Lecture 13: Higher-Order Cerebral Function Flashcards

1
Q

What is the neuroanatomical reason behind the presence of handedness?

A
  • highly skilled complex motor tasks are programmed by dominant hemisphere
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2
Q

Where are language centers found in the brain?

A

predominantly on the left hemisphere

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3
Q

Do language centers vary at all between individuals?

A
  • yes
  • left hemisphere is dominant for language in over 95% of right-handers and 60-70% of left handers
  • bi-lateral language representation in many left handers
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4
Q

Where is Broca’s Area located? What is its function?

A
  • left lateral side of frontal lobe

- give ability to speak words - motor output

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5
Q

Where is Wernicke’s Area located? What is its function?

A
  • left lateral temporal lobe right below Sylvian/lateral fissure
  • speech comprehension, words making sense when speaking
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6
Q

How are Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas connected?

A

bi-directional arcuate fasciculus

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7
Q

What is the role of the Frontal Lobes during language processing?

A
  • Higher-order motor aspects of speech formation, planning

- Syntax – arrange words/phrases into a language so that it makes sense

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8
Q

What is the role of the supramarginal gyrus and angular gyrus during language processing?

A
  • parietal and temporal lobes
  • lexicon (VOCAB)
  • writing
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9
Q

What is the role of the visual cortex and visual association cortex during language processing?

A

reading - visual input goes to occipital lobe, then processed by visual association cortex, then connects with supramarginal gyrus and angular gyrus to help interpret what we are reading

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10
Q

What is the role of the non-dominant hemisphere during language processing?

A
  • affective elements of speech

- can tell tone of voice (happy vs sad)

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11
Q

What is the role of the thalamus and basal ganglia during language processing?

A

thalamus - relay station for connections

basal ganglia - initiation and execution of movement for speech

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12
Q

What is aphasia?

A
  • impairment of language production or reception or both

- due to physiological or cognitive disruption or both

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13
Q

What are common impairments associated with aphasia as a whole?

A
  • trouble speaking clearly
  • trouble understanding speech
  • trouble writing clearly
  • trouble understanding written words
  • trouble remembering words
  • trouble remembering object names
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14
Q

Describe characteristics of Broca’s Aphasia

A
  • lose motor output of our speech - very effortful speech
  • impaired language production
  • aware of deficits
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15
Q

Describe characteristics of Wernicke’s Aphasia

A
  • lose comprehension of speech
  • can’t understand what you say to them and talk gibberish because they can’t form correct order of words they want to say
  • unaware of deficits
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16
Q

Describe characteristics of Global Aphasia

A

have both Broca’s and Wernicke’s Aphasia

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17
Q

Define alexia

A

impairment in reading ability

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18
Q

How might alexia present when alongside Broca’s aphasia?

A

the patient will have difficulty reading out loud but they can read quietly to themselves

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19
Q

How might alexia present alongside Wernicke’s aphasia?

A

the patient will talk gibberish when reading out loud and can not understand what they are reading

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20
Q

Define agraphia

A

impairment in writing ability

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21
Q

How might agraphia present alongside Broca’s aphasia?

A

writing will be very labored, sparse, break down before finishing word they are trying to write

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22
Q

How might agraphia present alongside Wernicke’s aphasia?

A

the patient will write something totally off in left field

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23
Q

What is meant by the idea of perception? How does our brain perceive information?

A
  • perceiving is the capacity to transform info from the senses and use it to interact appropriately to the environment
  • perception is dictated by past experience, memory, problem solving, etc.
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24
Q

What is body scheme? How does it differ from body image?

A
  • postural model of body
  • How my body relates to itself and how my body relates to the rest of the environment and how its experiencing itself within the environment
  • body image is just the visual and mental image of one’s body
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25
Q

What is neglect?

A
  • Failure to orient toward, respond to, or report stimuli on the side contralateral to the lesion
  • have normal sensory, motor, and visual systems
26
Q

Damage to which cortical and subcortical regions are most commonly associated with the presence of neglect?

A

Non-dominant injury -right side of brain which controls left side of body

mostly occurs with right parietal lobe

27
Q

What are the 2 classification systems for unilateral neglect?

A

Modality

  • sensory
  • motor
  • representational

Distribution

  • Personal
  • Spatial
28
Q

Auditory neglect

A
  • Will not hear anything on one side

- must stand to other side for them to hear you

29
Q

Visual neglect

A
  • most common

- only see one half of what is in front of them

30
Q

Tactile neglect

A

can’t feel one side of body

31
Q

Motor neglect

A

unable to generate a movement response to a stimulus even though patient has the muscle strength

32
Q

Representational neglect

A
  • loss of internally generated images

- ex: At home but can close eyes and visualize classroom and only see one half of it

33
Q

Personal neglect

A

Lack of exploration or awareness of contralateral side of body

34
Q

Peri-personal neglect

A

neglecting things within arms reach on the one side. Can see outside of arms length

35
Q

Extra-personal neglect

A

can see everything in arms reach but can’t see one side out of arms reach

36
Q

Define asomatognosia. How does it differ from personal neglect?

A
  • impairment of body scheme - lack of awareness of presence of and/or relationship of body parts
  • differs from personal because they also lose ownership - will ague that their limb is not theirs
37
Q

position-in-space disorder

A

Decreased ability to perceive and interpret spatial concepts

- up, down, in, out, over, under, etc.

38
Q

Right/Left discrimination

A

Decreased R/L differentiation with body parts and with following directions

39
Q

Topographical disorientation

A

Difficulty perceiving relationships from one location to another in the environment
- read a map

40
Q

Figure Ground

A

Inability to distinguish a figure from the background in which it is embedded
- Where’s Waldo

41
Q

Spatial Relations disorder

A

Inability to to perceive relationship of one object in space to another object, or to oneself
- obstacle course

42
Q

Depth and distance perception

A

Inaccurate judgement of direction, distance and depth

43
Q

Vertical disorientation/midline disorientation

A

Cannot identify when body is in the middle

- patient won’t be sitting straight up but they think they are

44
Q

What are Agnosias?

A

Decreased ability to recognize stimuli despite intact sensory function

45
Q

visual agnosias

A
  • Inability to recognize familiar objects despite normal eye function
  • ex: Prosopagnosia - can’t recognize familiar faces
46
Q

Auditory agnosias

A
  • Inability to recognize non-speech sounds or to discriminate between them
  • ex: doorbell vs phone ring
47
Q

Astereognosis

A

Inability to recognize objects when handling them, despite normal tactile sensations

48
Q

Agraphesthesia

A

Inability to recognize symbols when they’re traced on the skin

49
Q

What is anosognosia?

A
  • Denial or lack of awareness of presence or severity of one’s deficits
  • Patient thinks they are fine
50
Q

What is apraxia? Where is the damage typically associated with this impairment?

A
  • Impairment of voluntary, skilled, well-learned movement w/o deficits in motor, sensory, or coordination
  • lesions to dominant (left) frontal or parietal lobes
51
Q

What is ideomotor apraxia?

A
  • Breakdown between concept (idea) and performance (motor execution)
  • can tell every detail on what you need to do but can’t perform it
52
Q

What is ideational apraxia?

A
  • Failure in the conceptualization of the task

- can’t explain how to do task or do the task

53
Q

What is the role of the prefrontal cortex best known for?

A
  • executive function

- Planning, decision-making, problem-solving, self-control, and acting with long-term goals in mind

54
Q

What are the specific regions of the prefrontal cortex?

A
  • dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
  • orbitofrontal prefrontal cortex
  • ventromedial prefrontal cortex
55
Q

What is basic function of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex?

A

Switching attention, working memory, maintaining abstract rules, and inhibiting inappropriate responses

56
Q

What is basic function of orbitofrontal prefrontal cortex?

A

DECISION-MAKING

57
Q

What is basic function of ventromedial prefrontal cortex?

A

Emotional processing, aids in decision-making, short-term memory (sec to min), self-perception, and social cognition

58
Q

Where do we find connections to/from the prefrontal cortex?

A

EVERYWHERE

Cortical

  • association cortices
  • limbic cortex

Subcortical

  • amygdala
  • hippocampus
  • thalamus (mediodorsal nucleus)
  • basal ganglia
59
Q

How does the frontal lobe contribute to restraint?

A
  • judgement
  • foresight
  • delaying gratification
  • concentration
  • inhibiting socially inappropriate responses
60
Q

How does the frontal lobe contribute to initiative?

A
  • curiosity
  • spontaneity
  • motivation
  • drive
  • creativity
  • personality
  • mental flexibility
61
Q

How does the frontal lobe contribute to order?

A
  • working memory
  • abstract reasoning
  • planning
  • organization
  • sequencing
62
Q

What are some common symptoms associated with frontal lobe damage?

A
  • disinhibition (silly behavior, crass jokes)
  • inappropriate jocularity (laughing at a funeral)
  • limited insight
  • frontal release signs (palmer reflex, grasp reflex, sucking reflex)
  • respond to stimuli at hand, even when not appropriate