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Psychology > BioCog Psychology Part 1 > Flashcards

BioCog Psychology Part 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

Neurogenesis

A

generation of new neurons

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2
Q

Dualism vs Monism

A

Dualism: mind & body are two separate entities
Monism: both are one single entity

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3
Q

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

A

responsible for the review of experiments involving animals; ethics and safety

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4
Q

Stroke

A

caused by bleeding or obstruction of a blood vessel
Possible effects:
- partial paralysis
- inability/difficulty to read or write
- inability/difficulty to converse

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5
Q

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

A

Responsible for reviewing experiments’ methods to ensure ethical and safe use of participants in research; informed consent

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6
Q

Cognitive Psychology

A

Scientific study of the mind

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7
Q

Donders 1868

A

Reaction time experiment; uses the subtraction method
simple reaction time vs discrimination reaction time
commonly a go-no go task
simple presence + discrimination task

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8
Q

Wundt 1879

A

First psychology laboratory
- structuralism
- analytic introspection
- empiricist approach

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9
Q

1885 Ebbinghaus

A

Memory experiment
- quantitative measurement for memory
- memorising nonsense, how long it took, delay, time needed to relearn
- savings: original time - time to relearn

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10
Q

1913 Watson

A

founding of behaviourism
focus on observable behaviours; close association with classical conditioning

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11
Q

1948 Tolman

A

Experiment with rats in a maze
cognitive map

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12
Q

Dichotic listening

A

Cocktail party phenomenon

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13
Q

Cognitive Neuroscience

A

study of the physiological basis of cognition

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14
Q

Receptor neuron

A

neuron specialised in receiving environmental information

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15
Q

Resting potential

A

Value of electrical signal of a neutron when at rest (-70mv)

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16
Q

Action potential

A

nerve impulse
electrical signal traveling along the axon
charge increases to +40mv
lasts for 1 millisecond

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17
Q

Neurotransmitter

A

specific chemical which is released from the terminal buttons into the synapse due to an action potential
sends a signal to the following neuron

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18
Q

Feature detector neurons

A

neurons which are sensitive to specific features of a stimulus

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19
Q

Specificity coding

A

an object is represented by a single neuron
vulnerable
“Grandmother cells”

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20
Q

Population coding

A

object is represented by many neurons
inefficient

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21
Q

Sparse coding

A

object is represented by a few neurons
more efficient, but also vulnerable

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22
Q

Localisation of function

A

specific behaviours are controlled by specific areas in the brain

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23
Q

Broca’s area

A

area in the left frontal lobe
specialised for speech production

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24
Q

Wernicke’s area

A

area in the temporal lobe
specialised for language comprehension

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25
Q

Prosopagnosia

A

inability to recognise faces

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26
Q

Electroencephalography (EEG)

A

registers electrical activity on the scalp, produced by the brain
temporal resolution, no spatial resolution

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27
Q

Magnetoencephalography (MEG)

A

coils register magnetic activity produced by the brain
temporal resolution, no spatial resolution

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28
Q

Positron Emission Topography (PET)

A

Uses radioactive substances to trace blood flow and usage in the brain
spatial resolution, no temporal resolution

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29
Q

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

A

Creates images of the brain, measures changes in specific areas
spatial resolution, no temporal resolution

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30
Q

Single Cell Recordings

A

Records activity of a few single neurons
highest temporal and spatial resolution
invasive, but non-manipulative

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31
Q

Myasthenia gravis

A

autoimmune disease
brake down proteins in cells which allow a neuron to receive information
no cure; drug treatments

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32
Q

Central Nervous System (CNS)

A

Brain + spinal cord

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33
Q

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

A

Consists of all the neurons and cells outside of the brain and spinal cord

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34
Q

Sensory neurons

A

Collect sensory information from the body and transmit it further
part of the PNS

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35
Q

Motor neurons

A

contract and release muscles to produce movement
part of the PNS

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36
Q

Interneurons

A

facilitate communication between sensory and motor neurons
part of the CNS

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37
Q

Parts of a neuron

A

Cell body (soma): shape varies per type of neuron; contains the nucleus; operates the cell

Dendrites: receive information from other neurons or from the environment

Axon: carries an action potential from one end of the neuron to the other; covered in myelin sheaths

Terminal buttons: release neurotransmitters due to the action potential; clean up left over neurotransmitters

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38
Q

Membrane

A

Protective outer layer of the cell

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39
Q

Cytoplasm

A

A jelly-like substance which fills the empty space inside of a cell

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40
Q

Nucleus

A

Contains the nucleolus - responsible for producing ribosomes; houses the chromosomes of the cell - when active, they produce mRNA which will attach to ribosomes

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41
Q

Mitochondria

A

produces the energy source ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)

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42
Q

Endoplasmic reticulum

A

produces, stores and transports proteins

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43
Q

Golgi apparatus

A

packs neurotransmitters into vesicles

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44
Q

Lyosomes

A

break down unneeded matter in the cell, to be recycled

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45
Q

Microtubules

A

Used to transport vesicles form the cell body to the terminal buttons

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46
Q

Kinesin and Dynein

A

Pick up and carry vesicles along the microtubules
Kinesin: anterograde transport (soma to terminal buttons)
Dynein: retrograde transport (terminal buttons to soma)

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47
Q

Astrocytes

A

Exist in the CNS; provide physical support to neurons in the brain; clean up debris in the brain; control chemical environment and compassion around the neurons; provide nourishment (glucose) to neurons; isolate synaptic clefts.

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48
Q

Oligodendrocytes

A

Create several myelin sheaths in the CNS

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49
Q

Schwann cells

A

Create a single myelin sheath in the PNS

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50
Q

Microglia

A

act as phagocytes: break down dead/dying cells by engulfing them; part of the brains immune system

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51
Q

Resting potential

A

Potential of a neuron when it is at rest; usually around -70mv

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52
Q

Hyperpolarisation

A

Inside of the cell becomes more negative relative to the outside

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53
Q

Depolarisation

A

Inside of the cell becomes less negative relative to the outside

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54
Q

Threshold of excitation

A

Set point of potential; once passed, an action potential will be generated

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55
Q

Action potential

A

Caused by depolarisation of the cell, depolarises more and causes a charge/message to be sent down the axon to the terminal buttons

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56
Q

Diffusion

A

Force which causes particles to even out their concentration

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57
Q

Electrostatic pressure

A

Force which causes oppositely charged ions to attract and ions with the same charge to repel eachother

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58
Q

Sodium-potassium pump

A

Maintains membrane potential by exchanging 3 outgoing Na+ molecules for 2 incoming K+ molecules
Uses 40% of a cell’s metabolic resources

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59
Q

Ion channels

A

Channels in the membrane, which are ion-specific and usually voltage-activated

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60
Q

All-or-none law

A

Action potential has the same magnitude every time, will either activate or not

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61
Q

Saltatory conduction

A

Conduction of an action potential along a myelinated axon; potential is generated at the nodes of Ranvier, zips across the myelin sheath and is re-generated at the next node; faster and more efficient than unmyelinated conduction

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62
Q

Vesicles

A

Containers for neurotransmitters, created by the Golgi apparatus, and filled by the endoplasmic reticulum.

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63
Q

Kiss and run

A

Method of releasing neurotransmitters; vesicle merges lightly with the membrane, empties, and removes itself from the membrane

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64
Q

Merge and recycle

A

Method of releasing neurotransmitters; vesicle merges completely with the membrane; membrane is then pinched off to create a new vesicle

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65
Q

Bulk endocytosis

A

Method of releasing neurotransmitters; large part of the membrane is pinched inwards then is pinched off multiple times to create vesicles

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66
Q

Ionotropic receptor

A

Neurotransmitter attaches to the binding site which activates a certain ion channel to open

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67
Q

Metabotropic receptor

A

Neurotransmitter attaches to the binding site, activates a nearby G-protein which activates an enzyme and creates a second messenger which opens nearby ion channels

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68
Q

Carbon chains

A

Long chain of carbon atoms bound to hydrogen atoms (and oxygen) e.g. glucose C6H12O6

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69
Q

Amino acids

A

Carbon chain with a nitrogen atom and a carboxyl group

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70
Q

Protein

A

Strand of amino acids

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71
Q

Peptides

A

Short protein chain

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72
Q

Lipids

A

Long carbon chains; are hydrophobic

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73
Q

Phospholipids

A

carbon chains connected to an extra phosphate group; head is hydrophilic, tails are hydrophobic

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74
Q

Inside of the cell

A

High concentration of K+ (potassium) and A- (organic anions). A- is pushed out by diffusion and electrostatic pressure, but the cell’s membrane is impermeable to A-. K+ is pushed out by diffusion but pushed in by electrostatic pressure.

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75
Q

Outside of he cell

A

High concentration of Cl- (chloride) and Na+ (sodium). Cl- is pushed in by diffusion and out by electrostatic pressure. Na+ is pushed in by both diffusion and electrostatic pressure; membrane is less permeable to Na+.

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76
Q

Action potential mechanism

A
  1. Cell is depolarised enough that Na+ channels open, cell depolarises more
  2. K+ channels start to open, flow out of the cell
  3. Na+ channels close, at the peak of the action potential, and lock themselves
  4. K+ keeps flowing out, potential becomes negative again
  5. K+ channels close, Na+ channels ‘unlock’ but remain closed
  6. Due to the outflow of K+, the potential is slightly more negative than at rest, but is restored quickly due to the sodium-potassium pump
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77
Q

Psychopharmacology

A

Study of the effects of drugs on behaviour and the nervous system behaviour

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78
Q

Drug effects

A

Observable changes in physiological processes and behaviour (as the result of a drug)

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79
Q

Sites of action

A

Areas where the molecules from the drug interact with molecules from the body

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80
Q

Pharmacokinetics

A

Absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion

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81
Q

Absorption

A

Method of administration and intake of a drug
e.g. IV injection, oral administration, inhalation, etc.

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82
Q

Distribution

A

Way in which the drug reaches its sites of action
lipid solubility: ability of fat-based molecules to pass through cell membranes; blood-brain barrier is only against water soluble molecules
more lipid soluble > faster distribution

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83
Q

Metabolism

A

Drugs are deactivated by enzymes; most found in the liver, some in the bloodstream and in the brain
some molecules are more effective after transformation by an enzyme > longer-lasting effects

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84
Q

Excretion

A

Usually by way of the kidneys > filtered out of the bloodstream

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85
Q

Therapeutic index

A

Indicates the ‘safeness’ of the drug (ratio of beneficial vs toxic effects)
higher index > safer to use

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86
Q

Effects of repeated administration

A

Tolerance: effects of the drug diminish
Sensitisation: drug effects increase
Withdrawal symptoms: usually the opposite effect of the drug; occur after the body has ‘compensated’ for the drug
Physical dependence: person experiences withdrawal symptoms; body has difficulty working without the presence of the drug

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87
Q

Placebo

A

An inactive substance

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88
Q

Placebo effects

A

Placebo may produce an effect if the person believes it has any

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89
Q

Agonist

A

Drug which facilitates synaptic transmission and/or postsynaptic effects

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90
Q

Antagonist

A

Drug which inhibits synaptic transmission and/or postsynaptic effects

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91
Q

Direct agonist

A

A drug which imitates a certain neurotransmitter by binding to postsynaptic receptors
e.g. nicotine

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92
Q

Direct antagonist

A

A drug which binds to a postsynaptic receptor to prevent a neurotransmitter from activating; also known as receptor blockers
e.g. chlorpromazine

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93
Q

Noncompetitive binding

A

Binding to alternative receptors not meant for neurotransmitters

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94
Q

Indirect antagonist

A

A drug which attaches to an alternative site and prevents its ion channel from opening
e.g. PCP & ketamine

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95
Q

Indirect agonist

A

a drug which attaches to an alternative site and facilitates its ion channel from opening
e.g. diazepam/valium

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96
Q

Amino acids

A

Glutamate: main excitatory neurotransmitter in the CNS; affects motor control and learning
GABA: main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS; affects motor control
Glycine: inhibitory neurotransmitter found in the spinal cord; affects motor control

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97
Q

Acetylcholine

A

Affects learning, memory, and dreaming

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98
Q

Monoamines

A

Catecholamines
- Dopamine: inhibitory & excitatory; affects attention, learning/reinforcement and motor control
- Norepinephrine: alertness, fight-flight, sympathetic nervous system
- Epinephrine: fight-flight, sympathetic nervous system

Indolamines
- Serotonin: mood regulation, pain regulation, eating, sleep, and alertness

Histamine: only found in the posterior hypothalamus; important role in wakefulness

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99
Q

Synapse

A

Contact point between neurons

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100
Q

Exocytosis

A

process for releasing neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft

101
Q

Neuromodulators

A

Present throughout the entire brain and sensitise or desensitise entire neural networks
- Peptides
- Nucleosides

102
Q

Ligand

A

A chemical that can bind to a receptor

103
Q

Directions for the brain

A

Neuraxis: parallel to the spinal cord, bent in humans
Anterior: in front; Posterior: behind
Rostral: towards face; Caudal: towards the tail
Dorsal: towards the back; Ventral: towards the front
Superior: above; Inferior: below
Lateral: towards the sides; Medial: towards the middle
Ipsilateral: on the same side; Contralateral: on opposite side
Transverse plane: perpendicular to the neurosis, gives front and back cross sections
Horizontal plane: gives top and bottom cross sections
Sagittal plane: gives left and right cross sections

104
Q

Meninges

A

Protective sheath around the nervous system
1. Dura mater: outer layer; durable
2. Arachnoid membrane: soft and spongy; weblike structure for suspension
3. Pia mater: closely attached to the brain, contains small blood vessels

CNS has all three; PNS has 1 & 3

105
Q

Forebrain

A

Forms around the lateral and third ventricles; creates the telencephalon and the diencephalon
Later structures: cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, limbic system, thalamus, and hypothalamus

106
Q

Midbrain

A

Forms around the cerebral aqueduct; develops into the mesencephalon
Later structure: tectum tegmentum

107
Q

Hindbrain

A

Forms around the fourth ventricle; creates the metencephalon and the myelencephalon
Later structures: cerebellum, pons, and medulla oblongata

108
Q

Progenitor cells

A

‘Ancestor’ cells
undergo symmetrical and asymmetrical division
Symmetrical division: 1 p cell > 2 p cells
Asymmetrical division: 1 p cell > 1 p cell + radial glia, Cajal-Retzius cell, or a neuron

109
Q

Cerebral cortex

A

Outer part of the brain; grey matter
Contains gyri (bulges), sulci (grooves), and fissures (large sulci)
Thickness: ~3mm
Surface area: ~2,360 cm2

110
Q

Frontal lobe

A

Front of the brain

111
Q

Parietal lobe

A

On the sides, behind the frontal lobe

112
Q

Temporal lobe

A

Bottom of the brain (ventral)

113
Q

Occipital lobe

A

Back of the brain

114
Q

Primary visual (striate) cortex

A

Receives visual information; found at the back of the occipital lobe

115
Q

Primary auditory cortex

A

Receives auditory information; found at the top of the temporal lobes

116
Q

Primary somatosensory cortex

A

Receives information from the bodily senses; found at the front of the parietal lobe

117
Q

Primary motor cortex

A

Controls movement of the body; found at the back of the frontal lobe

118
Q

Somatic nervous system

A

Receives sensory information and controls skeletal muscles (voluntary movement)

119
Q

Autonomic nervous system

A

Regulation of smooth muscles, cardiac muscles and glands; ‘self-governing’
- Sympathetic: expenditure of stored energy
- Parasympathetic: storage of energy

120
Q

Neural network development

A
  • Differentiation of ‘types’ of neurons
  • Extensions: cells reach out to each other
  • Synapse formation: extensions form synaptic connections
  • Apoptosis: unconnected cells die
  • Pruning: elimination of unnecessary connections between neurons
121
Q

Cerebellum

A

‘Little brain’
Contains more neurons than the left and right brain hemispheres
Purpose: motor control, timing thereof, and balance

122
Q

Thalamus

A

Relay station for sensory information

123
Q

Hypothalamus

A

Part of the autonomic nervous system; fight, flight, feed, and mating; hormone secretion

124
Q

Basal ganglia

A

Motor control and motor learning
- Caudate nucleus
- Globus pallidus
- Putamen
- Amygdala

125
Q

Ventricles

A

Allow for the circulation of CSF, weight reduction of the brain, and act as shock absorbers

126
Q

Perception

A

Experiences resulting from stimulation of the senses; conscious experience and interpretation of sense information

127
Q

Inverse projection problem

A

Ability of the brain to correctly identify and interpret the light falling onto the retina

128
Q

Viewpoint invariance

A

Ability to recognise the same object from different viewpoints

129
Q

Bottom-up processing

A

Knowledge from environmental stimuli influences perceptual systems

130
Q

Top-down processing

A

Knowledge from previous experiences is used to interpret what is going on

131
Q

Speech segmentation

A

Process of identifying when and where a word ends

132
Q

Visual agnosia

A

Inability to recognise familiar objects, faces, and geometrical shapes

133
Q

Gestalt laws/principles

A
  • Simplest solution
  • Symmetry
  • Similarity
  • Proximity
  • Good continuation
  • Closure
  • Common fate
  • Familiarity
134
Q

Sensation

A

Detection of environmental stimuli

135
Q

Sensory receptors

A

Specialised neurons which detect physical events

136
Q

Retina

A

Inner lining of they eye; for vision, an image must be focused on the back of the eye; contains all the photoreceptors
Has 3 layers:
- Photoreceptive layer
- Bipolar cell layer
- Ganglion cell layer

137
Q

Accommodation

A

Lens shape can be adjusted to allow the eye to focus on near or distant objects

138
Q

Cones

A

Type of photoreceptor; responsible for daytime vision; provides most of the visual information, source of vision with the highest acuity; sensitive to coloured light as well
Retina contains 6 million cones

139
Q

Rods

A

Type of photoreceptor; do not detect colour; poor acuity; more sensitive to light; used in dim lighting > no colour and less focus; highest concentration on the outside of the retina
Retina contains 120 million rods

140
Q

Fovea

A

Centre point of the retina; highest acuity/focus point; only contains cones

141
Q

Optic disk

A

point where axons leave they and form the optic nerve; creates a blindspot as there are no receptors at this point

142
Q

Transduction

A

process by which energy from the environment (light) is converted to a change in membrane potential in a neuron; sensory receptors depolarise in response to darkness and hyperpolarise in response to light

143
Q

Bipolar cells

A

ON and OFF cells; ON cells are hyper polarised by glutamate; OFF cells are depolarised

144
Q

Receptive field

A

The part of the visual field to which a ganglion cell/neuron is sensitive to (what it ‘sees’); detection of stimulus induces a change in firing frequency

145
Q

Optic nerve

A

Bundle of axons formed at the back of the eye at the optic disk
The optic nerves from both eyes cross over at the optic chasm and split into left and right visual fields; information is sent to the contralateral’s dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)

146
Q

Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN)

A

Has 6 layers; parvocellular and magnocellular pathways; consult for visual information from the retina to the visual cortex

147
Q

ON & OFF cells

A

ON cells:
- Excited by light falling in the centre of their receptive field and inhibited by light falling in the surrounding field

OFF cells:
- Inhibited by light falling in the centre of their receptive field and excited by light falling in the surrounding field

ON/OFF cells:
- briefly excited when light is turned on or off

148
Q

Trichromatic colour theory

A
  • 3 types of cones to process 3 colours: blue, green, and red
  • cone types are sensitive to different wavelengths of light
149
Q

Colour vision defects

A

Protanopia: inability to perceive red light
Deuteranopia: inability to perceive green light
Tritanopia: inability to perceive blue light

150
Q

Opponent-process colour theory

A
  • The retina has two types of ganglion cells: red-green cells and yellow-blue cells
  • Red light excites a red cone > excites a red-green ganglion cell
  • Green light excites a green cone > inhibits a red-green ganglion cell
  • Blue light excites a blue cone > inhibits a yellow-blue ganglion cell
  • Yellow light excites both a red and a green cone; red cone excites a red-green and a yellow-blue ganglion cell; green cone inhibits a red-green ganglion cell and excites a yellow-blue ganglion cell; red-green ganglion cell is canceled out, yellow-blue ganglion cell is excited
151
Q

Cerebral achromatopsia

A

Defect in colour vision due to damage in the extra striate cortex
Examples:
- loss of colour vision without loss of acuity
- loss of memory of colour

152
Q

Visual agnosia

A

Cause by damage to the extra striate cortex; has a variety of effects:
- difficulty recognising faces (prosopagnosia)
- difficulty recognising objects (object agnosia)

153
Q

Orientation-sensitive neuron

A

Found in the striate cortex, fire at a rate according to how close the stimulus is to its receptive field

154
Q

Akinetopsia

A

Inability to perceive movement

155
Q

Characteristics of colour

A

Hue: colour
Intensity: brightness
Saturation: colour purity

156
Q

Combination of visual information

A

LGN cells are sensitive to presence of light
Simple cells combine information from LGN cells and are sensitive to orientation and edges/lines
Complex cells combine information from simple cells and are sensitive to movement and specific patterns

157
Q

Attention

A

Ability to focus on specific stimuli or locations

158
Q

Selective attention

A

Attending to one stimulus while ignoring other stimuli
Focus on one task; attention as a filter

159
Q

Distraction

A

A stimulus interfering with processing of another stimulus

160
Q

Divided attention

A

Paying attention to more than one thing at a time
Focus is divided over multiple tasks; one or more tasks are usually automated; success depends on processing capacity of the tasks

161
Q

Attentional capture

A

Rapid shift of attention, often due to a sudden stimulus

162
Q

Broadbent’s filter model of attention

A

Messages > Sensory memory > Filter >attended message> Detector > Memory

163
Q

Cocktail Party Effect (Cherry, 1953)

A

Ability to focus attention on one thing and block out others

164
Q

Processing capacity

A

Amount of information someone can handle and process at any given time

165
Q

Perceptual load

A

Difficulty of the task; how much processing capacity it requires

166
Q

Overt and covert attention

A

Overt attention: moving attention in a way that is visible to observers; moving the eyes
Covert attention: shifting attention without moving the eyes; invisible to observers

167
Q

Automatic processing

A

Occurs without attention at no cognitive cost

168
Q

Inattentional blindness

A

Not attending to something that is clearly visible

169
Q

Change blindness

A

Difficulty to detect changes in a scene

170
Q

Attentional bias

A

Elevated attention to emotional stimuli

171
Q

Stroop task

A

Names of colours presented written in a different colour
Since reading has become automatic for most people; it is quite difficult to ignore what the word says and only name the colours of the ‘ink’

172
Q

Skeletal muscles

A

Attach to bones (mostly at each end); tendons attach the muscles to the bone; perform flexion and extension
Also called striated muscles

173
Q

Flexion vs Extension

A

Flexion: moving a limb towards the body
Extension: moving a limb away from the body

174
Q

Antigravity muscles

A

Muscles used to stand up

175
Q

Extrafusal muscle fibres

A

Activated by alpha motor neurons

176
Q

Intrafusal muscle fibres

A

Bundled together to create a muscle spindle; wrapped in afferent sensory endings; detect muscle length; activated by gamma motor neurons

177
Q

Motor unit

A

Alpha motor neuron + all extrafusal muscle fibres it activates

178
Q

Neuromuscular junction

A

Synapse between terminal button of an efferent neuron and the membrane of a muscle fibre

179
Q

Direct pathway

A

Promotes motor activity
Activation of the caudate nucleus & putamen increases inhibition of the internal globus pallidus, this decreases inhibition of the thalamus and increases excitation of the motor cortex

180
Q

Indirect pathway

A

Inhibits motor activity
Activation of the caudate nucleus & putamen increases inhibition of the external globus pallidus which decreases inhibition of the subthalamic nucleus; increased excitation of the internal globus pallidus and increases inhibition of thalamus which decreases excitation of the cortex

181
Q

Parkinson’s disease

A

Caused by a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra which disrupt the afferent pathways to the caudate and putamen
- rigidity, tremors, difficulty with initiation and termination of movement, and impaired postural reflexes
- can be treated with:
- L-dopa medication > may lead to sensitisation with long-term use
- electrical stimulation to inhibit the direct path

Caused by damage to direct path: loss of ability to promote motor activity

182
Q

Huntington’s disease

A

Heritable; caused by a degeneration of GABAergic and acetylcholinergic neurons in the caudate and putamen, which would inhibit the external globus pallidus
-involuntary movements, dystonia (cramped posture), athetosis (wiggling toes), ballismus (wild movements), memory loss, and mood issues

Affects the indirect pathway, loss of ability to inhibit movement

183
Q

Mirror neuron system

A
  • Found at the rostral part of the parietal lobe
  • Involved in initiating movement > copying movement
  • Stronger activation when the motion is familiar or one is competent in the specific motion
184
Q

Reaching vs Grasping

A

Reaching
- mostly controlled by vision > dorsal stream
- parietal reach region
- medial posterior cortex
- determines target location and supplies information about the target’s location to the motor mechanisms

Grasping
- controlled by the anterior part of the intraparietal sulcus (aIPS)
- allows quick control and change of grip posture
- input from dorsal stream of the visual system
- involved in recognition as well as execution of a grasping movement

185
Q

Apraxia

A

Category of movement deficits
- Oral apraxia: impairment in use of muscles for speech
- Apraxia agraphia: writing deficit involved with muscle disruption
- Limb apraxia: impairment of correct movement of limbs
- Constructional apraxia: difficulty with drawing or constructing object

186
Q

Limb apraxia

A

Damage to left parietal lobe
- Activation of the wrong body parts
- Activation of the right body parts but in the wrong order
- Execution of wrong movement

187
Q

Constructional apraxia

A

Damage to right parietal lobe; stems from an inability to perceive and imagine geometrical relations, trouble with spatial perception tasks
- Visuomotor issues > hard to identify parts of a whole
- Inability to copy figures
- Inability to build an object

188
Q

Alpha motor neurons

A
  • Enable movement of the extrafusal muscle fibres

Acetylcholine is released onto the muscle fibres > activates calcium ion channels > calcium flows into the fibres, causing contraction

189
Q

Gamma motor neurons

A

Adjust sensitivity of muscle spindle to detect muscle length

190
Q

Mechanism of muscle contraction

A

Extrafusal muscle fibre consists of actin and myosin filaments which shift in opposite directions

Inflow of calcium, due to acetylcholine from an alpha motor neuron, myosin binds to actin and moves along with it in the opposite direction

191
Q

Monosynaptic stretch reflex

A

Intrafusal muscle fibres detect a change in muscle length > sign travels via an afferent sensory neuron to the dorsal root ganglion > directly activates a ventral motor neuron which activates the muscle

Does not involve the brain

192
Q

Polysynaptic inhibitory reflex

A

Similar to the monosynaptic stretch reflex; prevents excessive tension on a muscle

Golgi tendon organ travels the same way as the sensory neuron > connects to an inhibitory interneuron > interneuron releases GABA to inhibit the motor neuron

193
Q

Golgi tendon organ

A

Sensory afferent neurons which attach to the tendons; provide information about the amount of force on a muscle (tension)

194
Q

Corticospinal paths

A

Lateral group: for independent limb movements
- Lateral corticospinal tract:
- arms
- hands
- fingers
- legs
- feet
- toes
- Rubrospinal tract (via red nucleus):
- lower arms
- hands (not fingers)
- lower legs
- feet (not toes)
- Corticobulbar tract:
- neck
- face
- eyes
- tongue

Ventromedial group: for balance (body posture) and walking
- Ventral corticospinal tract
- body posture: trunk and upper legs

195
Q

Cerebellum

A

Important for motor coordination
- Ventromedial system: deep nuclei for orientation and body posture
- Lateral system: control of independent movements

Damage: impaired ability to time and coordinate movement, particularly at the end of a movement

196
Q

Supplementary motor area (SMA)

A

Found at the top of the frontal lobe, in from of the primary motor cortex

Important for sequential movement (e.g playing an instrument or riding a bike)

197
Q

Premotor cortex

A

Found in the frontal lobe, underneath the SMA, in front of the primary motor cortex

Important for general motor planning

198
Q

Basal ganglia: motor gating

A

Allow (or disallow) movement
Decides which motor plan should be executed
- Caudate nucleus & putamen: input from the substantia nigra, primary motor cortex, and the somatosensory cortex
- Globus pallidus: output to the primary motor cortex, premotor cortex, and the supplementary motor area via the thalamus

199
Q

Memory

A

Process involved in retaining, retrieving, and using information about stimuli, images, events, ideas, and skills after the original information is no longer present

200
Q

Modal model of memory

A

Input > Sensory memory > Short-term memory < >Long-term memory

+ rehearsal & output

201
Q

Chunking

A

Method to ‘increase’ short-term memory capacity by grouping items together

202
Q

Model of Working Memory (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974)

A

Phonological Loop (verbal & auditory information)
↓↑
Central Executive
↓↑
Visuospatial Sketchpad (visual & spatial information)

203
Q

Visual imagery

A

Seeing an object or scene in the absence of a visual stimulus

204
Q

Mental imagery

A

Ability to recreate the sensory world in the absence of any physical stimuli

205
Q

Reality monitoring

A

Distinguishing between real and imagined events

206
Q

Long-term memory

A
  • Unlimited capacity
  • No or hardly any decay
  • Retrieval may fail due to inadequate retrieval cues
207
Q

Short-term memory

A
  • Very limited capacity
  • Quick decay (within ~ 30 seconds)
  • Rehearsed information > long-term memory
208
Q

Sensory memory

A
  • Unlimited capacity
  • Very rapid decay
  • Attended information > short-term memory
209
Q

Primacy effect

A

Items at the beginning of a list are well-remembered due to rehearsal > long-term memory

210
Q

Recency effect

A

Items at the end of a list are well-remembered due to them remaining in short-term memory

211
Q

Proactive interference

A

Old information interferes with new information

212
Q

Retroactive interference

A

New information interferes with old information

213
Q

Sleep disorders: Insomnia

A

Primary: inability to fall asleep before going to bed or after waking up at night
Secondary: inability to sleep due to a mental or physical condition
Sleep apnea: inability to sleep and breathe properly at the same time

214
Q

Sleep disorders: Narcolepsy

A

Neurological disorder; sleep symptoms occur at inappropriate times

Sleep attack: overwhelming sleepiness, sleeps lasts for 2-5 minutes, usually due to boredom

Cataplexy: episode of atonia (muscle paralysis typical for REM sleep); person is fully conscious; caused by strong emotions or exercise

Sleep paralysis: REM muscle paralysis occurs just before or after sleep; may include hypnagogic hallucinations

Patients have a severe low amount of orexinergic neurons > malfunctioning flip-flop

215
Q

Sleep disorders: REM sleep behaviour disorder

A

Neurodegenerative disorder

Muscle paralysis (atonia) does not occur during REM sleep, causing patients to act out their dreams

May be caused by brain damage to the brain stem which controls REM phenomena

216
Q

Sleep disorders: Slow-wave sleep problems

A

Nocturnal enuresis: bedwetting

Somnambulism: sleep walking

Pavor nocturnos: night terrors

Sleep-related eating disorder: eating while sleeping and having no recollection of the fact

217
Q

Flip-Flop system

A

vlPOA inhibits the arousal systems, and vice versa

Accumulation of adenosine activates the vlPOA

Orexinergic neurons activate the arousal systems

218
Q

Long-term memory

A

System responsible for storing information for long periods of time

219
Q

Coding

A

Form in which stimuli are presented
- visual
- auditory
- semantic

220
Q

Episodic memory

A

Memory of personal experiences

221
Q

Semantic memory

A

Memory of facts and knowledge

222
Q

Personal semantic memories

A

Facts associated with personal experiences

223
Q

Explicit memories

A

Memories we are aware of; also known as declarative memory

224
Q

Implicit memories

A

Memories we are not aware of; can not ‘declare’

225
Q

Procedural memory

A

Skill memory, memory for doing things that involve skills (e.g. riding a bike)

Once learned, the procedure will never be forgotten (even after certain brain damage)

226
Q

Priming

A

Presentation of a stimulus changes the response to another stimulus

227
Q

Classical conditioning

A

Two stimuli are paired; a neutral stimulus, and a conditioning stimulus

228
Q

Encoding

A

Process of acquiring information and transferring it to LTM

229
Q

Retrieval

A

Process of transferring memory from LTM to working memory

230
Q

Levels of processing theory

A

Memory depends on the depth of processing (shallow vs deep processing)

231
Q

Retrieval cue

A

Word or stimulus which aids in memory retrieval

232
Q

Encoding specificity

A

Memory/knowledge is encoded along with context; memory retrieval is better when context is similar/recreated

233
Q

Reconsolidation

A

Mechanism which can be used to update memories

234
Q

Anterograde amnesia

A

Inability to create new memories (no consolidation in LTM); loss of relational learning ability

235
Q

Retrograde amnesia

A

Loss of past memory due to brain damage; loss of retrieval ability

236
Q

Semanticisation of episodic knowledge

A

Nearly all episodic memories contain semantic components

237
Q

Stimulus-response learning

A

Learning to perform a behaviour in the presence of a stimulus
- Classical conditioning
- Operant conditioning

238
Q

Perceptual learning

A

Better and faster identification of faces/objects if seen before

239
Q

Motor learning

A

Learning how to better perform a certain movement/task (e.g. riding a bike or learning a sport)

240
Q

Relational learning

A

Learning about the relationships between stimuli

241
Q

Hebb rule

A

If the synapse is active at around the same time that the post-synaptic neuron is active, the synapse will be strengthened

242
Q

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

A

Synaptic strengthening
Requirements
- Axon must be active (glutamate secretion in synapse)
- Postsynaptic neuron is depolarised
If the requirements are met NMDA receptors can open

  1. NMDA receptor opens
  2. Ca2+ ions activate CaM-KII
  3. Linking proteins attach to CaM-KII
  4. AMPA receptors are delivered to membrane in vesicles
  5. Additional AMPA receptors are inserted into the membrane
243
Q

Reinforcement

A

Promotes behaviour
- Positive reinforcement: behaviour leads to a reward
- Negative reinforcement: behaviour leads to the removal of a negative stimulus

244
Q

Punishment

A

Reduces behaviour
- Positive punishment: behaviour leads to a negative stimulus
- Negative punishment: behaviour leads to the removal of a positive stimulus

245
Q

Autobiographical memory

A

Memory for specific experiences from our life; combines episodic and semantic memory

246
Q

Reminiscence bump

A

Enhanced memory for events that occurred in adolescence and early adulthood
- self-image hypothesis
- cognitive hypothesis
- cultural life script hypothesis

247
Q

Categorisation

A

Definition: list of necessary and sufficient properties

Prototype: central (avg.) representation of a category

Graded representation: membership of a category depends on similarity/distance to the prototype

248
Q

Schemata

A

General knowledge about situations

249
Q

Scripts

A

General knowledge about a sequence of events

Psychology (12 decks)

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