Neurophysiology of Higher Cognition Flashcards
What are the four components, in order, of the language pathway?
- conceptual pathway
- mediational pathway
- implementation pathway
- speech
What pathway develops first in humans?
conceptual pathway
What is determined by the conceptual pathway?
what concepts you are trying to communicate
What is the purpose of the mediational pathway?
relays information from the conceptual pathway to the implementation pathway
What brain areas are involved in the language implementation pathway?
Broca’s and Wernicke’s Areas
Which part of the language pathway is the last to develop in humans?
speech
What language characteristic to babies younger than 6 months display?
- language universalists
- no distinction b/w relevant and irrelevant phenomes
What happens in the language development of an infant aged 6-9 months?
-begin eliminating irrelevant phenomes
What do a child’s first words (around age 1) indicate about their language development?
-all irrelevant phenomes have been lost
During the language acquisition phase, are different languages learned using the same pathway or different pathways for each new language?
-same pathway
After the language acquisition phase had ended, when adults learn a new language, which area of the brain is responsible for this learning?
-area adjacent to Broca’s Area
What do the neural circuits for recognizing emotions in others have in common with the neural circuits used for producing our own emotions?
They are the SAME neural circuits.
What parts of the brain are responsible for recognizing a face as something special?
- posterior superior temporal sulcus
- fusiform gyrus
What role does the amygdala play in Emotion Comprehension?
-amygdala controls eyes and directs the gaze to the eyes, nose, and mouth triangle (particularly eyes)
What type of neurons fire during imitation when you do sthg and you see someone else do the same thing?
mirror neurons
Define prosody.
- study of tune and rhythm of speech
- how these features contribute to meaning
What is the role of the primary auditory cortex in prosody?
-identifies pitch, loudness, and other characteristics of sound consciously
What is the role of the right posterior superior temporal sulcus in prosody?
-interprets the meaning of the pitch, loudness, speed, etc. of the speech
What is the role of the frontal cortex in prosody?
-judgement of the emotional stimulus
Define Theory of Mind
ability to understand the mental states (beliefs, desires, and intention) of others and appreciate how these differ from our own
What parts of the brain operate Theory of Mind?
- amygdala
- medial temporal lobes
- orbital frontal area
What is the function of the posterior superior temporal sulcus during imitation?
-provides the visual input
What is the function of the anterior mirror neuronal system during imitation?
-identifies the purpose of the motion
What is the function of the posterior mirror neuronal system during imitation?
-identifies the motion
What decision-making system operates when the risks are known?
stimulus encoding system
What decision making systems operate when the risks are ambiguous?
- expected reward system
- action selection system
What does the Stimulus Encoding System do?
-evaluates the evidence available in making a decision
What parts of the brain operate the stimulus encoding system?
- orbitofrontal cortex
- ventromedial prefrontal cortex
- striatum
What the Expected Reward System do?
-predicts the expected reward
What parts of the brain operate the Expected Reward System?
- basal ganglia
- amygdala
- insular cortex
- intraparietal cortex
What is the role of the insular cortex in the Expected Reward System?
-involves the emotions in decision-making
What is the role of the intraparietal cortex in the Expected Reward System?
-planning and intent of the decision
What does the Action Selection System do in decision making?
- learning from mistakes
- encoding results
What part of the brain operates the Action Selection System?
anterior cingulate cortex
