Week 1 Flashcards
Stimulation of _________ due to _______ burst leads to addiction. (STAR)
Nucelus Accubens via dopamine burst (example of maladaptive to reward system)
Shut down of __________ leads to anxiety or depression
Hippocampus
- hippocampus and surrounding limbic structures are critical for both learning and regulating emotion/mood.
Concept of mental function: Continuum
level of mental function varies in individuals along a continuum, each individual is able to adapt to their mental functional levels in different ways.
3 main aspects when evaluating mental disorders
Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation.
Functional Division of the Cortex: Occipital Lobe
Visual Cortex - exclusively for visual processing.
- Note: From birth, needs visual info/input to help wire the occipital lobe to become visual cortex.
Functional Division of the Cortex: Temporal Lobe
- Integration (“what” pathway): Integrating the auditory, visual and olfactory information
- Critically involved in acquiring and retaining knowledge (learning)
Functional Division of the Cortex: Parietal Lobe
- Spatial Processing (“where” pathway): involving visual, auditory, and somatosensory input.
- Cognitive Function: Math operation, spatial orientation, etc.
Functional Division of the Cortex: Frontal Lobe
- Motor Cortex, involved in planning and executing motor behavior => More in prefrontal cortex
Functional Division of the Cortex: Prefrontal Cortex
- Executive Functions: regulates thoughts, motor behavior and emotional responses
- Social Cognition (medial esp.) = sense of self.
Function of Corpus Striatum + brain components
Initiation and Termination of Motor Movements: Mediated by Dopamine
- Caudate, Putamen, Globus Pallidus
Function of (Neo) Striatum + brain components
- Maintain/Switch Attentional Focus: Associated with PFC as well as Habit Formation
- Caudate and Putamen
Function of Limbic Structures: Amygdala (opposite of hippocampus)
- Detects biological significance of incoming information (Friend or Foe)
- Autonomic nervous system: fast and subconscious reaction.
- Provides the emotional information associated with experiences encoded in memory.
Function of Limbic Structures: Hippocampus (opposite of amygdala)
- “Calculated” responses to environment in contrast to more instinctive response.
- Encodes experiences into long term memory
- Associated with Alzheimer disease or amnesia.
Hebbian Principle:
Coordination of neural networks: Simultaneous activation of neurons creates a connection so it will be activated together again in the future.
What is the main differences between ADHD vs Disruptive Disorder?
- ADHD shows up early in childhood (sounds like
Definition of Autism in terms of terminology
“Focus back to oneself”
- Core failure of recognizing the “alternative” perspective or possibility
Hallmark of ASD
Deficient Social Cognition
- Deficients in the Theory of Mind abilities.
ASD: Theory of Mind abilities are developed through __________
Imitation!
Therefore be worried with 2-3 yo that don’t use imagination or pretend play, look at you and point, or look when you point at something.
ASD: What is the Mirror Neuron System
Foundation of our social cognition and skills (ToM related): Potential neural basis of “imitation,” action observation, and intention understanding.
ASD: Major Components of Mirror Neuron System
Inferior Parietal Lobe = (parietal lobe) Charge of many sensory motor and spatial processing/perception.
Posterior Superior temporal gyrus = (temporal lobe) houses primary auditory cortex
- Inferior Frontal Gyrus + pars opercularis = prepares the motor program to be carried out by the primary motor cortex.
ASD: Mirror Neuron System: Language areas
Wernicke Area = Temporal/Parietal Lobe
Broca’s Area = Frontal lobe
a 10 month old is shown to have increased growth of whole brain volume. What dx are you suspicious of?
Autism Spectrum disorder: First year head circumference is larger.
ASD: Genetics
High Heritability
ASD Common Signs and Symptoms (3)
- Head circumference measurements during 1st year
- Social development delay during 2nd year
- Language development delay in 2nd and 3rd year.