lecture 5 Flashcards
Why is human variation important for neuropsychologist to understand?
Knowledge about human variation can help decide what to test and what to control when doing research.
1- Handedness: Anatomical study results?
1- One study found that right-handed people have a more developed fissure on their left motor cortex. But that is not the case for left-handed people.
2- Handedness: Anatomical study results?
Left-sided developmental advantage: Animals have asymmetry growing up and usually the left side is favored due to the assumption that our heart is on the left side. (Left side
Environmental effect on brain organization: Chinese example
1-The language chinese is complex and requires great short-term verbal memory.
2- Chinese people have larger temporal cortices, which might reflect greater need for complex tasks.
Environmental effect: Blind people
For blind people while doing other sensory tasks such as (hearing) their visual cortex is still activated.
Environmental effect: Deaf people
1- Deaf people can still experience sign language aphasia ( because language is not localized in the auditory cortex)
2- Deaf and normal people share very similar auditory cortex due to the natural development.
Enriched environment and deprivation
1-Deprivation decreases the surface area
2- Greater stress accelarates brain maturation
3- Lower stress may increase plasticity and learning.
Sex differences in brain structure for women and men
1- Women have larger prefrontal and medial paralimbic regions.
2- Men have larger medial and orbital frontal cortex and angular gyrus.
3-Women have more interhemispheric connections.
4-Men have more intra-hemispheric connections.
5- Posterior part of the collasum is larger
6- Left Wernicke’s area is larger than right wernicke’s are is mostly seen in men
Congenital disorders
Disorders present from birth
Hydrocephalaus
Definition: Imbalance between how much cerebrospinal fluid is produced and how much is observed by the bloodstream.
- Detected with an ultrasound between 15 to 35 weeks of prenatal.
Treatment: can be treated through surgery.
Cerebral palsy
Definition: Group of disorders that affect movement, muscle tone and posture.
Cause: prenatally due to damage to white matter, possibly as a result of reduced blood and loss of oxygen.
-More common in boys
Treatment: Early intervention can reduce symptoms but the disease won’t disappear.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Definition: Lifelong condition that causes physical and mental changes.
Common: 6% of women’s offspring who consume alcohol during pregnancy.
It has 4 different types
Partial Fetal alcohol syndrome (pFAS)
Have some of the characteristics ( facial features) but don’t have all the symptoms of FAS.
Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND)
They experience some or all the symptoms below:
1-Impulsiveness
2-Inattentiveness
3- challenge with judgement
4- Low school performance
Alcohol-related birth Defects (ARBD)
Physical birth defects (abnormal features of heart, eyes, skeletal system)
