to Wernicke’s area 2. Wernicke’s area will tell you what that information means 3. information is tranmitted to the Broca’s area via the arcuate fasciculus 4. the person will decide how to respond from the Broca’s area 5. the message will go from Broca’s area to the motor cortex (manipulating the larynx, pharynx and breathing) 6. speech is produced
what can lesions to the dominant hemisphere be caused by?
- stroke - traumatic brain injury - neurodegenerative conditions
what may transient aphasia be associated with?
- transient ischaemic attack (TIA) - migraine
give some examples of executive functions and what is it?
Executive Functioning - the executive system processes novel situations outside the domain of some of our “automatic‟ psychological processes
Programming, regulation and verification of activity (Luria 1966)
Goal formulation, planning, and carrying out goal-directed plans effectively (Lezak 1983)
Problem-solving behaviour, trying out hypotheses and learning from failed attempts (Shallice 1988)
May be able to work along routine lines, but have difficulties in new situations (Baddeley and Wilson 1988)
The executive system processes novel situations outside the domain of some of our “automatic‟ psychological processes
what is dysexecutive syndrome and some common characteristics??
the disruption of executive function (mental processes that allow us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions and juggle multiple tasks successfully)
Impulsivity
Disinhibition
Emotional Bluntness
Attentional problems
Perseveration
Inability to plan
Copes with written and structure but not unstructured tasks
Difficulty grasping complex or abstract ideas
Executive functioning skills are the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully.
Dysexecutive syndrome involves the disruption of executive function and is closely related to frontal lobe damage
encompasses cognitive, emotional, and behavioural symptoms
can result from many causes, including head trauma, tumours, degenerative diseases, and cerebrovascular disease, as well as in several psychiatric conditions
what may dysexecutive syndrome be caused by?
closely related to frontal lobe damage - head trauma - tumours - degenerative diseases - cerebrovascular disease - severe psychiatric conditions
what parts of the brain are associated with executive functioning difficulties?
frontal lobe (particularly pre-frontal cortex) the subcortical regions (basal ganglia, thalamus and cerebellum) sit posteriorly to the frontal lobe but are highly interconnected with it
