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Neuropsychology Flashcards

Brain anatomy, brain physiology, and neuropsychological disorders (81 cards)

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1
Q

What would damage to the right hemisphere likely cause?

A

Alteration in emotions such as indifference, apathy, or undue cheerfulness due to the right hemisphere mediating negative emotions.

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2
Q

What are the functions of the hypothalamus?

A

The hypothalamus maintains homeostasis through the autonomic nervous system and hormones (pituitary gland and endocrine glands). It regulates hunger, thirst, sex, sleep, temperature, movement, and emotional reactions.

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3
Q

What would damage to the suprachiasmatic nucleus do?

A

Disrupt sleep-wake cycles and circadian rhythms

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4
Q

What does Wernicke’s aphasia involve?

A

Fluent output, impaired repetition, and poor comprehension (sometimes called transcortical sensory aphasia)

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5
Q

What does the thalamus do?

A

Processes information and transfers it to the neocortical regions

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6
Q

What does Broca’s aphasia involve?

A

Broken output, broken writing, and intact comprehension (sometimes called transcortical motor aphasia)

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7
Q

What structures are included in the hindbrain?

A

Hindbrain: medulla oblongata, pons, and cerebellum

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8
Q

What does Gerstmann’s syndrome involve?

A

Gerstmann’s syndrome: Right-left confusion, agraphia, and acalculia

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9
Q

What are the functions of the reticular activating system?

A

The reticular activating system is located in the brainstem and plays a role in arousal and consciousness, control of movement and sensation, and regulation of visceral functions. It is associated with ADHD and schizophrenia.

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10
Q

What structures are included in the basal ganglia?

A

Basal ganglia: Caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus, and substantia nigra.

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11
Q

What would damage to the parietal lobe cause?

A

Parietal lobe damage: Tactile agnosia, contralateral neglect, and some types of apraxia

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12
Q

What is hemipeligia?

A

Paralysis

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13
Q

What is homonymous hemianopia?

A

Loss of visual field

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14
Q

What is hemianesthesia?

A

Loss of sensation

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15
Q

What is dysarthia?

A

Difficulty speaking due to weak speech muscles

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16
Q

What is aphasia?

A

Inability to understand or express language

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17
Q

What is apraxia?

A

Inability to perform practiced, purposeful, skilled movements. In contrast, ataxia is difficulty coordinating movements.

Apraxia is primarily a brain processing problem. Ataxia is primarily a coordinated muscle movement problem.

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18
Q

What is akathisia?

A

Cruel restlessness

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19
Q

What is akinesia?

A

Reduction in spontaneous movement

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20
Q

What is ataxia?

A

Inability to move without coordination (similar to apraxia which is inability to execute practiced, purposeful movements)

Ataxia is primarily a coordinated muscle movement problem. Apraxia is primarily a brain processing problem.

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21
Q

What are the functions of the posterior parietal cortex?

A

Plan movement and proprioception

Damage to the posterior parietal cortex means you would have trouble finding objects in space although you could describe their appearance accurately.

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22
Q

What are the functions of the primary motor cortex?

A

Executing movements

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23
Q

What are the functions of the supplementary motor cortex?

A

Planning and organizing rapid sequences of movements (but not proprioception, which is the function of the posterior parietal cortex)

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24
Q

What is myasthenia gravis?

A

An autoimmune disorder that attacks ACh receptors in neuromuscular junctions resulting in weakness of skeletal muscles.

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25
What does the suprachiasmatic nucleus do?
Contains a biological clock that organizes circadian rhythms and tells the pineal gland when to make/release melatonin
26
What does the pineal gland do?
It produces melatonin for the SCN to organize circadian and seasonal rhythms
27
What controls fine motor movements?
The precentral gyrus or somatomotor cortex
28
What does the Papez's circuit do?
Mediates the experience and expression of emotion
29
What structures make up the Paperz's circuit (4)?
Hippocampus, mammillary bodies, anterior nuclei of the thalamus, and the cingulate gyrus
30
What are afferent axons?
Incoming axons that bring sensory information toward the central nervous system
31
What are efferent axons?
Outgoing axons that distribute commands from the central nervous system to muscles and glands
32
What is the dorsal root?
The spinal root containing incoming sensory fibers
33
What is the ventral root?
The spinal root containing outgoing motor fibers
34
What structures make up the limbic system (6)?
Thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala Some sources also list the cingulate cortex and basal ganglia
35
What hormone does the thyroid gland primarily produce?
Thyroxine
35
What hormones does the pituitary gland primarily produce?
Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and somatropin (growth) hormone
36
What occurs with mixed transcortical aphasia?
The ability to talk but having nothing to say, inability to understand written and spoken language, and the ability to produce automatic responses
37
What occurs with conduction (associative) aphasia?
Intact comprehension but impaired repetition, anomia, and paraphasia caused by damage to the arcuate fasciculus that connects Broca's area and Wernicke's area
38
What is localized amnesia?
The inability to recall all events related to a specific period of time
39
What is selective amnesia?
The inability to recall some aspects of events during a specific period of time
40
What is generalized amnesia?
The inability to recall one's entire life history and identity
41
What is anterograde amnesia?
The inability to form new memories
42
What is retrograde amnesia?
The loss of long-term memories that were encoded before an event caused the amnesia
43
What is agranulocytosis?
Low levels of white blood cells
44
What is anomia?
Inability to name things
45
What is anosognosia?
A neurological condition in which the patient is unaware of their neurological deficit or psychiatric condition
46
What are the anticholinergic effects?
Anticholinergic effects - dry mouth, blurred vision, urinary retention, constipation, tachycardia, and delayed ejaculation
47
What are the extrapyramidal effects?
Parkinsonism, akathisia, and acute dystonia (muscle spasms in the head/neck)
48
What is neuroleptic malignant syndrome?
Rapid onset of motor, mental, and autonomic symptoms including muscle rigidity, tachycardia, hyperthermia, and altered consciousness
49
What is asomatognosia?
The inability to feel, recognize, or be conscious of one's own specific body parts or bodily conditions
50
What is dysprosody?
Speech that has an atypical or absent rhythm, intonation, melody, or start/stop pattern
51
What 4 areas of the brain have been associated with learning/memory and what are their functions?
1) The temporal lobes are essential for the encoding, storage, and retrieval of long-term declarative memories 2) The hippocampus is responsible for the consolidation of long-term declarative memories 3) The amygdala plays a key role in classical/operant conditioning and adding emotional significance to memories 4) The prefrontal cortex has been implicated in short-term memory, episodic memory, and prospective memory
52
What 4 areas of the brain have been associated with emotions and what are their functions?
1) The amygdala plays a role in the perception and expression of anger, fear, sadness, happiness, etc. and attaches emotion to memories 2) The hypothalamus translates emotions into physical responses 3) The left cerebral cortex hemisphere governs happiness and other positive emotions 4) The right cerebral cortex hemisphere governs sadness, fear, and other negative emotions.
53
What are the 4 functions of the basal ganglia?
1) Planning, organizing, and coordinating voluntary movement 2) Regulating the amplitude and direction of motor actions 3) Sensorimotor learning 4) Stereotyped, species-specific motoric expressions of emotional states such as smiling when happy, frowning when sad, and running when afraid
54
What are the functions of the amygdala?
1) Integrates, coordinates, and directs motivational/emotional activities 2) Attaches emotions to memories and recalls emotionally-charged experiences
55
What are the functions of the hippocampus?
1) Processing spatial, visual (when paired with other structures), and verbal information 2) Consolidating declarative memories
56
What are the functions of the temporal lobes?
The temporal lobe mediate encoding, retrieval, and storage of long-term declarative memories. Electrical stimulation of these areas can elicit complex, vivid memories that had been previously forgotten.
57
What are the functions of the superior and inferior colliculi?
Superior colliculi = visual pathway Inferior colliculi = auditory pathway That's easy, my vision is superior to my hearing.
58
What are the functions of the substantia nigra?
The substantia nigra is a midbrain dopaminergic nucleus which has a critical role in modulating motor movement and reward functions.
59
What are the functions of the pineal gland?
To regulate the circadian rhythm by producing and secreting melatonin.
60
What are the functions of the pituitary gland and what 8 hormones* does it produce?
The pituitary gland regulates growth, metabolism, and reproduction through the hormones that it produces: 1) Adrenocorticotropic hormone 2) Prolactin 3) Thyroid-stimulating hormone 4) Growth hormone 5) Luteinizing hormone 6) Melanocyte-stimulating hormone *It also releases antidiuretic hormone (vasopressin) and oxytocin even though they are made by the hypothalamus
61
What are the functions of the adrenal gland and what 3 major hormones does it produce?
Adrenal glands produce hormones that help regulate your metabolism, immune system, blood pressure, response to stress and other essential functions, including: 1) Cortisol 2) Androgens 3) Estrogens
62
What are the 2 structural neuroimaging techniques?
CT/CAT and MRI
63
What are the 2 functional neuroimaging techniques?
fMRI and PET/SPECT
64
What can damage to the temporal lobes and hippocampus do?
Removal can cause anterograde and retrograde amnesia for semantic and episodic memories occurring up to three years prior
65
What does the adrenocorticotropic hormone do?
Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulates your adrenal glands to produce cortisol, which impacts metabolism, blood pressure, blood glucose, and inflammation
66
What is Down Syndrome?
Down Syndrome is an autosomal disorder caused by an extra chromosome 21 and characteristic signs include: 1) Intellectual disability 2) Slowed physical growth 3) Slowed motor development 4) Distinctive physical features 5) Susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease, leukemia, and heart defects
67
What is Klinefelter Syndrome?
Klinefelter syndrome occurs in males and is due to the presence of 2+ X chromosomes along with a single Y chromosome and characteristics include: 1) A small penis and testes 2) Breast development 3) Limited interest in sexual activity 4) Sterility 5) Learning disabilities.
68
What is Turner Syndrome?
Turner syndrome occurs in females and is caused by the presence of a single X chromosome and characteristics include: 1) Short stature 2) Drooping eyelids 3) A webbed neck 4) Slowed development of secondary sex characteristics 5) Cognitive deficits (impaired visual-spatial, executive, and social-cognitive functioning)
69
What structures are in the midbrain?
Superior/inferior colliculi, substantia nigra, reticular formation, and reticular activating system
70
What structures are in the subcortical forebrain?
Thalamus, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, amygdala, and hippocampus
71
What structures are in the cortical forebrain?
Frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes
72
What is Weber's law?
The more intense the stimulus, the greater the increase in stimulus intensity required for the increase to produce a just noticeable difference.
73
What is Fechner's law?
Fechner stated that perceived intensity of a stimulus follows a logarithmic scale. This means that as the physical intensity of a stimulus increases geometrically, the perceived intensity increases arithmetically.
74
What is Steven's Power Law?
Stevens described sensation as an exponential function of stimulus intensity. Stevens’s Power Law makes it possible to predict that doubling the intensity of a light less than doubles the sensation of the light’s brightness, while doubling the intensity of an electric shock more than doubles the physical sensation.
75
What is PKU?
PKU = Phenylketonuria, a recessive gene disorder where people lack the enzyme needed to metabolize phenylalanine (an amino acid in milk, eggs, bread, etc.). A special diet soon after birth can prevent a severe intellectual disability.
76
What is localized amnesia?
An inability to remember all events related to a circumscribed period
77
What is selective amnesia?
An inability to recall some events related to a circumscribed period
78
What is generalized amnesia?
A loss of memory that encompasses the person’s entire life
79
What is continuous amnesia?
An inability to recall events subsequent to a specific time through the present
80
What is systematized amnesia?
An inability to recall memories related to a certain category of information (e.g., memories related to the individual’s spouse)

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