Exam 1: Neuropsychology (The Nervous System + Parts of the Brain)

central nervous system

consists of brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

consists of somatic and autonomic nervous system

autonomic nervous system

in the peripheral NS, vital functions like heartbeat, breathing, and digestion

somatic nervous sytem

in the peripheral NS, voluntary functions like muscles and senses

sympathetic nervous system

in the autonomic NS. fight or flight, emergency state, uses energy

parasympathetic nervous system

in the automatic NS. rest and digest, calm state, relaxing, digestion

three parts of the brain

hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain

hindbrain

oldest. responsible for movements. medulla, pons, cerebellum

medulla

heartbeat and breathing. located in hindbrain

pons

arousal, attention, facial expression coordination, and sometimes sleep. located in hindbrain

cerebellum

fine motor movements and balance. located in hindbrain 

neuroplasticity

parts of brain can take over functions of other parts

when forebrain and midbrain are removed from a cat 

cat can move limbs, but are flailing. cannot put movement into act or coordinate movements with meaning

midbrain 

second oldest. puts movement into actions and controls whole body responses. superior colliculus and substantia nigra

superior colliculus

visual stimulus. orients eyes and attention towards something. located in midbrain

blindsight

cortical blind patients can “see” using their superior colliculus 

substantia nigra

makes dopamine and sends it to the basal ganglia in the forebran. located in midbrain

when forebrain is removed from a cat

cat can act and put movements together, but has no purpose

the forebrain

newest. makes movements have purpose. thalamus, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, and limbic system

thalamus

sends sensory and motor information to certain parts of brain. located in forebrain

hypothalamus

controls responses to basic needs (motivation). involves four F’s, regulates temperature, etc. located in forebrain

the four F’s of the hypothalamus

flight, flee, feed, and sexual functioning

when the hypothalamus is removed from a rat

cannot regulate hunger, so it doesn’t stop eating and gets fat

basal ganglia

regulates muscle contractions for smooth voluntary movement. uses dopamine from substantia nigra. muscles are inhibited, and BG disinhibits for you to move. located in forebrain

parkinson’s disease

substantia nigra cells die and cannot produce dopamine. basal ganglia is not getting enough dopamine. causes tremors, and slow movements

limbic system

memory and emotion. consists of hippocampus and amygdala. located in forebrain

hippocampus

memory. part of limbic system in forebrain

amygdala

emotion. part of limbic system in forebrain

loss of amygdala example: classical conditioning with slides of different colors, blue is paired with a loud noise 

does not get scared of blue slide but remembers why they should be scared

loss of hippocampus example: classical conditioning with slides of different colors, blue is paired with a loud noise

fear is response of the blue slide, but does not remember why they are scared

when cortex is removed from a cat

since hind, mid, and forebrain are still intact, cat can move, act and put movements together with purpose but is clumsy because cortex controls fine motor movements

cortex

outermost part of brain and controls fine motor movements

classical conditioning example

ivan pavlovs dog experiment consisting of salivating to a bell. 

unconditioned stimulus in pavlov experiment 

food 

unconditioned response in pavlov experiment

salivation (response to food)

conditioned stimulus in pavlov experiment

bell ring

conditioned response in pavlov experiment

salivation (response to bell)

cerebral cortex

higher intellectual functioning (language, planning, thoughts). consists of frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe

frontal lobe

in cerebral cortex. planning, social behavior, and motor control. broca’s area and motor cortex

parietal lobe

in cerebral cortex. sense of touch. somatosensory cortex

occipital lobe

in cerebral cortex. vision. primary visual cortex

temporal lobe

in cerebral cortex. language comprehension and memory. wernicke’s area and primary auditory cortex

corpus callosum

connects right and left hemipshere (commisure) and communicates from one hemisphere to the other

the left hemisphere controls what side of body?

the right side of the body 

the right hemisphere controls what side of the body?

the left side of the body

franz joseph gall real discoveries

1. cortex is a functioning tissue, not just protective covering

2. there’s other commisures besides corpus

3. crossing of ascending nerve pathways to contralateral hemispheres

4. grey matter and white matter

grey matter

discovered by franz joseph gall. non myelinated, for information processing

white matter

discovered by franz joseph gall. myelinated axons for sending signals

franz joseph gall phrenology - TRUE

1. brain is an intrument where mind holds interactions with outer world

2. mind has jumbled collections of faculties that have their own specific center

franz joseph gall phrenology - FALSE

1. size of each organ = functional efficiency of each ability

2. development of each organ is reflected in shape, size and irregularities of skull

phineas gage

iron rod went through frontal lobe. changed personality (is now impulsive). helped improve localization of brain functions

wilder penfield

found certain regions of body were in different regions of the brain. drew the homunculus

cortical functions - left hemispheere

language function - broca’s and wernicke’s

cortical function - right hemisphere

spatial functions (reading maps, etc)

cortical function - front part of brain

expression, making plans, and initiating actions

cortical function - back part of brain

receiving information, perceptions, and interpretations

damage to association areas

prefrontal, apraxia, agnosia, neglect

prefrontal damage

lose ability to plan, no moral reasoning, lose ability to initiate action

apraxia

inability to put movements together. can’t organize in sequence

agnosia

doesn’t understand what’s being perceived. includes auditory and visual agnosia

auditory agnosia

can’t identify what sound they heard

visual agnosia

can describe visual input but not know what it means 

neglect 

damage to right hemisphere. complete inattention to left side of body 

broca’s aphasia

damage to broca’s area. cannot produce speech, but can comprehend

wernicke’s aphasia

damage to wernicke’s area. cannot comprehend speech. can produce speech but makes no sense.