Exam 3 Flashcards
REM sleep
Rapid eye movements, faster pulse and breathing; stage where dreams occur; can wake more easily; more time spent in this stage later in night
Slow wave sleep
Deep sleep; delta waves; stages 3 and 4 of sleep; more time spent in this stage early in night; mentalizing occurs
Sleep cycle
- Alpha waves - relaxed wakefulness; low amp., high freq
- 1st stage - Theta waves, lower freq, becoming drowsy
- 2nd stage - Theta waves, higher amp w/ bursts (spindles), K-complex
- 3 & 4 stage - Delta waves, slow waves, deep sleep
- REM - low amp & higher freq (similar to stage 1 waves)
Place cells
Cells in the hippocampus which respond when an animal is in a specific location. Each cell is activated for a different location. Cells are more active for people who are more accurate (taxi drivers)
Effects of napping
napping after task=less decay of learning; naps w/ slow wave and REM = improvement in task
Adolescent sleep cycle
delay in circadian rhythm
Hippocampus role in sleep & memory
Involved in the recognition of place and the consolidation of contextual memories
Sleep & education
School start time = impact on academic performance and motivation; less sleep = lower persistence and attitude toward life
Long-term Potentiation
Cells that wire together fire together; patterns of synaptic activity that produce a long-lasting increase in signal transmission between two neurons; awake = synaptic strengthening; sleep = synaptic downscaling, gives cells more room to strengthen other connections
SES & cognitive functions
Can see difference in brain development by 1 y/o
SES & cognitive functions
Can see difference in brain development by 1 y/o; higher SES = faster processing speed; lower SES = slower rate of growth in brain
SES & brain structure
Changes in brain volume (less with low income); frontal and parietal grey matter volume
SES intervention
Head start + family-based (PCMC-A); Selective attention task with ERP: children listen two stories (one in each ear), picture prompt tells kids which story to listen to, results = low SES kids unable to inhibit unnecessary story
Where does income’s impact on education plateau?
Upper middle class
Long-term Potentiation (sleep)
Cells that wire together fire together; patterns of synaptic activity that produce a long-lasting increase in signal transmission between two neurons; awake = synaptic strengthening; sleep = synaptic downscaling, gives cells more room to strengthen other connections
NEPSY Arrows
Test of Parietal/Spatial Cognition System and SES. Arrows pointing toward center dot. 2/8 point directly at dot.
CTOPP - Blending Words Subtest
Test of the left Perisylvian/Language System and SES. Ex: what word do the following sounds make: /t/ /oi/? Tests low (phonemic) aspects of language.
Mental Rotation
Test of Parietal/Spatial Cognition System and SES. Hands (L or R) presented at various rotations. Say whether hands can be superimposed by rotating.
Go/No-go Task
Test of Anterior Cingulate/Cognitive Control System and SES. Press button for all animals, except the cat. Measure failures.
NEPSY Delayed Memory Test
Test of Medial Temporal/Declarative Memory System and SES. Children asked if the picture is a boy or a girl. Identify previously seen faces after 20 minute delay.
SES accounted for variance in all domains EXCEPT:
SES accounted for variance in all domains EXCEPT:
SES effects on cognitive conflict are mediated by this
Language Skills
Hypothalamic Pituitary Axis (HPA)
Longterm/chronic stress increases amygdala activation which increases activation here which releases hormones like cortisol
Hypothalamic Pituitary Axis (HPA) & stress
Longterm/chronic stress increases amygdala activation which increases HPA activation which releases hormones like cortisol
These two brain areas atrophy with chronic stress
Prefrontal Cortex, Hippocampus (Cognition and memory)
Stress, recovery & age
young = good dendritic recovery after stress, old = less recovery in neurons post-stress
The two biggest predictors of success of preschool
Mother’s education, home learning environment
The brain is shifted toward this region in adolescent humans and dolphins
Frontal Cortex
These mental disorders tend to emerge during adolescence
Schizophrenia, Depression, Anxiety, Substance Abuse, Eating Disorders
Which mental disorders do NOT have peak emergence in adolescence?
Autism, ADHD, Alzheimer’s
Evolutionary purpose of adolescent brain/behavior
Adolescence a sensitive period for brain
Facilitate separation from family?
Less inbreeding = evolutionary advantage?
Risky behavior by some good for the group (even if potentially bad for the individual)?
Adolescent brain change
GM declines in adolescence; connectivity among brain regions increases (structural and functional); balance between frontal and limbic systems change; After puberty, synaptic density decreases; White matter increases throughout adolescence; brain uses less glucose = suggests increased efficiency
Decline in fear response in adolescents associated with
lack of synaptic plasticity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)
PFC integrates:
cognition and emotion
Development of hot and cold EF’s in adolescence
high cool - dlPFC - (intellectual ability); low hot - vmPFC - (psychosocial maturity)
Adolescent decision making
Issue NOT risk tolerance, but developmental “mismatch” of increased limbic (emotional) activity and slower prefrontal development
Hot EF connectivity with
Amygdala and hypothalamus
Outside factors that affect adolescent behavior
- Family obligations: Adolescent who has greater family obligations showed greater PFC activation
- With Peers: when they tend to make risky decision – ventral striatum
Adolescent reward behavior
Compared to adults, Adols have higher reward and novel experience seeking behavior
Do delta sleep and cyclic power increase or decrease during adolescence?
decrease
Adults had more activity in these areas of their brains while rating risky behaviors
Amygdala, Insula (emotion regions)
Area responsible for false alarms in Go/No-go task. Peak in adolescence.
Ventral Striatum
Adolescent brain behavior as family obligation increases
Increase dlPFC activity and decreased ventral striatum activity
Adolescents: friends in car vs parent in car
Friends: greater activity in ventral striatum; Parent: greater activity in PFC
The center of the orbitofrontal cortex/ventromedial PFC is for this
Reward
These areas are active in reward
Insula, Anterior Cingulate Cortex, vmPFC/OFC, Ventral Striatum
People with lesions in this area of the brain were more likely to make bad bets than people with lesions in the dlPFC
Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex/Orbitofrontal Cortex (decision making)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Disorder characterized by:
A. Persistent difficulty in social communication/interaction.
B. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.
C. Symptoms must be present in early developmental period.
D. Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in functioning.
E. Disturbances are not better explained by intellectual disabilities.
Prevalence of ASD
1.47% population; boys 5x more likely than girls;
Possible causes of ASD
- Paternal age
- Maternal illness in first trimester
- Genetic code variations
ASD brain development
Autistic brain “overdevelops” by ~ 10%; Head circumferences becomes larger during 1-2yrs; The biggest differences are seen in grey matter density of frontal and temporal lobes
Eye gaze at this age can predict ASD
2-6 months
This area is hypo-activated in people with autism
Superior Temporal Sulcus (STS and other social network areas)
There is more gray matter volume in kids with ASD in these two lobes.
Frontal Lobe, Temporal Lobe (social areas)
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)
Gold standard of ASD therapy. Get baseline data (what they’re doing as-is) then institute treatment. Versatile.
There is no difference in gray matter volume between ASD kids and TD kids in these two lobes
Occipital Lobe, Parietal Lobe
Denver model
ASD therapy which is ABA, but they try to facilitate relationships between the parents and the kids
Theory of mind
The ability to understand that people have experiences and opinions other than their own. Often tested with a variant of false belief tasks (. Develops around age 4-5.
Theory of Mind lives in this brain region
Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)
FFA (fusiform face area)
face perception -> faces critical for social engagement; FFA related to expertise; amygdala and FFA are connected, most likely so that we can quickly react to facial expressions that show fear/anger
Social brain
Low level: amygdala, FFA
High level: MPFC, OPFC, MNS, STS, Insula
ASD face responsiveness
infants affinity for faces; reduced face responsiveness in ASD; Children with ASD usually show less brain activity in FFA; absence of perceptual bias for faces in infancy (deficits in amygdala)
Mirror neuron system (MNS)
A group of specialized neurons that “mirrors” the actions and behavior of others; mimicking of behavior = innately specified or associative learning?
Mirror neuron location
Found in premotor/parietal cells in the macaque brain
ASD & MNS
Less TOM; less brain activity while watching others during task
Somatosensory plasticity
representation larger in left hand of violin players; study: interrupted monkey’s nerve cells for upper limb, the somatosensory cortex for limbs was replaced as the areas for faces; learning to juggle = increased GM after mastery
Cab drivers in London study
- As cab drivers worked longer, the posterior hippocampus became larger, and the anterior hippocampus became smaller.
- Posterior hippocampus—novel route finding
- Anterior hippocampus—repetitive route finding
- Bus drivers (who follow the same routes) have larger Ant. hippocami and smaller Post. hippocampi
Deaf lip reading & auditory cortex
ASL develops and activates auditory cortex
Blind braille readers
Read braille through touch; develop visual cortex area for braille reading; cortical reorganization; VWFA reorganization
Learning to use tools
Changes connectivity between parietal regions and prefrontal regions
Exercise and the brain
- Exercise increases BDNF (Brain-derived neurotrophic factor - the protein helps to make new neurons); exercise increases synaptogenesis
- BDNF increases the number of NMDA receptors -> neurogenesis
Exercise and achievement
Kids with higher aerobic capacity performed better on math & reading tests; Adults and the elderly who exercised performed better on executive function, spatial, and speed tasks
Direct brain stimulation
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) & Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)
TMS
Brain stimulation which creates a magnetic field in a specific area of the brain.
tDCS
Brain stimulation which uses electrodes instead of a figure-eight coil. Softer current, but more ongoing.
Brain supported:
Evidence from neuroscience supports intervention
Brain derived:
Intervention derived from neuroscience data and theories.
Brain driven:
Manipulate brain activity directly to change behavior (smart drugs, tDCS)
Brain inspired:
Most current products, based more or less loosely on brain data and theories.
