Lecture 1: getting started Flashcards
Alzheimer’s disease -> symptoms
atrophy of cortex - loss of function, memory loss, loss of personality, loss of identity
Mild cognitive decline (Alzheimer’s disease)
starts in hippocampus -> problems with short-term memory, takes about 7 years
Mild Alzheimer’s
temporal and parietal lobes affected; decline in reading and object/spatial memory; takes 2 years; less connections in memory areas; compensation mechanism: stronger connections in the frontal cortex
Progressive Alzheimer’s disease
frontal cortex affected; takes 2 years; personality change, decline in attention and increase in impulsivity
What is gone in progressive Alzheimer’s disease?
cognitive processes
What remains intact in progressive Alzheimer’s disease?
sensory input and motor output
How to enhance quality of life in progressive Alzheimer’s disease?
focus on stimulating sensory input -> ‘‘train’’; ‘‘don’t forget the laundry’’ ‘‘putting patient’s home door in the facility’’
final stages of Alzheimer’s disease
visual cortex affected -> visual problems; takes 3 years and results in death
How psychological disorders are unique?
no cortex atrophy, very few physical traces in the brain, but major behavioral problems; some areas may be enlarged but deviations are only visible in large samples
prefrontal cortex -> ventro-medial part
emotional and social control; psychopaths have smaller connections between PFC and amygdala
prefrontal cortex -> dorso-lateral part
cognitive control
what is a difference between Parkinson and Huntington disease?
Parkinson - movement initiation issues, Huntington -uncontrollable movement
What happens when you damage lateral prefrontal cortex?
dysexecutive syndrome -> problems with planning, working memory, uncompleted tasks, limited attention span, lack of insights into one’s actions, difficulties with dealing with real world = COGNITION
What remains intact in dysexecutive syndrome?
intelligence, language, memory for events and facts
What happens when you damage ventral and medial prefrontal cortex?
disinhibition syndrome -> constant movement, euphoria/mania, abnormal sense of humour, fail to respond to social cues -> Phineas Gage = SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL CONTROL
association fibres (white matter)
connections within hemisphere => connects primary sensory areas in parietal, temporal and occipital lobes to the association areas of the cerebral cortex and each other
commisural fibres (white matter)
connections between hemispheres; examples: corpus callosum; posterior commisure, fornix, anterior commisure
projection fibres (white matter)
vertical fibres because they connect subcortical structures and cortex
corpus callosum
connects 2 hemispheres = they can communicate!
posterior commisure
connects areas in the occipital lobes, primarily areas concerned with pupillary response and eye movement control
fornix
connects various nodes of limbic circuity
anterior commisure
connects olfactory bulbs, amygloid nuclei and medial and inferior temporal lobes
short association fibres
connect adjacent gyri -> present in Alzheimer’s patients
long association fibres
connect more distant gyri -> not present in Alzheimer’s patients
superior longitudinal fasciculus
connects frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes
cingulum
connects frontal and parietal lobes to the para-hippocampal gyrus and adjacent temporal gyri
uncinate fasciculus
connects frontal to temporal lobe contributing to the regulation of behavior
inferior longitudinal fasciculus
connects occipital to temporal pole + contributes to visual recognition
What happens if you damage corpus callosum?
split-brain -> two halves of the brain behave relatively independently
What happens if you damage splenium of corpus callosum?
posterior disconnection syndrome of alexia = cannot understand written material, but can still speak and write
How many braincells does human brain have?
around 80 bln
