How are mental processes and behaviour influenced by the brain?

U1AOS2

hindbrain

supports vital body processes such as breathing and sleep

cerebellum

coordinates fine muscle movement, regulates balance, posture, essential for smooth and precise movements

damage to cerebellum

issues with balance, detecting visual motion, loss of muscle coordination

medulla oblongata location

base of brain where brainstem attaches to spinal cord

medulla oblongata

control autonomic bodily functions such as heart rate, breathing, salivating, blood pressure, vomiting, swallowing

midbrain

auditory and visual processing, motor control, sleep, alertness, temperature regulation

location of midbrain

center of brain, sits at topmost part of brainstem

structures in the midbrain

substantia nigra, reticular formation

substantia nigra

largest dopamine producing neuron collection

movement and coordination

part of basal ganglia

related to parkinson's disease

role of substantia nigra

maintaining arousal, consciousness, and motor control

forebrain

regulates complex brain activity, learning, memory, thinking and perception

structures in forebrain

hypothalamus, cerebrum, thalamus

role of the hypothalamus

regulates survival actions of the body such as temp. expression of emotion, sleep

damage to hypothalamus

issues with controlling temperature, sleeping problems, continuing to feel hungry after eating

cerebrum

contains two cerebral hemispheres connected by the corpus collosum

structures in the hindbrain

cerebellum, medulla oblongata, pons

pons

sleeping, dreaming, arousal from sleep, breathing, muscle coordination, relays messages to midbrain and forebrain

reticular formation

network of neurons which runs through from the hindbrain up to the forebrain

role of reticular formaiton

alerts other parts of the brain to important info, maintains consciousness

thalamus

receives incoming sensory info and relays it to cerebral cortex for processing
filters sensory info
individuals with ADHD have abnormalities with their thalamus

brain heart debate

questions whether our brain or heart is the source of our thoughts, feelings and behavior
empedocles said heart, alcmaeon said brain

mind body problem

questions whether the mind and body are separate entities or the same

dualism

discartes, states the mind and body are two different things

the mind is a non physical spiritual entity, wheras the body is a physical fleshy structure

mind can affect body vice versa

phrenology

the study of the shape of the skull as an indicator of the extent of one’s mental faculties and character traits

brain experiments

dominated by use of ablation, lesioning, or electrical stimulation of the brain to observe the effects on behavior
enhanced understanding of specialised functions of hemispheres

ablation

surgical removal or destruction of tissue by lesioning or using electrodes

lesioning

the creation of small areas of damage in the brain called lesions

equipotentiality

states that healthy areas of the cortex can take over the function of injured areas

mass action

states that complex functions are carried out by large areas of the brain that function as a whole, and the function impairment will depend on the amount of tissue lost if injured

neuroimaging techniques

captures an image of the brain
participants often asked to think, feel or behave in a certain way so a concurrent image can be taken
structural and functional

structural neuroimaging

MRI, CT, obtains images of anatomy

functional neuroimaging

PET, fMRI, views brain live during a response and provides info of function and structure

CT

combination of x ray images from different angles, patients may inject a contrast or dye to make certain structures more visible

what CT can be used for

locate brain tumors, observe changes in brain

MRI

uses magnetic field to activate atoms in the brain
images provided are more detailed and clearer than CT

how MRI is used

can be used to identify more subtle abnormalities such as signs of stroke

PET

colour coded images of the brain working

patients injected with glucose with a radioactive tracer where more activity is more blood flow and more glucose used

fMRI

measures oxygen consumption, more active means more oxygen
no radioactive tracers needed to more safe for patients
red high blue low
more detailed and accurate than PET, preferred in research

areas of the hemispheres

sensory, motor, association

hemispheres

have contralateral function however show specialisation or greater control in various functions

left hemiisphere

verbal functions, language, time sequencing, analytical processing

right hemisphere

non verbal functions, spatial thinking such as map reading, recognising faces, patterns, appreciating art, creativity

lobes

frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital

frontal lobe

coordinates many functions of other lobes, responsible for planning and initiating voluntary bodily movements, broca’s area, primary motor cortex

broca’s area

production of articulate speech, coordinates messages to lips, jaw

parietal

receives and processes somatosensory info including touch and temp from skin, info about muscle movement, primary somatosensory cortex

homunculus

represents body parts in terms of relative size of area it occupies on somatosensory cortex, sensitive areas such as fingertips are given more space

occipital

vision, primary visual cortex

temporal

auditory perception, role in memory and aspects of vision such as identifying objects and recognising faces, each lobe receives and processes sounds from both ears, wernickes area, auditory cortex

wernickes area

comprehension and interpretation of human speech

synapse

gap between neurons, the site of neuroplasticity

neuroplasticity

the ability of the brain to change and adapt over time through experiences and learnt behaviors

factors influencing brain plasticity

drugs can alter synaptic connections

functional plasticity

sprouting, rerouting, reassignment

sprouting

growing new connections from neurons, the connection is there but it isn’t strong so sprouting makes them stronger

rerouting

undamaged neuron loses connection to a damaged one, so it actively seeks a new connection with another functional neuron

reassignment

functions performed by certain areas of the brain can be assigned to other undamaged areas to compensate

difference between reassignment and rerouting

reassignment is whole area, rerouting is a neuron

neurogenesis

that neuroplasticity is the process of creating new neurons

epilepsy

sudden surges/bursts of brain activity causing seizures, can be age limited with seizures eventually stopping

generalised seizures

occur in both hemispheres simultaneously, affects the whole body, many subtypes and affects awareness and consciousness

focul seizures

ozzurs in specific locations within a specific lobe and hemisphere, will affect the part of the body controlled by the specific

seizures with an unknown onset

cause is unknown, may be due to symptoms being common or insufficient information

other symptoms of epilepsy

onset of an aura, loss of consciousness, movement

onset of an aura epilepsy

subjective sensation, a strange indescribable feeling
perceptual experience, unusual smells
motor experience, arm tingling

loss of consciousness epilepsy

loss of awareness, staring blankly into distance
can incur amnesia about having the seizure

movement epilepsy

jerking or twitching, loss of muscle tone and postural support leading to collapse

causes of epilepsy

tbi, lack of oxygen in brain for a long period of time - stroke, drowning, brain infection - meningitis, brain abnormality at birth, tumor, neurodegenerative disease - alzheimers, genetics

triggers of epilepsy

bright, flashing or flickering lights, dehydration, stress, hormonal changes, alcohol or illicit drugs, missed medication, infection or illness, sleep deprivation, low blood sugar

diagnosis of epilepsy

assessing brain electrical activity with an EEG, neuroimaging

treatment of epilepsy

cannot be cured, could become seizure free with treatment, controlled diet and sleep, surgery as a final resort

aphasia

a language disorder that makes it difficult to understand or express language, can be broca's - fluent, or wernickes - non fluent aphasia, can be acquired through stroke or trauma, recovered through speech therapy

stroke

blockage or rupture of blood vessels causing paralysis, due to high blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases, identified using PAST

brain injury

any type of brain damage or disorder that impairs or interferes with the normal functioning of the brain either temporarily or permanently

acquired brain injury

any type of brain damage or disorder that occurs after birth

severities of ABI

mild - good recovery, able to return to work
moderate - improvement over time, coordinating difficulty, may require different work
severe - decreased movement control, communication ability, daily support, unable to work
very severe - unable to control movement, communication, 24 hour support, unable to work

biological

impaired sensory function, muscle weakness, chronic pain

traumatic brain injury

type of ABI that occurs when external factors cause damage to the brain

phineas gage

metal rod pierced through the skull, frontal lobe was damaged, violent and agressive behavior

concussion

tbi caused by external force causing the head and brain to rapidly move back and forth, considered mild generally

chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

progressive brain degeneration and fatal condition thought to be caused by repeated blows to the head and repeated episodes of concussion

cte symptoms

memory loss, mood and personality changes, motor impairments, impulsivity, erratic behavior, difficulty thinking, confusion and disorientation

diagnosis of cte

through an autopsy after death, brain has shrunk due to atrophy and build up of abnormal protein called tau

psychological

poor attention and concentration, anxiety, depression, irritability

social

inability to follow social cues and conventions, aggressive verbal and physical behavior, impulsivity

evidence based research

needs to be peer reviewed, using proof, replication of results to show trends, objective data to validate findings