Why does a person show defecits? Flashcards
NEUROMYTH - ‘right’ and ‘left’ brain
Myth that the right hemisphere of brain is for logic and numeric tasks and the left brain is used for creativity.
What might a stroke to the right parietal lobe result in? Why?
Orientation aganosia –> loss of ability to recognise an object’s identity and orientation.
This is a rare syndrome which is specific to individuals with lesions to the right hemisphere.
What is meant by plasticity?
Change in the structure or form of synaptic connections between neurons.
What are the principles of CLASSICAL/CLINICAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGY?
What study methods are common?
Why does X show particular symptoms
Clinical neuropsychology addresses functional specialisation and converges evidence to functional imaging.
GROUP STUDY methods are common!
USE DOUBLE DISSOCIATIONS
What are the principles of COGNITIVE NEUROPSYCHOLOGY?
How do the symptoms seen in X impact cognitive processes in the brain?
Look at how damage to the brain mediates impaired cognitive models
Addresses the building blocks of cognitive processes
CASE STUDIES COMMON
Integrates evidence from double dissociations.
What is phrenology and is it still relevant?
Phrenology = the study of the conformation of the skull as indicative of mental faculties and traits of character, especially according to the hypotheses of Franz Joseph Gall
The idea is based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or modules
Functional modularity still rife but phrenology largely discredited.
What is the modularity hypothesis?
Cognition is made possible by orchestrated activity of multiple processes or modules.
BROCAS OBSERVATIONS? What did this suggest?
Patient has left lesion to the frontal lobe
Couldn’t product speech
Speech comprehension was normal
–> Specialised language faculty in the brain found at the frontal lobe
WERNICKE’S OBSERVATIONS? What did this suggest?
Wernicke observed that different patient with lesion had poor language comprehension but normal speech production
Suggested the brain has a specialised faculty in the brain for speech production
- Suggested that the two faculties relating to speech are separate (as can be separately damaged by lesions)
BRAIN STRUCTURES - what is the function of the CSF?
How does it appear on brain scans?
Flotation, shock absorbance, feeding of nutrients to the brain, protective cushion. Flows through the ventricles of the brain.
APPEARS BLACK ON BRAIN SCANS
Brain imaging techniques: CT scan
How does it work?
Computerised tomography
Makes use of many x ray images from different angles to produce cross sectional images of specific areas of interest.
Brain imaging techniques: fMRI scan
How does it work?
fMRI produces images based on disruptions to the magnetic fields around the brain as a result of the conversion of haemoglobin –> oxyhaemoglobin
- Can produce images from these distorted magnetic fields.
What is temporal resolution?
The accuracy to which a technique can measure WHEN an event is occuring
–> fMRI has a slower temporal solution than CT scans for example, as the process of the conversion of haemoglobin –> oxyhaemoglobin is a dynamic process.
What is spatial resolution?
The accuracy of where an effect is occuring in the brain.
What is the advantage of using functional imaging?
Provide direct evidence of cognitive models.
Can use this evidence to inform theories and experiments in cognitive psychology
