Exam 2 Review

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