Test 3 Flashcards
Where is the superior colliculus located?
The midbrain
The ____ bump on the midbrain is the superior colliculus
top
When light hits the lens of your eye, where does it go next?
The Retina
What does the superior colliculus do?
grabs your attention so that you are not looking around to find something
If you watch TV for more than a few hours, it becomes draining. Why is this?
Because your attention is being grabbed
What does the inferior colliculus do?
It grabs your attention using auditory stimuli
The left superior colliculus processes the _____ visual field
right
What is “blind sight”?
They are processing information enough to respond to it, but it is not being processed in a way that they can see it.
_____ of retinal axons go to the superior colliculus
10%
What does Traumatic Brain Injury result from?
physical damage to the brain
What is a contusion?
Damage to the cerebral circulatory system
What is a bruise filled with blood?
hematoma
What are the cerebrovascular effects of closed head injuries?
Contusion and hematoma
What is edema?
swelling
What are the neural effects of closed head injuries?
axonal damage and neural death
What is a concussion?
A disturbance of consciousness following a blow to the head
What are the acute immediate symptoms of concussions?
memory loss, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, disorientation and confusion, neurological deficits
What do concussions cause damage to?
axonal tracts
What is chronic traumatic encephalopathy?
Degeneration of brain tissue
What does chronic traumatic encephalopathy cause?
Dementia, memory loss, confusion, aggression, depression
What is an inflammation of the meninges?
Meningitis
What are the types of meningitis?
Bacterial meningitis, viral meningitis, fungal meningitis
What type of meningitis is most common in college dorms?
bacterial
What type of meningitis is most common?
Viral meningitis
Which type of meningitis is least dangerous
viral meningitis
What type of meningitis is rare?
Fungal
What is general paresis?
Insanity and dementia caused by syphilis
What is creutzfeldt-jakob disease caused by?
Prions
What is an example of a viral brain infection?
Rabies
What is a prion?
An infectious protein
Proteins are made up of what?
amino acids
What is a disease that causes the brain to look like a sponge?
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
What is Kuru?
TSE in New Guinee that was caused by eating the brains of infected tribespeople.
Lead causes what?
Axonal degeneration and loss of myelin
Childhood exposure to lead dust from leaded gasoline was linked to what?
instances of aggravated assault
What does lead interfere with?
Development of nervous system, IQ, synthesis and functioning of brain-derived Neurotrophic factor
What are some other neurotoxins?
Mercury, toxic psychosis, corticol
What is toxic psychosis?
chronic insanity produced by a neurotoxic
What does cortisol do at high levels?
kills dendrites
How can cortisol poisoning be reversed?
exercising after the stress is removed
What is a seizure?
uncontrolled electrical disturbance in the brain correlated with changes in consciousness
What is the primary symptom of epilepsy?
seizures, but not all who have seizures have epilepsy
Epilepsy affects ____ of the population
1%
What causes epilepsy?
Brain damage or genes
How do you diagnose epilepsy?
EEG.
How is epilepsy diagnosed by EEG?
Seizures are associated with high amplitude spikes
What are the two types of epilepsy?
Partial and generalized
What are the two types of partial seizures?
Simple and complex seizures
What are the symptoms of simple partial seizures
sensory, motor acts, or both
The symptoms of simple partial seizures spread as ___________ spreads.
epileptic discharge spreads
Complex partial seizures are often restricted to the ______
temporal lobes
complex partial seizures are sometimes associated with what?
an emotional experience
In complex partial seizures, the patient engages in what?
compulsive and repetitive simple behaviors
What are automatisms?
compulsive and repetitive simple behaviors
What are the two types of generalized seizures?
Grand Mal, Petit mal
What happens during grand mal seizures?
Loss of consciousness and equilibrium, toni-clonic convulsions, hypoxia
What are tonic-clonic convulsions?
Rigidity and tremors
hypoxia causes what kind of brain damage?
hippocampus memory damage
What happens during a petit mal seizure?
A disruption of consciousness associated with a cessation of ongoing behavior
What is parkinson’s disease?
A movement disorder of middle and old age affecting about .5% of the population.
What are the symptoms of parkinson’s?
Tremors, rigidity, akinesia, postural instability
What is not usually seen in parkinson’s?
Dementia
What is parkinson’s caused by?
Degeneration of the dopamine-producing substantia nigra
Autopsies of parkinson’s patients reveal what in the substantia nigra?
Lewy bodies (protein clumps)
What is parkinson’s treated with temporarily?
L-dopa
What else can reduce the symptoms of parkinson’s?
Deep brain stimulation fo subthalamic nucleus
What is huntington’s disease?
A rare, progressive motor disorder of middle/old age
What does huntington’s begin with?
fidgetiness
Huntington’s progresses to what?
jerky movements of entire limbs
What is the last symptom of huntington’s?
Severe dementia
What are the early symptoms of huntington’s related to?
dysfunction of basal ganglia
The late stages of huntington’s involve what?
the whole brain
First symptoms of huntington’s disease is usually not seen until what age?
40
Death from huntington’s usually occurs within how many years?
15
What is huntington’s disease caused by?
a single dominant gene
What is multiple sclerosis?
Autoimmune disorder where immune system attacks myelin
What does multiple sclerosis cause?
areas of hard scar tissue
What are the symptoms of MS?
Visual disturbances, Mental changes, loss of sensation, depression, paranoia, uncontrollable laughter, limb weakness, bladder and bowel dysfunction, muscle spasms
What are the subtypes of MS?
Relapsing-remitting
Primary progressive
Secondary progressive
Progressive-relapsing
What are the causes of MS?
genetics. Many genes involved
Incidence of MS is increased in those who spend childhood where?
in a cool climate
MS is rare amonst who?
africans and asians
What is a tumor?
a mass of cells that grows independently of the rest of the body
What are the types of tumors?
Primary, secondary, malignant, and benign
What are primary tumors?
tumors that start in brain and rarely metastasize
What are secondary tumors?
Tumors that originate elsewhere and are usually malignant
What is meningioma?
Tumor that grows between the meninges
meningiomas are relatively _____
benign
Meningiomas are ____ of tumors
roughly 20%
How do meningiomas influence the brain?
exerting pressure on surrounding tissue
Where do gliomas originate from?
glial cells
Gliomas are _____ of tumors
> 70%
Gliomas are usually ____
malignant
Gliomas cause what?
neurons to die
What are the symptoms of brain tumors?
pressure in the skull, headache, vomiting, double vision, reduced heart rate, reduced alertness, seizures
What are the treatments for tumors?
surgical removal, chemotherapy, thalidomide to starve tumors of blood supply
What is thalidomide?
mercury-like substance that is selective to tumor cells
Why is chemotherapy more difficult to treat brain tumors?
have to cross blood-brain barrier
What is another way to treat a tumor?
Gene-therapy
What is a new technique for treating tumors?
ultrasound. destroys tissues
What is a stroke?
sudden onset cerebrovascular disorder causing brain damage
What are the types of stroke?
Hemorrhage and ischemia
Which type of stroke are about 20% of cases?
hemorrhage
What is ischemia caused by?
arteriosclerosis and blood clots
What are hemorrhages caused by?
high blood pressure
vascular abnormalities
What is a vascular abnormality?
aneurysm
What is an aneurysm?
A weakened point in a blood vessel that makes a stroke more likely
What are the types of cerebral ischemia?
Thrombosis, embolism, arteriosclerosis
What is thrombosis?
A plug that forms and blocks blood flow at site of fomration
What is an embolism?
a plug that forms in a larger vessel and travels to smaller one where it gets stuck
What is arteriosclerosis?
walls of blood vessels thicken and the channels narrow
During a stroke, blood-deprived neurons become overactive and release what?
glutamate
Strokes trigger what?
excessive depolarization of postsynaptic neurons, causing excessive glutamate release
Glutamate does what?
kills neurons
The area of dead tissue resulting from a stroke is called what?
an infarct
chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a result of what?
repeated trauma
What is cognitive reserve?
different ways you can go about solving a problem
A person copes with damage by doing what?
Using cognitive networks in more flexible ways
What are variables linked to cognitive reserve?
IQ
Educational and occupational status
Engagement in enriching leisure activities
Educational and occupational status is important for what?
critical thinking and problem-solving skills
You cannot fully learn a language after what age?
12
What is exploited by physical and occupational therapy?
experience-dependent neuroplasticity
What is experience-dependent neuroplasticity?
changes due to learning
What is reactive neuroplasticity?
Neurogenesis and growth of axons, dendrites and new synapses independent of experience
_______ peaks and then declines with age
fluid intelligence
______ intelligence sticks with you
crystallized
Muscle contraction causes what?
synthesis of IGF-1
What does IGF-1 do?
BDNF (miracle grow)
What does BDNF do?
Increases dendritic branching and synaptic efficiency
With regular exercise, the body does what?
builds up its levels of bdnf
What does aerobic exercise do for the brain?
Increases hippocampus volume
Aerobic exercises increase _____, which __________
VEGF, catalyzes blood vessel growth
Enriched conditions do what to the brain?
make significantly heavier cerebral cortexes with higher number of dendritic spines
Enrichment conditions promote what?
better learning and problem solving
What is genotype?
genetic makeup of a cell
What is a phenotype?
observable characteristics of an individual
