Lecture 6: Neurophysiology of Higher Cognition Flashcards
Cognition requires extensive synaptic interactions between what type of cells?
Pyramidal
What structures are utilized in the final common pathway for speaking?
Wernicke’s Area
Arcuate fasciculus
Broca’s Area
What structures compose the mediational system for language?
Temporal, parietal, frontal association areas
What is the function of the conceptional system for language?
Provides concepts of what you are trying to communicate
By what age can babies recognize all sounds that might be language?
6 months
When learning a second language after the language acquisition phase, what region is activated?
Area adjacent to Broca’s area
What is social cognition an important factor of?
Ability to function in interpersonal and social situations
What are the two components of social cognition?
Emotion Comprehension (recognition) Theory of Mind
What observable information can you use to infer the emotional state of another person?
Prosody (speech)
Facial Expression
What part of the brain identifies faces and facial expressions?
Superior Temporal Sulcus
Fusiform gyrus
What parts of the brain adds in the emotional component when identifying facial expressions?
Amygdala (main)
What main part of the face is used to identify another person’s facial expression?
Eyes
Nose
Mouth
What system is possibly activated when looking at someone else’s face?
Mirror Neuron System
What input does mirror neuron system need to imitate motions?
Visual input
What does the posterior mirror neuron system do?
Identifies motor action of observed individual (e.g are they smiling, kicking a ball, etc)
What does the anterior mirror neuron system do?
Identifies goal of motor action in observed individual (e.g why are they smiling, why kicking a ball, etc)
The circuit for imitating is believed to interact with limbic structures via ____.
insula
What is prosody?
Study of tune and rhythm of speech and how these features contribute to meaning
How does the primary auditory cortex play a role in prosody?
Identifies pitch, loudness, and other characteristics
How does the right posterior superior temporal sulcus play a role in prosody?
Understand the meaning of pitch, loudness, and other characteristics (Ex: mom calling for you for dinner vs something bad)
How does the frontal cortex play a role in prosody?
Where judgment of emotional stimulus is determined (Ex: is observed individual angry, mad, happy, sad, etc)
What is the theory of mind?
Ability to understand the mental state of others (Why is that person thinking the way he/she is?)
What structures are required for the theory of mind?
Amygdala
Medial Temporal Lobes (memory and sensory processing)
Orbitofrontal regions (sensory and emotional processing)
What are the functions of accessory pathways in the theory of mind?
Language: In young children, can be a scaffold for linguistic cues.
Executive Functioning
What is the role of the stimulus encoding system for decision making?
Decision with known risks: evaluates evidence available to make a decision
What structures are involved in the stimulus encoding system for decision making?
Orbitofrontal cortex
Ventromedial prefrontal cortex
striatum
What is the role of the action selection system for decision making?
Decisions with ambiguous risk - leans and encodes the subjective value of results
Involved in error detection
What structure is involved in the action selection system for decision making?
Anterior Cingulate Cortex
What is the role of the expected rewards system for decision making?
Decisions with ambiguous risk: predicts expected reward
What structure is involved in the expected rewards system for decision making?
Amygdala
Basal Ganglia
Insular Cortex
Intraparietal Cortex
