Brain and Neuropsych

• the frontal lobe plays a role in decision making and Impulse control. it also helps with problem solving skills as well as helping us to pay attention and concentrate; towards the back of the frontal love is the motor cortex, which plays a role in voluntary movement in the body
• the parietal lobe plays a big role in our understanding of the world around us- perception. it gives us the ability to recognise faces, there is a large section at the front which is responsible our sense of touch - somatosensory cortex
• the occipital lobe mainly deals with our ability to see. it helps us process visual information from our eyes and helps us make sense of it so we can understand what were feeling, often called the visual cortex
• the temporal lobe helps us with hearing and understanding sounds, as well as understanding and creating speech. there are areas for producing and processing sound-based information- said to contain the auditory cortex. areas which help control memory functions
• the cerebellum plays a role in movement, coordination and balance (our motor skills), this part of the brain takes info from the different senses, our spins chord and other parts of the brain and combines them to coordinate behaviour
• a hemisphere is half of the brain, split into right and left
• the brainstem is the part of the brain which connects the spinal chord to the upper brain, contains the medulla and gives information to the spinal chord
• the cerebrum is the largest part of the brain, containing the cortex. it is where higher processing happens
• the cortex is the outer layer of the brain, containing sulci and gyri, it’s a shell with a large surface area and has neural connections
• the gyri are ridges on the surface of the brain ( cerebral cortex )
• the sulcus are grooves on the surface of the brain (cerebral cortex)
• the spinal chord is a pathway of nerves inside the spine, connects the rest of the body through the peripheral nervous system
• Asymmetrical function Is that each half of the brain looks very similar but they each have different functions
• the left hemisphere controls the right hand, speech, right visual field, understanding written language, understanding what is heard and logical thinking
• the right hemisphere controls left hand, left visual field, spatial awareness, creativity, recognising faces and musical ability
• the corpus callosum is made of nerve fibres
• the corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres so they can communicate
• females are better at language skills
• males are better at spatial skills
• lateralisation is the different jobs of the different hemispheres
• brocas area is part of the left hemisphere

  controls speech production
• wernickes area is part of the left hemisphere

  controls comprehension and understanding of written and spoken language
• dopamine plays a role in attention and learning

  a deficiency of dopamine may make it difficult to concentrate
• serotonin plays a role in mood

  a deficiency may make people depressed
• GABA plays a role in calming us down

  when we feel stressed GABA relaxes us
• the CNS receives sensory input and processes this to the 5 senses, has a motor output, provides controls regulation and communication through the body, via electrical and chemical impulses
• neurotransmitters are chemicals in the CNS which pass messages from one neuron across a synapse to another
• a vesicle is a small sac containing neurotransmitters
• visual agnosia is the inability to interpret sensations and thus recognise things
• reuptake is where the neurotransmitter is taken back into the presynaptic neuron by receptors on its surface
• prosopagnosia is face blindness, damage to fusiform area
• symptoms of visual agnosia are

  unable to recognise the colour of an object, can’t recognise objects or name them, may not recognise familiar places
• symptoms of prosopagnosia are unable to recognise faces, see faces as the same, may not recognise familiar people
• damage of the pre frontal cortex may cause personality changes and inability to control impulses
• aims of damasio et al. to map out path of the rod to find where damage was
• Where is the damage assumed to be located in Phineas Gage's case?

  In the frontal lobe
• What was the procedure followed in studying Phineas Gage's skull?

  • Took pictures and measurements of Gage's skull
  • Built a virtual 3D model matching the measurements
  • Measured the iron rod's dimensions
  • Compared rod measurements to damaged skull areas
  • Tested 20 entry points and 16 exit points
  • Mapped out damaged areas using the virtual model
• What were the dimensions of the iron rod measured in Gage's case?

  1. 3 cm in diameter
• How did researchers determine the likely path of the iron bar in Gage's skull?

  By matching entry and exit points
• How many different entry and exit points were tested in Gage's case?

  20 entry points and 16 exit points