Cognition structures and functions Flashcards
Where is the frontal lobe located?
most anterior, behind the forehead
What are the functions of the frontal lobe?
Voluntary movement, consciousness, control emotional responses, controls expressive language, assigns meaning to words, memory for habits and motor activities
List 3 possible impairments of the frontal lobe?
- paralysis
- inability to plan a sequence of complex movements to complete multi-stepped tasks
- loss of spontaneity in interacting with others
- Loss of flexibility in thinking
- persistence of a single thought
- mood changes
- changes in social behaviour
- changes in personality
- difficulty with problem solving
- inability to express language
Where is the temporal lobe located?
either side of the head above the ears
What are the functions of the temporal lobe?
hearing, memory acquisition, some visual perception and categorising of objects
What are 3 possible impairments of the temporal lobe?
- Difficulty recognising faces
- difficulty understanding spoken words
- short term memory loss
- inability to categorise objects
- increased aggressive behaviour
Where is the parietal lobe located?
top of the head towards the back
What is the function of the parietal lobe?
sensation and perception, integrating sensory input, location for visual and touch perception, manipulation of objects in space
What are 3 possible impairments of the parietal lobe?
- Inability to attend to more than one object at a time
- inability to name an object
- problems with reading
- difficulty drawing objects
- difficulty distinguishing left and right
- inability to focus visual attention
- difficulties with eye and hand co-ordination
Where is the occipital lobe located?
most posterior, back of the head
What is the function of the occipital lobe?
Vision
What are 3 possible impairments of the occipital lobe?
- defects in vision
- difficulty with locating objects in environment
- difficulty identifying colours
- word blindness
- difficulty recognising drawn objects
- difficulties reading and writing
Where is the cerebellum located?
just above the brain stem towards the back of the brain and base of skull
What is the function of the cerebellum?
Co-ordination of voluntary movement, balance and equilibrium and some memory for reflex motor acts
What are 3 possible impairments of the cerebellum?
- loss of ability to coordinate fine movements
- loss of ability to walk
- tremors
- vertigo
- slurred speech
- inability to make rapid movements
Where is the brain stem located?
Deep in brain, leads to spinal cord
What is the function of the brain stem?
Breathing, heart rate reflexes, sweating, blood pressure, digestion, temperature, levels of alertness/arousal, sleep
What are 3 possible impairments of the brain stem?
- Decreased breathing capacity
- swallowing food and water
- difficulty with organisation/perception of the environment
- problems with balance and movement
- dizziness and nausea
- sleeping difficulties
What is cognition?
The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experiences and the senses
What are the four domains of cognition?
- Attention and concentration
- memory
- executive function
- metacognition
What is attention?
An active process that helps to determine which sensations and experiences are alerting and relevant to the individual
What are the 5 subcategories of attention?
- Focused/selective
- sustained
- Alternating
- Divided
- Concentration
What is focused attention?
selective attention that allows us to discriminate between a stimulus and help goal directed behaviour
What is sustained attention?
AKA vigilance, the ability to maintain attention for a long period of time
What is alternating attention?
The ability to redirect attention from current focus to another location
What is divided attention?
the ability to do several things at once
What is concentration?
the ability to complete mental work whilst attending
What is attention capacity?
then amount of information processing a person can do at a given time
What is attention control?
An individual’s ability to direct concentration capacities
What are 3 occupational performance issues caused by impaired attention?
- reduced ability to stay with for more than brief periods
- Tasks performed automatically in the past now may require more controlled effort to complete
- may get distracted easily
- may have difficulty performing more than one task at a time
- easily off the task or topic of conversation
What is memory?
The capacity to store experiences and perceptions for recall and recognition
What are the 3 systems of memory?
- Immediate
- Short term/working memory
- long term memory
What are the 4 processes/stages of memory?
- Attention
- Encoding
- Storage
- Retrieval
What occupational difficulties arise from impaired memory?
- Difficulty remembering instructions, misplacing objects, forgetting names
- difficulty learning new tasks or information
- difficulty learning new behaviours or skills
What is metacognition (executive function)?
A component of cognition which includes the capacity to plan, manipulate information, recognise errors, problem solve and think abstractly
What are examples of metacognition (executive function)?
- emotional control
- internalising language
- organisation
- goal setting
- discrimination
- problem solving
What occupational difficulties can arise from impaired executive function (metacognition)?
- impaired judgement
- impulsiveness
- poor insight into their abilities
- lack of organisation
- difficulty making decisions
- lack of concern
- disinhibition, aggression, unconcern for social rules
What is the relationship between language and cognition?
Language is a higher level function using attention, memory and perceptual processes
What are 3 language comprehension difficulties?
- difficulties following multi-step commands
- Problems comprehending TV or movies
- difficulty participating in conversation
- difficult to differentiate from problems with attention
- may lead to conflict and frustration in families
What is the role of OT in cognition?
OT’s assist with cognitive rehabilitation to improve function and quality of life through:
- assessment/evaluation of impairments
- setting goals
- intervention
- outcome measures
What can cause cognitive impairment?
- neurological conditions
- vascular disease
- trauma
- tumours
- toxins
- infections
Why are top-down approaches used for cognition?
they are more meaningful and relevant to the client and they encourage motivation and participation
When are bottom-up approaches used for cognition?
- when there is a need to confirm presence of suspected impairments
- clients in a low state of arousal
- when measuring improvement of impairments
- for screening purposes
What are standardised assessments?
- a uniform procedure to administer and score the assessment
- a method for referencing the client’s individual scores in comparison to what is considered a ‘normal population’
What are non-standardised assessments?
Assessing client’s cognitive abilities through observation of performance in every day activities
What are 3 examples of standardised cognitive tests?
- Westmead post-traumatic amnesia scale
- RBMT - rivermead behavioural memory test
- TEA - test of everyday attention
- Cognistat
- AMPS - assessment of motor and processing skills
What are the 2 methods of cognitive rehabilitation?
- remedial/restorative approach (decreasing impairments in basic cognitive functions)
- Compensatory approach (develop strategies to maximise function without changes in underlying cognitive impairment).
What is impaired self awareness?
the clinical phenomenon where a person does not seem to be aware of impaired neurological or neuropsychological function which is obvious to the clinician`
What is visual perception?
The dynamic process of receiving the environment
through sensory impulses and translating those
impulses into meaning based on a previously
developed understanding of that environment
What is Luria’s first functional unit?
Nervous System registers stimulus event
What is Luria’s second functional unit?
System interprets and organizes sensory
information
What is Luria’s third functional unit?
System compares stimulus to past experience and
relates stimulus to goal.
What are the 6 stages of visual processing?
- Reception
- Transduction
- Transmission
- Selection
- Organisation
- Interpretation
What is reception?
Electromagnetic energy (light) sensed from the environment. RODS (black and white) and CONES (C for colour) are photoreceptors that pick up the electromagnetic energy
What is transduction?
The electromagnetic energy is converted, changed or ‘transduced’ into electrochemical energy. This is the energy all neurons use. This means that information sensed by the rods and cones can be sent as neural impulses
What is transmission?
Neural impulses once triggered are sent to visual cortex of the occipital lobe via the optic nerve
What is selection?
This is where discrimination and identification of the FEATURES of the stimulus takes place
What is organisation?
Single elements are grouped to form a whole, using perceptual principles that work like ‘rules’ of organisation. These principles are called Gestalt principles.
What is interpretation?
The whole that has been created is given meaning and memory is used to compare incoming information with what is already known
What are the 4 gestalt principles?
- Figure ground
- Closure
- Similarity
- Proximity
Why assess visual perception?
Can cause continued confusion and lack of rehabilitation progress despite return of motor function
May contribute to inability to perform desired occupations
What is agnosias?
inability to recognise or make sense of incoming information despite intact sensory capacities
What is unilateral neglect
patients typically fail to respond to stimuli occurring in the side of space opposite to the lesioned hemisphere
What side neglect is most commonly presented?
Left side neglect
What sensory modality is affected in unilateral neglect?
Vision, auditory, touch (can affect all or one)
What area of space is affected in unilateral neglect?
Neglect of personal, peri-personal and extrapersonal space
What object or environment is affected in unilateral neglect?
The left half of the environment or the left half of objects in the total environment
What is extinction in unilateral neglect?
when presented with stimuli from both sides simultaneously, client only attends to the right side, extinguishing the left side stimulus
