Emotions, Executive Functions, & Memory Flashcards
List 5 components from stimulus to decision
Alertness
Attention
Memory
Retrieval
Decision making
What is alertness?
What controls it?
Consciousness/being awake- the fundamental state where you are prepared to respond to stimuli
The reticular formation is a loosely arranged network of nuclei distributed throughout the brainstem with ascending and descending fibers that are involved in propriceptive, pain and autonomic systems.
What do the ascending and descending fibers of the reticular formation do?
Ascending fibers (pons, medulla) connect to thalamus, hypothalamus, cortex
Descending fibers (medulla) connect to cerebellum and sensory system
Additional descending fibers control respiratory, cardiac, and other vital systems
What is the reticular activating system?
What stimulates it?
What can damage to this cause?
Formed by the ascending fibers of the reticular activating system- regulates wakefulness, arousal, consciousness
Sensory (visual, auditory, and especially PAIN) & cognitive can stimulate RAS, irritants (smelling salts) can stimulate through trigeminal nerve
Removal of stimul can cause drowsiness
Damage can cause coma
What are risk factors for disruption to the RAS?
What are some disorders that likely implicate RAS?
Preterm birth (deficits in arousal, sleep wake cycle, attention), prenatal nicotine exposure (deficits in arousal & attention)
Any disorder with dysregulation of sleep/wake cycle such as PTSD, Parkinson’s, Narcolepsy, Autism, ADHD, Alzheimer’s…
What are the areas implicated in attention?
Sensory systems (environmental experience, pre processing of data for interpretation: connections to what/where etc.)
Prefrontal cortex (allocation of resources, assessment of context/decision making, selection of attention targets)
If you don’t allocate resources to things in pre-processing it will go away- just becuase you’re there doesn’t mean you’re attending…
What are the 4 types of attention?
Is there a 5th?
Focused- attending to specific stimulus
Sustained- vigilance (sitting in quiet room watching a monitor)
Selective- focusing on 1 task despite distractions (sitting in busy room watching monitor)
Alternating- focusing on 2 tasks alternatingly
ALSO myth of divided attention which is 2 tasks at once
What are 4 aspects of memory?
Learning/encoding- acquiring new info, making initial connections to things you already know to assist retention
Retention/storage- consolidation through association and organization
Retrieval- recognition (multiple choice) or production (fill in), organization required
Forgetting- failure or necessity depending on info
What are the stages of memory?
Sensory memory- 1-2 seconds in case you want to keep it
Short term memory- only lasts a few minutes–> and working memory only around 30 seconds
Long term memory- beyond minutes and comprised of explicit (episodic, semantic) and implicit (procedural, perceptual)
What are the components of working memory?
How many chunks can be remembered?
Phonological loop- auditory info
Visuo-spatial sketchpad- visual info
Central executive- allocating resources
7 +/- 2 chunks!
What are the 4 types of retrieval?
Recall–> free recall “tell me what you know” and cued recall “tell me what you know starting with…”
Recollection- Event or fact recreated based on logical organization of memories/clues “I was at school and then home, must have taken the t”
Recognition- ID memory when experienced again “I don’t remember” “You were wearing that dress…” “OH”
Relearning- Easier time learning than first time [Ruth’s English/German story]
What are the 4 areas implicated in memory?
Where does storage occur?
Does repetition help or harm memory?
Hippocampus- learning and memory
Mammilary bodies (part of hypothalamus)- relay station
Prefrontal (medial/orbital)- organization, strong connection to medial temporal lobe/hippocampus
Thalamus- connects to everywhere- sensory relay for sensory components of memory
Storage is everywhere- no one unified storage place; probably associative which explains false memories
Repetition can strengthen (form stronger “ropes,” or weaken [vulnerable to change]
What happens to memory when hippocampus is damaged?
Prefrontal?
Amnesia
Confabuation- filling in blanks with wrong info
Label, starting from upper right and moving left
Thalamus, fornix, basal forebrain, prefrontal cortex, mamillary body, amygdala, rhinal cortex, hippocampus
What is the circuit of papez?
Subset of limbic system interconnections between hippocampus, mammillary bodies, anterior thalamic nuclei, cingulate cortex, entorhinal cortex, hippocampus
Multiple passes through results in memory consolidation!
TBD
What executive functions are controlled by DLPFC?
What happens if it is damaged?
Motor planning (highest level), organization (including memory), response inhibition, problem solving, working memory
Planning, shifting attention, decision making and response perseveration can occur with damage
What executive functions are controlled by orbitofrontal cortex? (ventromedial prefrontal cortex)
What does damage result in?
Decision making, emotional regulation, reward and punishment mechanism, expectations
Damage results in disinhibition (sexual/verbal), perseveration of punishing bx (gambling, drugs, alcohol)
What is controlled by anterior cingulate cortex?
What does damage result in?
Regulates autonomic function in bx context, reward, punishment, emotion regulation, integration of pain and bx, error detection and conflict resolution
“bad feeling” area
Damage causes apathy, lack of awareness of problems
What are the parts of the limbic system and what are they involved in?
Cingulate gyrus- conflict resolution/emotion
Hippocampus/parahippocampal gyrus- learning/memory
Amygdala- emotion processing
Hypothalamus- homeostasis
ALSO olfactory tract (connection to hippocampus/amygdala), fornix (connects hippocampus & hypothalamus), mammillary bodies (relay with thalamus/sensory), thalamus
What is the limbic system’s main priority?
Self preservation/species preservation
What does the amygdala direct attention to?
What is it modulated by?
Emotionally salient stimuli- usually negative emotions. Responsive to fear and fear in others- related to depression. Will respond to emotions without awareness.
Modulated by activation of anterior cingulate
What is PTSD related to?
Inability to inhibit conditioned fear in safe context
What are basic versus complex emotions?
Basic are anger, sadness, happiness, disgust, surprise –> mostly controlled by limbic system, frontal lobes mediate (not much context)
Complex are jealousy, approval, embarassment–> need social context and cognition
What happens when VMPFC is damaged?
Poor decisio making and emotional “flatness” due to inability to use emotion for decision making/no gut reaction–> must rely on logic which is not always socially accurate, and is slow
How is face processing special?
Where are faces processed?
Holistic processing shown through inversion effect, whole part processing.
Processed in fusiform face area.
How does FFA work?
Right lateralized, modulated with attention and accuracy, area downstream from “what” pathway
How are faces organized?
Gender, race, features, family resemblance…
Explain greebles study
Found that FFA responds to familiar complex objects with familial relationships
