Chapter 1 - History of Neuropsychology Flashcards
Psychology
- study of mind, brain and behavior
- describes and predicts animal behavior
Neuropsychology
- scientific study of the relations btwn (changes of) brain function and behavior
- intervention and treatment
What 2 early doctrines emerged to explain brain functioning?
- vitalism
- materialism
Vitalism
- suggests many behaviors are partly controlled by mechanical or logical forces
- also partially self determined
- spiritual and mechanical
Who was a major proponent of vitalism?
Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalyses
Materialism
favors a mechanistic view of the brain (as a machine)
Who was a major proponent of materialism?
Walter Freeman and his lobotomies
Trephination
- cutting, scraping, chiseling or drilling a hole in the skull
- spiritual (let out evil spirits) and medical reasoning
Hippocrates
- founder of modern medicine
- believed the brain controlled all senses and movement
- recognized that if r side of brain was damaged, the L side of body was affected and vice versa
Plato
- believed the soul had 3 parts - appetite, reason (located in brain) and temper
Aristotle
- believed the heart to be the source of all mental processes
Cell Doctrine
- ventricular cavities w/n the brain control mental abilities and movement
- Alexandrian period
Galen
- physical function depends on the balance of humors
- autopsies were forbidden, so theory was flawed
What were the humors? And what was the treatment for an imbalance of them?
- blood, mucus, yellow and black bile
- blood letting
Andreas Vesalius
- performed first systematic dissections of humans
- identified errors in Galen’s work
- pioneered anatomical theater
Rene Descartes
- mind body dualism - separate, but interact w/ each other
- focused work on the pineal gland, thought function originated there
- materialist
Phrenology
- beginning of localization theory
- brain consists of number of separate organs, each responsible for a basic psychological trait
- size of the organ = more skill in that area
Who proposed phrenology?
Franz Gall
Who were the two individuals that proposed evidence for localization?
Paul Broca and Carl Wernicke
Paul Broca
- motor speech was localized in the post., inf. region of the L frontal lobe
- case study of “Tan” - could understand but not produce speech
- Broca’s area
Carl Wernicke
- understanding of speech was localize in the sup., post., temporal lobe
- case study of pt who could produce speech but not understand it
- Wernicke’s area
Who suggested that various aphasia could be explained by subcortical lesions in less localized association pathways?
Freud
Pierre Florens
- developed ablation experiments, did them on birds at first
- found that more extensive damage = more complications
- found that other tissues can take over function
- equipotentiality theory
Equipotentiality
- mental abilities depend on the brain functioning as a whole
- found that other tissues can take over function
- intro to idea of neuroplasticity
Jackson’s Alternative Model
- Hughlings Jackson
- postulated that behavior results from interactions among all the areas of the brain
Luria’s Functional Model
- Alexander Luria
- 3 levels of brain function involving the brainstem (arousal), posterior areas of the cortex (integration), and frontal and prefrontal areas (executive function)
What are the emerging research areas in neuropsychology?
- forensic neuropsychology
- sports neuropsychology
- terrorism, law enforcement, and the military
What are the neurohistology techniques discussed in class?
- Golgi stain
- nissl stain
- myelin stain
Golgi Stain
- Camillo Golgi
- stained dead neurons w/ silver chromate, diff. the cell body as well as its extensions
Nissl stain
- an H&E stain that marks the cell body of the neuron
Myelin stain
- shows the myelin coating of axons
What makes up gray matter? White matter?
- gray matter = cell bodies
- white matter = axons
In the 2VO images from the ppt., what prevented the injury of cells when blood flow was restricted?
melatonin
Computed Transaxial Tomography
- 3D perspective of the brain w/ acceptable diff. of brain structures
Angiography
- Technique that uses dye to visualize blood vessels
Electrophysiologic Procedures (EEG)
- recording of the electrical activity of nerve cells
- helps w/ diagnosis of: seizure and sleep disorders, level of coma presence of brain death
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
- tracks blood flow associated w/ brain activity
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- can provide detailed images of brain structures
- more detailed than PET scan
- can diff. white and gray matter
fMRI
- functional MRI
- provide image of oxygen usage in the brain (active neurons use O2)
