3- Intro to neuropsychology Flashcards
Flatworm nervous system
Chemoreceptors to locate food
Eyespots sensitive to light (light avoided)
What is the central nervous system?
Essentially the brain and the spinal cord.
The spinal cord provides sensory information to the brain. Brain processes this information and sends motor commands to muscles
What is the peripheral nervous system?
Everything beyond the spinal cord. Nerve fibres from CNS to rest of body.
The peripheral nervous system can regenerate tissue when damaged, UNLIKE CNS.
Cut finger, nerves will regenerate. Stroke, nerve cells in brain will not regenerate. Why? specialisation of nerve cells in CNS.
What is the peripheral nervous system divided into?
Autonomic NS= controlling internal activities of organs and glands
Somatic NS= controlling external actions of skin (sensory connections) and muscles (motor connections)
What is the autonomic nervous system divided into?
Sympathetic (arousing) ‘fight or flight’
Parasympathetic (calming)
What structure links the spinal cord to the brain?
Brain stem
What are the components of the brain stem?
Medulla (first connection between brain and spinal cord)
Pons
Midbrain
What is the function of the medulla?
Mediates essential functions e.g. breathing, heartbeat
What is the function of the pons.
Relay station related to breathing, sleep and arousal- noradrenaline network. Sympathetic system and ‘fight or flight’
What is the function of the midbrain?
Secondary perceptual roles:
Vision: superior colliculus- eye movement and gaze. input from retinal to visual cortex CROSS at superior colliculus.
Hearing: inferior colliculus- sound localization. CROSS at inferior colliculus.
Movement: substantia nigra- connections to basal ganglia, implicated in Parkinson’s disease. Also related to reward and addiction.
Function of Parietal lobe
Spatial orientation. Disorders of spatial neglect if lesion. Somatosensory cortex
Function of occipital lobe
Visual cortex
Function of temporal lobe
Language, auditory cortex, facial recognition (fusiform gyrus), semantic memory
Function of the frontal lobe
Primary motor cortex
Prefrontal=executive functions, inhibition, personality
Basic divisions of the central nervous system= hindbrain, midbrain and forebrain. What is in each?
Hindbrain:
Medulla oblongata (part of the brainstem)
Pons (part of the brainstem)
Cerebellum (Motor control, posture etc)
Midbrain (part of brainstem)
Forebrain:
Hypothalamus, thalamus, mammillary bodies (collectively the diencephalon)
Basal ganglia
Limbic system containing the amygdala and hippocampus
Cerebral cortex- four bilateral lobes
Function of thalamus
Part of diencephalon. Relay centre for sensory info before it travels up to cortex.
Function of hypothalamus
Autonomic nervous system, controlling body temp, hormones, sleep-wake cycle.
Function of the cerebellum
Coordinates movements, maintains posture and equilibrium. Balance and proprioception.
What is encephalization quotient?
Size of brain relative the size of animal. Humans= large EQ. Most extra brain size due to cerebral cortex, achieved through cortical folding.
Large brains cost energy - about 20% of our diet.
What are possible factors for humans increasing brain size?
Social co operation, change in diet, lifestyle (harnessing of fire for cooking resulted in increased calorie intake), adaptation to climate change.
Early approaches to psychology and the brain: Materialism.
Materialism- rational behaviour explained by the working of the nervous system. Key observation: damage to the brain effects behaviour.
The cognitive revolution- Chomsky’s view of language
Innate lang learning abilities. LANG CANNOT SIMPLY BE PRODUCED BY IMITATIONA & REINFORCEMENT
Information processing models
Computational metaphor, task-specific cognitive systems. Flow of info.
Modularity hypothesis
Central processor obtains information via a number of input systems:
Domain specificity:
Modules only operate on certain kinds of inputs:
Specialised for a particular purpose.
Neuroimaging techniques reconnect mind and brain, previously mainly post-mortem
Perspectives on the brain and behaviour, there are three theories: 1. MENTALISM
Mentalism- a person’s mind or “psyche” is responsible for behaviours.
ARISTOTLE
He proposed that a nonmaterial psyche was responsible for human thoughts, perceptions, emotions, desire, pain etc. The psyche is independent of the body, but in Aristotle’s view, works through the heart.
Perspectives on the brain and behaviour, there are three theories: 2. DUALISM
Descartes- Dualism
The mind and the body are separate entities. Whilst the body is material with spatial extent, the mind is nonmaterial without spatial extent. Descartes believed the mind influences the body through the pineal body (a small structure high in the brainstem) Based on idea was that the mind, working through the pineal body, controlled valves that allowed CSF to flow from the ventricles through nerves to muscles, filling them and making them move.
perspectives on the brain and behaviour, there are three theories: 3. MATERIALISM
Contemporary perspective
MATERIALISM= the idea that rational behaviour can be fully explained by the workings of the nervous system. No need to refer to a non-material mind.
Neuroplasticity
The nervous systems potential for physical and chemical change- enhances adaptability to environmental change and ability to compensate for injury.
What is localisation of functuon?
Suggests different brain regions are specialised for particular functions. Franz Josef Gall believed skull bumps indicated well-developed brain areas responsible for specific traits. Gall’s theory of phrenology proved inaccurate, laid groundwork for idea that different brain parts have distinct roles
What is lateralisation of brain function?
Principle that certain functions are primarily controlled by one side of the brain. The discovery that language is largely localized in the left hemisphere, with Broca’s area involved in speech production and Wernicke’s area in language comprehension.
What is meant by Disconnection.
This concept posits that even though different brain regions have specific functions, they need to communicate effectively to produce complex behaviours. Damage to connections between brain areas, rather than damage to the areas themselves, can disrupt these interactions, leading to impairments. For instance, conduction aphasia, where individuals struggle to repeat heard words, results from damage to the connection between Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas
What is meant by neuroplasticity?
The brain’s ability to form new connections and pathways. This neuroplasticity is the nervous system’s potential for change that enhances its adaptability to environmental change and its ability to compensate for injury.
Although all function may not be recovered after injury, the brain is capable of adapting its structure and function. Studies in animals where large portions of the cortex were removed demonstrated that the remaining brain could compensate for lost functions, highlighting the brain’s remarkable plasticity and its potential for recovery
What is meant by hierarchal organisation
This concept suggests that the brain processes information in a hierarchical manner, with simpler functions handled by lower levels and increasingly complex functions handled by higher levels. The brainstem and spinal cord can take over some basic functions when the cortex is damaged, supporting the hierarchical view of brain organization
