Cognition, Consciousness, Attention, Communication Flashcards
define cognition
process by which we come to know the world
what part of the brain separates us from other animals
larger frontal lobe
inputs to association cortices (3ish)
primary/secondary sensory + motor cortices
thalamus
brainstem
primary function of temporoparietal association cortex
cognitive intelligence
3 frontal lobe association areas
dorsolateral prefrontal areas
medial dorsal prefrontal areas
ventral prefrontal cortex
dorsolateral prefrontal area function
self-awareness
executive functions (goal setting, plans, etc)
medial dorsal prefrontal area function
perceives others’ emotions/beliefs/intentions
ventral prefrontal cortex
connects with areas of mood and affect
t/f: if a legion occurs at a younger age, language and other functions on dominant side move to the nondominant side with PRESERVED function
TRUE! due to plasticity
what hemisphere is most commonly dominant
Left
L vs R brain functions
L: language, sequences, calculations, following directions
R: emotion/tone, visual/spatial analysis, estimations, columns, spatial awareness + orientation
prosody
emotion, tone of voice
prosody is associated with L or R hemisphere
Right!
L or R:
complex performance in trained musicians
Right
when do disconnection syndromes occur
when lesions in white matter occur (bc it disrupts connections between 2+ cortical areas)
corpus callosotomy
split brain procedure for epilepsy
a person being able to see but not being able to read is an example of what syndrome
disconnection syndrome
what are the 3 As of consciousness
alterness
attention
awareness
define “alertness” of consciousness
normal functioning of brainstem and diencephalic arousal circuits and cortex
define “attention” of consciousness
same circuits as those for alertness + processing frontoparietal association cortex
define “awareness” of consciousness
subjective + personal experiences
ability to combine higher order systems into efficient summary of mental activity
where is the reticular formation embedded
tegmentum
rostral vs caudal reticular formation function
rostral = maintains an alert conscious state
caudal = motor, reflex and autonomic function
serotonin, norepinephrine, acetylcholine, + dopamine functions in consciousness
serotonin = generalized arousal level
norepinephrine = attention + autonomic functions
acetylcholine = selection of objection of attention, based on goals
dopamine = motivation, cognition + motor
what neurotransmitter comes from the ventral tegmental area
dopamine
what neurotransmitter comes from pedunculopontine nucleus
acetylcholine
what neurotransmitter comes from raphe nucleus
serotonin
what neurotransmitter comes from locus coeruleus + medial reticular zone
norepinephrine
persistent vegetative stave vs minimally conscious state
3 causes of comas
- lesion in rostral reticular formation
- massive damage to B cerebral cortex regions
- damage to B thalamus
what part of the hypothalamus projects to arousal system
posterolateral
4 types of attention
sustained
switching
selective
divided
before a person can be attentive, they must be…
alert + awake
what cerebral hemisphere is most responsible for attention
right!!
define sustained attention
vigilance
concentration
non distractibility
define switching attention
change from one task to another
define selective attention
able to focus on something more than other things
define divided attention
being able to perform 2 or more tasks at the same time
3 structures that provide motivation for us to be attentive
ant cingulate gyrus
amygdala
limbic structures
where does language comprehension occur
wernickes area
where is wernickes area located
left temporoparietal cortex
what gyrus is connected to wernickes area + comprehends spoken/written language
angular gyrus
where does motor planning and production of language occur
broca’s area
what happens when someone has a legion on brocas area
they understand everything but it is difficult to speak/communicate
unable to STRING WORDS TOGETHER GRAMMATICALLY
what connects brocas + wernickes area? is it white or gray matter?
arcuate fasciculus
white!
function of non-dominant area equivalent to wernickes area (2)
comprehends emotion + tone aspects of language
understands facial expression
function of non-dominant area equivalent to brocas area
instructs how to use tone of voice + gestures in communication
aphasia
disorder of spoken language
wernickes aphasia vs brocas aphasia
W = paraphasic errors, neologisms, anomia
B = knows what to say but can’t get it out
conduction aphasia legion location
arcuate fasiculus
global aphasia
aphasia of wernickes and brocas
agraphia vs alexia
inability to write
vs
inability to read
