Neuropsychology Flashcards
Spinal cord
- carries information between the brain and peripheral nervous system
- consists of 31 segments divided into cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal
Quadriplegia
- aka tetraplegia
- damage at cervical level
- loss of sensory or motor functions in the trunk, upper limbs, and lower limbs
Paraplegia
- damage at thoracic, lumbar, or sacral level
- loss of sensory or motor functions in the lower limbs
Conduction
electrochemical process by which info is recieved and processed within a neuon
Resting Potential
Before a cell recieves signals from adjacent cells, it is at resting potential, which means that the inside of the cell is negatively charged, while the outside is positively charged
Depolarization and Action Potential
The cell receives sufficient stimulation from other cells, the electrical balance between the interior and exterior changes, and hte interior becomes less negative - depolarization. This triggers action potential, which is an electrical impulse that travels quickly through the cell
All or none principle
whenever stimulation received by a neuron from adjacent cells exceed a minimum threshold, the resulting action potential is always the same magnitude
Conduction is influence by these two factors
1) the larger the diameter of the axon, the greater the speed of the nerve impulse
2) the thicker the myelin, the greater the speed
Multiple sclerosis
loss of myelin that involves muscular weakness, impaired coordination and balance, sensory loss, and blurred or double vision
Acetylcholine (ACh)
- involved in the control of voluntary movement, learning and memory, sexual behavior, sleeping
- inhibitory or excitatory, depending on location
Dopamine
- involved in movement, learning, mood, and the reinforcing effects of stimulants, opiates, and nicotine
- Abnormal levels linked to depression, Schizophrenia, Tourette’s, ADHD, Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s
Norepinephrine
- mood, dreaming, learning, and autonomic responses
- related to depression, mania, and panic disorder
Serotonin (5-HT)
- regulation of anxiety, mood, memory, aggression, pain, sleep, appetite, and sexuality
- low levels: depression, aggression, PTSD, OCD, Bulimia
- high levels: Schizophrenia, Autism, decreased appetite
Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid (GABA)
- main inhibitory NT
- motor control and anxiety
- anxiolytics: increase GABA
Glutamate
- major excitatory NT
- LTP
Endorphins
- endogenous morphine
- neuromodulators involved in reducing feelings of pain and producing feelings of pleasure
- runners high and pain-relieving effects of acupuncture and placebos
Thyroxin
- controls metabolism
- undersecretion –> hypothyroidism: slows metabolism, causes reduced appetite, weight gain, lower HR, cold intolerance, decreased sex drive, fatigue, depression, and impaired memory
- oversecretion –> hyperthyroidism/Graves Disease: speeds up metabolism and causes increased appetite, weight loss, increased HR, nervousness, agitation, heat intolerance, insomnia, and decreased attn span
Insulin
- released by pancreas
- stimulates the uptake of glucose and amino acids into cells
- Undersecretion can lead to diabetes and hyperglycemia
- Oversecretion can lead to hypoglycemia
Cortisol
- secreted by the adrenal cortex
- regulates blood glucose levels
- undersecretion leads to Addison’s disease, which is muscle weakness, fatigue, low blood pressure, decreased appetite and weight loss, etc
- oversecretion leads to Cushing’s disease, which is obesity, hypertension, depression ,anxiety, etc
Hindbrain
medulla oblongata, pons, cerebellum
Midbrain
reticular activating system, substantia nigra
Forebrain
hypothalamus, thalamus, basal ganglia, and limbic system
Reticular activating system
regulates the sleep-wake transition, screens incoming sensory information especially during sleep, and arouses higher centers in the brain when important info should be paid attn to
Substantia nigra
controls movement, plays a role in reward-seeking and addictive behaviors, contributes to Parkinson’s
Hypothalamus
- maintains the body’s homeostasis by monitoring the body’s internal states and controlling temp, metabolism
- motivated behaviors, feeding, sex, aggression, and maternal behavior
- physical expression of strong emotions such as rage, fear, and excitement
- Contains suprachiasmatic nucleus and mammillary bodies
Suprachiasmatic nucleus
regulates circadian rhythms, sensitivity to light and dark
Mammillary bodies
play a role in memory
Thalamus
Central relay station for sensory information (except olfactory, which goes directly to the amygdala)
Basal ganglia
- Caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, putamen
- extrapyramidal motor system, involved in posture and gross muscle movements, coordination of movement, process and relay info necessary for the control of voluntary movement, motor expression of emotion, sensorimotor learning
Limbic system
mediates the emotional component of behavior, made of amygdala, septum, cingulate cortex, hippocampus
Kluver-Bucy syndrome
amygdala lesions lead to reduced fear and aggression, increased docility, altered diet, and psychic blindness, hypersexuality
Hippocampus
memory and learning, memory consolidation (transfer to info from STM to LTM), degeneration leads to Alzheimer’s, damage leads to anterograde amnesia
Contralateral representation
right hemi controls left body, left hemi controls right game; two exceptions are olfactory (right to right, left to left) and visual (right visual field to right)
Lateralization
- 90% of righties and 60% of lefties: left hemi is responsible for written and spoken language, logical and analytical thinking, expression of positive emotions
- right hemi responsible for understanding spatial relationship, creative and holistic thinking, expression of negative emotions
- hemi responsible for language is the dominant hemisphere
Split brain patients
- corpus callosum cut to relieve seizures - led to deficits in visuoprocessing
Primary motor cortex
pyramidal motor system, involved in voluntary movement
Premotor cortex
motor actions, observing other performing motor actions
Broca’s area
Broca’s aphasia: deficits in production of written and spoken language, speak slowly and with great difficulty, anomia, aware of deficits
Prefrontal cortex
- higher-order cognitive processes, working memory, regulation of memory, motor responses
- dysexecutive syndrome: impaired problem-soliving, planning, and abstract thinking, and apathy
- Pseudodepression: apathy, lack of motivation, reduced verbal output
- Pseudopsychopathy
Temporal lobe
auditory cortex, Wernicke’s area
Wernicke’s aphasia
Trouble understanding language, fluent speech that makes no sense, unaware of deficits
Conduction aphasia
comprehends language and speaks fluently but has anomia and difficulty repeating
HM
temporal lobectomy, short term memory and memory for info were intact, but unable to require new info or recall info acquired shortly before surgery