lecture 29: how does the brain think

Question 1

what brain areas are invovled in recognizing objects and making moves with respect to them

Answer 1

recognizing- occipital and temporal

making moves- parietal

Question 2

what does frontal lobes do

Answer 2

organize behavior temporally ex. when to execute behaviors and in what order
- orchestra conductor

Question 3

wisconsin card sorting

Answer 3

measure of planning and abstract reasoning

- shifting response strategy hard for FL lesions

Question 4

perseveration

Answer 4

tendency to repeat same verbal or motor response to varied stimuli
- frontal lobe lesions

Question 5

how does WCS task work

Answer 5

place each card in pile sorting by 1/3 categories, rewarded for right response but category changes without telling, subjects must change responses
- issue is switching strategies

Question 6

cognitive neuroscience

Answer 6

study the neural basis of cognition through neuroimaging, animal study and testing

Question 7

brain connectome

Answer 7

map of complete structural/funcitonal fiber pathways of human brain in vivo
- DTI and fcMRI

Question 8

tractography/ DTI

Answer 8

measures neuroanatomical pathways related to traits

Question 9

loui et al. connectivity in perfect pitch

Answer 9

expected to see hyperconnectivity but instead saw tract volume in LH predicted performance
- RH might be recruiting help from LH

Question 10

fCMRI

Answer 10

1. uses resting state fMRI to measure functional correlations b/w brain regions
2. uses temporal correlations b/w activity in different regions to infer functional connectivity

Question 11

cerebellum

Answer 11

associations w/ working memory, attention, language, music and decision making
- may be involved in accuracy and refinement of thoughts as well as movements

Question 12

social neuroscience

Answer 12

combines tools from cog neuroscience with social psych

Question 13

empathy

Answer 13

emotional perspective taking

- associated with medial prefrontal cortex

Question 14

theory of mind

Answer 14

attribution of mental states to others

- understanding others DLPFC

Question 15

visual self recognition

Answer 15

activates right lateral PFC, lateral parietal cortex and fusiform gyrus

Question 16

conceptual self recognition

Answer 16

self describing - medial prefrontal regions

Question 17

impulse control/self regulation

Answer 17

anterior cingulate, orbitofrontal, DLPFC

Question 18

neuroeconomics

Answer 18

how the brain makes decisions:

reflective: deliberate, slow, rule driven (lPFC, MT, PPC)
reflexive: fast, automatic, emotionall biased (vPFC, amygdala, BG)

Question 19

cerebral asymmetry

Answer 19

A1 larger on right
A2 larger on left
posterior right temporal lobe larger than left
sensorimotor cortex for face larger in left

Question 20

damage to right vs left parietal

Answer 20

right: difficulty copying drawings, assembling puzzles and navigating around
left: difficulty with language, copying movements, arithmatic, object/animal names
- right: spatial skills
- left: language and schoolwork

Question 21

dichotic listening

Answer 21

right ear: verbal info (digits)

left ear: music

Question 22

visual system

Answer 22

right field (left brain): language related info ex. anne
left field (right brain): nonverbal spatial info ex. face

Question 23

split brain

Answer 23

surgical disconneciton of 2 hemispheres in which corpus callosum is cut

• hemispheres cannot communicate
• cannot name objects presented to RH but can make nonverbal responses