Module 4: The Brain and Neuropsychology Flashcards
(38 cards)
Describe the structure of the brain as a whole
- Left and right hemispheres
- Cerebrum (outer part) and outer cortex (outer layer)
- Gyrus/gyri (bumps)
- Sulcus/sulci (creases)
Describe the frontal lobe
- Decision making, problem solving, impulse control
- Motor cortex: controls voluntary movements
Describe the temporal lobe
Hearing, understanding/creating speech, some memory functions
Describe the occipital lobe
Visual cortex: process/understand visual information
Describe the parietal lobe
- Perception, recognising faces
- Somatosensory cortex: sense of touch
Describe the central sulcus
Crease that separates frontal and parietal lobes
Describe the cerebellum
- Movement, coordination, balance (motor skills)
- Combines information from spinal cord and other areas of the brain
List the different areas of the brain
Frontal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe, parietal lobe, cerebellum, corpus callosum
Describe the brain’s asymmetry
- Right/left hemispheres
- Left brain’s input/output on the right side of the body and vice versa
- Hemispheres conencted by corpus callosum
What are the functions of the left hemisphere?
- Ability to write and understand language
- Broca’s area: controls speech
- Exact functions unknown, too much complexity
What are the functions of the right hemisphere?
- Spatial awareness
- Ability to recognise/perceive faces
- Ability to process music and visual information
What is the corpus callosum?
- Thick bundle of nerve fibres, connects hemispheres
- Allows for communication between them
- Makes brain one organ, can be survived without
Explain how brain lateralisation may explain sex differences
- Thought that females better at language while males better at spacial awareness
- Females have a thicker corpus callosum
What are the strengths of brain lateralisation as an explanation for sex differences?
- Harasty et al. (1997), found female’s language areas of the brain bigger than male’s
- Rilea et al. (2005), found males better at spacial tasks than females
What are the weaknesses of brain lateralisation as an explanation for sex differences?
- Rilea et al. (2005), males not always better at spacial tasks
- Sommer et al. (2004), no strong evidence that females use both hemispheres for language, thicker corpus callosum not good explanation
- Ignores social factors
What are the two sections of the nervous system?
- Central nervous system (CNS): brain and spinal cord
- Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): nerves
What are neurotransmitters?
Chemicals released from neurons to send/receive messages (e.g. dopamine, serotonin, GABA, etc)
Explain the parts of a neuron
- Nucleus
- Cell body
- Axons
- Terminal buttons
- Synaptic gap
Explain synaptic functioning
Electric impulse in cell body –> travels along axon –> reaches terminal button –> vesicles release neurotransmitters into synapse –> grabbed by receptors –> impulse passed along
What is visual agnosia?
- Visual information not understood, perception damaged (not sight)
- Can’t recognise colours/objects/places
What is prospagnosia?
- Can’t tell faces apart (for some its all faces, others its only strangers’ faces)
- Damage to fusiform face area (FFA)
Explain the effects of damage to the prefrontal cortex
- More impulsive/aggressive, more likely to commit crimes
- Adrain Raine et al. (1997), found murderers usually have less activity in the prefrontal cortex than non-murderers
What is the background of Damasio et al. (1994)?
- 1848 Phineas Gage’s skull was impaled by an iron rod
- He survived but became uncharacteristicly aggressive and impulsive
What were the aims of Damasio et al. (1994)?
- Build a model of Gage’s skull to map out how the iron rod passed through it
- Find out if areas other than the prefrontal cortex were damaged
