Health Neuroscience & Confounds Flashcards
HEALTH DEFINITION
- absence of physical/mental illness & disease/pain/discomfort
- absence of risk factors ie:
1. PHYSIOLOGICAL (ie. insulin resistance)
2. SOCIAL (ie. loneliness)
3. COGNITIVE (ie. slow processing speed)
4. EMOTIONAL (ie. anxiety)
HEALTH NEUROSCIENCE
- focuses on understanding how brain affects our physical health & vice versa
- brain = target (bottom-up pathways) & mediator (top-down pathways)
CONTEXTUAL INFLUENCES - social; cultural; environmental
- interventional; health policy
INDIVIDUAL-LVL INFLUENCES - genetic; epigenetic; life history
- well-being scale = resilience; clinical illness scale = risk
BRAIN HEALTH (WHO)
- state of brain functioning across cognitive/sensory/socio-emotional/beh/motor domains
- allows person to realise full potential over life course irrespective of presence/absence of disorders
- structural/functional integrity of brain regions underlying cognitive processes implicated in adherence to health behs
BRAIN BASICS
- BRAINSTEM & CEREBELLUM
- LIMBIC SYSTEM & SUBCORTICAL REGIONS
- WHITE MATTER TRACTS
- CEREBRAL CORTEX
BRAIN ROTATIONS
- (right) front -> back = anterior -> posterior
- (left) front -> back = rostral -> caudal
- width = lateral -> lateral (medial)
- top -> bottom = dorsal -> ventral
- diagonal -> rostral -> caudal
BRAIN APPROACHES
BRAIN PERTURBATION APPROACH
- manipulation
- alteration -> measure (task performance)
NEUROMONITORING APPROACH
- measurement
- manipulate cognition -> measure (neural activity)
EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS
- predict physical/mental health across lifespan
- higher order cognitive functions implicated in “top-down” control of human beh/thought/action
- aka: executive processes/control; controlled attention; central executive system; supervisory attentional system
EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING SKILLS
EMOTIONAL CONTROL
- ability to manage feelings
TIME MANAGEMENT
- ability to manage time to complete tasks
FLEXIBILITY
- ability to modify/adapt to changing situations
ORGANISATION
- ability to develop systems to manage
TASK INITIATION
- ability to start/stop tasks
WORKING MEMORY
- ability to use memory to complete tasks
HOW TO DEFINE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS
- conscious control of what we think/do
- enables self-regulation of one’s own social actions/display emotions
- coordinates goal-setting w/planning required to accomplish goal/task (ie. organising/sequence/self-monitoring/evaluating)
- control of attention/focus skills
- ability to think/act in flexible manner w/tolerance for frustration
EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS: SELF-REGULATION
- impulse control
- use of social filter
- self-monitoring social behs
- tolerance
- delay of immediate gratification
- establishing/filtering attention
- engaging in health protective behs
COGNITIVE ASPECTS OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS: META-COGNITION
- organising time/materials/projects
- prioritising
- attention shifting
- risk-assessment
- informed decision making
- verbal/non-verbal WM
STRUCTURE OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS IN ADULTS
updating (specific) ->
shifting (specific) ->
inhibition ->
common executive function
EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS & COGNITIVE MECHANISMS
- executive function & self-regulation skills depend on 3 cognitive mechanisms:
1. WORKING MEMORY - governs our ability to retain/manipulate distinct info over short periods of time
2. COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY - helps us to sustain/shift attention in response to dif demands & apply dif rules in dif settings
3. INHIBITORY CONTROL - enables us to resist impulsive actions/responses
WORKING MEMORY
ADULT
- remember multiple tasks/rules/strategies that may vary by situation
5-16Y
- ability to search varying locations; remember where something was found; explore other locations
4-5Y
- appearance = NOT always reality
3Y
- hold in mind 2 rules & act on their basis
9-10M
- execute simple tasks/plans
7-9M
- ability to remember unseen objects
INHIBITORY CONTROL
ADULT
- consistent self-control; situationally appropriate responses
10-18Y
- self-control (ie. flexibility switching between central focus) & peripheral stimuli
7Y
- learning to ignore irrelevant peripheral stimuli & focus on central
4-5Y
- reductions in perservation; delay eating treat; begin to hold/follow arbitrary rule
9-11M
- inhibit reaching for immediate reward
8-10M
- maintain focus despite distractions
6M
- rudimentary response inhibition
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY
ADULT
- revise actions/plans in response to changing circumstances
13-18Y
- accuracy when switching focus & adapting to changing rules
10-12Y
- adapts to changing rules even among multiple dimensions
2-5Y
- shifts actions according to changing rules
9-11M
- seek alternative methods to retrieve objects beyond directly reaching
EF x FOOD INTAKE
- executive functions = associated w/calorie dense food intake in young adults
- n = 5648; 11-12y
- individuals w/higher executive functions:
1. consume less calories in lab taste tests
2. have lower body mass indexes (BMI)
3. consume more fruit/vegetables & less calorie-dense foods - sugar sweetened beverage consumption
- snack food consumption
EFFORTFUL CONTROL OVER DIETARY BEHS & CRAVINGS
- high calorie > low calorie; n = 7
- ultra-processed calorie dense foods = rewarding
- requires effortful control over reward processes to manage intake in “obesogenic” environments
PREFRONTAL CORTEX
- primary motor cortex (BA4)
- premotor cortex (BA6)
- anterior premotor cortex (BA8)
- dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA9/46)
- lateral frontopolar cortex (BA10)
- ventolateral prefrontal cortex (BA47/45/44)
- ventral anterior premotor cortex (BA44/6)
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION: SUMMARY
- executive functions = cognitive processes that can be used as proxy of brain health
- important for regulating beh; play key role in adherence to health beh
IMAGING TECHNIQUES
ANATOMICAL
FUNCTIONAL
ANATOMICAL STUDIES
- structure evaluated w/dif groups/diagnoses (aka. keep other variables as similar as possible) or same group over time
- measure structure
FUNCTIONAL STUDIES
- task needed w/recordings taken during task
- usually compared to baseline task
- measure function (aka. needs to have task)
STRUCTURAL METRICS
GREY MATTER
- neuronal cell bodies (neurons)
WHITE MATTER
- myelinated axons
