Neuropsychology Chapters 11-16 Practice Flashcards

240 vocabulary flashcards covering Chapters 11 to 16 based on neuropsychology lecture multiple-choice questions.

Lateralized Function

A brain function performed most efficiently by one hemisphere of the brain.

Left-Ear Advantage

A perceptual asymmetry demonstrated on dichotic listening tests using environmental sounds.

Right Hemisphere Functional Assessment Deficit

Difficulty in evaluating right hemisphere function following left hemisphere damage, occurring because damage to speech production impairs the patient's ability to act as an informant.

Melodies Identification Asymmetry

Demonstrates a left-ear advantage during dichotic listening tasks.

Tachistoscope

A device used to present visual images individually to each hemisphere.

Geometric Pattern Configuration Task

A task requiring a subject to analyze the configuration of multiple simultaneously presented geometric patterns, leading to increased blood flow preferentially in the right hemisphere.

Left Hemisphere Planum Temporale

An anatomical feature generally larger in the human left hemisphere relative to the right hemisphere.

Commissurotomy

A surgical procedure that typically refers to the severing of the corpus callosum.

Wada Test Dry Run

A preliminary procedure performed to determine a baseline of functioning for comparison.

Left Hemisphere Damage Outcome

Brain injury to the left hemisphere that most directly results in a decline in verbal ability.

Left Temporal Lobe Tumor Removal Deficit

A surgical outcome resulting primarily in postsurgery deficits in speech production.

Right Carotid Artery Anesthetic Injection

An injection that causes flaccid paralysis in the contralateral arm within a few seconds.

Specialization Models of Hemispheric Function

Theoretical models positing nonoverlapping information-processing roles for each hemisphere.

Split-Brain Tactile Asymmetry Task

A task where split-brain patients clearly demonstrate cerebral asymmetry when asked to touch and identify objects.

Chimeric Stimuli Recognition

The tendency of commissurotomy patients studied by Levy and coworkers to recognize only the face flashed to the left visual field.

Rapid Stimuli Sequence Processing

According to Kimura and others, the production and analysis of rapidly occurring sequences of stimuli is a specialized function of the left hemisphere.

Planum Temporale Damage Deficit

Neurosurgical damage localized to this structure produces a marked difference in verbal comprehension.

Tactile Performance in Blindfolded Subjects

Using only touch, blindfolded subjects perform better with the left hand at both Braille reading and object recognition.

Left Hand Object Tactile Identification in Commissurotomy

When an object like a key is placed out of sight in the left hand of a commissurotomy patient, she recognizes the object by shape but cannot identify it verbally.

Primary Motor Cortex vs. Right Hemisphere Stimulation

Stimulation of the primary motor cortex demonstrates cerebral symmetry of localized movements, whereas stimulation of the right hemisphere exhibits cerebral asymmetry of perceptual functions.

Double Dissociation

The most convincing experimental design for demonstrating the localization of a particular function to a specific brain region.

Functional Asymmetry Magnitude

The principle that the largest functional differences are found between cerebral sites rather than cerebral sides.

Interaction Models

Models supported by the ability of the right hemisphere to support language functions following left hemisphere damage.

Automatic Speech in Broca's Area

A form of speech during which neural activity in Broca's area unexpectedly does not increase.

Right Temporal Lobe Stimulation

Electric stimulation of this cortex in a conscious patient can initiate déjà vu experiences.

Right Temporal Lobe Deficit Profile

A profile of deficits primarily in nonverbal recall and the copying of drawings following brain injury.

Conscious Brain Stimulation Purpose

A procedure used by researchers to identify the localization of function within the cortex.

Split-Brain Verbal Visual Presentation

To allow a split-brain patient to verbally identify an image, the image must be presented to the right visual field.

Frontal Lobe Asymmetry Parallel

An anatomical asymmetry matching that found in the temporal lobes, demonstrating the localization of language.

Language Area Asymmetry

The brain domain in which the most pronounced anatomical asymmetries are observed.

Intact Individual Asymmetry Detection

Hemispheric differences in cognitive ability in intact individuals detected by measuring differences in processing efficiency, self-reports of cognitive strategies, and galvanic skin response.

Right-Handed Right-Hemisphere Language Percentage

The proportion of right-handed individuals with speech lateralized to the right hemisphere, estimated by Milner and colleagues at about 2%.

Lateralization Test Interpretation Caution

Results must be interpreted with care because test outcomes can be affected by cognitive strategies.

Right-Hemisphere Language Anesthetization Cause

Localization of language in the right hemisphere shown during sodium amobarbital testing can be explained by a early brain lesion to the left temporal lobe.

Surgical Hemispheric Disconnection

Cutting the corpus callosum and commissures as a last-resort treatment for severe epilepsy.

Laterality Influencing Factors

Human laterality of function is influenced by genetics, gender, and handedness, but NOT height.

Brain Stimulation Inhibitory Functioning

Inhibitory effects of brain stimulation are difficult to observe while the patient is passive and quiet.

Frontal Operculum Research Focus

Future research on left and right frontal operculum neural asymmetry should focus on expanding areas within the brain to observe for potential neural asymmetry.

Noninvasive Typical Brain Investigation

An advantage of noninvasive brain investigation that allows for inferences unaffected by brain damage.

Split-Brain Consciousness Controversy

Research regarding split consciousness requiring replication studies verifying or refuting a split awareness of the world.

Human Chromosome Pairs

Human body cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes.

Testosterone and Map-Reading Abilities

Map-reading abilities in men are expected to be best in the morning when testosterone levels are high.

Early Deafness Auditory Processing Changes

Along with Heschl's gyrus and the planum temporale, early deafness impacts Wernicke's area.

Left-Handedness Writing Criterion

Using writing as the criterion, approximately 10% of the population is left-handed.

Adult Experience-Dependent Plasticity

According to Juraska, gender-specific cortical plasticity in adulthood is differentially affected by perinatal exposure to gonadal hormones.

Estrogen and Spatial Ability in Rats

In female rats, high levels of estrogen are associated with decreased spatial ability.

Facial Expression Sensitivity

A perceptual test finding showing that women are more sensitive to facial expressions than men.

Monozygotic Twin Brain Similarity

Monozygotic twins show the greatest degree of anatomical similarity in left-hemisphere language areas.

Early-Maturing Adolescent Abilities

According to Waber, early-maturing adolescents perform better on tests of verbal abilities than on tests of spatial abilities.

Female Brain Structural Features

Female brains favor larger medial paralimbic areas, larger lateral frontal areas, and greater relative gray matter, but NOT larger overall white matter volume.

Female Interhemispheric Connectivity

DTI studies reveal that females have a greater degree of interhemispheric connectivity relative to males.

Map Route Learning Landmark Superiority

Females outperform males in locating landmarks along a map route, illustrating that spatial memory relies on different abilities than those involved in mental rotation.

Annett's Recessive rs Gene Theory

Proposes no bias for either hemisphere among individuals homozygous for the recessive form of the rs gene.

Early Deafness Cerebral Reorganization

Individuals with early deafness exhibit reduced gray matter volume in Wernicke's area.

Older Adult Cognitive Enhancement

Older males and females may benefit cognitively from the administration of gonadal hormones.

Right-Hemisphere Lesions Performance IQ

According to Inglis and Lawson, right-hemisphere lesions impair performance IQ more in men than in women.

Male Neuronal Density

Compared with females, males have more neurons.

Horizontal Sylvian Fissure Size

The horizontal component of the Sylvian fissure is larger in males.

Aggressive Social Play Hormone Correlate

Aggressive social play in children is associated with high levels of in utero testosterone.

Sex Differences in Spatial Functions

Although males are better at spatial navigation, females are better at spatial memory.

Sensory Stimuli Sensitivity Exception

Females show greater sensitivity to sensory stimuli overall, with the exception of vision.

Twin Gray Matter Similarity Pattern

MZ twins have the greatest similarities in left-hemisphere language areas.

Female Verbal Fluency

On average, women demonstrate a level of verbal fluency that is better than that of men.

Lateral Fissure Angle Differences

Interhemispheric differences in the angle of the lateral (Sylvian) fissure are greatest in right-handed individuals.

Heschl's Gyrus in Chinese Speakers

Greater gray and white matter density in Heschl's gyrus in Chinese speakers is associated with pitch perception.

Environmental Handedness Theories

Handedness explanations that emphasize usefulness or conditioning.

Wernicke's Area Neuronal Complexity

Postmortem studies demonstrate a correlation between educational attainment and neuronal complexity in Wernicke's area.

Paralimbic Sex Differences

According to Goldstein and colleagues, sex-dependent structural brain differences are greatest in paralimbic regions.

Chicago Word Fluency Sex Difference

A test on which females are expected to achieve higher scores than males.

Weight-Adjusted Male Brain Neurons

Adjusted for body weight, male brains contain more neurons than female brains.

Anatomical Asymmetries Correlation Focus

Anatomical asymmetries show a stronger correlation with language than with handedness.

Early Left Hemisphere Injury Shift

In early left-hemisphere brain injury (after 1 year of age), girls are more likely to experience a language shift to the right hemisphere.

Fetal Testosterone Handedness Hypothesis

Theory proposing that fetal testosterone inhibits the development of the left hemisphere in males.

Handedness Preference Onset

Handedness preferences begin to develop as early as 8 weeks post conception.

Male Testosterone and Spatial Cognition

In males, low testosterone levels are correlated with higher scores on tests of spatial cognition.

Apraxia Lesion Site Sex Differences

According to Kimura, apraxia is associated with left frontal damage in women and left posterior damage in men.

Male Cortical MRI Signal Intensity

The MRI signal intensity distribution in the cortex of males is less uniform than that of females.

Right-Handed Left Hemisphere Blood Volume

Right-handed individuals typically have a larger blood volume in the left hemisphere.

Testosterone Non-Associated Function

Testosterone is associated with cerebral organization, cognitive abilities, and immune integrity, but NOT inhibitory control of the left hemisphere.

Early Neglect Adopted Age Threshold

Diminished prefrontal gray matter volume occurs in early neglected children even if adopted at roughly 6 months of age.

Superior Temporal Sulcus Neurons

A brain area characterized by significant numbers of polysensory neurons.

Patient D.F. Visuomotor Ability

Able to guide hand movements for grasping despite visual impairment because her lesion was in the ventral stream.

Biological Motion Neurons

Neurons in the superior temporal sulcus that fire specifically during the perception of biologically relevant motion.

V1 Layered Architecture

The multi-layered structure of primary visual cortex supports its multiple functions of color, form, and motion perception.

Prefrontal Cortex Visual Deficit

Prefrontal cortical damage affects vision by producing deficits in connecting working memory to object recognition.

Color Processing Localization

Color processing is challenging to pinpoint because it occurs across multiple locations including V1, V2, V4, and the ventral stream.

Left Homonymous Hemianopia Sparing

Patients with left homonymous hemianopia often display sparing of left-field vision from the fovea in both eyes.

V1 Lesion Capabilities

Patients with V1 lesions may still be able to see movement but cannot visualize the world around them.

Blindsight Mechanism

A condition resulting from cortical blindness where a patient is consciously unaware of seeing yet accurately responds to visual stimuli.

Monkey Posterior Parietal Visual Response

Neurons in the monkey posterior parietal lobe respond to visual stimuli only if the monkey reaches for the stimulus.

Ventral Visual Stream Function

Visual object recognition is most specifically a function of processing in the ventral stream.

V5 Direct Parietal Projection

In the Milner-Goodale model, area V5 projects directly to parietal visual areas.

Lateral Intraparietal Sulcus Lesion

A dorsal stream lesion causing difficulty processing movement due to trouble controlling voluntary eye movements.

Dorsal Stream Lesion Action Conversion

Dorsal stream lesions may preserve movement execution if the damaged area converts visual information for movement rather than controlling movement directly.

Object Identification and Mental Rotation Bilateral Activity

fMRI data from Wilson and Farah show object identification and mental rotation involve activity in both the left and right hemispheres.

Optic Ataxia

An inability to use visual information to guide voluntary movement.

Alexia

Considered to be object agnosia specifically for letters and words.

Facial Feature Visual Attention

When analyzing facial features, visual attention is directed more toward the left visual field.

Blobs vs. Thick Stripes

In visual cortical architecture, blobs are dedicated to color perception, while thick stripes are dedicated to form perception.

Unilateral Visual Impairment Check

Before testing visual color impairment, a doctor must determine whether the impairment is limited to one eye.