Neuro pt 1 Flashcards
what is attention?
State of focused awareness on a subset
of the available perceptual information
what are the 3 stages of attention
Disengage: Take attention away from current focus
¤ Shift: Move attention from one item to another
¤ Engage: Lock attentional focus onto new item
what is selective attention
Process that allows selection of
inputs, thoughts, or actions while other ones are
ignored
what does overt attention refer to?
e.g., shifting eyes) or covert (shifting focus
what is voluntary attention?
Attention is shifted between inputs
intentionally (e.g., reading the textbook)
what is reflexxive attention
Shifts in attention occur in response to an
external event (e.g., textbook falling and making loud
noise)
what is overt attention
Attention to information
being looked at directly
¤ Involves eye movements
what is covert attention
Attention to a location
not directly being looked at
¤ Not associated with eye
movements
what is the cocktail party email effect
Not strictly auditory
¤ We can voluntarily
choose to focus on
specific information
¤ Salient or pertinent
information can
catch our eye
¤ Email, Twitter,
Facebook
What is Endogenous Control
voluntary and cue usually needs interpretation
what is exogenous control
relexive and cue automatically draws attention
what are the 3 parts of the frontoparietal attentional network
PAS, AAS and VS
what is pas
Posterior Attentional System (PAS) - Responsible for
orienting of attention – where do we focus?
what is AAS
Anterior Attentional System (AAS) - Conscious
control of attention – what do we need to focus
on?
what is VS
Vigilance System (VS) - Prepares and sustains
alertness toward signals that demand high priority
what is the parietal love responsible for in response to attention (DISENGAGE)
Shifts of attention in
space
¤ ‘Where’ information
what is the superior colliculi responsible for in response to attention (MOVE)
Visual processing
and eye movements
what is the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus (enhance)
filtering/suppresing irrelevant stimuli
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
decision making and maintaining attention away from irrelevant information
modern trephination
the surgical procedure in which a hole is created in the skull
Leucotomy
Greek “cutting
white” (white matter)
¤ Cut connections between
frontal cortex and thalamus
¤ Small hole drilled in side of
skull
¤ Alleviate symptoms of
psychosis and depression
Lobotomy
Severing connections in the
brain’s prefrontal lobe
¤ Brain is accessed through the eye
sockets
what is clinical neuropsych
deals with psychological assessment, management, and rehabilitation of neurological disease and injury
what is experimental neuropsych
focuses on human behaviour
what GLAND in the brain is responsible for behaviour
pineal gland
who was phinease gage
25 y/o railroad worker
¤Tamping iron shot penetrated left cheek, went through brain, exited skull on other side
¤Though blinded, did not lose consciousness
legallois discovery was important why (brainstem and medula)
lesioning the 2 resulted in cessation of breathing
electrical stimulation of the frontal lobe at variour points produced movements on the…
opposite side of the body
what is leucotomy
greek for cutting white matter its done to cut the connections between frontal cortex and thalamus to alleviate symptoms of psychosis and or depression
how much does the brain weigh
3lbs
why is the brain inconsistent
structures have more then one name and things are located in odd places
what is a neuron
communication cell
what is a glial cell
glue cell that supports other cellls
3 types of glial cells?
astrocytes(SPACE), oligodendrocytes(MYELIN) and microglia(small so removes debris)
what is the neuron made up of
dendrites soma axon and termianl buttons, synapse
whats the difference between a sulcus and a gyrus
sulcus is a more shallow cleft and a gyrus is a ridge in the cortex
whats grey matter
outermost layer of the brain
whats white matter?
myelinated axons that connect brain regions
CNS and PNS what are they made of
cns = brain, spinal cord
Pns= nerves from the cns
autonomic system
Regulation of internal states
Somatic System:
Interaction with external
environment (e.g., sensory input; touch
Sympathetic System:
Quick response to prepare body for vigorous activity (i.e., arousal)
3 major divisions of the brain
forebrain (TD) midbrain(M) Hind brain (MM)
Parasympathetic System
Non-emergency behaviours – responses that do not require a quick response (i.e., “rest and digest”; calming)
frontal lobe importance
planning, motor cortex, some speech
temporal lobe importance
auditory
parietal lobeimportance
sensation and touch
occipital lobe importance
visual stimuli
basal ganglia importance
voluntary movements
limbic system importance
behaviour and emotional responses
3 levels of meninges
dura mater arachnoid mater and pia mater
single cell recording is what
Electrodes inserted into
individual neuron
¤ Activity of neuron related to behaviors
single cell recording advantages
Greater precision
¤ Conclude causality
single cell recording limitations
gerneralizability, artificial/too simple
cortical stimulation
Electrodes are placed on surface of brain
subcortical stimulation
Stimulating white matter pathways
deep brain stimulation
Implant electrodes into brain region
of interest
controlled brain lesions are what
animal studies
Acquired Brain Lesions are what
patient studies, ¤ Any type of brain damage that occurs after birth
Electroencephalography (EEG)?
Detects electrical activity in brain using small, metal discs (electrodes) attached to scalp
partial seizures
spikes and sharp waves on EEG
in a specific area of the brain
generalized seizures
spikes and sharp waves are widely spread over entire brain
ERPs
Measured brain response to a specific sensory, cognitive, or motor event
¤ Repeat task and average activity over many trials
MRI?
Uses strong magnets to measure magnetic field to create detailed images
DTI?
Mapping white matter pathways in vivo
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Uses radioactive substances known as radiotracers to visualize and measure changes in metabolic processes
FMRI
Measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow
nociception?
pain and temp
Hapsis?
fine touch and pressure
proprioception?
awareness of body in space
spinothalamic tract
¤ Sensory pathway of nervous system
Responsible for transmission of pain, temperature, and crude touch
Dorsal column-medial lemniscus (DCML) pathway:
Sensory pathway of CNS
¤Corticospinal Tract
Forms part of descending spinal
tract system
Parietal Lobe
Major sensory processing hub
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
Decision to execute voluntary movement
Homunculus
Map along motor cortex of where each part of body is processed
cerebellum?
Coordinating movement
what happens to attention when in pain
when attention is diverted pain decreases
apraxia?
Inability to perform skilled, purposeful movement
Ideomotor Apraxia
Cannot execute or imitate simple gestures in response to a command
Ideational Apraxia
“An impairment in knowing how, rather than what, to do”
Astereognosis
Loss of the ability to identify an object
by touch
Phantom Limb Syndrome
result of cortical reorganization
retina?
Light-sensitive membrane in the back of eye that contains rods and cones
optic nerve
Ganglion cell axons
¤ Leave eye at optic disc (blind spot)
optic chiasm
Point of crossover for half of the visual projections
blind spot?
Where optic nerve passes through optic disc
Hemianopia
Loss of vision in half the visual field
Scotoma
Loss of vision in one point
Quadrantanopia
Loss of vision to a quarter of the visual field
ventral stream
¤ “What” pathway
¤ Recognizing objects
¤ Names and functions of objects regardless of location
Dorsal Stream
“Where”/“How” pathway
¤ Locations of objects, but not
their names or functions
¤ How to interact with objects
encode
attending to information
consolidation
storing info for later use
retrieval
Accessing information from where it is stored in the brain for use
¤Short Term Memory (STM)
Holds information beyond the duration of the
sensory store, but not permanently
¤ Duration: seconds, unless rehearsed
¤ Capacity: 7 +/- 2
Long Term Memory (LTM)
Can be recalled days, months, or
years after they were stored
¤ Duration: relatively permanent
¤ Capacity: Unlimited (?)
Working Memory
¤ Info that is going to be acted on or used
New information (e.g., where you parked)
¤ Information retrieved from LTM (e.g., phone #)
3 components of working memory
Central executive (controls attention)
2) Phonological Loop (inner speech)
3) Visuospatial Sketchpad (visuospatial info)
2 types of long term memory
Explicit Memories
¤ Facts and events that can be easily communicated ¤ Implicit Memories
¤ Skills and habits (not easily communicated)
3 classes of ltm?
Episodic: unique past experience (explicit);
e.g.,) First time driving car
Semantic: Recollection of knowledge without unique experience; non-e.g.,) Names of colours
Implicit (Procedural): Physical recollection of muscle movements required to carry out a learned task (i.e., motor skills; implicit)
what did HM prove abt hippocampus
not in the ltm, not for retrieval, not for stm,
Amnesia
failure to encode store or retrieve a memory
anterograde amnesia
Inability to make new memories after event
Retrograde Amnesia
Loss of memory from before event
anterograde amnesia
Loss of ability to create new memories after the event that caused the amnesia
Fugue State
Individual loses memory of personal history/identity
alzheimers disease
Development of plaques and
neurofibrillary tangles
Korsakoff’s Syndrome
¤Caused by severe B1 (thiamine) deficiency
¤Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory
Allows individual to remember every detail of their lives with near-perfect accuracy
