Neuropsychology and Brain Function: Historical Theories and Structures

What is pre-history?

The time before we recorded history through writing.

What is trephination?

Drilling holes in the skull.

What did Hippocrates conclude about behavior?

The brain controls behavior.

What did Aristotle believe about the origin of behavior?

The heart was the place where behavior originated.

What is the humor theory?

The balance of four fluids impacts actions: blood (hopeful), black bile (depression), yellow bile (quickly angered), phlegm (calm).

What is the ventricular theory?

Associating certain behaviors with certain parts of the body.

Who was Galen?

A surgeon for gladiators who noticed brain damage results in impaired behavior.

What did Descartes support?

Dualism, the concept that the mind is immaterial and the brain is physical.

What is materialism?

The belief that everything that exists is physical, denying an immaterial mind.

What is monism?

The belief that the mind and brain are identical and have the same source.

What did Franz Joseph Gall and Johann Casper Spurzheim propose?

They localized traits to specific parts of the brain, known as phrenology.

What did Broca and Wernicke discover?

Damage to specific brain areas affects language interpretation (Wernicke) and speech production (Broca).

What is equipotentiality?

Intact areas of the brain can take over functions of damaged areas.

What did Karl Lashley conclude from his experiments?

Deficits are proportional to lesion size, not location, indicating complex functions like memory are distributed.

What is mass action?

The efficiency of the brain depends on the total mass of the cortex.

What did John Hughlings-Jackson claim?

Lower levels of the brain control basic functions, while higher levels control complex functions.

Who was Alexander Romanovich Luria?

The first primary neuropsychologist who identified three units within the brain.

What is the central nervous system?

It controls the interpretation and response to stimuli.

What is the peripheral nervous system?

It covers the collection of external and internal sensory information.

What is the difference between afferent and efferent nerves?

Afferent nerves interpret stimuli going towards the brain; efferent nerves send responses away from the brain.

What does the sympathetic nervous system do?

It prepares the body for fight or flight.

What does the parasympathetic nervous system do?

It controls rest and digest functions.

What do the terms anterior and posterior refer to?

Anterior means forwards (rostral), and posterior means backwards (caudal).

What do the terms ventral and dorsal refer to?

Ventral means downwards (towards the stomach), and dorsal means upwards (towards the back).

What is Neuropsychology?

The study of the relationship between the structure of the brain and behavior.

What is trephination or trepanning?

Drilling holes into the skull to relieve pressure on the brain.

What theory did Hippocrates hold about behavior?

Hippocrates claimed that behavior was the result of the brain.

What theory did Aristotle hold about behavior?

Aristotle claimed that behavior came from the heart.

What is Humor theory?

The body has 4 different liquids that dictate mood.

What is Ventricular Theory?

Associating certain behaviors to be controlled by other body parts.

What was Galen's knowledge of anatomy based on?

Studying apes and Roman gladiators.

Why did knowledge of anatomy not advance until 14 centuries post-Galen?

Religious beliefs prevented dissection of dead bodies.

How did Andreas Vesalius improve upon Galen's knowledge?

He gained permission to dissect criminals.

What is phrenology?

Studying the bumps of the brain and connecting them to behavior and personality traits.

Who were the first two men associated with localization of function in pseudoscience?

Franz Joseph Gall and Johann Casper Spurzheim.

Who provided scientific evidence for localization of function?

Broca and Wernicke.

What led Flourens to hold the view of equipotentiality?

He observed recovery of movement after damaging specific parts of an animal's brain.

What view did Hughlings Jackson have regarding the organization of the nervous system?

Lower-level functions are located near the back, higher-level functions near the front.

What was Luria's view on the organization of the nervous system?

He separated it into three parts: autonomic functions, information processing, and specific actions.

What comprises the central nervous system?

The brain and spinal cord.

What is the difference between the somatic and autonomic nervous system?

Somatic is voluntary responses; autonomic is involuntary responses.

What is the difference between efferent and afferent fibers?

Afferent sends signals to the brain; efferent carries signals from the brain to the body.

What does dorsal mean?

Upwards, towards the back.

What does ventral mean?

Downwards, towards the stomach.

What does rostral mean?

Forwards, towards the nose.

What does caudal mean?

Backwards, towards the back.

What does medial mean?

In the middle, inwards.

What does lateral mean?

To the side, outwards.

What does superior mean?

Upwards, towards the head.

What does inferior mean?

Downwards, towards the feet.

What does anterior mean?

Front side of the body.

What does posterior mean?

Towards the back side of the body.

What is the sagittal plane of section?

Separating the two hemispheres of the brain.

What is the coronal plane of section?

A vertical section at the front of the brain.