psychodiagnostics tests + key terms (week 4)

split-brain patients

people who have had their corpus callosum severed to prevent epileptic seizures. if an item is presented to the left-side visual field, it is only processed in the right hemisphere and image of the object stays in right hemisphere, cannot say with words what they have seen, but can point to the object

agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC)

congenital absence of the corpus callosum, do nor have significantly lower IQ, but have impairments in abstract reasoning, problem solving, and category reasoning

frontal lobe

area of brain responsible for motor control

parietal lobe

area of brain responsible for touch/other somatosensory information

occipital lobe

area of brain responsible for visual perception

temporal lobe

area of the brain that processes auditory information, includes hippocampus and amygdala

midbrain

area of the brain responsible for hearing, vision, smell, has 12 cranial nerves that are responsible for sensory and motor funtions

cerebellum

area of the brain that coordinates muscle tone, posture, hand/eye movements, and procedural memory

dysarthria

when muscles become flabby, tire easily (rapid tapping of index finger may be very difficult)

intention tremor

tremor during voluntary, intentional movements

basal ganglia

area of the brain, part of the motor system, controls movement and certain cognitive skills (planning), damage to this area can lead to PD

motor cortex

area of the brain that controls voluntary movement, mostly contralateral (opposite sided)

patient H.M.

patient who lacked one portion of their temporal love, incapable of forming new memories, procedural memory, long-term and short-term memory remained intact, their case is evidence that memory is controlled by cerebellum

hypothalamus

area of the brain involved in blood pressure, feeding, sexual behavior, sleep/wake cycle, temperature regulation, emotional behavior, and movement

four types of attention

orienting, selective, divided, sustained

orienting (four types of attention)

attention type that facilitates direction of attentional resources to a single threatening stimulation (fight/flight response)

selective (four types of attention)

attention type that helps identify a single relevant stimulus within a flow of other information

divided (four types of attention)

attention type that allows you to follow two or more tasks, multi-tasking

sustained (four types of attention)

attention type that allows you to focus over long periods of time while resisting distraction

reticular formation

part of the brain that is involved in attentional processes, generally thought to give rise to consciousness

cingulate gyrus

part of the brain that has been found to play and important role in selective attention

associative memory

memory that is invoked because of an association with a cue, smell that reminds you of home, recalling taste of something when you hear a sound or smell something

verbal memory

memory controlled by left hemisphere of the brain

pictorial memory

memory that is controlled by the right hemisphere of the brain

left hemisphere of the brain

language, when damaged can cause aphasia (Wernicke’s and Broca’s), written words are registered here in the visual cortex

Wernicke’s aphasia

fluent aphasia, comprehension of spoken and written language is impaired, no ability to associate words with their meaning, written/verbal expression is fluent and fast, but lacks meaning

Broca’s aphasia

non-fluent aphasia, expressive language is impaired, adjectives and articles are omitted when they are speaking, writing is difficult, little difficulty understanding language but they speak slowly and have trouble pronouncing/enunciating words

right hemisphere

hemisphere responsible for comprehension/expression of emotion, emotional patterns to speech, processing of sounds, production of nonverbal and spatial memories, and face recognition

constructional dyspraxia

impaired ability to deal with spatial relationships and design simple shapes

prosopagnosia

inability to recognize familiar faces, can still recognize voices

four components of executive functions

volition, planning, purposive action, effective performance

volition (four components of executive functions)

our capacity for intentional behavior and ability to conceptualize a goal

planning (four components of executive functions)

our ability to take steps to achieve our goals

purposive action (four components of executive functions)

our capacity to take action and sustain that action

effective performance (four components of executive functions)

our ability to shift strategies if needed

consequences of damage in bilateral frontal lobes

motivational problems,

difficulties making mental shifts and persevering at activities,

impulsivity/over-reactivity,

lower self-awareness,

(little effect on old learning and well established skills)

TEA/TEA-ch (Test for Everyday Attention)

test that measures sustained attention, selective attention, divided attention, and attentional switching. scores are highly sensitive to brain injuries

Continuous Performance Test (CPT)

test that measures sustained attention through a continuous presentation of letters, examinee must press a key when a certain letter appears. usually used for people suspected to have attentional problems

Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-IV)

test scale where low scores are b/c of low intelligence or low eduction, test includes five indices:

• immediate memory index

• delayed memory index

• auditory memory index

• visual memory index

• visual working memory index

Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT)

test where examiner reads list of 15 nouns, examinee mist repeat as many words as possible, five trials. score is number of words remembered throughout the five trials, also score of interference list trial (new list is presented, but examinee must remember old list), and the recognition trial (examinee must underline the words in a written paragraph)

Token Test

test that measures aphasia, must complete oral commands with colored tokens

Bender Gestalt Test (BGT)

copying test that measures visual perception, spatial analysis, executive abilities, and intact motor functions, examinee instructed to accurately copy several drawings

Porteus Maze Test

test that measure for executive functions, sensitive to the effects of brain damage (especially frontal lobes/Alzheimer’s), involves planning and decision making when trying to solve the puzzles presented

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST)

test for executive functions (abstract thinking and flexibility), examinee must sort cards based on different and changing rules

Tinkertoy Test

test that examines executive functions, examinee must build something out of blocks. those with head injuries tend to produce poor designs with fewer blocks

Finger-Tapping Test

test that measures for motor output, examinee must use both index fingers to tap a key, deviations from averages may indicate a lesion in the hemisphere opposite that of slower hand

Purdue Pegboard Test

test that measures for motor output, examinee must place pegs into holes with left hand, right hand, and both hands.

one hand slower = lesion on opposite hemisphere

both hands slower = bilateral brain damage

Mini-Mental State Exam

test that measures orientation, immediate memory, attention, calculation, language production, language comprehension, and design copying through a wide variety of tasks (reading, writing, orientation, drawing), often used for the elderly

premorbid level of functioning

level of functioning that precedes the brain trauma, evaluated using hold tests (least sensitive to brain trauma)

brain plasticity

why do children over 7 have a greater change of recovery from brain trauma than younger children

double hazard hypothesis

phenomenon where psychosocial problems of the environment have a negative impact on the recovery

Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals 4 (CELF-4)

test of cause and severity of language disorders in children (5-18), assesses language level, expressive and receptive language functions

Corsi Block Tapping Test

test that measure visual spatial (short-term) memory, asked to tap a specific sequence of blocks following researcher demonstration

15 Words Test

test that measures verbal memory, asked to recall list of words

Tower of London Test

test that measures executive functioning, especially planning

Speech Sounds Perception Test

test where examinee is asked to match a nonsense spoken word with a double “e” (teeg) to a written counterpart, low scores indicate left temporal lobe damage

Beery VMI

test that measures visual perception, motor coordination, and visual-motor integration (hand-eye coordination), asked to copy, identify and trace shape models over three trials

neurological assessments

assessments that measure:

• IQ

• sensory perception

• attention

• information processing

• verbal memory

• visual memory

• executive functioning

• language

• social cognition

psycho-educational assessment

assessment that measures

• IQ

• educational achievement

• socio-emotional disturbances

• DSM

disharmonic IQ profile

occurs when a child has significant differences between his/her scores on two or more subscales, usually followed by a great decline in educational performance

developmental coordination disorder

disorder that does not always have a neurological cause, diagnosed later in life. main symptoms include clumsiness and other motor function impairments