Module 2: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE Flashcards
THEY concerned with how the anatomy (physical structures of the body) and the physiology (functions and processes of the body) of the nervous system affect and are affected by human cognition.
Cognitive psychologists
the field of study linking the brain and other aspects of the nervous system to cognitive processing and, ultimately, to behavior. The brain is the organ in our bodies that most directly controls our thoughts, emotions, and motivations
Cognitive neuroscience
Gross Anatomy of the Brain:(3)
Forebrain, Midbrain, Hindbrain
_____ IS THE BASIS FOR OUR ABILITY TO PERCEIVE, ADAPT TO, AND INTERACT WITH THE WORLD AROUND US
NERVOUS SYSTEM
the region of the brain located toward the top and front of the brain.
forebrain
Parts of forebrain (5)
cerebral cortex,
the basal ganglia, the limbic system, the
thalamus, and the hypothalamus
the outer layer of the cerebral hemispheres. It plays a vital role in our thinking and other mental processes.
cerebral cortex
are collections o neurons crucial to motor function. Dysfunction of the _____ can result in motor deficits. These deficits include tremors, involuntary movements, changes in posture and muscle tone, and slowness of movement. Deficits are observed in Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease
Basal Ganglia
important to emotion, motivation, memory, and learning. Our ____ help us to adapt our behaviors flexibly in response to our changing environment.
Limbic System
limbic system comprises three central interconnected cerebral structures:
the septum, the amygdala, and the hippocampus
anger and fear
Septum
emotion, anger, and aggression; stimulation may result in fear. Damage may result to lack of fear; persons with ASD display limited activation in the ______.
amygdala
memory formation; seahorse shaped; flexible learning and spatial memory; damage may result to difficulty forming new memories and retaining new information
Hippocampus
disease that produces loss of memory function caused by lack of thiamine (Vitamin B-1) in the brain.
Korsakoff’s Syndrome
relays incoming sensory information; control of wake and sleep; malfunction may result to pain, tremor, amnesia, impairment of language, and sleep-wake disruption; involved in schizophrenia
Thalamus
regulates behavior related to species survival: fighting, feeding, fleeing, and mating; emotions and reactions to stress; function in the endocrine system; malfunction is involved in narcolepsy;
Hypothalamus
helps to control eye movement and coordination.
MIDBRAIN
Parts of Midbrain
Reticular Activating System (Reticular
Formation), Brainstem, Superior colliculi (on top), Inferior colliculi (below), Gray matter, red nucleus, substantia nigra, ventral region
a network of neurons essential to the regulation of consciousness and vital functions such as heartbeat and breathing
Reticular Activating System (Reticular Formation)
connects forebrain to the spinal cord; determines brain death
Brainstem
Superior colliculi (on top) – vision
Inferior colliculi (below) – hearing
Memorize mo beech
Gray matter, red nucleus, substantia nigra,
ventral region
controlling movement
Parts of Hindbrain (3)
Medulla Oblongata, Pons, Cerebellum
“little brain” controls body coordination, balance, and muscle tone as well as procedure-related movements
Cerebellum
serves as a kind of relay station because it contains neural fibers that pass signals from one part of the brain to another. Its name derives from the Latin for “bridge,” as it serves a bridging function
Pons
heart activity and controls breathing, swallowing, and digestion, contains part of the RAS
Medulla Oblongata
The Cerebral cortex forms a ___ to ____layer that wraps the surface of the brain and comprises_____ of the human brain
1 to 3 mm
80%
bulges between adjacent sulci or fissures
Gyri (gyrus)
_____ - small grooves
_____ - large grooves
Sulci (sulcus)
Fissures
The _____ enables us to think. Because of it, we can plan, coordinate thoughts and actions, perceive visual and sound patterns, and use language.
cortex
-had treated more than 40 patients suffering from aphasia—loss of speech—as a result of brain damage.
- He noticed a relationship between the loss of speech and the side of the brain in which damage had occurred.
MARC DAX
claimed that an autopsy revealed that an aphasic stroke patient had a lesion in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain (Broca’s Area)
PAUL BROCA
studied language deficient patients who could speak but whose speech made no sense (Wernicke’s Area)
CARL WERNICKE
father of neuropsychology, started studying localization in 1915
KARL LASHLEY
argued that each hemisphere behaves in many respects like a separate brain.
ROGER SPERRY
people who have undergone operations severing the corpus callosum
SPLIT-BRAIN PATIENTS
front part of the brain (nasal region)
Rostral
bottom surface of the body/brain
Ventral
means “tail” and refers to the back part of the body/brain
Caudal
upside of the brain
Dorsal
Four Basic Parts of Neuron
soma (cell body), dendrites, axon, and terminal buttons
responsible for the life of neuron and connects the dendrites to the axon
Soma – (cell body)
branch-like structures that receive information from other neurons
Dendrites
long thin tube that extends from the soma and responds to the information, when appropriate, by transmitting an electrochemical signal
Axon
white, fatty substance that surrounds some of the axons of the nervous system; speeds up conduction of information
Myelin
small gaps in the myelin coating along the axon, which serve to increase conduction speed even more by helping to create electrical signals, also called action potential
Nodes of Ranvier
are small knobs found at the ends of the branches of an axon that do not directly touch the dendrites of the next neuron.
Terminal buttons
serves as a juncture between the terminal buttons of one or more neurons and the dendrites (or sometimes the soma) of one or more other neurons
Synapse
These neurotransmitters are ______ for transmission of information across the synaptic gap to the receiving dendrites of the next neuron
chemical messengers
three types of chemical substances are involved in neurotransmission:
- monoamine neurotransmitters
- amino-acid neurotransmitters
- neuropeptides
—areas where body tissue has been damaged, such as from injury or disease. Then the researchers infer that the lesioned locations may be related to the behavior that was affected.
lesions
—surgically removing or damaging part of the brain—to observe resulting functional deficits
selective lesioning
using genetic manipulations, animals can be created that lack certain kinds of cells or receptors in the brain
genetic knockout procedures.
3 ways of doing research with animals
- genetic knockout procedures.
- selective lesioning
- examine the patients’ brains
for lesions
Electrical Readings (2)
- Electroencephalogram (EEGs)
- event-related potential (ERP)
recordings of the electrical frequencies and intensities of the living brain, typically recorded over relatively long periods.
Electroencephalogram (EEGs)
is the record of a small change in the brain’s electrical activity in response to a stimulating event. The fluctuation typically lasts a mere fraction of a second
event-related potential (ERP)
Static Imaging Techniques (2)
- Computed Tomography (CT or CAT)
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
consists of several X-ray images of the brain taken from different vantage points that, when combined, result in a three-dimensional image.
Computed Tomography (CT or CAT)
aims to look at the structures in the brain, but rather to examine the blood flow. A dye is injected into an artery that leads to the brain, and then an x-ray image is taken.
Computed Tomography (CT or CAT)
reveals
high resolution images of the structure of the living brain by computing and analyzing magnetic changes in the energy of the orbits of nuclear particles in the molecules of the body.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
2 types of MRI
Structural MRI and Functional MRI
provide images of the brain’s size and shape
Structural MRI
visualize the parts of the brain that are activated when a person is engaged in a particular task
Functional MRI
rely on changes that take place within the brain as a result of increased consumption of glucose and oxygen in active areas of the brain. The basic idea is that active areas in the brain consume more glucose and oxygen than do inactive areas during some tasks
METABOLIC IMAGING
4 types of METABOLIC IMAGING
- Positron emission tomography (PET)
- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
-Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
