Association Cortex--Dr. Ted

Question 1

Cognition can be considered which 3 things?

Answer 1

recognition
selective attention-to external stimuli & internal motivation
planning

Question 2

What is the cognitive function of the parietal lobe?

Answer 2

Attend to complex stimuli in the external and internal environment

Question 3

What is the cognitive function of the temporal lobe?

Answer 3

Identifying the nature of complex information and matching it to a stored template

Question 4

What is the cognitive function of the frontal lobe?

Answer 4

Planning and executing a behavioral response to stimuli

Question 5

What would be the effect of a lesion in the right parietal lobe?

Answer 5

Spatial distribution of attention
Contralateral neglect syndrome
Disruption in spatial frame of reference-where your body ends & the world begins

Question 6

If you had your association cortex replaced with another person’s…then would you still be you?

Answer 6

No. different connections based on individual experiences

Question 7

What is the effect of a lesion to the right temporal lobe?

Answer 7

Objects agnosia This may be more-or-less total or partial
Prosopagnosia is a partial object agnosia in which the failure is in the ability to identify individual members of a category or set while retaining the ability to identify the category

Question 8

What is object agnosia?

Answer 8

a loss of ability to recognize objects

Question 9

What is the effect of a lesion to the right frontal lobe?

Answer 9

Aprosodias
“missing the point”
Motor program deficits

Question 10

What is aprosodias?

Answer 10

inability of a person to interpret emotional prosody

prosody: ranges of rhythm, pitch, stress, intonation

Question 11

What is the effect of a lesion to the left frontal lobe?

Answer 11

Expressive aphasias

Motor program deficits (typically dyspraxia)

Question 12

T/F It is easier to discern a left frontal from right frontal lesion than a left parietal from a right parietal lesion.

Answer 12

False. Easier to differentiate lesion b/w lobes that are more posterior (parietal) than it is to the frontal lobes.

Question 13

What is the effect of a lesion to the left temporal lobe?

Answer 13

Anomia -this can be considered an analogue to object agnosia in which the failure to recognize is for symbols

Question 14

What is the effect of a lesion to the left parietal lobe?

Answer 14

Receptive aphasias (temporal-parietal border)
Acalculia
Right-left confusion

Question 15

What is the effect of a lesion to the frontal lobe generally?

Answer 15

Loss of the ability to form or follow plans—thus overly reactive to immediate stimuli.
Defects in the impulse to act (too much or too little)
Dysexecutive syndrome.
Apparent loss of motivation
Disinhibition

Question 16

With left neglect syndrome–what happens to your understanding of your surroundings?

Answer 16

it’s not just that you ignore your left half of your body…you can’t conceive that there is a left side of your universe.

Question 17

What is aphasia?

Answer 17

involves the compromise of essential language (symbolic) functions while leaving sensory and motor components of verbal (and written) communication intact

Question 18

What are some major aphasia syndromes?

Answer 18

Broca’s aphasia a.k.a. expressive aphasia
Wernicke’s aphasia a.k.a. receptive aphasia
Conduction aphasia a rare disconnection syndrome

Question 19

What is left-handedness associated with?

Answer 19

Is associated with greater variability as opposed to superiority or inferiority of a given talent, skill—or disability

Question 20

Spatial distribution of visual attention is mainly covered by which hemisphere?

Answer 20

the right hemisphere! does most of it. greater conc’n on left side.
The left hemisphere helps a little bit with right hemifield of vision.

Question 21

Why is right hemi-neglect more rare than left?

Answer 21

b/c you would need a lesion on both sides of the brain to achieve this deficit

Question 22

T/F Lateralization is more important in the posterior brain than the anterior brain.

Answer 22

True.

Question 23

How can you tell if someone has dyspraxia?

Answer 23

they are unable to speak but can write etc.

Question 24

What is anomia?

Answer 24

difficulty recalling words or names

Question 25

What were the studies that helped us to understand that almost everyone has left lateralization of language?

Answer 25

Post mortem studies
Commissurectomies (split brain studies) 
Sodium amytal
Electrical stimulation of surgical patients
Structural imaging 
Functional imaging

Question 26

What is the planum temporal?

Answer 26

The planum temporale is the cortical area just posterior to the auditory cortex (Heschl’s gyrus) within the Sylvian fissure. It is a triangular region which forms the heart of Wernicke’s area, one of the most important functional areas for language.
**Significance not understood
There is an analogous area in the frontal operculum
Asymmetrical bulk
Connectivity is different from other association areas.