PSY5047_NeuropsychologyMethods2_Moodle_9c5c58e6bf7fa4e48d1738e2e83303bf

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  • Personal Tutor.

  • Level Tutor.

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  • Shout! (crisis support).

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Research Methods II: Neuropsychology (PSY5047)

Instructor

• Dr. Ann-Kathrin Johnen

• Contact: ann-kathrin.johnen@bcu.ac.uk

Main Topics Covered Today

• Cognitive Neuropsychology.

• Experimental Cognitive Psychology.

• Comparative Psychology.

Review of Week 2 Lecture

• Techniques and methods discussed:

  • Eye-tracking.

  • EEG/MEG.

  • MRI/CAT.

  • fMRI/PET.

  • TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation).

• Key concepts:

  • Experimental Cognitive Psychology.

  • Cognitive Neuropsychology.

  • Computational Cognitive Psychology.

  • Cognitive Neuroscience.

Current WeekFocus

• Focus topics:

  • Brain lesions.

  • Dissociations.

  • Cognitive testing.

  • Experimental Cognitive Psychology.

  • Cognitive Neuropsychology.

  • Computational Cognitive Psychology.

  • Cognitive Neuroscience.

Cognitive Neuropsychology

Overview

• Focuses on brain lesions:

  • Structural damage to the brain resulting from injury or disease.

  • Detected through brain imaging techniques (e.g., MRI, CT scans).

  • Analyzes cognitive performance patterns in brain-damaged patients.

Neuropsychological Assessment Tools

• Purpose: Measure cognitive performance and diagnose cognitive deficits.

  • WMS (Wechsler Memory Scale):

    • Assesses memory skills, particularly in dementia patients.

    • Evaluates auditory and visual memory.

  • PALPA (Psycholinguistic Assessments of Language Processing in Aphasia):

    • Evaluates language processing in aphasic patients.

  • BORB (Birmingham Object Recognition Battery):

    • Assesses visual object recognition disorders, e.g., visual object agnosia.

Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)

Assessment Areas

• Visuospatial/Executive:

  • Cube and clock drawing tasks.

• Naming: Identifying words and objects.

• Memory: Immediate recall tests and delayed recall.

• Attention tasks: Digit span and letter recognition.

• Language: Fluency and abstraction tasks.

• Orientation: Recall of previously learned words and general information about self.

Cognitive Neuropsychology Approach

• Lesion studies inform about cognition's nature and structure.

• Example Case Study:

  • Patient K.F. demonstrated impaired short-term memory but normal long-term memory, influencing the understanding of memory systems.

Dissociations

Types

• Single Dissociation:

  • Performance differs on two tasks, indicating potentially different cognitive processes.

• Double Dissociation:

  • Two patients show opposite patterns of performance across tasks, providing stronger evidence for distinct brain regions involved in different cognitive functions.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

• Technique to create temporary lesions in the brain.

• Used to assess the role of specific brain areas in cognitive task performance.

• Offers more experimental control compared to studying patients with established lesions.

Experimental Cognitive Psychology

Overview

• Investigates human cognition through controlled experiments.

• Helps understand cognitive processes like attention, perception, memory, and reasoning.

• Notable methods include:

  • Less reliance on expensive equipment (e.g., MRI).

  • Non-invasive compared to other methods.

Key Experimental Tasks

• Stroop Task: Examines selective attention and cognitive interference.

• Eriksen Flanker Task: Tests response inhibition and distractor avoidance.

• Trail-Making Task: Evaluates visual attention and task switching.

• Wisconsin Card Sorting Task: Measures adaptability to rule changes in cognitive tasks.

Cognitive Tasks Summary

• Numerous cognitive tasks exist to evaluate specific abilities.

• Can be used in conjunction with brain imaging and eye-tracking methods.

• Different from neuropsychological tests that assess broader cognitive functions and disorders.

Applications of Cognitive Testing

• Serve to compare scores across different demographics.

• Track cognitive function over time for treatment and diagnosis purposes.

Comparative Psychology

Definition

• Studies mental processes in different animal species.

Importance

• Helps understand evolutionary origins and brain mechanisms of cognition.

• Utilizes animal models to assess neurological disorders.

Learning & Memory Studies

Morris Water Maze

• A test involving spatial learning and memory.

• Compares performance across multiple trials, focusing on escape latency.

Research Examples

• Taxi Drivers vs. Bus Drivers: Structural differences in hippocampus size related to navigation memory.

• Food Caching in Birds: Variations in hippocampal size depending on caching behavior and spatial memory abilities.

Practical Applications

• Dogs trained to detect cancer and COVID can provide non-invasive diagnostic support.

• Pigeons assisting in image analysis can streamline professional medical evaluations.

Relationship Insights

• Observations of emotional responses in dogs and attachment similarities in cats can offer profound insights into animal cognition.

Summary of Key Concepts

1. Cognitive Neuropsychology: Examines cognitive impairments from brain lesions to inform about cognitive functions.

2. Experimental Cognitive Psychology: Conducts experiments to delve into human cognitive perceptions and processes.

3. Comparative Psychology: Investigates cognitive processes across species for evolutionary insights.

Recommended Reading

• Chapter 1 of Eysenck & Keane textbook.

• Relevant links and articles found on Moodle.

Final Reminder

• Seminar scheduled in C326 for lab demo.

• Self-directed learning week follows, with no scheduled neuropsychology sessions before Week 5.