Exam 1 Flashcards
Types of scientific papers
- Peer reviewed manuscripts
- Invited manuscripts
- Book chapters
What are the classical features of autism?
- deficits in communication
- repetitive interests and behaviors
- abnormalities in reciprocal social interaction
- developmental origin
Core symptoms of ASD
- atypical reciprocal social interactions
- delayed and distorted language
- restricted repertoire of interests
- symptoms may fluctuate
ASD disorders - list them
- autistic disorder
- asperger syndrome
- pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified
- rett syndrome
- childhood disintegrative disorder
autistic disorder
6 symptoms for 3 domains of funtioning
asperger syndrome
- intact language
- 2 symptoms in social domain and 1 symptom in restricted interests
PDD-NOS
met only a few of autistic disorder criteria
rett syndrome
- females only - rare
- loss of social interactions and purposeful hand movements
- mental retardation and delayed language
- due to a mutation
Childhood disintegrative disorder
impairment in 2 of the 3 domains of ASD
Other related behaviors to ASD
- sensory sensitivity
- motor impairments
- ADHD symptoms
- sleep and eating problems
- seizure disorders and/or gastrointestinal disorders
- self-injurious behaviors (frustration)
Environmental factors of ASD
- infectious disease in first trimester
- complications during pregnancy
- exposure to teratogens during embryonic stage
Genetic factors of ASD
-single genes/multiple genes
What can biomarkers be used to do?
- identify risk factors
- Improve diagnosis
- Develop personalized treatment plans
Define epigenetic
the study of how our experiences may affect our DNA
DNA modifications
-Environmental factors
Types of experiences that can lead to sustained changes in neurobiology and behavior
- prenatal stress
- infant separation
- nurturing caregiver
- caregivemaltreatment
What are some of the chromosomal abnormalities that can lead to the development of autism?
- Chromosome 15
- Chromosome 7
- Chromosomes 2, 22, and 8
What is sig about chrom 15?
- associated with severe mental retardation
- associated with autism and Angelman syndrome
What is sig about chrom 7
- Inversion or deletion linked with autism
- —ASD or language impairments
What is sig about chrom’s 2, 22, and 8?
-Associated with ASD
Define social cognition
study of how people or animals process social information
-especially in its encoding, storage, retrieval, and application to social situations
Define social neuroscience
Study of neural structures or neural circuits that support social cognitive processes
Mechanisms needed for social competence - infancy to childhood
- eye gaze monitoring
- joint attention
Mechanisms needed for social competence - childhood to adulthood
- imitation
- theory of mind
- empathy
- deception
Gaze following development - list in order
- Mutual vs averted gaze
- Gaze following
- Joint attention
- Shared attention
- Mental state attribution or theory of mind
Describe Gaze following
Individual A detects that B’s gaze is not directed towards them, and follows the line of sight of B onto a point in space
Describe Joint Attention
Same as gaze following, except that there is a focus of attention (such as an object), so that indiv.s A and B are looking at the same object
Describe shared attention
A combination of mutual attention and joint attention and joint attention, where the focus of individual A and B’s attention is on the object of joint focus and each other
-i.e. I know you’re looking at X, and you know that I’m looking at X
Describe Mental state attribution or theory of mind
Prob uses a combination of diff types of gaze following and other higher-order cognitive strategies
Define reflexive attention - what pathway?
Subcortical visual pathway
-each of the parts can modulate processing in other parts of the brain and thus influence attention
Define cognitive control of attention
Late developing cortical systems critical for object perception and recognition, gaze and body motion, and control of spatial attention
Define Ventral
Vision for perception
-object perception
Define Dorsal
Vision for action
-visuospatial discrimination
Define Motion
Eye gaze, body motion
What is the function of the frontoparietal network?
Mediates orienting decisions -> balances costs and benefits of attention shifts
Define social orienting
The predisposition or bias to preferentially seek out social info in the world around us
Define social reward
Take process from social interactions
Define social maintaining
The continual process to foster and maintain social bonds
Define symbolic play
Representational play
Define Theory of Mind
Ability to infer mental states and use this info to understand and predict future behavior
What are some examples of social cognition?
- reading faces
- recognizing emotional expressions
- eye gaze monitoring
- joint attention, etc
What are some behavioral manifestations? Define them.
- Social orienting -> bias to preferentially seek out social info in the world around us
- Seeking-liking -> incentive value of social reward stimuli
- Social maintaining -> continual process to foster and maintain social bonds
- Proximate level -> level of the individual
- Ultimate level -> Evolutionary reason
Define liking in terms of reward
pleasure of reward
Define wanting in terms of reward
incentive salience of the reward
-how far are you willing to go to seek it out (i.e. 11 mins for doughnuts)
Define dyadic. When are early dyadic interactions normally a reward?
child-other
-From birth, infants prefer direct over averted gaze
What are some of the social deficits in autism?
- Emotional recognition and expression
- Facial recognition
- Imitation
- Impairments in play and language
Describe the social deficit of imitation
Infants tend to imitate facial expressions
- Important for non-verbal communication skills, social learning, and play
- basic imitation i.e. babbling
Describe the social deficit of Impairments in play and language
Children w/ASD usually lack symbolic play
-Can do it, but usually delayed, less diverse, and less elaborative
Define sig of False Belief Test
Children with ASD may be capable to carry out some of the deficits, they are just not motivated to do so
-They see no reward in it
Main deficits developmental course
- Early onset -> most common
- Regression -> appears around age 1.5-2
Early symptoms of the main deficits - main developmental delays
- Social orienting
- Joint attention
- Facial recognition
- Imitation
- Symbolic play
- Response to emotion
State one way treatment used to enhance motivation
Oxytocin -> important for bonding, or “social reward”
Transverse
horizontal plane
Coronal
Frontal
Seven divisions of CNS - list them
- Cerebral hemisphere
- Diencephalon
- Midbrain
- Pons
- Medulla
- Spinal cord
- Cerebellum
Parts and functions of the cerebral hemisphere
- Cerebral cortex: four lobes
- Hippocampus: learning and memory processes
- Amygdala: regulation of emotions -> response to stressful and threatening situations
- Basal ganglia: Higher brain functions (i.e. control of movements, emotions, and cognition)
Diencephalon - parts and functions
- Thalamus: A relay station for info on its way to the cerebral cortex
- Hypothalamus: Integrates functions of the autonomic nervous system (i.e. hunger, thirst, body temp.)
- —Controls endocrine hormone release from pituitary gland
Brain stem - function and parts
Regulates arousal
- Midbrain
- Pons
- Medulla
Spinal cord - what is special about it?
Clear external segmental organization
-embryonic origins
Cerebellum - function
- Regulates movements of eyes and limbs
- Helps us to maintain equilibrium (posture and balance)
Name the 5 lobes of the hemispheres - list and state basic functions
- Frontal: planning and execution of motor movements; language (broca’s area); higher cognitive functions
- Parietal: mediates somatosensory inputs
- —i.e. touch, cold, pressure, etc.
- Temporal: vision and audition
- ——wernick’s area -> perception of language
- Occipital: vision
- Limbic: regulation of emotions
What are the subcortical structures within the temporal lobe? Also state function
- Hippocampus -> memory functions
- Amygdala -> regulation of emotions
Thalamus
sensory gateway
Basal ganglia
movement, reward
Hypothalamus
regulation of body function
Amygdala
emotion
Hippocampus
memory
Cerebellum
coordinates voluntary movements
Wernick’s area
perception of language
Broca’s area
production of language
Globus Pallidus
regulates involuntary movement
Putamen
feedback loop that prepares and aids in movement of limbs
Lateral ventricle
Contains cerebrospinal fluid that acts as cushioning for the brain
-also helps to circulate and remove waste
Anterior commisure
Pain sensation -> acute, sharp pain
Substantia Nigra
Brain function
-i.e. eye movement, motor planning, reward-seeking, learning, and addiction
Meninges - what are they?
3 layers that cover the central nervous system
-Dura mater > arachnoid > Pia mater
Name and define the processes associated with prenatal brain development
- Neurulation: formation of neural tube
- –fusion of neural plate
- Neurogenesis: formation of the neurons
- Synaptogenesis: formation of the synapses
- Myelination: formation of the white matter around the axons
Postnatal brain development
Start of: -competitive elimination Continuation/end of: -programmed cell death -myelination -dendritic and axonal arborization (dramatic increase)
Major brain structures derived from forebrain
- Telencephalon -> cerebral hemispheres
- Diencephalon -> thalamus and hypothalamus
Major brain structures derived from midbrain
-Midbrain
Major brain structures derived from hindbrain
- Metencephalon -> cerebellum and pons
- Myelencephalon -> medulla and spinal cord
Define postnatal experience-expectant processes
Corresponds to critical or sensitive periods
- Brain is primed to receive particular classes of info from the environment
- —brain builds an overabundance of synapses that are pruned back by experience
Define postnatal experience-dependent process
- Synapse formation involves brain’s adaptation to info that is unique to the individual
- Formation of new neural connections
What are the patterns of postnatal development of grey matter?
- Reaches a peak at different periods depending on the lobes
- –Tends to follow an “inverted U” developmental course
What are the patterns of postnatal development of white matter?
- Increases continuously until young adulthood
- –Tends to increase in a linear fashion throughout childhood and adolescence
