L11

Question 1

what part of the brain allows us to indulge in abstract thought

Answer 1

the frontal cortex

Question 2

do humans have the biggest brain (when they are all on the same scale)

Answer 2

no

elefinits and whales have bigger brains

Question 3

what did suzana herculano houzel do

Answer 3

She took a brain and dissolved out all the tissue that isn’t neurons meaning that the neurons are homogenised (floating in the brain sopu)

You then take out a small amount of fluid and count the neurons which by average gives a good estimate of how many neurons are in the brain

she also found that there were different ways for neurons to be packed into the brain

Question 4

why did suzana herculano houzel want to know the number of neurons in the brain

Answer 4

because of they hypothesis of the more neurons = cognitive ability

Question 5

does brain mass predict the number of neurons

Answer 5

no

The weight if the brain and the number of neurons does not have a strong relationship

Size of the brain doesn’t relate to the number of neurons

Question 6

what do you find when comparing primate brains to rodent brains of the same size

Answer 6

although rodent and primate brain were the same size/weight the primate brains always contained a larger number of neurons

Question 7

what is the relationship between brain size and the cerebral cortex

Answer 7

the bigger the brain the more neurons in the cerebral cortex

primates have significantly more neurons in the cerebral cortex compared to other parts of the brain

Question 8

what does damage to the prefrountal cortex result in

Answer 8

Patients with prefrontal damage may have severe defects in
decision making and emotional regulation but often have a
remarkable absence of intellectual impairment, as measured by
conventional IQ tests such as the WAIS/WAIS-R.

This enigma might be explained by shortcomings in the tests, which tend to emphasize measures of “crystallized” (e.g.,
vocabulary, fund of information) more than “fluid” (e.g., novel
problem solving) intelligence.

Question 9

what is crystallised intelligence

Answer 9

previously acquired knowledge and skills ‘crystallized’ with

experience

Question 10

what is fluid intelligence

Answer 10

the ability to reason and solve problems using new information
without relying on previously acquired knowledge and skills.

Question 11

what does raven’s progressive matrices test for

Answer 11

it is a test for fluid intelligence

Question 12

what is raven’s progressive matrices

Answer 12

it is test of non-verbal reasoning

there are 5 shapes and you need to choose the 6th shape to match the pattern

sometimes people with prefrontal cortex damage can still complete this test

Question 13

what is abstract thought

Answer 13

Abstract thought: Using concepts to make and understand generalizations. Thought where concepts are not tied directly to specific experiences

Examples of abstract concepts include ideas such as:
•Humor
•Imagination
•Social rules

Question 14

Abstract rules are tested for in what tests

Answer 14

WCST

DNMS

Question 15

what are concrete rules

Answer 15

describe simple spatio-temporal links between objects: A
red light means stop (stimulus-response or stimulus - outcome) e.g. WCST first block

eg red light means stop

Question 16

what are abstract rules

Answer 16

they are complex and applicable to multiple exemplars
e.g. DNMS

Unlike concrete rules, abstract rules describe interactive and causal associations between objects, events and
responses. Thus, abstract rules can evoke completely
different responses to the same stimulus exemplar depending on the goal and context. e.g. WCST second block

Question 17

how is the parin organised

Answer 17

The brain is organised in terms of how vs what

How you interact with those objects is associated with the dorsal stream

Prefrontal cortex is organised in this way as well therefore in the dorsal regions it is how and in the ventral is what. Also the more anterior you go is for the more abstract. And medial is emotional.

This is just theoretical

Question 18

prefrontal lesions inhibit the ability to organise behaviour

give an example of this

Answer 18

when given a list the controls will compleate the tasks in an order that is efficient and makes sense

prefrontal lesions wont do this. they wont be able to break down the tasks in a semantic way

Question 19

what does cognitive control during goal planning and execution involve

Answer 19

Identifying primary goal and sub-goals

Retrieval and selection of relevant information

Simultaneously maintaining multiple subgoals

Determine what is required to achieve goals

anticipating consequences

Question 20

what is the central executive

Answer 20

it is part of the model of working memory

this controls the phonological loop (language), visuospatial sketchpad (visual semantics), and episodic buffer (short term episodic memory)

it acts as a dynamic filter which allows you to select the best option. the prefrontal cortex plays a role in this

Question 21

what is the role of the dorsolateral PFC

Answer 21

The role of dorsolateral PFC is to define a set of responses suitable for a particular task and then biasing these for selection ‘sculpting the response space’ (Frith)

Question 22

what is the relationship between cognitive control and creativity

Answer 22

If you want to be more creative then you need to shut down prefrontal cortex

this is because the removal of the DLPFC my free up the response space

Question 23

what is an example of prefrontal lesions having an effect on creativity

Answer 23

in the matchstick task for the easy level there was no difference

medium the controls preformed better

but the hardest the lesioned group preformed better. this was because the solution followed a different rule to the other levels

Question 24

what are the cognitive impairments of frontal lobe syndrome

Answer 24

Deficits in temporal ordering, goal directed behaviour and abstract
reasoning. Poor decision-making

(“dysexecutive syndrome”)

Question 25

what are the emotional changes of frontal lobe syndrome

Answer 25

Apathy, anergia, socially inappropriate outbursts

Question 26

what are the behavioural deficits of frontal lobe syndrome

Answer 26

Utilization behaviour, perseveration, environmental dependency, socially
inappropriate behaviour, risky behaviour