Studies of cognitive processes

Question 1

Aphasia

Answer 1

the impairment of language caused by damage to the brain (usually a stroke)

Question 2

Broca’s aphasia

Answer 2

• also called expressive aphasia - speech non-fluent, laboured - partial/complete loss of ability to recall names (anomia), right words - mispronounciation, difficulty articulating - agrammatism, telegraphic speech (24 month old) - difficulty writing - comprehending sentences that depend on grammatical words - ability to vocalise not lost, but ability to translate info into speech patters and express meaning is compromised - more frustrated that with Wernicke’s - damage to left frontal lobe near motor cortex

Question 3

Wernicke’s aphasia

Answer 3

• difficulty understanding written and spoken language - producing written and spoken language to be understood by others - also receptive aphasia (not strictly true) - speech fluent but does not make sense - anomia - nonsense words used - sometimes unaware of condition - damage to left temporal lobe near parietal cortex

Question 4

Spatial neglect

Answer 4

• caused by stroke or injury - disorder in which person systematically ignores stimuli on one side of their body - damage to posterior of right parietal lobe - anosognosia = unaware - anosodiaphoria = unconcerned - left/right concept doesn’t exist

Question 5

Split-brain studies

Answer 5

• patients undergo surgery to sever the corpus callosum (commisurotomy) - prevents communication between left and right hemipsheres, although sides still connected on subcortical level - done to limit epileptic seizures

Question 6

Sperry and Gazzaniga studies

Answer 6

• used split-brain patients - left hemisphere allows us to construct theories about relationships between perceived events, actions and feelings ‘the interpreter’, more involved in verbal processes - right hemisphere verbally processes info and expresses itself non-verbally - limitations, all of them epiliptic, long term medication

Question 7

Split-brain = words presented to right or left visual field and report what you saw

Answer 7

• words shown in right vf = read and report words verbally - words in left visual field = unable to report words verbally, able to select by touch, but don’t know why

Question 8

Split brain = different words at the same time

Answer 8

• rvf = read and verbally report word - lvf = unable to verbally report word

Question 9

Split brain = picture of object on right or left, verbally identify or by touch

Answer 9

• rvf = name verbally - lvf = can’t name verbally, grasp object, but denied seeing anything