psychology Flashcards
what is a definition of cognition
the process of knowing (both applying this knowledge and your internal dialogue/thoughts)
what are the general functions of the frontal lobe?
planning, execution, and regulation of behaviour
what are the general functions of the the temporal lobe
audition, language, music, memory, emotion
what are the general functions of the the parietal lobe
somatic and visuospatial representations (body sensations)
what are the general functions of the the occipital lobe
vision
what is the functional division between right and left hemispheres
right - specialisation for visuospatial functioning
left - specialisation for language
what are the 3 basic “units” of the CNS according to Luria’s brain-behaviour theory
primary - regulation of arousal and muscle tone
secondary - reception, integration and analysis of sensory information
tertiary - planning, executing and verifying behaviour
where are the 3 basic “units” of the CNS according to Luria’s brain-behaviour theory
primary - brainstem and associated areas
secondary - posterior cortical regions
tertiary - frontal and prefrontal lobes
what are the 3 principles of pluripotentiality of the brain according to Luria
- each area of the brain operates in conjunction with another
- no area is singly responsible for voluntary human behaviour
- each area may play a specific role in many behaviours
what are the 2 subdivisions of behaviour
cognition and emotion
what are the core/innate emotions
anger, fear, sadness, disgust, happiness
what structures does the limbic system consist of
hippocampus, cingulate gyrus, hypothalamus, amygdala, septal area, nucleus accumbens and orbitofrontal cortex
what happens as a result of an amygdala lesion
loss of fear
what happens as a result of an orbitofrontal cortex lesion
dont understand emotions in others
what is James Lange Theory
we experience emotion in response to physiological changes
what is Cannon Bard Theory
- can experience emotion without expressing it physically
- physiological changes are not unique to specific emotions
what is included in executive function
goal directed, purposeful behaviour emotional and social behaviour cognition
what are the “subdivisions” of the pre-frontal cortex and which arteries supply these divisions
lateral- middle cerebral artery
orbital - anterior cerebral artery and middle cerebral artery
medial - anterior cerebral artery
which functions are associated with the dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex
- working memeory
- response selection
- planning and organising
- hypothesis generation
- insight
- moral judgement
what functions are associated with the medial prefrontal cortex
emotional motivation/will
what happens if you have a lesion of the medial prefrontal cortex
extreme = akinetic mutism (person lacks the initiation/motivation to do anything)
what functions are associated with the orbitofrontal pre-frontal cortex
inhibition of impulsivity - think things through first
what happens if you have a lesion of the orbitofrontal prefrontal cortex
have the inability to inhibit responses –> impulsive behaviour
why can you not say a “frontal” defect?
because the frontal cortex is connected to places all over the brain (therefore you can lesion any of these connections and have the same behavioural result)
what are the “positive” symptoms associated with executive dysfunction
distractability
social disinhibition
emotional instability
perserveration
impulsivity
hypergraphia
what are the “negative” symptoms associated with executive dysnfunction
lack of concern
restricted emotion
deficient empathy
failure to complete tasks
lack of initiation
what type of pre-frontal lesion are neuropsychological tests most sensitive for
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex lesions
how can you most accurately assess medial and orbitofrontal lesions?
clinical judgement and history taking
what does the tower of london test test?
planning and the ability to learn from mistakes (DLPFC)
what does the stroop test test?
test of your ability to inibit your response
what does the rey complex figure test test?
planning
what is aphasia
a disturbance in language as a result of brain damage
what does the superior division of the middle cerebral artery supply
the sensorimotor cortex and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex
what does the inferior division of the middle cerebral artery supply
the temporoparietal cortex and the visual tracts
What kind of aphasia is Broca’s aphasia
non-fluent
- loss of grammatical structure
- intact selection of content
- takes a long time for them to get the words out
- right arm and face weakness
- preserved comprehension
- highly effortful
what kind of aphasia is Wernicke’s aphasia
fluent
- impaired selection of content (make up words, or have paraphasic errors)
- intact grammatical structure but doesnt make sense
- impaired comprehension
- right quadrantanopsia
- no motor weakness
what significant difference is there between Wernicke’s aphasia and conduction aphasia
conduction aphasia patients have relatively intact comprehension and do poor repetition of words
what part of the brain is affected in conduction aphasia
arcuate fasciculus (connects Brocas and Wernicke’s areas)
what part of the brain is affected in transcortical motor aphasia
cingulate gyrus and/or prefrontal cortex
what type of characteristics does a patient have with transcortical motor aphasia
- non-fluent aphasia
- muteness at most severe
- repetition is preserved
what is the difference between retrograde and anterograde amnesia
retrograde - cannot remember things in a period of time before the event
antrograde - inability to form new memories on a day to day basis
how would you explain immediate memory
the ability to be able to keep information online “working memory”
how would you test long-term memory
give the pt a list of words, and then ask them to repeat them back to you after 20 minutes
what types of memory come under declarative memory
episodic (events)
semantic (facts)
what types of memory come under non-declarative memory
skills/habits
priming/classical conditioning
where are the general areas of the brain involved in declarative memory
hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, perirhinal cortex (all in the temporal lobe)
what is the lateralisation of the hippocampus
left - list learning, paired associate learning, story recall
right - visuo-spatial associations, face recall
what is the typical presentationof hippocampal sclerosis
declarative
memory disturbance
what are 3 transient memory disorders
transient global amnesia
transient epileptic amnesia
post traumatic amnesia
what parts of the brain are affected by “asymptomatic”, “incipient” and “fully developed” alzeihmers disease
asymptomatic - transentorhinal
incipient - limbic system
fully developed - neocortical association cortex
what psychological test is a good predictor for progression into Alzeihmers disease
arbitrary word pairing test
What is anxiety
an unpleasant subjective or inner state of turmoil or dread over something unlikely to happen
how is anxiety different to fear
fear is a response to a real or perceived immediate threat, whereas anxiety is the anticipation of a future threat
what are the physical symptoms of anxiety
- flushing or pallor
- increased respiration
- sweating
- increased HR
- nausea
- feeling faint
what are the cognitive symptoms of anxiety
- poor concentration/distractedness
- guilt
- worry
- extreme/irrational thinking
what are the affective symptoms of anxiety
- intense fear
- panic or impending doom
- feelings of uneasiness
- apprehension or nervousness
- needing to escape
what are the behavioural symptoms of anxiety
fidgeting, restlessness, agitation, tense body posture, nervous habits
what is the difference between normal and abnormal anxiety
- response is out of proportion to the level of threat
- thoughts cannot be reasoned away
- thoughts are characterized by extreme thinking
- behaviour that is beyond voluntary control
- can avoid the situation
what is the difference between a fear and a phobia
phobia:
- persistence of the fear over time
- recognition that the fear is excessive or unreasonable
- an associated avoidant behavioural response
- significant interference of the fear in activities of daily life
how does blood injury phobia differ from all other phobias?
blood injury phobia - the initial sympathetic activity of the SNS is taken over by vagal inhibition –> fainting
what are two methods of managing an anxious response
relaxation training
exposure therapy
what do you tell a patient in preparation for an unpleasant medical procedure
- what the procedure entails and who will be performing it
- reasons for the procedure
- typical sensations associated (before, during and after)
- expected level of discomfort and its duration
- preparation for possible anxiety
information should be presented to a patient at a level of schooling equal to
year 10
what are the steps of the SPIKES - breaking bad news mechanism
S - setting up the interview
P - Perception - assess the patient’s perception
I - Invitation - obtain the patient’s invitation
K - Knowledge - give knowledge and information to the patient
E - Emotions - acknowledge the patients emotions
S - summary and strategy
what does the PERCEPTION stage of the SPIKES mechanism entail
ask the patient what their understanding is of the procedure and the reason for the procedure before continuing
what does the INVITATION stage of the SPIKES mechanism entail
asking the patient how much information they would like to know and how they would like you to give the information
what is cognition
information processing occurring at the level of the mind or brain
why is it important to know your patients cognitive status
it indicates how well a person may be functioning
- can impact on decision making capacity and providing informed consent, independent functioning in the community and treatment adherence
what things are involved in the language domain of cognition
expressive language
receptive language
reading
writing
naming
what things are involved in the memory domain of cognition
short term recall
long term recall
recognition
episodic (semantic, autobiographical)
procedural
verbal
non-verbal
what things are involved in the visuospatial domain of cognition
navigation
visual perception (color or motion)
constructional ability
what things are involved in the attention domain of cognition
arousal or alertness
immediate memory
focussed attention
sustained attention
selective attention
what things are involved in the executive function domain of cognition
working memory
processing
speed idea generation
planning
mental flexibility
response inhibition
what is decision making capacity
the capacity requires cognitive skills to understand, make, communicate and execute decisions in everyday life
3 things a patient has to have to put a case through to the WHO for a removal of a patients capacityem
- must be an organ level abnormality
- this pathology much cause a cognitive impairment
- organ level impairment must lead directly to a disability in decision making capacity
what are expressive and receptive language
expressive - able to say what they want to say
receptive - able to comprehend language
how would you test for a defect affecting expressive language
- observe spontaneous speech (conversation)
- asses repetiation of words and phrases
- naming of common objects
- Test for a reliable yes/no response and thenask simple questions
how would you test for a defect in receptive language
- ask the patient to follow a simple comand and then a complex comand
What are the hypotheses for why poststroke depression occurs
psychosocial - loss of independence, burden on the family, loss of life roles, unable to engage, loss of control
neurobiological - Lesion location - if the lesion in affecting areas that are critical to normal emotional and mood functioning
neurobiological - proinflammatory cytokines –> cerebral ischaemia may lead to proinflammatory cytokines –> deplete serotonin
genetics - greater risk
