General Topics Flashcards
Briefly explain neural darwinism.
A biological approach to understanding brain development and function related to consciousness.
Briefly describe a study using P300 to reveal concealed information.
Farwell & Donchin (1991)
20 ppts completed one of two mock espionage activities.
- Guilty of one activity but innocent of the other.
- Probes - items which could only be known to those who had take place in the espionage activity
- Irrelevant - nothing to do with either scenario.
- Target - told to press a button for one irrelevant
- Rapidly presented items in visual field for 300ms.
- Guilty Knowledge - of espionage activity was correctly identified in 87.5% of cases.
Identify brain regions associated with moral reasoning and explain their functions.
Ventral-Medial Pre-Frontal Cortex; Social emotions, self-control and abstract thought.
The Default Mode Network; Amygdala, Hippocampus, medial pre-frontal cortex; bottom-up processing - memory and perception. Moral decision making.
Orbitofrontal Cortex, Ventral Tegmental Area & Ventral & Dorsal Striatum = Cognitive behaviour and reward circuitry.
What does EEG stand for and what is it used for?
Electroencephalography - measures electrical activity from the brain along the scalp.
What does MEG stand for and what is it used for?
Magnetoencephalography - measures the magnetic fields produced by the brains electrical currents to map brain function.
What does MRI stand for and what is it used for?
Magnetic Resonance Imaging - detects radiation emitted from hydrogen molecules
What does DTI stand for and what is it used for?
Diffusion Tensor Imaging - an MRI technique which maps the diffusion process of molecules (H2O)
What does fMRI stand for and what is it used for?
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging - measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow.
What does CT/CAT stand for and what is it used for?
Computer (Axiel) Tomography - An Xray assisted computer procedure which can reveal structural abnormalities such as cortical atrophy/lesions, internal injuries/bleeding, complex fractures or tumours.
What does PET stand for and what is it used for?
Positron Emission Tomography - An injection of positron emitting radionuclide which react with electrons that produce photons (gamma) - PET detects the gamma and show areas of the brain with high or low activity.
What are Action Potentials?
The process of depolarisation and repolarisation.
What is the Somatosensory System responsible for?
Pathways for touch, pain, temperature and proprioception.
What are some common neurological disorders?
Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, stroke.
What brain areas are located in the Frontal Lobe?
Prefrontal Cortex, Motor Cortex and Broca’s area
What brain areas are located in the Parietal Lobe?
Somatosensory Cortex
Spacial Awareness
