Ch 2 Memory and the Brain Flashcards
What is the brain?
It is a biological organ that is used for thinking, memory, reasoning and language.
Engram
Memory stored in a physical unit
Alzheimer’s Disease
Memory loss common in older adults.
TBI
Traumatic brain injuries
Traumatic brain injuries
Injuries that result in brain damage
Clinical neuropsychology
the treatment of patients with brain damage
Neurons
Biological cells that aid in the transmission and storage of information
Dendrite (hundreds)
Receives information from other neurons
Axons(one)
Sends information to other neurons
Action potential
The transmission within an axon which is an electrochemical process.
Synapse
The gap between neurons
Terminal buttons
The end of the axon where neurotransmitters are housed
Neurotransmitters
Proteins produced by the nervous system.
Chemicals that are released across the synapse to cause an electrical flow to another neuron
Multiple Sclerosis
a disease caused by loss of the myelin sheath along the axon
Substantia nigra
The part of the brain that produces dopamine. Parkinson’s diseases shows a deficit in dopamine.
Prefrontal Cortex
The part of the frontal lobe that is associated with memory and higher emotion.
Long-term Potentiation
Less neurotransmitters are needed to produce a signal to the dendrite in the other neuron.
What is the process of neurons transmitting information?
AND
Axon - Neurotransmitters - Dendrites
In regards to left to right direction, how is the brain divided?
Into the right and left hemispheres.
What is the left hemisphere responsible for?
For the interaction of language and memory
What is the right hemisphere responsible for?
For spatial cognition/our understanding of the space around us
Music
In regards to top-to-bottom direction, how is the brain divided?
It is divided into two structures. The cortical and the subcortical.
Where is the subcortical structure of the brain located?
On the surface of the brain
Where is the subcortical structure located?
The surface below the brain.
The subcortical structure is responsible for what life functions?
Regulation of heartbeat, breathing, hunger, thirst, sleep and movement. Memory and emotion.
What is the cerebral cortex?
The thin top layer of the brain
What are the processes of the cerebral cortex?
Language, memory, complex emotion, creativity, problem solving and music.
Hippocampus
An area of the brain associated with learning and memory
What type of learning is it responsible for?
Acquiring new information
Anterograde Amnesia
Memory loss that results from damage to the hippocampus
Left hippocampus
Responsible for verbal memory
Right hippocampus
For the spatial world around us and direction within the world
Damage to the left hippocampus
Affects memory in stories and words
Damage to the right hippocampus
Affects memory for direction and pictures
Amnesia
Memory loss due to brain damage
Limbic System
A triune of the hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala located beneath the cerebral cortex
What is the function of the limbic system?
It is responsible for memory and emotion.
Amygdala
A part of the limbic system that plays a role in memory, emotional learning and fear.
How does the amygdala connect to the other parts of the triune?
Connects features of memory with aspects of emotion
With the hippocampus in regards to memory and with the hypothalamus in regards to basic emotions.
Hypothalamus
Area of the brain associated with basic emotions
Diencephalon
The part of the brain that includes the thalamus and hypothalamus.
Thalamus
It the routing center of the brain that connects different parts of the brain.
What is the thalamus used for?
Transmission of information from our sensory organs like our eyes and ears to the cortical structure that are responsible for sensation.
Korsakoff’s Disease
Results from damage to the diencephalon.
What type of deficits occurs in Korsakoff’s Disease/
Loss in new learning, retrieving old information, an impairs the distinction between true and false memories.
What function does the diencephalon serve?
As a relay point within the network of the human memory.
What does the diencephalon connect within the brain?
The medial temporal lobes and the hippocampus with the prefrontal lobes.
What are the four lobes of the brain?
FPOT
Frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal
Frontal lobe
The front part of the cerebral cortex responsible for higher emotion, decision making, metacognition and memory.
Parietal lobe
Associated with attention and somatosensory
Occipital lobe
Associated with vision
Temporal lobe
Associated with audition, language and memory.
