Neuropsychology Flashcards
Neuroscience
The study of how nerves and cells send and receive information form the brain, body and spinal cord
Cerebral Cortex
The outermost layer of the brain; responsible for emotions, mental activity, cognitive skills and a sense of mind and self
Outer frontal cortex
Understanding of others and self, controls decisions and actions
Synapse
How neurons communicate with each other using neurotransmitters and chemical signals
Neurodiversity
DIfferences in individuals’ brain function
Motor neurons
Send messages AWAY from the brain
Sensory Neurons
Send messages TO the brain
Interneurons
Connecting other neurons
50 different hormones
Adrenal glands can produce as many as ______________
Insular cortex and Anterior Cingulate Cortex
Support pain response
Parasympathetic Nervous System
Rest + digest, autonomic nervous system division
Sympathetic Nervous System
Fight or flight response, autonomic nervous system division
Peripheral Nervous System
The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body
Autonomic Nervous System
A subdivision of the peripheral nervous system. Controls involuntary activity of visceral muscles and internal organs and glands.
Somatic Nervous System
The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s voluntary commands
Central Nervous System
Brain and spinal cord
Hypothalamus
Link nervous system and endocrine system, helps with vision
Pituitary gland
Controls other glands throughout the body
Thyroid
Regulates metabolism
Pancreas
Regulates the level of sugar in the blood
Parathyroid
Regulates calcium levels in the bones and blood
Occipital Lobe
Holds the primary visual cortex, responsible for vision
Temporal Lobe
Responsible for hearing, and object memory. Holds the primary auditory cortex.
Parietal Lobe
Responsible for touch, spatial awareness, a map of skin surface
* Contains the primary somatosensory cortex
What functions are associated with the Frontal Lobe?
Complex thought, planning, control of movement, consequences of actions.
What is the role of the Primary motor cortex?
Located in the Frontal Lobe, it controls the body’s muscle movements.
Insular Lobe
Taste, awareness of internal organs, contains primary taste cortex
Hippocampus
Memories of time and place, spatial navigation
Amygdala
Emotional associations (can affect feelings of fear)
Basal ganglia
Planning and executing movement
* Affected by Parkinson’s Disease
Thalamus
Sensory pathways to and from the cortex (can cause changes to sensation)
Pons
Regulation of breathing, relays sensation to the cortex and subcortex (bridge)
Medulla oblongata
Vital survival functions, includes breathing, heart rate, coughing and swalling
Reticular formation
Arousal and attentiveness, sleep and wakefulness (can play a role in ADHD)
Cerebellum
Coordination, precision, balance, accurate timing, overall cognition
Association cortex
Integrates previous knowledge with incoming sensory information
Limbic system
The bridge between older, lower brain regions and newer, higher brain structures. Often associated with emotion
Psychic blindness
Psychological importance doesn’t register
Ventral Tegmental area
Motivation, reward system
Executive Functions
Planning, Focusing, Organizing, Prioritizing
Left hemisphere
Controls the right side of the body; analytical, language, math
Right hemisphere
Controls the left side of the body; creative, intuitive, spacial, perception
How many neurons is the brain composed of?
85-100 billion neurons
myelin sheath
Made up of glial cells, speeds up the electrical signal along the axon of the neuron
Glial cells
Insulate, support and nourish neurons, make up myelin sheaths)
Action Potential
Sent along the neuron
* Depolarization
* Repolarization
* Refractory Period
Depolarization
In action potential, ion channels open, letting Na+ into neuron, opens more channels as they spread
Repolarization
In action potential, when the flood of Na+ reverses and the voltage drops
Refractory period
The period of inactivity after a neuron has fired, as the neuron recharges
Neurotransmitters
Produces excitatory or inhibitory electrical signals
How are neurotransmitters removed?
Diffusion, enzymatic degradation, uptake by cells
Classes of neurotransmitters
Amino acids, monoamines, and acetylcholine
Brain activity
The entire brain is active, even while resting, neighbouring areas claim tissue
Prosopagnosia
Sudden loss of facial recognition
Frontal Lobe
- Organization and planning events
- Personality
- Emotional control
- Motor control
- Last thing to develop
Temporal lobe
- Sound processing
- Identifying objects
- Language
- Facial recognition
Parietal lobe
- Integration centre
- Perception of touch, pain, temperature (sensory)
- Directing attention
Occipital lobe
- Colour vision
- Seeing motion
- Identifying objects
Contralateral Organization
Right hemisphere processes information from left side of the body
Association Cortex
Regions of the cerebral cortex that integrate simpler functions to perform more complex functions - previous knowledge
Human Lesion Studies
Study memory loss due to brain damage
Pierre Paul Broca
Studied two patients with head injuries, discovered Broca’s area
Broca’s aphasia
Also known as expressive aphasia
- Lost ability to speak, still able to understand speech
- Damage to Broca’s area
Carl Wernicke
Studied patients who had lost the ability to understand language
- Discovered Wernicke’s area
Removal of hippocampus
Cannot form new memories. Discovered hippocampus is not used in STORAGE of memories, it is used in PROCESSING memories
Phineas Gage
Construction accident, had tamping rod go through his cheek and out his frontal lobe -> altered personality
Animal Research Purpose
To inform human research
- Used for single cell recording studies
- Experiments involving drugs
- Lesion studies
Single cell recording studies
Implanting an electrode into someone’s brain
TMS
Uses pulses of electricity to produce temporary lesion, or temporary activation
- Can only be used for cortex
rTMS
fast frequency, repetitive TMS
EEG
Measures patterns of electrical activity
- Used for epilepsy, studying sleep disorders, concussion detection, personality analysis
ERP
Event related potentials, averaging of EEG signals
- response to stimulus
Oddball Paradigm
An experimental procedure in which the subject is shown a long sequence of the same repeated stimulus, occasionally interrupted with a novel “oddball” stimulus
MRI
Gives a detailed image of the brain
What does fMRI stand for?
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
How does fMRI reveal brain activity?
By comparing successive MRI scans to show changes in blood flow
