Lecture 2- History, Approaches, & Methods + Neuroanatomy Primer

Question 1

What are the 3 major operations that CNS neurons are engaged in?

Answer 1

1.Reception / registration of sensory stimuli
2. Planning execution of complex motor acts
3. Intermediate processing (cognition)

Question 2

Cerebral hemispheres can be divided into 4 major zones:

Answer 2

1. Primary sensory; Sensory processing from environment
2. Primary motor: motor control
3. Limbic /Paralimbic: emotion, motivation, memory formation
4. Association Cortex: Integrates various sensory modalities and higher cognitive functions

Question 3

What is CSF? What does it do? Where is it stored/produced?

Answer 3

Fluid surrounding brain and spine
-cushion the brain and spinal cord, provide nutrients, and remove waste products.
CSF is produced/stored in the ventricles

Question 4

What is the meninges? What are the three layers of the meninges?

Answer 4

The protective sheath surrounding the brain and spinal cord
1. Dura Matter
2. Arachnoid layer
3. Pia Matter

Question 5

What is meningitis?

Answer 5

Inflammation of the meninges due to viral or bacterial infection

Question 6

What are the four eras of investigation and progress mentioned in historical perspectives on brain and behavior?

Answer 6

Egyptians, Ancient Greece, the Renaissance, and the 19th century.

Question 7

What are two types of tissue and their function?

Answer 7

1. Grey Matter: Primarily cell bodes, facilitates local communication between cells
2. White Matter: Primarily myelinated axons; transmit signals over longer distances

Question 8

What are gyri vs sulci?

Answer 8

Gyri: A series of bumps or ridges of cortex containing neurons; maximizes surface of brain.

Sulci: A series of in foldings or cervices between gyri; deep sulci are called fissures

Question 9

What are the three major fissures in the brain , and what do they separate?

Answer 9

1. Central fissure/sulcus: the frontal and parietal lobes
2. Lateral Fissure: temporal lobe from the frontal and parietal lobes.
3. Longitude Fissure: separates the two cerebral hemispheres

Question 10

What was the ancient Egyptian view on the center of mental life? What view did they have of the brain?

Answer 10

Held cardiocentric view, believing the heart and diaphragm were the seat of mental life.
- Brain was viewed as secondary, referred to as “marrow of the skull.”

Question 11

Who was the Greek figure that first considered the brain as responsible for mental life?

Answer 11

Hippocrates, first considered the brain as responsible for intellect, senses, knowledge, emotions, and mental illness.

Question 12

Which organ did Aristotle believe was the center of cognition, contradicting earlier Greek thought?

Answer 12

Aristotle returned to the cardiocentric view, believing the heart was the center of cognition. (“brain designed to cool the heat and seething of the heart

Question 13

What did Galen contribute to the understanding of the brain?

Answer 13

Galen posited that the brain was the seat of the psyche and vital spirits, playing a central role in action, senses, and cognition.

Question 14

During which centuries did the belief that brain substance took a back seat to ventricular cavities prevail?

Answer 14

4th and 5th centuries

Question 15

What were Descartes’ views on human uniqueness and the mind-body problem?

Answer 15

Descartes believed humans are unique due to their rational minds overriding reflexes, and he pondered how the immaterial mind interacts with the material body.

Question 16

What did Descartes consider as the central operational control center in the body? What did he suggest about the soul?

Answer 16

• Descartes identified the pineal gland as the central operational control center in the body.
• Soul modulates reflexes through the pineal gland.

Question 17

In the ventricular system proposed by Albertus Magnus, what mental function is associated with each of the three ventricles?

Answer 17

1. First ventricle =perception
2. Second ventricle= Reasoning
3. Third ventricle= Memory

Question 18

What were some of the contributions of Franz Joseph Gall?

Answer 18

1. Distinguished grey/white matter
2. Aphasia linked to the frontal lobes
3. Developed the theory of phrenology, the study of mental faculties through skull structure, marking the beginnings of localism (the idea that specific regions of the brain are responsible for certain functions.)

Question 19

In the early 1800s when ventricles fall out of favour what structure is focused on next?

Answer 19

Cerebrum considered seat of volition, memory, cognition, imagination…as a single, indivisible mass (one big unit)

Question 20

What is aphasia?

Answer 20

A language disorder that affects a person’s ability to communicate, often caused by damage to the brain

Question 21

How did Jean-Baptiste Bouillaud contribute to the field of neurology? What evidence was this based on?

Answer 21

• Localizing speech ability to the anterior cerebrum
• Overlooked hemispheric asymmetry

Evidence: Based on 700 complied clinical cases as well as Paul Boca’s case who came in with damage in the left inferior frontal cotex and he could only repeat the words Tan over and over again

Question 22

What is holism in the context of brain function, as proposed by Pierre Gratiolet?

Answer 22

Holism, as proposed by Pierre Gratiolet, suggests that all parts of the brain contribute to different like speech simultaneously, rather than having specialized regions for each task.

Question 23

What is the core idea behind the theory of Connectionism in the context of cognitive functions?

Answer 23

Connectionism is a theory that posits the human mind and brain functions as a network of interconnected nodes

Question 24

What were Carl Wernicke’s Contributions?

Answer 24

• Known for his work on sensory aphaisa: difficulty in understanding spoken language and producing coherent speech
• Contributed to the idea of assocationism: refers to the concept that specialized regions of the brain are connected/associated to one another and work together to process information

Question 25

What was the prevailing view of brain function in the early 20th century, and who were the main contributors to this view?

Answer 25

Characterized by the rise of holism, a view that the entire brain works together in cognitive functions. Notable contributors to this view were John Hughlings Jackson, who distinguished between locating speech and its damage in the brain, and Karl Lashley, who developed the Theory of Mass Action and the concept of equipotentiality. which suggests that the entire brain is involved in cognitive processes, and if one part is damaged, other parts can take over the function.

Question 26

How did views on brain function evolve by the mid-20th century, according to the slide?

Answer 26

The view shifted to localism, which suggests that specific brain regions are specialized for specific functions.
This was exemplified by Luria’s model, which divided brain functions into three systems:
1. Brainstem (arousal)
2. The anterior regions (planning and output)
3. Posterior System (sensory input).

Question 27

What are the three debates mentioned in the history of linking the brain and behavior?

Answer 27

1. Heart vs. brain as the seat of the soul,
2. Ventricles vs. cerebrum as the center of cognition, 3. Localization of function vs. holism/equipotentiality in cognitive processes.

Question 28

What characterized the early study of neuropsychology?

Answer 28

Early neuropsychology was characterized by the study of individual cases or small groups of similar cases, primarily using naturalistic observation without planned experimental protocols or quantification.

Question 29

What was a significant development in neuropsychology during the 1960s and 70s?

Answer 29

• Experimental neuropsychology, which combined neuropsychological studies with experimental methods from psychology, -Focused on brain lesions and their impact on cognition, emphasizing localization and functional organization.

Question 30

Review the history of fhow people have linked the brain to behavior and thought. (4)

Answer 30

1. The Egyptians: Believed the heart (cardiocentrism) was the center of thought and feeling.
2. Ancient Greeks: Thought that the brain (cerebrocentrism) was the key organ for cognitive functions.
3. The Renaissance: The focus was on ‘animal spirits’, the ventricles of the brain, and the pineal gland as important to cognition.
4. By the 19th and 20th centuries, cerebrocentrism (the brain is central to understanding thoughts and behaviors.) became widely accepted, especially highlighted in the 1990s, known as the “decade of the brain.”

Question 31

What is cognitive neuroscience, and which fields does it integrate?

Answer 31

Integration of neuroscience, experimental neuropsychology, and cognitive psychology, aimed at understanding all mental functions and their neural underpinnings.

Question 32

What does cognitive neuroscience focus on in its studies?

Answer 32

Cognitive neuroscience focuses on investigations of all mental functions that are linked to neural processes, including studies involving both animal and human experimentation.

Question 33

What are the key sources of information for cognitive neurology?

Answer 33

1. Healthy human subjects for control data
2. Non-human animal research (lesions and single cell recordings)
3. Experimental neuropsychology for understanding brain-behavior relationships
4. Brain imaging
   for looking at structural and functional aspects of the brain.

Question 34

Why are cognitively normal participants important in brain research?

Answer 34

Important in brain research because they provide a standard baseline for brain structure and function, allowing researchers to map typical brain functions to behaviors and identify differences, changes, or dysfunctions that may occur.

Question 35

What are two general approaches in non-human animal brain research?

Answer 35

Two general approaches in non-human animal brain research are single-cell recordings to track individual neuron activity and lesion methods to observe the behavioral impact of specific brain damage.

Question 36

What are the advantages of non-human animal investigations in cognitive neurology?

Answer 36

1. Similar cerebrum organization to humans,, facilitating insights into human cognition.
2. The ability to train animals for complex tasks helping researcher in studying specific cognitive processes systematically.
3. Controlling environmental and lesion characteristics in studies, enabling the isolation of variables to study their impact on cognition.

Question 37

What are the disadvantages of non-human animal research in cognitive neurology?

Answer 37

1. Include differences in cerebral organization and cognitive functions compared to humans, making it challenging to directly translate findings to human neurology.
2. The limited ability to compare verbal communication across different species, posing challenges in interpreting cognitive processes across species..
3. Ethical considerations regarding the use of animals in research.

Question 38

What is the focus of early experimental neuropsychology? (Neuropsychological Investigations (humans with brain damage)

Answer 38

Focuses on associating similar functional impairments and brain damage among patients to identify and localize brain-related syndromes.

Question 39

What is the approach of modern neuropsychology? (Neuropsychological Investigations (lesion and deficit approach)

Answer 39

Studies single cases or groups with homogeneous brain damage brain damage, focuses on dissociations to understand specific brain functions.

Question 40

What are the two types of neuropsychological investigations?

Answer 40

1. Early experimental neuropsychology, which is based on associations, links symptoms to brain damage to understand brain function.
2. Modern neuropsychology, which studies individual or group cases focusing on dissociations, to find differences in brain function, revealing the specific roles of different brain regions.

Question 41

What is single disassociation in neuropsychology?

Answer 41

Refers to when damage to one area of the brain affects one function but not another,

Question 42

What are the limitations of single dissociation?

Answer 42

Single dissociation doesn’t account for other interpretations, such as overall cognitive deficits or task difficulty, which could also explain performance differences.

Question 43

What is double dissociation in neuropsychology?

Answer 43

Double dissociation is when two different brain lesions result in opposite impairments on two tasks, providing evidence of distinct cognitive functions for each brain region.

Question 44

What does the double dissociation of memory processes within the temporal lobes suggest?

Answer 44

The medial temporal lobes likely mediate episodic memory, while the lateral temporal lobes likely mediate semantic memory.

Question 45

What are important qualifiers for lesions in the lesion and deficit approach?

Answer 45

Lesions should be stable, well-demarcated, and identifiable with specific neuroanatomical regions.

Question 46

How can structure-function relationships be complicated in the lesion and deficit approach?

Answer 46

Structure-function relationships can be complicated by degeneracy, where different structures can carry out similar functions, and diaschisis, which explains how a deficit may be result of disconnection in a neural network – not directly related to lesion site.

Question 47

What are the inputs of primary/sensory motor areas?

Answer 47

Somatosensory (touch) = post-central gyrus
Vision = occipital lobe (primary visual cortex)
Audition = superior temporal lobe (Heschl’s Gyrus)
Olfaction = orbitofrontal cortex
Taste = insula and limbic system

Question 48

What is the output for primary/sensory motor areas?

Answer 48

Voluntary motor action = controlled by pre-central gyrus

Question 49

What strucutres are a part of the limbic systme? HAMCHA

Answer 49

Amygdala
Hypothalamus
Cingulate cortex
Anterior thalamus
Mamilliary bodies
Hippocampus

Question 50

Function of the limbic system:

Answer 50

Involved in emotional regulation, often referred to as the “visceral brain,” as well as memory and cognitive control.

Question 51

What are the divisions of the frontal lobe (prefrontal cortex)

Answer 51

Major divisions: dorsolateral, ventrolateral, medial, orbitofrontal

Question 52

Function of frontal lobe:

Answer 52

Responsible for planning, judgment, decision-making, and executive functions, as well as empathy, humor appreciation and interpersonal behaviours

Question 53

Function of parietal lobe

Answer 53

Integrate sensory-motor information and are involved in spatial and motor functions.

Question 54

Temporal Lobe Functions (MEEVA)

Answer 54

• Memory (medial and lateral structures)
• Emotion (medial/temporal poles)
  = Auditory processing (superior temporal gyrus)
• Visual object recognition (inferior temporal gyrus)

Question 55

What are the two main blood supply systems to the brain and the areas they serve?

Answer 55

The anterior circulation, via the internal carotid artery, supplies the front of the brain, and the posterior circulation, via the basilar-vertebral arteries, supplies the back of the brain.

Question 56

What is Brodmann’s cytoarchitectonic map?

Answer 56

Divides the cerebral cortex into distinct areas based on differences in the cellular structure of neurons.

Question 57

What are signs vs symptoms?

Answer 57

Signs: objective abnormailites -observed and mesaured (e.g tremors, abnormal eye movement)
Symptoms: subjective abnormalities: headache, blurred vision