Week 1: Definitions, history Flashcards
What is neuropsychology
The study of how the brain operates to produce behaviours and thought processes
- how the brain produces the higher mental functions (cognition), emotion and movement
What is clinical neuroscience?
Scientific study of mechanisms underlying disorders and disease of the brain and CNS
Identifying underlying molecular and neural substrates of psychopathology and neurological disease
What is the role of clinical neuroscientists?
- Assess through clinical testing to describe the impairments associated with brain damage
- help other clinicians with diagnosis
- describe patients strengths and weaknesses
- to report patients ability through assessment
Still need to understand brain areas and networks and how they underpin behaviour, cognition and emotional functioning
What is the role of experimental neuropsychologists?
Assess brain impaired patients and also persons without brain impairment in order to model and further understand the brain functions
Neuropsychological treatment is tailored to
The individuals specific circumstances and unique physiological needs
How long are neuropsychological treatments?
Can range from a few short sessions to multiple extended sessions
What are the 2 early views on brain processing?
Holistic and localisationist
What is the localisationist view of brain processing (Gall)?
Proposes that each part of the brain performs a different and seperate function
- believed that the specific development of a particular centre would push out the cranium to the extent that it would cause a bump that could be observed and felt externally. Thought that you could assess personality and cognition by the size of individual brain areas
(Size=skill)
What is the holistic view of brain processing?
Sees the whole brain as being involved in all mental functions
What did the localisationalist view lead to?
The theory of phrenology
What is phrenology?
If a given brain area is enlarged, then the corresponding area of the skull will also be enlarged
Very inaccurate
Why did the work of Gall positively influence theoretical thinking?
He drew attention to the possibility that localisation could exist and he described cases of injury with specific behavioural/cognitive effects
Phrenology was used as a means of diagnosis and a guide to better treatment of mental illness when insanity was seen as possession by the devil - leading to people being cruelly treated in asylums
What did Paul broca suggest?
That motor speech was specifically located in the posterior, inferior region of the left temporal lobe
What evidence did Paul broca have?
Individuals with injuries and corresponding deficits but were otherwise normal
What did broca successfully describe?
Aphasia
(Brocas aphasia or non-fluent aphasia)
Inability to talk because the musculature of speech organs do not receive appropriate brain signals