Modules 6-9
“Through the Looking Glass” showcases
Ramachandran’s take on hemiattentional neglect
What does Ramachandran describe in the second half of his essay “Through the Looking Glass”?
an interesting technique for facilitating improved left-sided attention for some patients
Dilantin
anticovulsant
sternum
breastbone
What is melody and timbre recognition mediated by?
The right hemisphere
Shands Teaching Hospital location
University of Florida
What suggests an infection in spinal fluid?
an increased number of white blood cells and an elevated protein level
nondirective therapy
the clinician listens passively to patients when they discuss their problems
People who have meaningful relationships sometimes say, “It is not what you said, but how you said it that counts.” The “how you said it” element is called
speech prosody
What do we change when we speak?
sounds that constitute words, pitch, loudness, overtones (timbre) and the speed of our voice
Two subjects in the study of emotion
The first subject is how people convey their own emotions and understand the emotions of others, and how these processes are disturbed with injury to the brain.
The second subject is how we experience emotion and how this experience, and the behavior that flows from it, are altered by brain injury.
Rubbing the sternum (breastbone) is one way we induce
painful stimulation
There is always a risk of hypoglycemia causing ___
coma and seizures
hypoglycemia
low blood sugar
Each hemisphere of the brain not only controls the opposite side of the body but is also responsible for __
moving the eyes in the opposite direction
lumbar puncture
spinal tap
neglect of left space
being unaware of people and things located on the left side of the body
nondirective therapy
the clinician listens passively to patients when they discuss their problems
Which hemisphere is important for recognizing rhythms?
left hemisphere
Which hemisphere is responsible for recognizing melody and timbre?
right
melody and timbre recognition is mediated by
the right hemisphere
What connects the right and left hemispheres together?
corpus callosum
Corpus callosum
connects the right and left hemispheres together; a large group of nerves that go from one side of the cerebral cortex to the other; it lets one hemisphere know what the other knows or is doing
Right hemisphere injury may interfere with
the ability to understand the emotional prosody expressed in speech
Information from the right hand goes to
the sensory cortex in the left hemisphere
Where is the sensory cortex located?
left hemisphere
Sensory systems from the left side of the body project to
the right hemisphere’s sensory cortex and then to sensory association areas
Information from the right hand goes to the sensory cortex in the left hemisphere. From here, this information goes to
a tactile association area and then to the language areas where the object is named
Sensory systems from the left side of the body project to the right hemisphere’s sensory cortex and then to sensory association areas. To gain access to the language speech areas, this information has to be
transmitted from the right hemisphere’s sensory association areas to the left hemisphere’s language areas
If the corpus callosum has been severed, the sensory information from the right hemisphere
cannot be transmitted to the left hemisphere’s language areas
Prosody in English
does not change the meaning of words, but used for syntactic or grammatical reasons
The ___ consists of a large bundle of fibers connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain
corpus callosum
Each brain hemisphere controls
movement in the opposite (contralateral) side of the body and can also specialize in performing specific cognitive and perceptual functions
The corpus callosum allows information to
move between hemispheres and is therefore a very important integrative structure
In the 1960s, Micheal Gazzaniga and Roger Wolcott Sperry performed
a number of seminal neuropsychological experiments on individuals who have had the corpus callosum connecting the two hemispheres severed
When individuals have the corpus callosum severed, this allows
the hemispheres to essentially be tested in isolation and confirmed left hemisphere specialization for language and right hemisphere for face recognition and attentional monitoring
left hemisphere specialization
language
right hemisphere specialization
face recognition and attentional monitoring
Subsequent research with “split-brain” patients controversially suggested that
the left and right brains may even have separate and competing identities . For example, the left hemisphere may have a bias for recognizing self and right for recognizing others
Corpus Callosum associated functions
connects right and left hemispheres and allows information to pass between them
What are reductions in corpus callosum volume associated with?
schizophrenia and the onset of psychotic episodes
Abnormalities in corpus callosum morphology have also been observed in
Alzheimer’s patients, children with ADHD as well as in large number of non-cognitive disorders
Corpus Callosum associated cognitive disorders
reductions in corpus callosum volume have been associated with schizophrenia and the onset of psychotic episodes. Abnormalities in corpus callosum morphology have also been observed in Alzheimer’s patients, children with ADHD as well as in a large number of non-cognitive disorders
Symptoms associated with damage to the corpus callosum
coma or vegetative state
mutism
memory impairments
split brain syndrome results in a number of subtle cognitive, movement and perceptual difficulties
Corpus callosum substructures
splenium
Gazzaniga (2005) (Pubmed ID number: 16062172)
reviews decades of research with split-brain patients and highlights the importance of the corpus callosum in integrating information
Glickstein and Berlucchi (2008) (Pubmed ID number: 18603234)
review disconnection studies of the corpus callosum
Hutchinson and colleagues (2008) (Pubmet ID number: 18444712)
review evidence that children with ADHD may have a smaller splenium (part of the corpus callosum) than controls
Tomimoto and colleagues (2004) (Pubmed ID number: 153083283)
report an association between corpus callosum atrophy and Alzheimer’s disease
Turk and colleagues (2002) (Pubmed ID number: 12195428)
report dissociation between the left and right hemisphere for identifying self and familiar others
Uchino and colleagues (2006) (Pubmed ID number: 16284771)
review the diseases and conditions associated with lesions of the corpus callosum
Walterfang and colleagues (2008) (Pubmed ID number: 18562178)
show that reductions in the thickness of the anterior corpus callosum are predictive of a transition to psychosis in schizophrenic patients
Which part of the brain are the frontal lobes a part of?
cerebral cortex
What are the largest of the brain’s structures?
frontal lobes
contralateral
opposite
What part of the brain are the main sites of so-called ‘higher’ cognitive functions?
frontal lobes
What important substructures are found in the frontal lobes?
prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, motor and premotor cortices, and Broca’s area
What are the frontal lobe substructures involved in?
attention and thought, voluntary movement, decision-making and language
Although no longer a common practice, approximately 40,000 people in the United States have received this to treat a variety of personality and cognitive disorders
lobotomy
Lobotomy
This highly controversial practice involves destroying or severing the connections to the prefrontal cortex and often results in impaired voluntary behavior
Frontal lobe associated functions
executive processes (voluntary behavior such as decision making, planning, problem-solving, and thinking)
voluntary motor control
cognition
intelligence
attention
language processing
comprehension
executive processes
voluntary behavior such as decision making, planning, problem-solving and thinking
Frontal lobe associated cognitive disorders
ADHD, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (prefrontal cortex)
The frontal lobes are the brain’s large set structures and consequently have been associated with ___
a large number of disorders
Associated with frontal lobe damage
Paralysis
Loss of spontaneity in social interactions
Mood changes
An inability to express language
Atypical social skills and personality traits
Frontal lobe substructures
Prefrontal cortex
Orbitofrontal cortex
Premotor cortex
Motor cortex
Broca’s area
Frontal eye fields
Middle frontal gyrus
Inferior frontal gyrus
Aaron and colleagues (2007) (Pubmed ID number: 17978025)
review evidence from a number of sources that a neural network consisting of neurons in the frontal lobes and basal ganglia is involved in inhibiting motor movements. This network may be impaired in ADHD
Berger and colleagues (2007) (Pubmed ID number: 17978025)
examine how the maturation of the frontal areas of the brain facilitates self-regulation. This may have special relevance for ADHD
Hon (2007) (Pubmed ID number: 17982567)
reviews the part played by frontoparietal activity in arriving at cognition and the role of this activity in representing behaviorally relevant information
Jung and Haier (2007) (Pubmed ID number: 17655784)
review evidence for a parieto-frontal integration theory of intelligence to examine the expression of intelligence and reason
Jurado and Rosselli (2007) (Pubmed ID number: 17786559)
Review current research on executive functions such as goal-directed plans, effective performance, and the ability to inhibit overlearned behavior
The temporal lobes contain ___
a large number of substructure
Functions of the temporal lobe substructures includes
perception, face recognition, object recognition, memory acquisition, understanding language, and emotional reactions
Damage to the temporal lobes can result in
intriguing neurological deficits called agnosias, which refer to the inability to recognize specific categories (body parts, colors, faces, music, smells)
Agnosia
intriguing neurological deficits which refer to the inability to recognize specific categories (body parts, colors, faces, music, smells)
Previc, 2006
Deep stimulation of the temporal lobe has been shown to produce profound religious and out-of-body experiences
Temporal Lobe associated functions
recognition
perception (hearing, vision, smell)
understanding language
learning and memory
Temporal Lobe Associated cognitive disorders
Schizophrenia, primary impairment in early Alzheimer’s, and speech and social dysfunction in autism
What is the cognitive disorder that is most closely aligned to temporal lobe dysfunction?
Schizophrenia
Iritani (2007)
reviews neuropathological abnormalities in schizophrenia, suggesting it may be considered a neurodevelopmental disorder
The primary impairment in early Alzheimer’s may be traced to
medial temporal lobe
Speech and social dysfunction in autism has been linked to the
superior temporal sulcus
Redcay, 2008
The primary impairment in early Alzheimer’s may be traced to the medial temporal lobe and speech and social dysfunction in autism has been linked to the superior temporal sulcus
Associated with damage to the temporal lobe
Difficulties in understanding speech (Wernicke’s aphasia), faces (prosopagnosia), and objects (agnosia)
Inability to attend to sensory input
Persistent talking
Long- and short-term memory loss
Increased/decreased interest in sexual behavior
Aggression
Temporal Lobe Substructures
amygdala
primary auditory cortex
superior temporal gyrus
Wernicke’s area
middle temporal gyrus
inferior temporal gyrus
fusiform gyrus
DeFelipe and colleagues (2007) (Pubmed ID number: 18074997)
discuss the anatomy and function of substructures of the temporal lobe in the light of neuroimaging data
Eichenbaum and colleagues (2007) (Pubmed ID number: 17417939)
review evidence for the distinction between familiarity and recollection and discuss the neural mechanisms involved in these processes
Iritani (2007) (Pubmed ID number: 18021384)
reviews the neuropathology of schizophrenia, noting abnormalities in temporal lobe neurodevelopment
Lowndes and Savage (2007) (Pubmed ID number: 17805975)
propose that the earliest neuropsychological detection of Alzheimer’s disease may lie in the medial temporal lobe
Midorikawa (2007) (Pubmed ID number: 17713122)
Discusses the relationship between music and the brain in the light of case studies from patients with brain damage, developmental disorders, and degenerative diseases
Previc (2006) (Pubmed ID number: 16439158)
reviews the neuropsychology of religious activity particularly in the light of activity of the temporal and dopaminergic activation
Redcay (2008) (Pubmed ID number: 17706781)
discusses the role of the superior temporal sulcus performs in social and speech perception in autism
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) does not classify these parts as temporal structures
amygdala, basal ganglia, cingulate, and parahippocampal gyrus