cognitive neuropsychology Flashcards
what is cognitive neuropsychology
study of the relationship between brain function and behaviour
mainly determined from what 2 main things
damaged brains and imaging
list some things that cause damage to the brain
strokes, tumours, surgery, impact, disease, missile wounds
another aim if we accept what
to assign psychological functions to particular brain structures assuming modularity of brain function
what is the localised theory of function
different parts of the brain are responsible for variations in individual differences
stemmed from students having good memory but poor original thinking - had large protruding eyes
what is phrenology
pseudomedicine - focused on measurements of human skull, based on the concept that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or modules.
critisism of phrenology
outside of the skill doesnt even mirror the inside of the skull, let alone the brain
inconsistent with the assumption of localisation - when flourens lesioned parts of the cortex of different animals what did he observe
first - moved very little, refused to eat or drink
later - recovery of function - to the point of appearing normal
what did lesions to parts of the brain stem cause
permanent breathing difficulties
lesions to the cerebellum caused
loss of locomotor co-ordination
what are brodmanns areas (BAs)
a region of cerebral cortex, in human/primate brain, defined by cytoarchitecture/ histological structure and organisation of cells.
what is cytoarchitectonics
appearance of cortex under microscope
should BAs map neatly onto psychological functions
partly, as cytoarchitecture is influenced by connections
what does damage to the left hemishpere of the brain cuase
impaired movement on the right, writing disrupted - language on the left?
describe patient Tan
could only say ‘tan’
died - autopsy revealed lesion to the left frontal lobe
