Week 1: Tools of Cognitive Neuropsychology Flashcards
Who introduced the idea of localisation of function, just like in the organs ‘prenhology’
Gall
Who found evidence for localisation?
Broca
Cogntivie Neurospsychology is combining to different fields. Name both fields.
- Neurology (observable brain abnormalities)
- Psychiatry (normal looking brain)
What is inside the toolbox in cogntiive neuropsychology?
- Cogntive psychologya nd behavioral research
- patient studies
- manipulating the brain
- looking inside the brain
Cogntive psychology uses behavioral experiments to find out what these … and … are
- representations (pre-existing internal representations)
- transformations
What task nicely demonstrates the limitations within our information processing that also inform us about mental transformations?
Stroop task
What does the incongruent stroop trial show?
- 2 representations are activated
- ‘word’ representation is dominant when reporting verbally
Benefits of patient research
- study how cognition breaks down may tell us about how it is organised
- study the cognitive function of brain regions through brain damage
Define the cognition breaking down: single vs. double dissociation
Single dissociation:
- one task where they are impaired and not in the other one
- compare the ‘impaired’ group with a ‘control/healthy’ group
Double association
- observing two functions that are independently impaired
Example for single and double dissociation task: Recency memory vs Familiarity model
- control
- temporal lobe damaged
- frontal lobe damaged
Temporal lobe damage: bad familiarity memory
Frontal lobe damage: good familiarity memory, yet bad recency memory
what important information does a patient lesion study provide us?
- which regions are associated with/ necessary for what function
- no information about how a ‘normal’ brain works
- every patient unique (specificity)
Do patient lesions show correlation or causality?
Only show correlation; no causation
Example for a temptation study to conclude a causation instead of a correlation
The smaller the hippocampus volume the more severe the PTSD symptoms of combat exposed twin.
Common explanations:
stress –> increased glucocorticoids –> hippocampal atrophy
The twin’s hippocampal volume who was not exposed to the stress also predicted the severity of the combat exposed twin
=> not stress the cause, but rather the genetic composition
Name some limitation for any Patient studies
- double dissasociation needed to show specificity
- compensation mechanisms
- exact damage location may vary between patients (is uncontrolled)
- most patient studies show correlation, not causation
- surgical intervention in non healthy patients only
Ways to manipulate the brain is the TMS. Describe what it can do
- TMS (Transcranial magnetic stimulation)
= generate artificial reversible lesions or acivations to
disturb cognitive processes, high temporal precision
