Neuropsychology: The Acting Brain Flashcards
What is an action?
Outcome of number of cognitive processes that translates goals and intentions of individual into motor output
What is movement?
Physical act that is not necessary cognitive
Why is action computationally difficult?
-Degrees of freedom problem
-Generalized motor programs
-Sensory-motor transformation
What is the degrees of freedom problem?
Potentially infinite number of motor solutions for, say, picking up object
What are motor programs?
Generalized motor programs are stored routines of actions and action sequences that minimize problem
What is sensory-motor transformation?
Linking together position of object in retinal space with position of limbs in bodily space (proprioception)
What does a hierarchical view of action look like?
(image)
What brain regions are involved in action?
-Frontal lobes
-Parieto-frontal circuits
-Parietal lobes
-Temporal lobes
-Occipital lobes
-Subcortex: basal ganglia
-Subcortex: cerebellum
How are the frontal lobes involved in action?
Planning actions, maintaining goals, executing actions
How are the parieto-frontal circuits involved in action?
Link action with current environment
How are the parietal lobes involved in action?
Locating objects in space, sensory-motor transformation
How are the temporal lobes involved in action?
Object recognition, object knowledge
How are the occipital lobes involved in action?
Visual analysis of scene
How is the basal ganglia of the subcortex involved in action?
Modulate force and likelihood of action
How is the cerebellum of the subcortex involved in action?
Monitor action online
Which parts of the frontal lobes are involved in movement and action?
-Prefrontal cortex (medial and orbital)
-Anterior prefrontal cortex
-Ventro-lateral prefrontal cortex
-Dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex
-Frontal eye field
-Lateral premotor cortex
-Supplementary motor area (SMA, medial premotor)
-Primary motor cortex
-Anterior cingulate
(image)
How is the primary motor cortex involved in movement and action?
-Part of frontal lobes
-Executes all voluntary movements of body
-Somatotopically organized and crossed (left hemisphere is for right side of body and vice versa)
-Stimulation results in movement and lesion results is paralysis (ex: hemiplegia)