PSY3CNN Brain Development & Neuroplasticity Flashcards

Flashcards for reviewing PSY3CNN lecture notes on brain development, neuroplasticity, neuropsychology, neurodevelopmental disorders, visual perception, motor control, memory, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, substance abuse, acquired brain injury, multiple sclerosis and neuropsychological assessment.

What is neuropsychology?

The study of how the brain functions to produce the behaviors and thought processes that we take for granted.

What does a clinical neuropsychologist do?

Evaluate clients to determine their psychological strengths and weaknesses in relation to their level of brain damage or dysfunction through clinical testing, collaboration with other clinicals in the process of diagnosis and treatment, Understanding how brain disorders and injuries may affect a patients functioning in daily life is required in order to report a patients capacity through evaluation

What scientific endeavors is neuropsychology founded on?

Cognitive psychology, Neuroscience, Neuroanatomy, Neuropharmacology, Neurophysiology

What is neuropsychiatry?

Combines neurology and psychiatry

What is behavioural neurology?

Focuses on assessment and management of neurology eg Parkinson’s disease, things that can lead to changes in behaviour

What does affective neuroscience investigate?

Investigates emotions using instruments like heart rate monitors and other psychophysiological measurements. Neuroimaging

What is cognitive neuroscience focused on?

Is focused on neuroimaging and other approaches using humans as subjects

What does social neuroscience investigate?

Investigates broader influences on the links between the brain and social behaviour (eg the way genetics may affect social behaviour through brain changes during development)

What does clinical neuroscience aim to do?

Aims to conduct scientific research on the mechanisms behind disorders and diseases of the brain and peripheral nervous system (eg neurodegenerative diseases and psychological problems).

Who works in clinical neuroscience?

Psychiatrists, neurologists, radiologists, ophthalmologists, anaesthetists, cardiologists, Medical scientists ( eg biochemists, haematologists, Allied health professionals involved in rehab medicine, Physicists running brain imaging technologies, Bioengineers, Medical engineers

What is the goal of clinical neuroscience methodologies?

To create and implement fresh approaches to diagnosing and classifying disorders and ultimately to creating cutting-edge treatment plans for varied degrees of brain injuries or disorder.

What are cognitive tests of function?

Traditional paper and pencil assessments and newer more functionally dynamic assessments (that provide a higher degree of ecological validity)

What are biopsies and molecular assays used for?

for proteins, genes and metabolites

What is a lesion?

Any sort of brain damage other than the progressive brain atrophy linked to dementias

How are lesion studies used?

Differences in performance of the groups (with and without a specific lesion) led to some inference as to the function of the brain area involved.

What is a computer tomography (CT) scan?

Produces an Xray image of the brain and is frequently utilised in clinical settings because it is less expensive than many other methods

What are the flaws of CT scans?

Radiation exposure and the small number of situations in which it is a favoured imaging technique

What Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (sMRI) provide?

Provides a contrast between the grey and white matter and cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain and dwells in the ventricles

Why is sMRI preferable to CT scans?

sMRI is preferable to CT scan because it enables measurement of volumes of structures ( eg volume of the hippocampi) and there is no exposure to radiation

What does Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) do?

To observe the change in blood concentrations in the brain related to a certain task (i.e as an index of brain activity), images of blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal are collected over time

What is a Voxel?

Each MRI image which depicts a three dimensional space in our brain, is made up of many voxels, which can be taught of as pixels in a 3D image

What is Voxel based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM)?

An important method for examining the relationship between performance (on a task) and activity in specific brain regions

What is a benefit of VLSM?

An important benefit of VLSM is that strength of the relationship between each voxel with the function tested (across individuals) may be compared between groups

What are Position emission tomography (PET) & single photon emission captured tomography (SPECT)?

Nuclear medicine imaging techniques with integrate CT with radioactive tracers

What is a goal of PET and SPECT?

Determine whether the activity in specific brain networks is correlated with task performance (eg during fMRI)

What is Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI)?

An advanced MR technique used to inspect the absence or presence of grey and white matter originating from a particular brain areas, called the seeded region

What does DWI detect?

Detects myelin to infer the orientation or direction of what matter tracts

What is an Electroencephalogram (ECG)?

A technique that uses scalp electrodes to measure the electrical activity of the brain

What does EEG measure?

NOTE: only measures cortical activity at the surface of the brain

What are event related potentials (ERPs)?

The brains electrical response to an event, such as single auditory tone, is measured and then repeated many times. The electrical response is measured for each trial and averaged, giving a reliable electrical signature

What is event related fMRI?

Combines the advantages of EROs (ie the timing) with fMRI (ie localisation)

What is a Transcranial magnetic simulation (TMS)?

A non invasive technique that uses a magnetic pulse to generate a temporary ‘lesion’ or localised brain disruption in order to temporarily interfere with and disrupt specific brain areas

What happens with repeated application (rTMS) of Transcranial magnetic simulation (TMS)?

Brain activity can be either stimulated or disrupted with repeated application (rTMS)

What is Plasticity?

Brains ability to undergo structural changes due to environmental demands and organisms capacity. Or like a fundamental characteristic of the human brain that allows for structural and functional changes in response to different internal and external stimuli

What does plasticity involve?

Involves structural changes in the brain in response to environmental demands

What does flexibility involve?

Refers to the brains ability to adapt based on existing functional capacity

What is experience-expectant plasticity?

Brain maturation dependant on ubiquitous environmental information. Eg exposure to light is necessary for normal development of the visual system

What is experience-dependant plasticity?

Incorporation of unique environmental information

What are critical periods?

Specific time windows when the brain is highly sensitive to environmental stimuli

What do clinical neuropsychologist do?

Clinical neuropsychology examines the relationship between behaviour, emotion, mood and cognition on the one hand and brain function on the other.

What is the MSE used for?

Formally observe, understand and describe a clients behaviour and emotion

What are the components of the MSE?

Appearance and behaviour, mood and affect, speech and language, thought, perception, cognition, insight and judgement

What is demeanor/attitude?

reactions to meeting the clinical (eg eagerness to please, defiance, over familiar, comfortable, rigid, anxious, suspicious, guarded, hostile); social manner (verbal and non verbal behaviour; eye contact; facial expression. Note presence of hallucinatory behaviours (eg talking to self; laughing incongruently

What is mood?

Predominant emotion over days/weeks (eg euthymic (normal/neutral), apathetic, angry, dysphoric, depressed, apprehensive, elated, angry, irritable, euphoric, expansive. Internal emotion state

What is affect?

Current observed emotional state. How emotions are expressed

What is a thought process?

The coherence, organisation and logic of the persons thoughts. We note any signs of disorganised thinking racing thoughts or thought blocking

What is a thought content?

Assess the content of the persons thoughts, including any delusions, obsessions, phobias, or suicidal or homicidal ideation

What is derealisation?

Feeling detached from their surroundings

What is attention?

Is there evidence of redirection/repeating, sustained activity, distractibility

What is insight?

The extent to which a client is aware they are unwell

What is judgment?

Problem solving ability in the context of current psychological state (can be explored by recent decision making). Is problem solving logical and rational?

What are the characteristics of neurodevelopmental disorders (DSM-5)?

Onset in developmental period, Impact on personal, social, academic or occupational functioning, Chronic and lifelong conditions, Impairments can range from very specific to global, Shifts from categorical to dimensional approaches

What are the types of neurodevelopmental disorders (DSM-5)?

Global developmental delay (GDD), Communication disorder, Language disorder, Speech sound disorder, Childhood-onset fluency disorder (stuttering), social (pragmatic) communication disorder Motor disorders, Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), stereotypic movement disorder, tic disorders, Autism spectrum disorder Specific learning disorder (SLD), Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

What is Intellectual development disorder (DD)

Is characterised by deficits in general cognitive abilities, can impact adaptive functioning, personal independence and social responsibility and GDD(<5 years) when expected developmental milestones unmet

What is Specific learning disorder?

Is characterised by difficulties in perceiving/processing information for academic skills- ‘unexpected academic underachievement’

What is Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder ADHD?

Is characterised by inattention or hyperactivity-impulsivity which is inconsistent with age or developmental level, Can overlap with ‘externalising disorders’ in childhood

What are the features of Autism spectrum disorder?

Difficulties in social communication and social interaction Restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour Specifiers used for individual clinical characteristics, severity of symptoms and levels of support

What is DCD?

Is an impairment in coordinated motor skills that manifests as clumsiness, slowness or inaccuracy of performance

What is a Stereotypic movement disorder?

Repetitive, driven, seemingly purposeless motor behaviours Individually patterned ‘signature’ behaviour Specifiers: with or without self injurious behaviour

What is a Tic disorder?

Sudden, rapid, recurrent and nonrhythmic motor movements or vocalisations (eg Tourette’s disorder) Localised uncomfortable sensation prior to a tic

What are Co-morbidities?

Co-occurrence of two or more different disorders

Why is neuroimaging used in Neurodevelopmental disorders?

Reveal structural differences, Map functional connectivity, Track brain development over time or life span, Aid early diagnosis and/or intervention, Link brain-behaviour relationships, Assess and personalize interventions

How are diagnostic assessments completed?

Diagnoses rely on behavioural presentations, Clinical interviews, standardised assessments, behavioural checklists and observations

What is FMRI localising?

A technique used by visual neuroscientists to identify areas in the ventral stream that fulfill a greater role in processing particular categories of stimuli

How is a visual screening conducted?

Screening vision and visual perception, Prior to assessing visuospatial skills, deficits in sensory functioning need to be ruled out as potential causes for abnormalities.

What is Simultanagnosia?

A form of visual agnosia characteristic by an inability to appreciate the overall meaning of a complex picture or stimulus, with preserved perception of isolated elements or details within the stimulus

What are Visual perceptual distortions?

Are distinguished from agnosia’s as patients can identify objects but their visual perception is altered in some fashion

What is Hemi spatial inattention and neglect?

Attention disorder that prevents the patient from attending stimuli on one side Hemi-inattention: involves only one modality, most commonly vision Hemi-neglect: involves more than one sensory modality (eg visual and auditory)

What is two visual stream hypothesis?

Reliance on an allocentric frame of reference where the location of an object in space is defined relative to other objects in space

What is the Two Visual Stream Hypothesis (TVSH) posit?

TVSH postulates that the dorsal stream processes vision for the purposes of directing movements towards objects whilst the ventral stream processes vision for the purposes of perceiving our surroundings.

What is the mailbox task?

Suggests that there are 2 visual pathways – one for perception, which was damaged in DF, and one for action, which was intact in DF. Patients with optic ataxia cannot do the mailbox task

What is are mental rotation tasks?

Are required to perform a series of mental rotation tasks suggesting that she can imagine shapes to some degree.

How do injuries impact the 2 visual pathways perception and action?

Damage to the ventral (perception) but not the dorsal (action) stream resulted in impairments in visual perception whilst damage to the dorsal stream resulted in impairment in the visual control of actions

What are the brain areas involved in movement control?

The basal ganglia which plays role in regulating movement and selecting appropriate actions

What is are the tests for inhibitory control?

The antisaccade task which is a test of inhibitory control in voluntary eye movements (‘saccades’)

What parts of the brain does voluntary eye control depend on?

Voluntary eye movements relying on cerebellum rely on which parts of the brain?

What are mirror neurons?

They are active during both movement preparation and observation, and important for understanding others and in social interaction.

How does the basal ganglia perform their function?

The basal ganglia is active just prior to movement and helps start actions on their own. However, damage affects motivation, and its indirect pathway crucial for learning new actions by using responses based on reward

What do learning sensorimotor skills involve?

Learning sensorimotor skills involves several neural stages, including exploration, selection and refinement

What is Parkinson's and what does it result in?

Parkinson’s disease results from loss of dopamine releasing axons and leads to slow tremor rigidity movements

for Parkinson's and Huntingtons?

Dopamine and gene suppression are the treatment approaches for which 2 conditions?

What is Huntington's disease?

Neurological disorder with variable prevalence across regions; Symptoms: arm jerks, facial twitches, tremors and writhing movementsAssociated with brain damage in basal ganglia and cerebral cortex Leads to increased activity in motor areas of the thalamus

For Huntingtons?

Psychological often come on before neurological indicators, which ones do. Apathy, depression, sleeplessness, memory impairment, anxiety, hallucinations, poor judgment, alcoholism are the signs of which disease

What challenges arise with memory impairments?

Memory impairments - One of three most common cog impairments in brain and mental health conditions, Has a huge impact on everyday function and quality of life, And there is Effective memory rehabilitation/support options are available

The stages of memory are?

They involve Multiple memory systems , Declarative vs procedural memory , Brain networks underpinning memory systems Retrograde vs anterograde memory

Causes or both retrograde and anterograde amnesia is?

Declarative vs procedural memory involves Epilepsy, Traumatic brain injury, Hypoxia, Wernicke Korsakoff’s syndrome, Transient global amnesia, Herpes simplex encephalitis , Stroke , Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), or WHAT is also known as

What is stored in the brain in relations to which memory?

Explicit episodic memory happens with the Medial temporal lobe structures Hippocampus and or rhinal cortices, AND or Diencephalon esp. anterior thalamic nuclei and Prefrontal cortex, ALSO. Remember: Left lesions affect verbal and or Right ones affect non verbal

Executive what dysfunctions are there in episodic declarative memory?

If you're assessing someone, what variables can cause memory to break/not work in test form? Impaired lanuga skills , Impaired visuospatial skills , Attention disability and Generally intellectually disabled

What is memory rehabilitation?

To reduce the functional impact of everyday memory problems , especially episodic and prospective memory difficulties. Is not to improve on performance test

What are other compensators of systematic instruction for the explicit episodic memory?

System Instruction to remember new task or skill Errorless learning (intact procedural, not declarative learning)ChainingSystem InstructionVanishing cues(frequent learning/then removing)

What is cognitive screening, such as Montreal Screening?

Is used to indicate the presence of cog impairment but does NOT replace the comprehensive report from the clinical neuropsych and many screening tools available for clinical research use

If you ask about Mood symptoms what would these look like?

Depressed, loss of pleasure, disruption of normal eating habits, sleeping disturbances and Thoughts of death - mania

So biologically, psychologically and socially speaking what makes mood happen and come out?

Neurochemical/hormonial from HPA system, Genetic and psychological (behaviours and relationships)

As for prevalence of what are often side by side comorbid what symptoms?

The common mental illness, often emergences in adsence , and anxiety

Is it sex/ gender that influences the diagnosis or the effectiveness of treatments?!

Cognitive, emotional processing and hormones, that is where the gap lays!

If you describe this what does this description point to and do?

It means The activity and coordination of the amygdala, vmPFC and hippocampus correlates with how well mice and people can suppress their anxiety

How are psychological therapies different than physical/drug methods?

Medication (dopamine, for ex) is assumed to targeted, or in cases are these not biological? And these might directly underpin these for behaviour

What are the clinical indications of the mental disorder schizophrenia if you were to look at it in the DSM?

Its a multifaceted psychiatric and DSM 5 has a list to see if a person cant see what is real to what isnt

And the features of these mental/functional disabilities?

Positive= fixed delusions Negative= blunted emotions as social and work disability.

When looking at the structure of the brain for what mental disorder you've been discussing what would you discover?

You say it means Brain with more individual variation as individual (reduced gray white and cerebellum)