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big brain Flashcards

1
Q

achromatopsia

A

congenital: inherited form of complete color blindness due to cone cells dysfunction. genit-genetic
central (cerebral): complete color blindness due to lesion

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2
Q

agnosia

A

an inability to recognize common objects, sounds, or people.

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3
Q

agranulocytosis

A

a marked decrease in a certain type of white blood cell. major side effect associated with Clozapine.

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4
Q

akathisia

A

“cruel restlessness”; compelling need to be in constant motion.

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5
Q

akinesia

A

reduction or absence of spontaneous movement.

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6
Q

apraxia

A

inability to complete skilled motor movements.

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7
Q

anomia

A

inability to name common things.

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8
Q

asomotognosia

A

a lack of awareness of condition in part of or all of the body.

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9
Q

anosognosia

A

inability to recognize own neurological symptoms.

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10
Q

aphasia

A

inability to understand or produce language.

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11
Q

ataxia

A

a loss of muscle control characterized by slurred speech, severe tremors, and loss of balance.

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12
Q

atheotosis

A

slow writhing movement. often associated with Huntington’s disease.

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13
Q

Dysprosody

A

speech disorder that impacts rhythm and pronunciation.

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14
Q

Gertsmann’s Syndrome

A

due to damage in parietal lobe. characterized by left-right confusion, finger agnosia, agraphia, and acalculia.

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15
Q

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome

A

a fatal side effect of antipsychotics; rapid onset of muscle rigidity, tachycardia, hyperthermia, and altered consciousness

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16
Q

Tardive Dyskinesia

A

involuntary rhythmic movement of jaw, lip, tongue, and extremities

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17
Q

Paresthesia

A

sensation of numbness or tingling of skin

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18
Q

Visual agnosia (apperceptive vs associative)

A

apperceptive: intact visual acuity but still unable to see objects (cannot perceive)
associative: impaired memory or inability to access semantic knowledge is what causes the visual agnosia

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19
Q

5 main stages of CNS development

A
  1. Proliferation: embryo is 2.5 weeks old, new cell production in neural tube
  2. Migration: at about 8 weeks
  3. Differentiation: develop axons and dendrites
  4. Myelination: most occur postnatal
  5. Synaptogenesis: occurs postnatally and influenced by endogenous and exogenous factors
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20
Q

What are the three regions of the brain?

A

Hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain

The hindbrain and midbrain together constitute the brainstem.

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21
Q

What are the consequences of brainstem damage?

A

Symptoms may include:
* Respiratory problems
* Difficulty swallowing
* Slurred speech
* Problems with balance and coordination
* Nausea
* Sleep disturbances
* Confusion
* Loss of consciousness

The specific consequences depend on the location and extent of the damage.

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22
Q

What structures are included in the forebrain?

A

Subcortical structures include:
* Hypothalamus
* Thalamus
* Basal ganglia
* Amygdala
* Cingulate cortex
* Hippocampus
* Cerebral cortex

These structures play key roles in various functions including emotion, memory, and sensory processing.

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23
Q

What are the main structures of the hindbrain?

A

The hindbrain includes:
* Medulla
* Pons
* Cerebellum

The hindbrain is located just above the spinal cord.

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24
Q

What is the function of the medulla?

A

Regulates involuntary functions such as:
* Swallowing
* Coughing
* Sneezing
* Respiration
* Heart rate
* Blood pressure

Disruption can lead to severe consequences, including death.

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25
Q

What is the role of the pons?

A

Connects the two halves of the cerebellum and helps coordinate movements.

It also relays messages between the cerebellum and cerebral cortex and plays a role in respiration and sleep regulation.

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26
Q

What is ataxia and what causes it?

A

Ataxia is characterized by:
* Lack of muscle control
* Impaired balance and coordination
* Slurred speech
* Nystagmus
* Blurred or double vision

It can be caused by damage to the cerebellum.

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27
Q

What is the cerebellum responsible for?

A

Coordinates voluntary movements and maintains:
* Posture
* Balance

It also processes and stores procedural and implicit memories.

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28
Q

True or False: The cerebellum is involved in some non-motor cognitive functions.

A

True

Functions include attention, linguistic processing, and visuospatial abilities.

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29
Q

Fill in the blank: The medulla is also known as the _______.

A

Medulla oblongata

It plays a crucial role in autonomic functions.

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30
Q

What are some effects of brain injury on the medulla?

A

Can result in:
* Disruption of involuntary functions
* Death

Certain diseases and drugs, especially opioids, can also affect medulla functioning.

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31
Q

What structures does the midbrain connect?

A

The midbrain connects the hindbrain to the forebrain

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32
Q

What is the reticular formation?

A

A network of neurons extending from the medulla into the midbrain involved in muscle tone regulation, eye movement coordination, and pain control

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33
Q

What system does the reticular formation contain that mediates consciousness?

A

The reticular activating system (RAS) or ascending reticular activating system (ARAS)

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34
Q

What functions does the RAS control?

A

Mediates consciousness and arousal, controls the sleep/wake cycle, alerts the cerebral cortex to sensory signals

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35
Q

What can lesions in the RAS cause?

A

A comatose state

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36
Q

What can stimulate the RAS to awaken a person?

A

Direct electrical stimulation or sensory input

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37
Q

What role does the substantia nigra play?

A

Involved in reward-seeking, drug addiction, and motor control through its connection to the basal ganglia

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38
Q

What is a consequence of degeneration of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra?

A

Slowed movement, tremors, rigidity, and other motor symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease

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39
Q

True or False: Some authors include the substantia nigra as part of the basal ganglia.

A

True

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40
Q

Fill in the blank: The reticular formation is involved in the regulation of _______.

A

muscle tone

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41
Q

Fill in the blank: The RAS alerts the _______ to incoming sensory signals.

A

cerebral cortex

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42
Q

What is the primary function of the hypothalamus?

A

Maintains body homeostasis and regulates essential survival functions

Functions include regulating body temperature, blood pressure, heart and respiration rates, thirst and hunger, growth, sexual activity, reproduction, and response to stress.

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43
Q

How does the hypothalamus influence the pituitary gland?

A

Produces hormones that stimulate or inhibit anterior pituitary hormone release and sends oxytocin and vasopressin to the posterior pituitary

The hypothalamus initiates secondary sex characteristics development and regulates reproductive system maintenance.

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44
Q

What role does gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) play?

A

Stimulates the anterior pituitary to secrete gonadotropins regulating testes and ovaries functions

GnRH is crucial for the maturation and maintenance of the reproductive system.

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45
Q

What are the functions of oxytocin released from the posterior pituitary?

A
  • Stimulates uterine contractions during childbirth
  • Promotes lactation after childbirth

Oxytocin is also involved in social bonding and emotional regulation.

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46
Q

What is the role of vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone)?

A

Regulates water balance by controlling water reabsorption in the kidneys

Vasopressin plays a role in maintaining body fluid homeostasis.

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47
Q

How does oxytocin affect stress responses?

A

Inhibits hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system responses to stress

This reduces blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol levels.

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48
Q

What have studies found about oxytocin’s role in social behaviors?

A

Plays a role in social bonding, trust, social recognition, and aggression

Elevated oxytocin levels are linked to cooperation and psychosocial stress.

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49
Q

True or False: High levels of oxytocin have only beneficial effects in healthy adults.

A

False

High oxytocin levels can impair emotion recognition and sensitivity to facial expressions.

50
Q

What is the significance of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)?

A

Serves as the body’s biological clock and regulates circadian rhythms

The SCN plays a critical role in sleep-wake cycles.

51
Q

What effects of oxytocin have been observed in people with autism spectrum disorder?

A

Beneficial effects on recognizing emotions in facial expressions

Oxytocin may help with deficits in social-emotional cognition.

52
Q

Fill in the blank: The hypothalamus contains the _______ bodies, which play a role in memory.

A

mammillary

Mammillary bodies are involved in memory processing.

53
Q

What behaviors can electrical stimulation of different areas of the hypothalamus elicit?

A
  • Aggressive behavior
  • Rage
  • Crying
  • Laughter

These behaviors highlight the hypothalamus’s role in emotional regulation.

54
Q

What is the primary function of the thalamus?

A

It acts as a relay station for sensory information to the cortex for all senses except smell.

55
Q

Which conditions are associated with damage to the basal ganglia?

A
  • Mood disorders
  • Schizophrenia
  • ADHD
  • OCD
  • Tourette’s disorder
  • Huntington’s disease
  • Parkinson’s disease
56
Q

What are the main components of the basal ganglia?

A
  • Caudate nucleus
  • Putamen
  • Nucleus accumbens
  • Globus pallidus
57
Q

What is Korsakoff syndrome and what causes it?

A

It is caused by a thiamine deficiency, often from chronic alcoholism, damaging neurons in the thalamus and mammillary bodies.

58
Q

What are the primary symptoms of Korsakoff syndrome?

A
  • Anterograde amnesia
  • Retrograde amnesia
  • Confabulation
59
Q

What structures make up the limbic system?

A
  • Amygdala
  • Cingulate cortex
  • Hippocampus
60
Q

What role does the amygdala play in memory?

A

It is important for the formation of flashbulb memories.

61
Q

True or False: The amygdala is involved in emotional processing.

A

True

62
Q

What syndrome is associated with bilateral lesioning of the amygdala?

A

Kluver-Bucy syndrome

63
Q

What are the symptoms of Kluver-Bucy syndrome?

A
  • Hyperphagia
  • Hyperorality
  • Reduced fear
  • Hypersexuality
  • Visual agnosia
64
Q

What is the role of the cingulate cortex?

A

It plays a role in motivation, memory, and emotional reactions to pain.

65
Q

What is the impact of damage to the cingulate cortex on pain perception?

A

People experience pain but are not emotionally distressed by it.

66
Q

How does the anterior cingulate cortex relate to depression?

A

Reduced volume is associated with depression; increases in volume correlate with improvements in symptoms.

67
Q

What is the primary function of the hippocampus?

A

It transfers declarative memories from short-term to long-term memory.

68
Q

Fill in the blank: The hippocampus plays an important role in _______.

A

[spatial memory]

69
Q

What mental health disorders are linked to hippocampal abnormalities?

A
  • Major depressive disorder
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Schizophrenia
  • PTSD
70
Q

What effect do acute or chronic increases in cortisol levels have on the hippocampus?

A

They impair the retrieval of declarative memories.

71
Q

What is the relationship between traumatic stress and hippocampal volume in PTSD?

A

Extreme stress may reduce hippocampal volume, but reduced volume may also be a risk factor for PTSD.

72
Q

What is the cerebral cortex?

A

The outer layer of the brain divided into right and left hemispheres, each containing four lobes: frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital.

73
Q

What are the four lobes of the cerebral cortex?

A
  • Frontal lobe
  • Temporal lobe
  • Parietal lobe
  • Occipital lobe
74
Q

What major area is located in the frontal lobe responsible for language?

A

Broca’s area

75
Q

What is Broca’s aphasia?

A

A language disorder caused by damage to Broca’s area, characterized by slow, labored speech, impaired repetition, and anomia.

76
Q

What is the primary function of the prefrontal cortex (PFC)?

A

Executive functions, including planning, decision-making, working memory, and emotional regulation.

77
Q

What is working memory?

A

The aspect of short-term memory involved in processing and manipulating information.

78
Q

What functions are associated with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)?

A
  • Executive functions
  • Goal-directed behavior
  • Judgment and insight
  • Working memory
79
Q

What psychiatric disorders are linked to damage in the DLPFC?

A
  • Major depressive disorder
  • Generalized anxiety disorder
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder
  • Schizophrenia
80
Q

What role does the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) play?

A

Involved in goal-directed behavior, decision-making, memory, motor inhibition, and emotion regulation.

81
Q

What impairments can result from damage to the VLPFC?

A

Impaired decision-making and behavioral and emotional self-control.

82
Q

What functions does the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) contribute to?

A
  • Decision-making
  • Social cognition
  • Memory
  • Emotion regulation
83
Q

What are the effects of damage to the VMPFC?

A
  • Impaired decision-making
  • Impaired moral judgment
  • Lack of insight
  • Confabulation
84
Q

What psychiatric disorders are associated with VMPFC abnormalities?

A
  • Major depressive disorder
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder
  • Generalized anxiety disorder
  • PTSD
  • Schizophrenia
85
Q

What is the role of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)?

A

Involved in emotion regulation, response inhibition, and social behaviors.

86
Q

What can damage to the OFC lead to?

A
  • Impulsivity
  • Social inappropriateness
  • Lack of empathy
  • Aggressive behaviors
87
Q

What psychiatric disorders have been linked to OFC abnormalities?

A
  • Major depressive disorder
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder
  • PTSD
  • Schizophrenia
  • Substance use disorders
88
Q

What is the primary motor cortex responsible for?

A

The initiation of purposeful movements.

89
Q

What are the effects of damage to the primary motor cortex?

A

Depend on location and extent, ranging from weakness to paralysis in contralateral muscles.

90
Q

What does the temporal lobe contain?

A

The auditory cortex and Wernicke’s area

The auditory cortex processes sound, while Wernicke’s area is involved in language comprehension.

91
Q

What is auditory agnosia?

A

A condition resulting from damage to the auditory cortex characterized by an inability to recognize sounds

It can also include auditory hallucinations and cortical deafness.

92
Q

What is Wernicke’s aphasia also known as?

A

Receptive aphasia and fluent aphasia

Individuals have impaired comprehension of language and produce speech that lacks meaning.

93
Q

What are the key symptoms of Wernicke’s aphasia?

A
  • Impaired comprehension of written and spoken language
  • Impaired repetition
  • Anomia

Speech remains fluent but contains many word substitutions and errors.

94
Q

What connects Wernicke’s area to Broca’s area?

A

The arcuate fasciculus

Damage to this structure results in conduction aphasia.

95
Q

What characterizes conduction aphasia?

A
  • Relatively intact comprehension
  • Fluent speech with many errors
  • Impaired repetition
  • Anomia

Individuals can understand language but struggle to repeat it accurately.

96
Q

What is the main function of the parietal lobe?

A

Processing sensory information related to touch, pressure, temperature, pain, and body position

It contains the somatosensory cortex.

97
Q

What is tactile agnosia?

A

An inability to recognize objects by touch

It is one of the somatosensory agnosias resulting from parietal lobe damage.

98
Q

What is asomatognosia?

A

A lack of interest in or recognition of one or more parts of one’s own body

This condition may occur after damage to the parietal lobe.

99
Q

What is anosognosia?

A

Denial of one’s illness

This is another form of somatosensory agnosia linked to parietal lobe damage.

100
Q

What is apraxia?

A

Inability to perform purposeful, skilled movements not due to motor, sensory, or language impairment

Various types of apraxia may arise from parietal lobe damage.

101
Q

What is contralateral neglect?

A

Neglect of the left side of the body and stimuli on the left side

Caused by damage to the right (nondominant) parietal lobe.

102
Q

What is Gerstmann’s syndrome?

A

A condition involving right-left disorientation, finger agnosia, agraphia, and acalculia

It results from damage to the left (dominant) parietal lobe.

103
Q

What is limb-kinetic apraxia?

A

Inability to make precise, coordinated movements using a finger, hand, arm, or leg

It is typically caused by damage to the left parietal lobe.

104
Q

What is ideomotor apraxia?

A

Inability to imitate a motor activity or perform a motor activity in response to a verbal request

An example would be not being able to pretend to comb one’s hair.

105
Q

What is ideational apraxia?

A

Inability to plan and execute a task that requires a sequence of actions

An example includes struggling to complete the steps needed to make a sandwich.

106
Q

What is the main function of the occipital lobe?

A

Processes visual information

The occipital lobe contains the visual cortex.

107
Q

What condition can result from damage to the occipital lobe?

A

Visual agnosia

Other conditions include visual hallucinations, achromatopsia, and cortical blindness.

108
Q

What is cortical blindness?

A

Damage to the primary visual cortex while eyes and optic nerves are intact

It leads to a loss of visual perception despite functional eyes.

109
Q

How does damage to the left hemisphere of the visual cortex affect vision?

A

Blindness affects the right visual field

Conversely, damage to the right hemisphere affects the left visual field.

110
Q

What is blindsight?

A

Responding to visual stimuli without conscious perception

Individuals may reach for objects they claim they cannot see.

111
Q

What is affective blindsight?

A

Responding to emotional visual stimuli without conscious perception

Example: Identifying emotions in faces they cannot consciously see.

112
Q

What can cause prosopagnosia?

A

Bilateral lesions in the occipitotemporal junction

It results in an inability to recognize familiar faces.

113
Q

What are the dominant functions of the left hemisphere?

A
  • Written and spoken language
  • Logical and analytical thinking
  • Positive emotions

Dominance is seen in about 95% of right-handed and 50-70% of left-handed individuals.

114
Q

What functions are typically associated with the right hemisphere?

A
  • Holistic thinking
  • Intuition
  • Understanding spatial relationships
  • Creativity
  • Negative emotions

These functions contrast with those of the left hemisphere.

115
Q

What is emotional prosody?

A

Expression of emotion through variations in speech

It is an aspect of language that involves tone, loudness, and rate.

116
Q

What is the primary role of the corpus callosum?

A

Allows the two hemispheres to share information

It is the main bundle of nerve fibers connecting both hemispheres.

117
Q

What was the significance of Sperry’s research on split-brain patients?

A

It revealed lateralization of brain functions

This research helped understand how each hemisphere processes information differently.

118
Q

What is the dichotic listening task used for?

A

To study speech lateralization

It involves presenting different words to each ear simultaneously.

119
Q

In the dichotic listening task, which ear is typically associated with language processing in right-handed individuals?

A

Right ear

It sends signals directly to the left auditory cortex, which is dominant for language.

120
Q

True or False: The left hemisphere controls the left side of the body for most functions.

A

False

The right hemisphere typically controls the left side of the body.

121
Q

Fill in the blank: The right hemisphere is essential for the ______ of language.

A

Emotional prosody

It plays a role in aspects of language that involve emotion.

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