textbook chapter 2 Flashcards
what is capgras syndrome
when people recognize their family members but believe someone else is interpreting them
what are the two systems that face recognition involves
- cognitive appraisal (i know what my father looks like, and i can see i closely resemble him)
- emotional appraisal (you look familiar to me and also trigger a warm response in me)
what happens when the two face recognitions agree?
confidence recognition (your obviously my father)
whats a PET scan (positron emission tomography)
provides a portrait of the physical makeup of the brain: whats where? how are the structures shaped or connected? are these structures present where they should be
what is a MRI scan (magnetic resonance imagining)
tells us about the structure of the brain. On-sight damage in the temporal lobe, particularly on the right side of the head, as it disrupts circuits involving the amygdala
what is the prefrontal cortex
the outer surface of the frontmost part of the brain. it is crucial for planning of complex or novel behaviours so this brain area is often mentioned as one of the main sites underlying the brains executive functions
what is a fMRI scan
tracks moment-by-activity levels living in the brain “what brain regions are active when doing soecific activities”
what is the difference between MRI and fMRi
the MRI tells us about the structure of the brain and the fMRI tells us which portion of the brain are especially active during the scan
what are the 3 structures the brain is divided into
- the hindbrain
- the midbrain
- the forebrain
what is the hindbrain
located at the top of the spinal cord and includes structures crucial for controlling key life functions. it regulates the rhythm of heartbeats, and maintains the bodies overall posture and balance, helping to control the brains level of alertness
what is the midbrain
plays an important part in coordinating the precise movements of the eyes as they explore the visual world, circuits that relay auditory information from the ears to areas in the forebrain, and areas that help regulate the experience of pain
what is the forebrain
the largest region that surrounds the midbrain and most of the hindbrain. the outer surface of the forebrain is the cortex
what is the cerebellum
the largest area of the hindbrain, mainly controls coordination of bodily movements but if damaged you could experience spatial reasoning.
what are pons and medullas
part of the hindbrain
medullas control vital functions such as breathing and heart rate
pons control the main connection between the cerebellum and rest of the brain
what is the frontal lobe
forms the front of the brain, right behind the forehead
what is the central fissure
divides the frontal lobes on each side of the brain from the parietal lobes
where is the parietal lobe
the brains top most part
where is the lateral fissure
the bottom edge of the frontal lobe
where is the temporal lobe
below the lateral fissure
where is the temporal lobe
below the lateral fissure
where is the occipital lobe
the very back of the brain connected to the parietal and temporal lobes
what are the subcortical structures
- thalamus
- hypothalamus
- limbic system
what is the limbic system
includes the amygdala and hippocampus that are essential for learning and memory
what does commissures do
it is thick bundles of fibres that carry information back and forth between the right and left hemispheres
what is the left hemisphere specialized in
language processing
what is the right hemisphere specialized in
numbers of tasks involving spatial judgement
what happens when a split-brain patient is asked where they see
the LEFT hemisphere sees a fork on the RIGHT side and can verbalize that. The RIGHT hemisphere sees a spoon on the LEFT side, but can not verbalize that. when reaching with the left hand to pick up the object the patient does select the spoon
what is the response of a split brain patient
what you see is controlled by the left hemisphere, but the left hand is controlled by the right hemisphere which is why it picks up the spoon, because that is what the right hemisphere sees
what is neuropsychology
the study of brains structures and how they relate to brain function
what do neurons have
an input and output end, the input end is the portion of the neuron that’s most sensitive to neurotransmitters, and the output end is the portion that releases neurotransmitters and sending signals
what are electrical pulses
made possible by a flow of charged atoms in and out of the neuron helps them get a signal from one end of the cell to the other
what is an electroencephalograph (EEG)
a recording of the brains electrical activity , usually meant to study broad rhythms in the brain
what is event-related potential
changes in the EEG in the brief period just before, during, and after explicitly defined events, usually measured by averaging together many trials in which this event has occurred
what is fusiform face area
active whenever a face is being perceived, here is a correlation between mental activity (perceiving the face) and patterns of the brain
what is the TSM (transcranial magnetic stimulation)
creates a series of strong magnetic pulses at a specific location on the scalp, and these pulses activate the neurons directly underneath this scalp area
what regions in the cerebral cortex do information processing take place
- motor areas
- sensory areas
- association areas
what stands as the departure points in the cerebral cortex
primary motor projection areas
what stands as the arrival point in the cerbreal cortex
primary sensory projection areas
what has lots of cortical areas
parts of the body that is used with precision like lips and fingers
what has little cortical area
parts of the body that have less control over like legs and shoulders
what are the similarities between the motor projection area and the sensory projection area
- each of those areas provides a map of the sensory environment
- In each of these sensory maps, the assignment of cortical space is governed by functions but by the anatomical proportion
how does the visual projection work
the area in the right hemisphere receives information from both the left and right eye, but the information it receives corresponds to the left half of the visual space
what is the association cortex
the traditional name for the portion of the human cortex outside the motor and sensory areas (75%)
what is apraxia
produced by some lesions in the frontal lobes. disturbances in the initiation or organization or voluntary action
what is agnosia
lesions generally in the occipital cortex or rearmost part of the parietal lobe. disruptions ion the ability to identify familiar objects
what is aphasia
separates the frontal and temporal lobes can cause disruption to language capacities
what is unilateral neglect syndrome
lesions in the parietal love that the individual seems to ignore half of the visual world
what does the glia do
perform many functions to help guide the development of the nervous system in the fetus and young infants. They support repairs if the nervous system is damaged and control the nutrients to the neurons
what are specialized glia cells
provide a layer of electrical insulation surrounding parts of some neurons; the insulation dramatically increases the speed which with neurons can send their signals
what are dendrites
usually the input side of the neuron, receiving signals from the many other neurons. they are normally heavy branched
what is the axon
the output side of the neuron, it sends neural impulses to other neurons
how does the cell body, dendrites, and axons work together
the dendrite detects the incoming signal; the cell body contains the metabolic machinery that sustains the cell and the axon transmits a signal to another location
what is a threshold
the activity level at which a cell or detector responds or fires
what is action potential
a signal that moves down its axon, which in turn causes to release of neurotransmitters at the next synapse, potentionallu causing the next cell to fire
what is the synapse
the end of the axon, plus the gap, plus the receiving membrane of the next neuron
what is the presynaptic membrane
the bit of the neuron that releases the transmitters into the space between the neurons
what is the all or none law
if the signal is sent, it is always of the same magnitude (pounding on a car horn won’t make it louder)
what is the postsynaptic membrane
the bit of the neuron on either side of the gap, affected by the transmitters
what do some of the neurotransmitters that the brain rely on do
stimulate subsequent neurons and inhibit other neurons
what two forms do neurons depend on for information flow
communication from one neuron to the next is mediated by a chemical signal, and communication from one end to the other is possible due to electrical signals
what is the mode of signalling
each neuron receives information from many other neurons, allowing them to integrate information from many sources
how is information represented by neurons
through coding
what is coding
the system through which one type of information stands for or represents a different type of information. This refers to the way the activity in neurons manages to stay for or represent particular ideas or thoughts.
