Updated SPA 6417 Midterm Study Guide

Domains of Cognition

Attention, orientation, memory, executive function, social cognition

Communication

exchange of ideas that include the necessity of cognitive processes

Developmental Disorders

Down Syndrome, ASD, Angelman, Rett, ADHD

Acquired non-progressive

CVA, TBI, Brain Tumors

Acquired progressive

Dementia, Parkinson's, ALS

Synapse

Space between neurons where neurotransmitters are transmitted

Excitatory

neuron fires

Inhibitory

Neuron stops firing

Cerebrum

right/left, lobes

Brainstem

midbrain, pons, medulla

Cerebellum

balance and coordination and motor control

subcortical structures

basal ganglia, thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala

gyri

ridge

sucli

grooves

fissure

deep groove

white matter

made of axons and make up pathways of information transmition throughout the brain into spinal cord

Association fibers

connect cortical structures within the same hemisphere

Commissural fibers

connect cortical structures across hemispheres

Projection fibers

connect the brain to the subcortical structures and spinal cord

Afferent

sensory, ascending

Efferent

motor, descending

Protects CNS

Skull, dura matter, arachnoid matter and subarachnoid space, pia matter

Blood Supply

Internal carotid arteries and vertebral arteries and anterior and posterior communicating arteries

Internal Carotid Arteries

Anterior CA and Middle CA

Vertebral Arteries

Posterior CA

Declarative memory

Explicit knowledge, thoughts you can think of with no correlation to your current state

Non-declarative memory

Implicit memory, more context dependent

Types of declarative memory

Episodic, semantic, metamemory, prospective memory

Types of non-declarative memory

procedural, emotional associations, priming

Episodic memory

storage of memory tagged in time/place

Semantic memory

facts/concepts

metamemory

awareness about one's own memory

prospective memory

remembering to initiate future intentions

procedural memory

acquisition of rules, sequences

emotional associations

association of feelings

priming

increased probability of producing a response because of having previously produced it

How is memory encoded

encoding > consolidation > storage > retrieval

Frontal lobe (memory)

involves encoding and retrieval of memories, central executive, working memory, and buffering

Rostral prefrontal cortex (memory)

prospective memory

Parietal lobe (memory)- primarily right hemi

visual memory, visuospatial sketchpad

Lateral temporal lobe (memory)- primarily left hemi

verbal memory and phonological loop (aka short-term memory for sounds)

Medial temporal lobe (memory)- hippocampus, amygdala, surrounding areas

consolidation. long-term explicit

Basal ganglia (memory)

Procedural memory (implicit)

Executive functions

higher order thinking processes that include planning, organizing, inhibition, decision-making and others

Higher order functions

reasoning, planning, organization, problem-solving, metacognition, working memory, self regulation

other EF

foresight, sequencing, strategy use, abstract thinking

Cognitive flexibility

needs inhibitory control

self-regulation (inhibitory control)

capacity can increase with practice and is replenishable. depletion can result is outbursts/lack of control

Working memory

utilizes memories for executive functions

social cognition

identify and interpret social signals

-recognize emotions, empathy, theory of mind

self-awareness

a deficit in insight/awareness is one manifestation of deficits in metacognition

Awareness

intellectual awareness (knowing challenge exists)

Online awareness (recognize challenge as it's happening)

Apathy

disinterest, disengagement, lack of motivation, or emotional responsivity

Anosognosia

cognitive unawareness of disability

Automatic Processing

unconscious tasks, fast and require little to no control

Controlled Processing

slow, effortful, and requires attentional resources and executive control

Memory Key Point

-cannot recall what we don't understand

-must practice retrieval when stakes are low

-the way we encode matters

-link new info with old

- poor attention = poor encoding

Executive Functioning located in

Prefrontal cortex

How do we assess for orientation

A&OX3

Person, Place, Time

Prefrontal cortex (attention)

selective attention, attentional control

Parietal lobe (attention)

attention- spacial

Thalamus (attention)

alertness

Brainstem (attention)

arousal/orienting to stimuli

Reticular activating system

regulates arousal

Superior colliculus

orients to salient VISUAL stimuli

Inferior colliculus

orients to salient AUDITORY stimuli

What directs attention?

Internal and External stimuli

Sustained attention

"reading a book" "watching a movie"

Selective attention

involves inhibition- "cocktail party" "reading something while someone is yelling at you"

Alternating attention

"cooking a new recipe" "taking data while actively running a program"

Divided attention

under debate, two things simultaneously

"singing along to music while driving"

Bottom-up attention

-reflexive and stimulus bound

-processing speed

-automatic orientation

-overall attentional capacity

Top-down attention

-internally generated, used to allocate attention processes

-sustained attention or vigilance

-attentional control (selective, alternating, dividing)

WHO-ICF parts

Diagnosis, body structures/functions, activity limitations, participation limitations, environment factors, personal factors

ICF

internation Classification of Functioning

ICD

International Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems

Body functions and structures- WHO-ICF

describes actual anatomy/physiology/psychology of human body

Activity and Participation- WHO-ICF

describes the person's functional status, including communication, mobility, interpersonal interactions, learning, self-care, applying knowledge, etc.

Resource theory (RAM)

How much can you have open at one time before you start lagging. We have finite about of RAM and as you age it shrinks- making complex tasks more difficult.

Speed of processing theory

- could be more productive if your processor was faster

- So, if the ability to handle information slows down, or takes too long, it affects your ability to complete more complex and longer tasks.

How is sensory function affected with normal aging?

-hearing (degradation of hair cells, declines in auditory processing, worse with complex signals)

-vision (decreases in amount of light entering and reflecting off retina, increased susceptibility to glare, decreased peripheral processing, reduced accommodation of the lens leading presbyopia- farsightedness)

How does typical aging effect attention?

-sustained attention is unaffected by aging but can be by external factors (fatigue, motivation, interest)

-selective attention can be affected slightly but not much evidence (cuing helps)

-alternating attention can change drastically as you age

-divided attention is more difficult with age especially if complexity of tasks increases, practice can help reduce these differences

How does typical aging effect memory?

-procedural memory is well preserved throughout the lifespan

-semantic memory remains fairly stable

-episodic memory declines with age

-biggest difference is within free recall