Physiological Psychology & Psychopharmacology Flashcards
What is asomatognosia?
Failure to recognize parts of one’s own body.
What is anosognosia?
Failure to recognize one’s own neurological symptoms.
What is prosopagnosia?
An inability to recognize familiar faces.
Which imaging techniques detect only structural abnormalities?
X-ray, Computed Tomography (CT) scans, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).
Which imaging techniques can detect functional abnormailities?
Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Single-proton Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), and functional MRI (fMRI)
Name the functions of acetylcholine (ACh) and an associated disorder.
Regulating voluntary movement, regulating sleep-wake cycle, and memory (implicated in Alzheimer’s dementia).
Name two principal functions of dopamine, and associated disorders (three up, two down).
Voluntary movement and mood. Excessive levels (or oversensitivity) implicated in schizophrenia, Tourette’s [Haldol] and addictive disorders. Low levels implicated in depression and Parkinson’s disease.
What are the two principal functions of norepinephrine, and three associated disorders?
Alarm (“Fight-or-flight” response) and mood. Associated disorders: Mania, depression, and schizophrenia.
What does the dopamine hypothesis mean?
The notion that an overabundance of dopamine is associated with schizophrenia.
What does the catecholamine hypothesis mean?
The association of depression with a deficiency of norepinephrine.
What are the five principal functions of serotonin?
Hunger, thirst, sex, sleep, and mood.
What is the principal function of GABA, and what are three associated disorders?
Inhibitory function; associated with sleep disorders, eating disorders, and seizure disorders. (Implicated in substance withdrawal as well).
What is the major function of glutamate, and what are four disorders in which it is implicated?
Learning and memory. Excessive levels implicated in stroke-related damage, seizures, Huntington’s disease, and Alzheimer’s dementia.
What is “excitotoxicity”?
An excessive level of glutamate.
What is the primary function of the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS)?
Awareness, arousal, and attention. (Damage can cause confusion, delirium, stupor, or coma).
Where is the suprachiasmatic nucleus located, and what does it control?
In the hypothalamus. It controls circadian rhythms and seasonal cycles, and affects immune response. (Connected to pineal gland).
Where are the mammillary bodies located, and what is their function?
In the hypothalamus. They play a role in memory.
What are the three parts of the basal ganglia?
Caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus pallidus.
What is the main function of the basal ganglia, and what disorders are associated with abnormalities in these structures?
Organizing and coordinating voluntary movements. Abnormalities are associated with Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, and Tourette’s, as well as OCD, ADHD, and schizophrenia.
What symptoms are part of Kluver-Bucy syndrome in primates?
Docility (reduced fear, reduced aggression), hypersexuality, oral compulsions, altered eating habits, and psychic blindness.
Damage in what areas leads to Kluver-Bucy syndrome?
Amygdala and temporal lobes (Bilaterally).
What are the principal functions of the amygdala?
Emotional reactivity, and attaching emotion to memory.
What are the functions of the hippocampus?
Spatial, visual, and verbal memory.
Where is the auditory cortex located?
Temporal lobe.
Name six disorders associated with abnormal levels of serotonin (Three up, three down).
Elevated levels associated with autism, schizophrenia, and anorexia.
Low levels associated with depression, (including suicidal behavior), obsessive-compulsive disorder, and bulimia.
Where is the visual cortex located?
The occipital lobe.
Where is the somatosensory cortex located?
Parietal lobe.
What disorders are linked to abnormalities of the hippocampus?
Abnormalities or small hippocampal size are associated with problems with declarative memory, depression, and PTSD.
What are the two main divisions of the peripheral nervous system, and what systems do they innervate?
Autonomic - glands, internal organs, and digestive system.
Somatic - Voluntary muscles.
What are the two main divisions of the autonomic nervous system, and their primary functions?
Sympathetic - Arousal, “Fight-or-flight” response, energy output
Parasympathetic - Relaxation, homeostasis, digestion.
Give an example of a function that can involve the operation of both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system at the same time.
Sexual activity.
Damage to the hypothalamus can cause what type of memory problem?
Anterograde amnesia (Inability to form new memories).
Left contralateral neglect can result from damage to what area?
Right parietal lobe.
Which cortical area is involved in short-term memory, and which in long-term memory?
Short-term: Frontal lobe; long-term: Temporal lobe.
Gerstmann’s Syndrome, which involves damage to the left parietal lobe, has what four symptoms?
Right-left confusion
Agraphia or dysgraphia (Can’t write or writes with great difficulty)
Acalculia or dyscalculia (Can’t do arithmetic)
Finger agnosia (Can’t distinguish own fingers on one’s hand)
Prosopagnosia usually involves damage to what area of the brain?
Occipital lobe.
Achromatopsia indicates a problem with what area?
The retina of the eye, specifically the cones. Hereditary - not a neurological disorder.
Where is Broca’s area located?
In the frontal cortex, in the dominant hemisphere.
What type of signals are passed through the thalamus?
Sight, hearing, taste (to the cortex and back).
Smell is NOT handled through the thalamus.
What disorder results from long-term damage to the thalamus?
Korsakoff’s psychosis, resulting from thiamin deficiency associated with long-term alcohol abuse and poor nutrition.
What type of speech disorder results from damage to Broca’s area?
Expressive aphasia - The individual can’t physically produce speech, gets frustrated.
What type of speech disorder results from damage to Wernicke’s area?
Receptive aphasia - comprehension deficiency, “word salad.” Unaware of not making sense, smiles.
What speech disorder results from damage to the arcuate fasciculus?
Conduction aphasia, in which the words come out garbled but the individual is aware of it (and frustrated).
What are three stages of stress response, according to Hans Selye?
Alarm (Adrenaline), Resistance (ACh, ACTH, cortisol), and Exhaustion.
If memory is starting to return following a traumatic brain injury, what memories will return first?
The oldest memories first.
95% of strokes involve what?
The middle cerebral artery, which lies close to both sensory and motor areas.
What is retrograde amnesia?
Difficulty recalling already-stored memories.
What proportion of people with Parkinson’s disease go on to develop dementia?
Half.
What autoimmune disorder attacks ACh receptors and results in neuromuscular dysfunction?
Myasthenia gravis.
Excessive glutamate receptor activity, also called __________, can lead to seizures and may contribute to brain damage related to _______.
Excitotoxicity, stroke.
Endorphins may contribute to _____________ by preventing the release of a hormone called _____________.
Analgesia, “Substance P.”
What excitatory neurotransmitter is involved in LTP (long term potentiation) in the formation of memories?
Glutamate.
Name three neurotransmitters classified as catecholamines.
Dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine.
Which neurotransmitter’s receptor sites are likely involved in nicotine’s positive effect on learning and memory?
Acetylcholine (ACh), at the nicotinic receptor sites.
What is apoptosis and when does it occur?
The death of excess neurons during prenatal and postnatal development, which serves to “fine tune” the central nervous system.
CT and MRI are _____________ neuro-imaging techniques, while PET, SPECT, and fMRI are _______________ neuro-imaging techniques.
Structural, functional.
