Unit 12 Main Deficits of Attention and Perception

Question 1

What illustrate the nature of attention and perception processes

Answer 1

Neuropsychological studies on patients that have disrupted cognitive processing

brain damaged patients with
-> Spatial neglect
-> Blindsightedness

Question 2

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder

Answer 2

hard to focus attention
-> prevent individuals from adapting in an optimal way to their environment

symptoms
-> inattention
-> hyperactivity (age dependent)
-> impulsiveness

TYPES of ADHD
-> hyperactive-impulsive
->Inattentive
-> combination (most common)

Question 3

Inattentive component of ADHD

Answer 3

symptoms
-> easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli
-> often fail to pay attention to detail
-> susceptible to making careless mistakes during tasks (LAPSES IN ATTENTION)
-> often fail to read instruction completely or carefully
-> susceptible to forgetting or loosing things needed for a task
-> tend to jump from one incomplete take to another

Question 4

When does ADHD appear

Answer 4

first appears in preschool/early school years and does NOT DISAPPEAR, though severity may increase or decrease

-> CHILD: more boys are medicated than girls
-> adults: equally statistic

7.2% of ADHD worldwide

Question 5

Biological causes of ADHD

Answer 5

ADHD is highly heritable

-> many genes have been associated to ADHD BUT they often implicated in the neurotransmission of DOPAMINE and NORADRENALINE then add gene

-> reduced activity of DOPAMINE in prefrontal Cortex and Striatum
(responsible for working memory, executive control, movement and impulse inhibition)

-> reduced noradrenaline may disrupt their ability to sustain attention

Question 6

Medication for ADHD

Answer 6

ADHD medication = methylphenidate (retalin)
seems paradoxical given its a stimulant

-> has a calming affect, helping individuals concentrate and focus

-> increases dopamine in (prefrontalcortex) and noradrenaline in brain by blocking their reuptake at the synapse (greater control of behavior)

Question 7

Deficit in visual perception - visual agnosia

Answer 7

brain damage may cause deficits in attention MAY CAUSE DEFICIT IN PERCEPTION

visual agnosia: patients with agnosia are often able to perceive features of objects but unable to integrate them successfully

Question 8

What does memory help with in visual agnosia patients

Answer 8

describe objects from memory despite deficits in visual perception

Patient CK hit by a car
-> unable to recognise objects but could still draw those objects from memory which is a skill that requires visual imagery
-> suggesting visual perception and visual imagery are supported in different areas of the brain

Question 9

simultagnosia

Answer 9

caused by damage to the temporal cortex: inability to perceive more than one object at a time

Question 10

Prosopagnosia

Answer 10

caused by damage to the fusiform gyrus in the temporal lobe

unable to recognise faces: even though they know they are looking at a face they can’t recognise whose face it is – and for some patients, even their own face in the mirror.

Question 11

Topographical agnosia

Answer 11

caused by damage to the parahippocampal gyrus in the temporal lobe

Patients have an inability to recognise landmarks in real-world environments
-> but doesn’t take away from mental map

Question 12

Damage to middle temporal cortex

Answer 12

akinetopsia (motion blindness)

ability to perceive movement

She was unable to pour liquids, as they appeared to be frozen, like a glacier
* She was unable to follow dialogue because she could not perceive the speaker’s face and mouth moving, and people moving around her seemed to suddenly appear and disappear
* Crossing the street was dangerous as distant cars would suddenly appear very close by