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98 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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15.1 What are two different definitions of memory?
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Memory:
The ability to store and retrieve information The specific information stored in the brain |
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15.2 What is the difference between retrograde and anterograde amnesia?
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Retrograde amnesia: the loss of memories formed before onset of a trauma
Anterograde amnesia is the inability to form memories after onset of a trauma |
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15.3 Who is patient H.M. and what type of amnesia did he have?
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Anterograde
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15.4 What abilities were damaged and what abilities were spared in H.M.?
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damaged-ability to form new memories
spared-spatial memory |
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15.5 Where was H.M.’s brain damage?
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hippocampus
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15.6 What is the difference between declarative and nondeclarative memory?
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Declarative memory: facts and information acquired through learning that can be stated or described to answer “what” questions
Depends on hippocampus Nondeclarative (procedural) memory: shown by performance rather than recollection, to answer “how” questions Explains why animals with hippocampal lesions don’t show memory impairments |
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15.7 What task was successfully used to test declarative memory in animals, and lesions to which brain regions caused impairments in this task?
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Delayed non-match-to-sample task: a test of object recognition memory that requires monkeys to declare what they remember
Monkeys must identify what was not seen previously The disruption in forming declarative memories is due to damage to both the hippocampus itself and to surrounding cortex |
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15.8 What do patient N.A. and people with Korsakoff’s syndrome tell us about brain regions involved in declarative memory?
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Memory problems in people with damage in different regions suggests a larger memory network
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15.9 What is Korsakoff’s syndrome?
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Korsakoff’s syndrome: memory deficiency caused by lack of thiamine, occurs in chronic alcoholism
Brain damage occurs in mammillary bodies and dorsomedial thalamus Patients often confabulate: fill in a gap in memory with a falsification |
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15.10 What are 2 subtypes of declarative memory?
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Semantic memory: generalized memory for facts
Episodic memory: memory for autobiographical events |
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15.11 What are 3 subdivisions of nondeclarative memory, and what brain regions are involved in each one?
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Skill Learning-basal ganglia, motor cortex, cerebellum
Priming-visual cortex Associative Learning-cerebellum |
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15.12 What is classical conditioning?
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Classical conditioning: a neutral stimulus, when paired with another stimulus that elicits a response, is able to elicit that same response when presented alone
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15.13 What is the difference between sensory, short-term, and long-term memory?
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Sensory (iconic) memory: store sensory impressions
very brief (1 s) Short-term memory: memory for information you are actively thinking about, last for only seconds (15-30 s), or with rehearsal Long-term memory: memory for information you are not actively thinking about last indefinitely |
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15.14 What are two reasons that support the existence of separate storage mechanisms for short-term and long-term memories?
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Mechanisms differ for short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) storage:
An intact hippocampus is required to transfer declarative STM into LTM H.M. had intact STM |
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15.15 What are primacy and recency effects?
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The primacy effect is the higher performance for items at the beginning of a list (LTM)
The recency effect shows better performance for the items at the end of a list (STM) |
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15.16 Why are long-term memories subject to distortion?
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Memories can be interfered with by other events occurring before or after
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15.17 What special characteristic do people with highly superior autobiographical memory possess?
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Caudate nucleus is larger
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15.18 What are two reasons why it is speculated that there may be a link between highly superior autobiographical memory and obsessive-compulsive disorder?
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Habitually recall memories, write them down, organize them chronologically or by categories
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16.1 What brain region does spatial memory depend on, and what are three pieces of supporting evidence?
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The hippocampus is important in spatial learning
The eight-arm radial maze tests spatial location memory Rats must recognize and enter an arm that they have entered recently, to receive a reward Lesions of the hippocampus produce a deficit in this task London taxi cab drivers Larger than average hippocampi Birds that live at high altitudes dig up seeds that they buried in the summer to survive during the winter Have larger hippocampi than birds that live at lower altitudes |
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16.2 What are place cells?
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The hippocampus contains place cells that become active when in, or moving toward, a particular location
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16.3 What is the morris water maze task, and how does shocking a mouse after training in this task affect its performance?
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Shocked rats after training
Improved memory for task (faster to get to platform) Emotion benefits memory storage |
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16.4 Lesions in what brain region eliminate the benefit that emotion provides for memory?
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Shocked rats after training and then lesioned amygdala
Did not show improved memory for task Emotional benefit for memory storage mediated by epinephrine acting on the amygdala |
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16.5 How does neuroplasticity relate to learning and memory?
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Neuroplasticity: the ability of the nervous system to change in response to experience or environment
New learning and memory formation involves changes in the strength of synapses in response to biochemical signals Memories can also require formation of new synapses or birth of new neurons |
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16.6 What are five types of synaptic changes that can occur during learning?
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Increased neurotransmitter release
Inactivation of the transmitter Changes in receptors New synapses can form or old ones die Training can bring about reorganization |
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16.7 What are the neural benefits gained by rats who were housed in an enriched environment?
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Thicker cortex
Enhanced cholinergic activity More dendritic branches and spines on cortical neurons Larger cortical synapses More neurons in the hippocampus Enhanced recovery from brain damage |
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16.8 What is habituation?
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Habituation: a decrease in response to a repeated stimulus
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16.9 What synaptic changes occur in aplysia when is becomes habituated to squirts of water?
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Less transmitter released
results in less retraction long-term habituation results in fewer synapses |
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16.10 In eye-blink conditioning, how and where do synapses change when conditioning has been achieved?
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After conditioning, tone causes cerebellar neurons to produce same response as air puff
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16.11 What are Hebbian synapses?
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“Cells that fire together wire together”
Hebbian synapses store memory traces Donald Hebb proposed that when two neurons are repeatedly activated together, their synaptic connections will become stronger |
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16.12 What is long-term potentiation?
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Long-term potentiation (LTP): a stable and enduring increase in the effectiveness of synapses
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16.13 What is a tetanus, and how does it modulate EPSP’s in the postsynaptic cell?
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Tetanus: brief high-frequency burst of electricity
Causes large amount of axon potentials from a presynaptic cell Before tetanus, post-synaptic cell produces stable EPSPs in response to action potentials Causes postsynaptic neurons to produce larger EPSPs after tetanus is removed, in response to normal amount of action potentials |
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16.14 How does the release of glutamate lead to long-term potentiation in the hippocampus, and what are the roles of AMPA and NMDA receptors in this process?
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At low levels of activity, glutamate release first activates only postsynaptic AMPA receptors
At rest, postsynaptic NMDA receptors have a magnesium ion (Mg2+) blocking their calcium (Ca2+) channels |
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16.14a If for glutamate is released...?
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If more glutamate is released:
more AMPA receptors are stimulated the cell becomes depolarized enough to remove the Mg2+ from the NMDA receptor Ca2+ enters postsynaptic cell through NMDA receptor channel |
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16.15 When calcium ions enter the postsynaptic cell in the hippocampus, what are 3 ways that AMPA receptors are affected?
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The influx of Ca2+ activates intracellular enzymes, causing changes in AMPA receptors:
Existing ones move to the active synapse Increased conductance of ions More receptors are produced |
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16.16 What is a presynaptic change that occurs in long-term potentiation?
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Presynaptic changes in LTP:
When a postsynaptic cell is strongly stimulated it releases a retrograde transmitter that travels back across the synapse ensures that more glutamate will be released Conversely, synapses that are not strengthened will become weaker and fade away |
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16.17 How do NMDA receptor antagonists affect long-term potentiation and memory?
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Drugs that block LTP (NMDA antagonists) also impair learning
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16.18 How does memory change with age, and what brain change is most closely linked with this memory change?
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Long-term memory declines with age, short-term memory does not
Long-term memory impairment correlates with shrinkage of the hippocampus during aging Brain metabolism remains constant with age |
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16.19 What is the difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s disease?
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Dementia is a global failure of cognitive ability, including memory failure and disorientation
Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia |
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16.19a Alzheimer's disease?
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Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia
Begins as memory loss of recent events Memory impairment becomes so extensive that conversation is impossible Affects 50% of people over 85 and 5% of people 65-74 Early onset (before age 65) is genetic, but 99% of cases are late onset About half of all patients with late onset have no known relative with the disease |
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16.20 What is amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and how does volume of the hippocampus and surrounding tissues relate to memory performance in patients with MCI?
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Moderate memory decline; does not disrupt daily living activities
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16.21 What are 3 cellular changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease?
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Patches of amyloid plaques appear, formed by buildup of beta-amyloid
Neurofibrillary tangles: abnormal whorls of filaments of the tau protein Basal forebrain nuclei that make acetylcholine are lost |
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16.22 What is the only way to know for certain if a person has Alzheimer’s disease?
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Diagnosis: postmortem examination
Future: injecting a dye that attaches to beta-amyloid and is detectable by PET scan |
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16.23 What is currently the treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, and how effective is it?
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Treatment: Ach agonists; slow progression of disease by 6 months
Physical and mental activity may postpone the appearance of Alzheimer’s disease |
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16.24 How does electrically enhancing slow-wave sleep affect memory in older adults and MCI patients?
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?
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17.1 What is attention?
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Attention: the process of selecting or focusing on one or more stimuli
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17.1 a Covert attention
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Covert: focus is independent of sensory orientation
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17.1 b Overt attention
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Overt: occurs when the focus coincides with the sensory orientation
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17.2 How do dichotic presentation experiments work, and how do they demonstrate that attention is limited?
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Subjects do not notice when content or language changes in nonattended ear
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17.3 What is inattentional blindness?
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Inattentional blindness is a failure to perceive nonattended visual stimuli (Gorilla in lungs,
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17.4 What is the attentional bottleneck, what is the difference between the early-selection and late-selection models, and what is a possible resolution to the debate over which model is correct?
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attentional bottleneck: a filter that selects only the most important stimuli for processing
Big debate: Early-selection model: filtering occurs at the sensory level nonattended information never reaches higher-order cognitive processes Late-selection model: the bottleneck occurs later, after some processing has occurred Possible resolution: the immediate processing demands presented by a stimulus determines how much of our resources are used |
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17.4 a Early-selection
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Early-selection model: filtering occurs at the sensory level
nonattended information never reaches higher-order cognitive processes |
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17.4 b Late-selection
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Late-selection model: the bottleneck occurs later, after some processing has occurred
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17.4 c Possible resolution between early and late selection?
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Possible resolution:
the immediate processing demands presented by a stimulus determines how much of our resources are used |
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17.5 What is endogenous attention and how is it commonly tested?
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Endogenous attention: attention directed toward aspects of the environment according to our interests and goals
Commonly studied with the symbolic cuing task Does shifting your attention to a location, without shifting your gaze, improve processing of stimuli in that location? Conclusion: Endogenous attention enhances processing independent of gaze |
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17.6 What is exogenous attention and how is it commonly tested?
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Exogenous attention: the involuntary reorienting of attention toward a sudden or important event
Commonly studied with the peripheral spatial cuing task |
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17.7 What is inhibition of return?
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Inhibition of return: longer time intervals interfere with processing of valid cues
Evolved so that we don’t spend too much time focusing on unimportant things |
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17.8 How are endogenous and exogenous attention complementary?
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Endogenous and exogenous attention are complementary
Endogenous is consciously controlled and longer lasting |
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17.9 What is an event-related potential and how is it computed?
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ERPs are used to study how attention modifies brain activity
An electroencephalogram (EEG) records electrical activity in the brain Averaged activity of several repeated trials is the event-related potential (ERP) |
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17.10 How does attention affect the P1 and N1 wave components in auditory tasks?
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Auditory attention produces a unique pattern of electrical activity
At the onset of sounds two large waves appear in the ERP a positive-going wave, P1 a larger negative-going wave, N1 LOOK AT THE GRAPH!!! The auditory N1 is strengthened for the selectively attended input |
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17.11 How does attention affect the P1 and N1 wave components in visual tasks?
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ERPs measured over occipital cortex during symbolic cueing task
visual P1 effect: is a positive wave that is enhanced when the stimulus is a valid cue Exogenous visual attention shows enhanced P1 for short latency trials If the delay between sensory cue and target lengthens, P1 enhancement is reduced |
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17.12 How is fMRI activity affected as a function of attention, and what does this tell us about how attention works?
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fMRI shows activity in anatomical regions corresponding to location of attention, and shifts when attention shifts
Fusiform gyrus when attending to faces Parahippocampal gyrus when attending to houses |
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17.13 What two subcortical structures are involved in attention?
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Superior colliculus: guides movement of eyes toward objects of attention
Pulvinar: involved in visual processing, orienting and shifting attention, and filtering of stimuli |
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17.14 What two cortical networks are involved in attention?
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dorsal frontoparietal network
right temporoparietal network |
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17.14 a Dorsal frontoparietal network
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dorsal frontoparietal network: important in generating or directing attention; endogenous attention
intraparietal sulcus (IPS) The frontal eye field (FEF) |
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17.14 b Right temporoparietal network:
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right temporoparietal network: helps shift attention in response to novel stimuli; exogenous attention
temporoparietal junction (TPJ) |
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17.15 What is hemispatial neglect, and what brain regions are damaged in this disorder?
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Hemispatial neglect: no attention is paid to one side of the body or to things presented to that side
Simultaneous extinction: the inability to recognize stimuli presented to both sides Damage to frontoparietal and temporoparietal networks |
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17.16 What is Balint’s syndrome, and how does it differ from hemispatial neglect?
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Balint’s syndrome
bilateral lesions of parietal lobe difficulty steering gaze and reaching for objects |
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17.17 What brain changes occur in ADHD?
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attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): children have trouble paying attention and are more impulsive
decreased volume in the frontal lobe and cerebellum Stimulants improve focus and performance |
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17.18 What is consciousness, and what do studies of people who lack consciousness show?
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Consciousness is dependent upon attention
Consciousness: being aware that we are conscious, coupled with our perception of what is going on in our minds An approach to study consciousness is to focus on people who lack it Maps of deactivated areas in coma patients suggest consciousness depends on frontoparietal network |
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17.19 What finding suggests that some people in comas may actually be conscious?
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However, coma patients can use mental imagery to create “yes” and “no” patterns of activity on fMRI
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17.20 What is the easy problem of consciousness? Give an example.
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The easy problem of consciousness is understanding how patterns of neural activity create specific conscious experiences
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17.21 What is the hard problem of consciousness? Given an example.
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The hard problem of consciousness is understanding brain processes that produce people’s subjective experiences of consciousness
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17.22 When does our conscious experience of free will occur relative to brain activity related to making a decision?
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free will: the feeling that our conscious self is in charge of our actions and decisions
Conscious experiences of intention may be felt much later than the activity of making a decision |
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18.1 What are three pieces of evidence that suggest that language has a genetic component?
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KE family
Affected members have FOXP2 gene Stuttering Williams syndrome: impairments of spatial cognition and IQ, but excellent verbal skills Missing genes from chromosome 7 |
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18.2 What is the difference between phonemes, morphemes, and words?
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Phonemes: basic speech sounds
Morphemes: smallest units of meaning, assembled into words with meaning Words: assembled into meaningful strings according to syntax |
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18.3 What does it mean that language has a critical period?
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Language development depends on experience during a critical period
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18.4 When do nonhuman primates make vocalizations?
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Nonhuman primates: electrical stimulation of subcortical regions can elicit calls
Calls associated with emotional behaviors such as defense, attack, feeding, and sex Vocalizations are more common with stimulation to the left hemisphere |
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18.5 What two systems of communication have been taught to chimps, and are chimps as proficient as humans with language?
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Can learn other systems of communication:
American Sign Language (ASL) arranging symbols on a board Abilities rudimentary compared to humans No |
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18.6 What gene controls ultrasonic vocalizations in mice?
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Other species make sounds to signal readiness to mate, or alert others to danger
Mice with FOXP2 mutations: have impaired ultrasonic vocalizations |
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18.7 How are vocalizations in song birds and humans similar, and how are they different?
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In song birds, complex vocalizations are critical for reproductive behaviors
Parallels between birds and humans: Specialized system for control of vocal behavior Critical period When FOXP2 expression is blocked, errors are produced Differences: Birdsong only produced in males After the critical period ends the same song is always produced |
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18.8 What is aphasia, and what is the difference between Broca’s aphasia and Wernicke’s aphasia, in terms of brain regions and behaviors?
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Aphasia: an impairment in language ability caused by brain injury to the left hemisphere
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18.8 a Broca's Aphasia
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Broca’s area: left inferior frontal region
Broca’s aphasia: difficulty producing speech, but comprehension is good May also have hemiplegia: paralysis of one side of the body |
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18.8 b Wernicke’s aphasia
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Wernicke’s area: left posterior temporal cortex
Wernicke’s aphasia: complex verbal output with unintelligible speech Patients have difficulty understanding what they read or hear, and have trouble repeating words or phrases |
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18.9 Why is Broca’s aphasia often accompanied by hemiplegia?
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hemiplegia: paralysis of one side of the body
Because Broca's area is right next to the primary motor cortex. |
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18.10 What is global aphasia?
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Global aphasia: the total loss of the ability to understand or produce language
widespread left-hemisphere lesions, affecting all speech zones The prognosis for language recovery is poor often accompanied by other neurological impairments |
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18.11 What bundle of fibers sends information from Wernicke’s area to Broca’s area?
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Arcuate fasciculus: sends info from Wernicke’s area to Broca’s area
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18.12 What is conduction aphasia?
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conduction aphasia: Lesions of the arcuate fasciculus
impairment in the repetition of words and sentences good comprehension and speech production |
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18.13 What is the connectionist model of aphasia?
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connectionist model of aphasia: deficits result from disconnection between brain regions
Different regions involved with different features of language: Wernicke’s area decodes sounds and transmits information to Broca’s area via the arcuate fasciculus Broca’s area sends a speech plan to adjacent motor cortex to produce speech |
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18.14 Can speakers of sign language develop aphasia and why or why not?
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Users of sign language employ the same neural mechanisms that speakers do, and show aphasias following brain injury
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18.15 What is dyslexia?
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Dyslexia: a reading disorder attributed to brain impairment
Acquired dyslexia can occur in adults after injury to the left hemisphere Developmental dyslexia also associated with neurological abnormalities |
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18.16 What brain abnormalities are observed in developmental dyslexia?
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Abnormal cortex in frontal and temporal lobes
Extra cortical folding and extra neurons |
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18.17 Are language areas of the brain invariant across cultures?
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Different languages activate the same brain regions
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18.18 When is grammar processed relative to meaning in language processing, and how was this demonstrated?
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Event-related potentials (ERPs) reveal the time base for language processing
meaning-based errors processed more quickly than grammar-based errors |
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18.19 What are split-brain patients, and what do they tell us about hemispheric specialization?
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Split-brain patients: disconnected hemispheres
Words presented to either visual field showed language ability only in the left hemisphere A dichotic presentation delivers different sounds to each ear at the same time Normally a right-ear “advantage” for verbal stimuli Reflects left-hemisphere advantage for language |
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18.20 Are hemispheric specializations reversed in left-handed people?
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Similar to right-handers, the left hemisphere is specialized for language in most left-handed people
when it does occur, it is more likely to be in a left-handed person (25% of left handed-people) |
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18.21 What is the Wada test, and why is it used?
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The Wada Test, can confirm involvement of hemispheres in language by temporarily shutting down each hemisphere
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18.22 What are four things that are primarily processed by the right hemisphere?
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Musical perception activates the right hemisphere more than the left
Prosody: the perception of emotional aspects of language Processing spatial stimuli is this letter mirror-reversed? Face-recognition |
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18.23 What is prosopagnosia?
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Prosopagnosia: the inability to recognize faces
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