The brain and neuropsychology (topic 4) Flashcards
what is the role of the frontal lobe
–higher level functions such as self-control, planning, logic and abstract thinking
what is the role od the pariental lobe
–intergrates input from different senses
–is important for spatial tasks
–navigation
–involved in the ability to percieve (e.g., face recognition)
what is the role of the occipital lobe
–percieves visual information and makes sense of it
what is the role of the temporal lobe
–process sound and language
–essencial in understandin gspoken language.
–helps control memory functions
what is the role of cerebellum
–controls motor movements
–coordinates information from senses into behaviour.
–important for balance control
damasio et al 1994: phineas gage
background informtion about phineas gage
–a powerful explosion led to a iron rod (3cm thickl 109cm long) penetrating through his head
–damaged the frontal lobe
–before the accident gage was sociable, responsible and intelligent
–after he remained able-bodies and intelligent but had no sense of responsibility and became irritable and mad
damasio et al 1994: phineas gage
what were the aims
–identify the locations of damage usin modern techniques
–to discover if areas other than the frontal lobe were damaged
–compared to other similar studies, to understand the functions of certain parts of the brain
damasio et al 1994: phineas gage
what was the procedure
–phitis, x-rays and measurements of the skull were taken
–a virtual 3D copy of the skull was made
–using dimensions of entry and exit holes, along with the measurements of the iron pole likely trajectories of the pole was made
–after testing 20 different entry ways and 16 different exit ways, 5 most likely paths were determined
damasio et al 1994: phineas gage
what were the findings
damaged parts:
-frontal lobe
-underlying white matter in the left (more than the right)
-undersides of both hemispheres (ventromedial regions)
-only frontal lobe
undamaged:
-broca’s area (used for speech)
-motor cortices
dorsolateral regions
damasio et al 1994: phineas gage
what was concluded
-they hypothesised taht the ventromenial frontal region was invoved in emotion and decision making
-concluded a research with monkeys- monkeys with high concentration of serotonin receptors in the ventromedial area were socially adapted whereas those with low concentration were more aggressive
damasio et al 1994: phineas gage
what were the strengths
–practical applications - helps understand the finctions of the brain
- scientific
damasio et al 1994: phineas gage
what were the weaknessess
- information was subjective as it was based on gage’s doctor - low reliability
-case study - unique circumstance - not generalisable
what is laterisation of function
it means that each hemisphere of the brain has different jobs or roles
what is asymmetrical function
–both of the heispheres are not the same in terms of structure ans functions
–they are similar but not smae making it asymmetrical
what are the functions of the left hemisphere
-language skills
-reading
-writing
-speaking
-arithmetic reasoning
-understanding
-logical thinking
-control of the right side of the body
what are the functions of the right hemisphere
-visual perception
-spatial tasks
-recognising patterns and music
-emotional expressions
-processign information as a whole
-creativity
-control of the left side of the body
what is the corpus callosum and what is its function
–it is a thick bundle of nerves whcih connects the two hemispheres
–allows communication of the hemispheres
laterisation and sex differences
males: they use the right side of their brain mire than the right. this is why they are better at spatial tasks
females: they use both sides equally. htis is why they can multi-task better than males. evidemce suggests that females have a thicker corpus callosum
evidence for laterisation and sex differences
–haresey et al 1997 suggested that the areas of the brain that is responsible for language skills are slightly bigger in females than males. this might explain why women are better at skills that require language skills.
–rilea et al 2005 supports the idea that males are ebetter at skills that require the right hemisphere. this was proved as males were better at spatial skills than language skills
–evidences are scientific as they were conducted in a lab. this means that variables are conrolled. high validity
evidence against laterisation and sex differences
–in rilea et al’s experiment not all spatial tasks required only the right hemishere - this might mean that differences in how males and females use their right hemisphere cannot explain all differences in spatial abilities
–not all research supports the idea that females use both hemispheres for lanquage tasks - sommer et al 2004 did not find any evidence that females use both sides of the brain in language tasks - this means that the differences in laterisation might not be a good explanation for sex differences in behaviour.
sperry 1968
aims
–to find out the cognitive functions that are linked to each hemisphere
–assess the neurological, psychological and behavioural effects of the split brain
– 11 ppt.
sperry 1968
procedure: task 1
–patients were asked to fix their gaze on a spot.
–words or pictures shown for 1/10th of a second on either side of the screen (one eye was covered)
–ppt had to state what they saw or felt behind the screen
sperry 1968
procedure: task 2
–ppts had to pick an item from a bag and were asked to identify it without seeing it
sperry 1968
procedure: task 3
–ppts were shown a picture of a clock (left eye - right hemisphere) and were asked. to pick the object closest to what they had seen with their left hand. (language task - synonyms)
sperry 1968
procedure: task 4
– sum was shown to the right hemisphere and patients were asked to use their left hand to point the correct answer.
sperry 1968
procedure: task 5
–ppts were shown a picture of a nude person to the right hemisphere to see their reaction.
sperry 1968
procedure: task 6
–ppts preformed block design tests (spatial task)
sperry 1968
findings: task 1
–ppt could repeat the word shown on the right but could not report seeing anything projected on the left
–if asked to select the object they saw on the left with their left hand they chose correctly
–indicated that the left visual field was being processed by the right hemisphere and the left hand by the right hemisphere, vice versa.
sperry 1968
findings: task 2
–if ppt used their right hand they could identify the object with ease
–if left hand was used they were unable to name the object.
sperry 1968
findings: task 3
–ppt were able to pick a watch with their left hand
–although the right hemisphere is not able to express this verbally it has an idea of a timepiece.
sperry 1968
findings: task 4
–ppts left hands could point to the correct answer
–demonstrates that the right hemisphere was involved with basic calculations.
sperry 1968
findings: task 5
– the picture of the nude person would result in the ppts giggling or blushing
–right hemisphere was involved in emotional processing.
sperry 1968
findings: task 6
– the right hemisphere was superior when it came to tasks preforming block design tests.
sperry 1968
conlusion
– each hemisphere can work independently
– each hemisphere has its own memories, sensations and perceptions which cannot be shared with the other side due to it being a split-brain.
– left hemisphere: primary hemisphere of language skills.
–right hemisphere displayed understanding of objects non-verbally
–the right hemisphere was better that the left hemisphere at spatial tasks
sperry 1968
strengths
sperry 1968
weaknesses
what is the role of the central nervous system
helps the brain and body communicate with one another by passing messages backwards and forwards between them
–sensory neves in the body send messages to the brain via the spinal cord
what is the role of the peripheral nervous system
–the PNS takes in the information from the environment via the sensory nerves and [asses it on the brain via the spinal cords.
–the brain sends the information to the PNS via the spinal cord telling it what to do.
what are neurotransmitters
–neurotransmitters are chemicals that are released from neurons and which allow them to communicate with neighbouring neurons
–they are released when the electrical signal or nerve impulse reaches the end of a nerve fibre of the neuron
what is the role of dopamine
–plays the role in attention, learning and rewarding. not having enough dopamine can make it difficult to concentrate on tasks
what is the role of serotonin
–plays a role in mood. too little serotonin can make people feel depressed.
what is the role of GABA
–plays the role of calming us down. when we feel stressed, we produce GABA to relax us.
what is neurological damage
refers to any kind of damage to the nervous system
what is visual agnosia
–visual agnosia is the inability to recognise visual stimulus despite being able to see and describe it
–caused by damage to the occipital and parietal lobe
–objects can be described but not identified
what is prosopagnosia
–inability to recognise faces of familiar people while other aspects of visual processing and intellectual functioning remain intact
–can recognise voices
–caused by damage to the back of the temporal lobe known as the fusiform face area (FFA)
what is the impact of damage to the prefrontal cortex
–the prefrontal cortex (PEC) helps us control our impulses and keep our emotions balanced
–damage will lead to impaired decision-making ability and defective moral reasoning, problems with learning rule
what is EEG and what is it used for
–used to measure brain activity
00developed by Hans Berger in 1924
–electrodes are placed onto the scalp to pick up the general level of activity in different areas of the brain, by doing this, researchers are able to work out which area of the brain is working the hardest when a person is doing different tasks
what is PET and what is it used for
–PET scans are special tracers to show where in the brain is active
–tracers are injected into the patient’s blood: usually a tracer that binds to glucose is used
what is MRI and what is it used for
–type of scan that can show quite detailed pictures of what the brain looks like
–possible to use this type of scanner to show where in the brain is active (fMRI)
–helps the doctor see where there is damaged in the brain
