History + Methods

Question 1

Different kinds of neuro based professions (4)

Answer 1

1. -Psychologist: Brain behavior relationship
2. -ologist: Disorders of the nervous system, anatomical correlations
3. -Surgeons: Specialized doctors, surgery of the nervous structure
4. -Scientist: Researchers/teachers in the nervous system

Question 2

Trephining

Answer 2

Surgical removal of part of the skull to access the brain - can be done for medical reasons, like relieving intercranial pressure, or for spiritual reasons like removing spirits

Question 3

Ancient Greek philosophers’ opinions on the brain (3)

Answer 3

1. Hippocrates: the contralateral effects, the neural origin of emotions, demystifying epilepsy
2. Plato: notion of mental health, that one can be mentally fit in the same way as they can be physically fit
3. Aristotle: the cardiac hypothesis

Question 4

The Cell Doctrine

Answer 4

Egyptian school of thought: notions of the central nervous system and the difference in sensory and motor neurons

Question 5

Ventricular localization hypothesis

Answer 5

Ventricles are positioned in the center of the brain, so they must be important.

Question 6

Galen

Answer 6

• Sensory nerves at front, motor at back (intricate nature of brain organization)
• Established cerebrospinalfluid
• Balance of the humors theory (blood, mucus, yellow bile, black bile$

Question 7

Spirit/Soul + Anatomical Discoveries

Answer 7

• Versalius: first neurosurgeon, dissected brains and constructed drawings
• Descartes’ mind-body question. In search of the single seat of the soul.

Question 8

Descartes’ ideology

Answer 8

There is one seat of the soul that controls our being. It’s the pineal gland due to its central placement and contact with multiple brain functions.

Question 9

Vitalism vs materialism

Answer 9

Spiritual/outer body experience drives out mental existence vs our entire experience is dictated by the physical interactions within our brains

Question 10

Localization Theory (3)

Answer 10

Phrenology, faculty psychology and cortical localization

Question 11

Phrenology

Answer 11

The brain is made up of organs, you can see this in the distinction between lobes; size of region = size of ability.

Question 12

Faculty Psychology effects (3)

Answer 12

1. Killed the ‘seat of the mind’ idea
2. Increased the emphasis on cortical functioning; cortices are NB in functioning
3. Concentrated the study of behavior on the brain

Question 13

Cortical Localization

Answer 13

• Broca: damage to a particular area resulted in the removal of the ability to speak.
  (A very specific kind of cognition is affected, but the rest is spared)
• Wernicke: Receptive speech affected

Question 14

Critics of Cortical Localization

Answer 14

Freud: aphasias can occur from damage to subcortical regions or problems within the connection of regions, not regions themselves
Flourens: ablation; removing a part of the brain and observing changes in behavior. There is equipotentiality.

Question 15

Equipotentialiy

Answer 15

Removing a piece of the brain can be accommodated for by virtue of the rest of the brain adjusting. The issue is not with location but its size.

Question 16

Challenged to localisation

Answer 16

Mind-blindness (see/sense objects but don’t register their purpose)
Lesions to association areas and areas in between important cortical regions

Question 17

Anosognosia

Answer 17

Not recognising the extent of a disorder or deficit

Question 18

Lashley - mass action

Answer 18

The extent of any behavioural deficit is directly proportional to the amount of the brain removed; multipotentiality of the brain tissue.

Question 19

Luria’s Functional Model

Answer 19

Based on the process, how people come to get their scores, not interested in simply what score they got.

Question 20

Hierarchical Model: 3 subsections (integrated theory)

Answer 20

The CNS is divided into 3 functional units

1. Brain stem: primitive, survival, no higher order
2. Occipital/Parietal: sensory info reception + integration, environment understanding
3. Anterior: higher functioning

Question 21

Hierarchical Model: theories

Answer 21

• Complex decisions made with input from all three units
• Each area has a role in multiple activities
• Plasticity: the brain can change with training/trauma

Question 22

Neuropsychological inference

Answer 22

The important of the context in which theories are being established

Question 23

Key assumptions in modern neuropsych

Answer 23

1. Cognitive architecture
2. Modularity
3. Locality
4. Distributed processing
5. Uniformity
6. Subtractivity

Question 24

Cognitive Architecture

Answer 24

Complex abilities imply combined brain subsystems; elementary abilities require one small subsystem, complex are a sum.

Question 25

Modularity

Answer 25

Complex functions make use of subsystems that, basically, all only do one basic thing.

Question 26

Locality

Answer 26

Modules that do similar things will be close to one another, which makes evolutionary sense given it cuts down time and keeps things efficient

Question 27

Distributed processing

Answer 27

Higher order activities require wide spread brain use, working together from different zones

Question 28

Uniformity

Answer 28

Everyone’s brain looks the same

Question 29

Subtractivity

Answer 29

If you take away parts of the brain, you lose cognitive function

Question 30

Simple association

Answer 30

Doesn’t tell us much as there is a number of reasons why everyone would perform worse at one task

Question 31

Simple dissociation

Answer 31

Useful, but not hugely so given that it doesn’t allow for a sure distinction given that a single impairment could affect performance in a task.

Question 32

Double Dissociation

Answer 32

Allows for the comparison between different lesions that are affecting different skills and keeping others in tact. Problem is that you need two different groups with differing lesions and two tests that tap into different cognitive processes

Question 33

Within/between subject measurements

Answer 33

Between subject measures are difficult to administer across populations (norms only apply in specific circumstances), within subject measures are better but difficult given that info is seldom gathered before the injury.

Question 34

Single case analysis, Pros and Cons

Answer 34

Pro: you can obtain large volumes of info about the person
Con: generalisability is questionable

Question 35

Simple dissociation

Answer 35

Useful, but not hugely so. It can’t determine if it’s caused by wide spread deficit

Question 36

Different kinds of group studies

Answer 36

Disease based & neural malfunction based

Question 37

Pros and cons of group studies

Answer 37

Diagnosis approach is flawed given the nature of diagnoses, and lesions don’t discriminate.

Question 38

Best approach to neuropsych

Answer 38

Single case - theory - group case evidence collection - acceptance/rejection of hypothesis

Question 39

Performance measures

Answer 39

Use of behavioural performance measures, the choice of an appropriate comparison/control group is essential

Question 40

Complexities of the lesion method

Answer 40

Injury always entails a loss of function and an adaptive response. The emotional nature of the response can have cognitive effects.
Lesions don’t obey boundaries, and we can’t control the adaptive response. Neuroimaging helps.