Cognitive/motor 1 Flashcards
how can consciousness be thought of
2 diff ways = state of consciousness and conscious experience
describe state of consciousness
level of arousal - awake, asleep, etc
measured by beahviour and brain activity
medically relevant
describe conscious experience
thoughts, feelings, desires, ideas, etc
capacity to experience one’s existence rather than just recording it or responding to stimuli like an automaton, have a mental life, laptop probably does not
what is eeg
electroencephalogram
measures brain activity
mainly measures activity of neurons located near scalp in gray matter of cortex (closest to skull)
describe eeg
each electrode measures activity of neurons closest to it
shows activity but not what its for
Electrodes affected by millions of neuron’s since many neuron’s are small
measures voltage
what is frequency of eeg related to
when alert = high frequencies
sleep = low frequencies- associated with many neurons doing same thing = synchronous activity
levels of responsiveness
what is amplitude of eeg related to
related to synchronous neural activity
describe eeg during seizure
abnormal synchronously
normal = random, not large variations
what does eegs reflect
mental states
describe alpha rhythm
relaxed with eyes closed - awake
slow frequencies, larger amplitudes
describe beta rythym
alert
fast frequencies
smaller amplitudes
name stages of sleep
NREM - slow wave sleep
stage 1
stage 2
stage 3
stage 4
REM - paradoxical sleep
describe amp/freq of awake
low amp
high freq
describe amp/freq of stages
stage 1 -4 = low to high amp (low frequ) 30-45 mins
describe amp/freq of rem
low amp
high freq
what is rem
rapid eye movemnts = when dreaming
describe whole sleep pathway
amplitudes get bigger and slower frequencies
20-45 mins from stage 1-4 then stage 4-1 = smaller amp higher frequ and then rem sleep (eegs start looking like alert) then bounce out of rem sleep and go 1-4 and 4-1 and then rem again = cycle all night long
# of times you cycle depend on age (more for babies, as get older = less time)
why do we sleep
don’t know but most animals sleep= important for functioning
lack of sleep = bad
during sleep what happens
consolidation of memory
changes structure of brain
helps you remember experiences from day
helps us get better when sick
describe sleep apnea
sudden reduction in respiration
mechanical problem = tongue drops back and blocks respiration, when skeletal muscle inhibited = produces snoring
if block respiration = cannot breathe so wakes up = interrupts rem sleep
describe physiological changes during rem
increases eye movement
increased inhibition of skeletal muscle (low muscle tone, twitching can occur)
Increased heart rate and respiration
what is circadian rhythm
period of wake and sleep
mediated by reticular activating system and nuclei in hypothalamus (suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus and preoptic area of hypothalamus)
ras projects everywhere n brain, like cortex and moves you from awake to sleep
describe regulating states of consciousness - awake
norepi and serotonin increase and reduced ach
cholinergic neurons active
reduced gaba and increases histamine
describe regulating states of consciousness - sleep
opposite
cholinergic neurons active, low norepi and ach
high gaba less histamine
increased inhibition
what is melatonin
helps move states of consciousness
what do sleep meds do
lower histamine or increases gaba
describe allergy meds - sleepiness
antihistamines = make you sleepy
pulls you to sleepy state of consciousness
what is motivation
produce goal directed behaviour
all animals tend to pursue rewards and avoid punishment
what is emotions
Accompany our conscious experiences
like rates/score, tend to remember emotionally high scores
what is mesolimbic dopamine pathway
controls motivation
reward pathway
describe reward pathway
locus ceruleus in RAS projects to midbrain and projects to prefrontal cortex (helps asses reward, course of action)
Dopamine is primary neurotransmitter
Amphetamines = drug of abuse, affects this pathway, mimics effect of dopamine = highly addictive, alters behaviour in destructive ways
describe self stimulation experiments
drive to seek drug since they activate pathways
Animals just want to press button and keep activating rewards
Continuous activation of reward related areas of brain
describe limbic system
emotional responses
olfactory bulb = smells generate emotional responses
amygdala = embedded inside cerebral cortex, internal nuclei, important
hippocampus = next to amygdala, formation of memory
what are altered states of consciousness
limbic system involved
everyones state of consciousness is different
Schizophrenia and mood disorders
describe schizophrenia
diverse set of problems in basic cognitive processing
wide range of symptoms including hallucinations and delusions
affects 1/100 ppl
reducing effects of dopamine can improve symptoms
name 2 common mood disorders
depression
bipolar disorder
describe depression
decreased activity in anterior limbic system = emotional state but some have excessive
treatments = increase levels of serotonin and norepi in extracellular space around synapses
describe bipolar disorder
swings between mania and depression
Treatment = lithium that reduces certain synaptic signalling pathways
name 2 memory systems
declarative
procedural
describe declarative memory
Conscious experiences that can be put into words (names, facts, places)
short term = hippocampus and other temporal lobe structures
long term = many areas of cortex (happens after consolidation)
describe procedural memory
skilled behaviour
short term = widely distributed
long term =basal nuclei, cerebellum, premotor cortex
describe consolidation
short term to long term
happens when sleep - lots of consolidation
where does memory happen
hippocampus
describe what happens if hippocampus removed from both sides of brain
profound memory deficiency = couldn’t consolidate anything
past memories = maintained but doesnt remember meeting people
can learn new skill but wont remember learning it
describe language
only one cortex
usually in left hemisphere
describe broca’s area
Articulation = production of language, ability to speak
around frontal lobe
in front of premotor cortex
describe wernicke’s area
comprehension of spoken/written language
around temporal lobe
what is aphasia
language deficit
what happens if broca’s area damaged
can understand but not produce language
motor commands - talking requires motor commands like breathing, mouth, tongue, throat
cannot produce words
what happens if wernickes area damaged
like by stroke
cannot comprehend written or spoken words
can still produce words but do not make sense
describe parietal damage
common effect of stroke
what happens if parietal damage
sensory neglect = ex damage left parietal lobe = receives sensory info from right side of body = everything is fine but even tho sensory inputs from contralateral side =as if doesnt exist, hemineglect
only draw half image, part that corresponds to opp side = incomplete
woman with plate of food - only ate half
