patient research

Question 1

issues of neuroimaging

Answer 1

cannot teach us about causality
can only provide us with correlational evidence
- do one thing and observe that activity

cannot show if stimulus is the cause of the activity
or whether observed activity causes a behaviour

Question 2

atypical patients

Answer 2

used to investigate cognitive causality

atypical or injured brains offer unique opportunities to study causal links

link physiological differences to differences in behaviour and assume causal connection

Question 3

single dissociation

Answer 3

loss or impairment of a brain function can be related to a single physical difference in the brain
eg lesion or result of a stroke

Question 4

double dissociation

Answer 4

situation in which a single dissociation can be demonstrated in one person and the opposite type of single dissociation can be demonstrated for another

Question 5

triple dissociation

Answer 5

situation in which a single dissociation of related brain processes can be demonstrated in 3 different individuals indicating independence of subprocesses
rare

Question 6

brain lesions

Answer 6

insight into causal contribution of brain areas to cognitive function
- localisation

help us understand
- functional contribution of individual brain areas to the cognitive system
- functional connectivity of brain areas with one another

Question 7

causes of brain lesion

Answer 7

categorised by cause

trauma (eg an accident)
stroke
surgical lesions (eg tumour removed)

Question 8

stroke

Answer 8

result in sudden focal lesions combined with sudden loss of function
help us understand brain behaviour connections

Question 9

types of stroke

Answer 9

ischemic
- blood clot blocks blood flow to an area of brain
- doesn’t get oxygen and cells die

hemorrhagic
- bleeding occurs inside or round brain tissue

Question 10

hemispatial neglect

Answer 10

neuropsychological condition after a stroke to one hemisphere
affects motor an sensory cortex

deficit in attention and awareness to one side of field of vision
often contralateral to damaged hemisphere

affects attention, perception, memory and movement

Question 11

symptoms of hemispatial neglect

Answer 11

inability to process and perceive stimuli on one side of the body or environment
not due to lack of sensation

eg bump into objects on neglected or only apply makeup to non-neglected

Question 12

tumours

Answer 12

removal results in surgical lesions

compared to strokes, lesions grow slower

gives brain time to relocate functions due to plasticity
- still help understand brain behaviour connections but not as strong as stroke patients

Question 13

lesioning technique

Answer 13

removing part of the brain surgically or using chemical injections to breakdown tissue

used to treat neurological dysfunctions in humans
similar to tumour removal

tests causal role of given brain areas in certain cognitive functions in animal studies

Question 14

trauma

Answer 14

trauma to head can result in brain injury

different from stroke and tumour removal
injuries not usually focal but concern large brain areas
- hard to localise and quantify damage

primary impact = where brain was hit
secondary = internal damage from brain hitting skull due to primary

can also lead to secondary stroke due to internal bleeding (hemorrhagic)

Question 15

Phineas Gage

Answer 15

first proof of localisation of function

brain damage from mental rod through head
seemed to recover

showed severe personality changes
due to areas of brain damaged
- most likely damaged left frontal cortex

Question 16

neurodegeneration

Answer 16

progressive loss of structure or function of neurons
ultimately involves cell death

heterogenous group of disorders
characterised by progressive degeneration of central or peripheral nervous system

cannot be cured as we cannot regrow lost brain tissue
can only delay progression

Question 17

alzheimers

Answer 17

caused by abnormal buildup of proteins in and around brain cells
results in loss of neurons and synapses

amyloid forms plaques around brain cells
tau forms tangles within brain cells

Question 18

what parts of the brain does Alzheimers affect?

Answer 18

affects the cerebral cortex and certain subcortical structures

results in gross atrophy of temporal and parietal lobe
and parts of frontal cortex and cingulate gyrus

Question 19

symptoms of Alzheimers

Answer 19

early = difficulty remembering recent events
forming new memories and storing them in LTM, often episodic

progresses = problems with language, disorientation, mood

advances = withdraw from family and society
bodily functions gradually lost until death

Question 20

insight given by Alzheimers

Answer 20

insight into brain systems linked to:
memory - episodic
language - decay of mental lexicon
neural degeneration
forgetting
executive functions

Question 21

Parkinson’s disease

Answer 21

death of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain

results in dopamine deficiency impairing synaptic transmissions relying on dopamine
- produce less or no dopamine

cause of selective cell death unknown

Question 22

symptoms of Parkinson’s

Answer 22

tremor, slow movement, difficulty walking

cognitive and behavioural problems

dementia in advanced stages

problems with sleep and sensory systems

Question 23

insight given by Parkinson’s

Answer 23

insight into brain systems such as:
motor and sensory system interaction
action cognition
executive functions
- problems with abstract thinking
- slowed cognitive processing speed

Question 24

atypical development disorders

Answer 24

heterogenous group of disorders
affect the development of the nervous system

lead to abnormal brain function which may affect aspects of cognition

eg autism

Question 25

autism

Answer 25

affects information processing in the brain
and how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organise

affects social development
communication
face and emotion recognition

even if language abilities functional, often struggle with figurative language and inferences

Question 26

insight of autism

Answer 26

causal relation of brain systems linked to:
social cognition
emotion perception
abstract and logical thinking
language
network connectivity and function

Question 27

3 causes of brain lesions

Answer 27

stroke
tumour
trauma

Question 28

3 neurodegenerative diseases

Answer 28

Alzheimer’s
dementia
Parkinson’s

Question 29

3 atypical development disorders

Answer 29

autism
Down syndrome
dyslexia