Neuro 14: Higher Cortical Functions and Aging

what are the 3 higher cortical functions?

cognition, learning/memory, language

cognition

mental process of knowing, reasoning etc

perception

how we recognize and interpret sensory information

perception is based on ______

memory

attention and consciousness

focusing on certain sensory information while filtering out others

explicit/declarative memory

memory of facts and events

implicit/non-declarative memory

skills or conditioned and emotional response

short term memory increases the alteration of ______ _______ ______.

pre-existing synaptic connections

primary site of short term memory

hippocampus

in order for items to go from STM to LTM there must be . . .

growth of new synaptic connections, increased gene expression, protein synthesis

brocas area is located where?

junction of frontal and temporal lobe of the left hemisphere

bracas area

responsible for speech production

wernickes area

responsible for speech comprehension

wernickes area is located where?

posterior parietal temporal region

____ and _____ are done in the L hemisphere

speech and language

______ content of speech is in the right hemisphere

emotional

dominant hemisphere is usually concerned with _____ and _____

language and logic

non dominant hemisphere is concerned with _____and _____ skills

emotion, artistic

left brain does _____

logic

right brain is more ______

creative

limbic system regulates _____ and _____ function regarding emotional stimuli.

autonomic, endocrine

why is teh limbic system crucial to memory?

because it sets the level of arousal involved with motivation and reinforcing behaviors

amygdala coordinates behavioral, autonomic, and ______ responses to environmental stimuli.

endocrine

amygdala produces what emotions

fear, anxiety, rage

hippocampus fxn

memory encoding and retrieval,

T/F: lesions of the hippocampus affect old memories

F

hypothalamus

homeostasis

prefrontal cortex is found just anterior to the ______ cortex

premotor

Kluver-Bucy Syndrome

loss/dysfunction of anterior temporal lobe (amygdala/hippocampus)

causes of klavern bucy syndrome

encephalitis, surgical lesion, epilepsy, alzheimers

2 things that can occur becuase of Kluver - Bury syndrome

physic blindness, hypermetamorphosis

physic blindness

- inability to recognize objects even with visual acuity

hyper metamorphosis

reaching for something even if it is associated with negativity in the past

Korsakoff’s syndrome

profound memory loss, easily confused due to chronic alcohol use

Korsakoff’s syndrome can be cause by what?

chronic alcoholism and thiamine (B1) deficiency - damages maxillary bodies and dorsomedial nucleus of thalamus

damage to prefrontal area is affected by _____, having a ____ disorder and produces difficulties with reasoning

alcohol, mental

why does the brain decrease in weight by 18% after the age of 55?

shrinkage of large sized neurons NOT DUE TO CELL LOSS

Alzheimers can be characterized by excessive ____ _____

neuron depletion

there are degenerative changes in dendrites of pyramidal neurons. this results in reduction in what things?

dexterity, agility, cognition

decrease in neurotransmitter concentration

disruption in synthesis/degradation, storage, transport and release receptor abilities

what is one reason of increased incidence of depression in the elderly

reduction in norepinephrine and seratonin

lipofuscin

yellow pigment made of oxidized indigestible cell waste

lipofuscin gets congested as we age and interfere with ______

breakdown

lipofuscin is most notable in ____ systems

motor

neuritic plaque

abnormal extracellular deposits seen in the brain, spherical lesions predominantly in grey matter

neuritic plaques are composed of what

b amyloid protein and damaged neurites

where do neuritic plaques first appear?

hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus

what is very common in alxheimers brain but is also present in all people over 80 yo?

neuritic plaques

neurofibrillary tangles

insoluble protein tangles that are abundant in people with Alzheimers!!!

_____ _____ lead to death of the neuron

neurofibrillary tangles

dementia is enough cognitive deterioration that is severe enough to compromise _____ or ____ performance.

social, occupational

T/F: alzheimers is NOT a process of accelerated brain aging

T

those with alzheimers see a _____ in blood flow to the brain

decrease

brain atrophy is a result of neuron death caused by 3 things

beta amyloid deposits, neurofibrillary tangles, and decrease in brain weight

lateral and third ventricles ____ up to 2x normal size in advanced AD

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