Exam #2 Flashcards
Magnocellular
Dorsal, “where/how” pathway
Parvocellular
Ventral, “what” pathway
Somatotopy
Spatial relations in environment map to primary cortical areas that represent them
Hierarchy (“bottom up”)
Info is summarized and passed on to higher levels in simplified form
Functional segregation
Dorsal vs ventral pathways, lower level features are integrated into higher level representations of objects and locations, objects in space are further integrated into meaningful environmental “scenes”
Cross-talk
Parallel processing across hierarchical and functional segregation systems=smooth integration of info
Cones process (2)
Color and shape
Rods process (2)
Orientation and movement
V1 neurons respond to
Colors, angled lines
V2 neurons respond to
Linear motion, changes in depth
V3 neurons respond to
Shapes, specific velocities of motion
V4 neurons respond to
Complex patterns and shapes
MT neurons respond to
Optic flow (movement through environment)
Where does dorsal stream end?
Continues superiorly ending in posterior parietal cortex
Where does ventral stream end?
Continues inferiorly ending in inferotemporal cortex
Binocular disparity
Difference in image location of an object seen by the left and right eyes, results from horizontal separation
Motion Parallax
Displacement or difference in apparent position of object viewed along two different lines of sight, measured by angle of inclination between two lines
Apperceptive visual agnosia
Can name, describe, and reproduce object in normal context, changing orientation disrupts this ability
What process influences arousal?
Reticular activating system (brain system), hypothalamus, NBM and thalamus (mid-brain)
Normal arousal
Awake and oriented to person, place, and time
Disoriented/Confused
Responsive and conversant, but easily distracted, disconnected thoughts, purposeless behavior
Delirium
Disoriented/confused, hyperactive, autonomic hyperactivity, hallucinations/delusions
Stupor
Arousable only to vigorous stimulation, responses when arousals are minimal, very slow
Coma
Unresponsive to external stimuli, basic functions (reflexes) may be absent
Bottom-up
Sensory, stimulus driven, implicit, exogenous, automatic
Top-down
Executive, goal-driven, explicit, endogenous, controlled
Selective attention
Process: ability to capture one source
Behavior: cocktail party effect
Test: Stroop, Trails, Cancellation
Divided attention (working memory)
Process: Attend to multiple tasks
Behavior: texting and driving
Tests: digit span, letter-numbering, dichotic listening
Sustained attention
Process: Maintain attention over time
Behavior: Highway driving
Test: continuous performance task
What other brain functions impact language? (3)
- Memory
- Sensory input
- Motor output
Continuity based theory
Language evolved from early pre-linguistic systems/vocalizations from pre-human/animal ancestors
Discontinuity based theory
Language appeared suddenly with the evolution of early man
Lexicon
Vocabulary of language
Syntax
Grammatical structure of sentences
Semantics
Meaning of a word, phrase, sign/symbol or sentence
Prosody
Intonation, tone, stress, rhythm of language; may reflect emotion
Discourse
A unit of language that is longer than a single sentence, involves sentences coming together to form a narrative (ex: argument, narration, description, exposition)
Aphasia
An acquired loss or impairment of language
Alexia
Loss or impairment of the ability to comprehend language in written or printed form (disturbance of reading)
Agraphia
Loss or the impairment of the ability to express language in written or printed form (surface, phonological, deep)
Bilateral hippocampal sclerosis
Severe neuronal cell loss
Semantic
Recollection of a specific fact
Episodic
Recollection of a specific personal experience and its context
Explicit memory
Any conscious recollection (includes semantic and episodic)
Implicit memory
“Non-conscious”, effect of prior experience on behavior
Semantic priming
Seeing a target word before to prime response
Perceptual priming
Fasted the second time seeing the word because of experience
Broad operational definition of memory
The effect of past experience on present perceptions and behavior (ex: recalling conversation with friend)
Features of multiple memory systems (3)
- Content
- Capacity/duration
- Stages
Anterograde amnesia
Loss of ability to encode and learn new information after a defined event
Retrograde amnesia
Loss of old memories from before event
Recall of more remote memories in
Neocortical activation
Recall of more recent facts in
Hippocampal activation
