Lecture 6: Neuropsychology and executive functions Flashcards
(13 cards)
What is executive functioning?
Higher levels of cognitive skills that help you plan, organise and manage your thoughts and actions to achieve goals.
What is Executive functioning mediated by?
By structures in the frontal lobe:
- Supplementary motor area
- Premotor cortex
- Prefrontal cortex
- Cingulate cortex
What is special about the pre-frontal cortex?
The prefrontal cortex in humans are particularly developed and are likely to host cognitive functions most peculiar to humans
What is executive control?
It is the same as executive functioning however it is split into two processes
What are the two types of processes in executive control?
- Automatic (effortless, fast, unintentional)
- Controlled (Effortful, deliberate, conscious attention)
What is schema?
A pattern of behaviour that helps individuals understand and interact with the world
What in contention scheduling?
An automatic mechanism for selecting actions in routine or habitual situations
What does SAS stand for?
Supervisory Attentional System
What does SAS do?
A controlled cognitive model used during non-routine behaviours. Used when schema is not available
What is psychological inertia?
The human tendency to stay in a familiar state and resist change unless a strong psychological motive compels action
What is sequencing?
The ability to arrange events or actions in a logical order, involving the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
What is inhibition?
The process of retraining or suppressing behaviour
What are the two types of inhibition?
Prepotent = Suppressing a dominant response in favour of a more appropriate, goal-directed behaviour.
Programmed - When a response is automatically suppressed.
