Neuropsychology
the science of how the structure and function of the brain relate to physiological processes
Neuropsychology as a basic
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Tries to understand these links experimentally
Brainpower
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Neuropsychology as a clinical science
aims to understand how specific impairments relate to impaired brain mechanisms, and vice versa
Neuropsychology as a clinical practice
aims to improving well-being and functioning
Patient L.D., Aspiring Golfer
Fell down some stairs and got a concussion, 2 craniotomies were done to relieve pressure and remove blood. He did not remember the accident only waking up in the hospital. He could no longer work at the restaurant and MULTITASK, but he was still able to successfully play golf.
-MRI showed damage to both sides of his brain and a reduced blood flow was shown with PET scans.
- Resulted in executive function problems, thus, L.D. can play golf at a high level because it requires that he execute only one act at a time, but he cannot prepare a meal, which requires him to multitask
Common Events causing traumatic brain injury
-Falls
-Vehicle-related collisions
-violence (domestic)
-sports injury
-combat injuries/explosive blasts
Who do traumatic brain injuries (TBI) affect the most?
Elderly and children
What is the most common cause of discharge from military service?
Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
-EXPLOSIVE BLASTS
Other common causes of sever brain injuries besides TBI
Stroke
-approximately 795,000 people suffer a stroke each year
Infarct
Localized mass of dead tissue, resulting from a failure of blood supply.
Common in a ischemic stroke(blockage of blood vessels/lack of blood flow the affected area)
Ischemic Stroke
Blockage of blood vessels/lack of blood flow to affected area
Hemorrhagic stroke
Rupture of blood vessels, leakage of blood
Other common causes of severe brain injury besides TBI and Stroke
Tumors
nearly 40,000 people are. diagnosed with a brain tumor each year
Tumor
mass of new tissue growing independently of its surroundings
-smashes the natural ventricles in the brain
What type of infections can occur in the brain?
-Meningitis
-encephalitis
each year in the US there are about 8000 cases of meningitis and several thousand cases of encephalitis
Meningitis
an inflammation of the fluid and membranes (meninges) surrounding the brain and spinal cord
Meninges
three layers of connective tissue in which the brain and spinal cord are wrapped
dura mater(Thick outer layer),
arachnoid mater(thin connective tissue splitting the dura and pia),
pia mater(delicate, thin, right next to the brain)
encephalitis
inflammation of the brain usually caused by a virus
Nervous system diseases
-myasthenia gravis
-polio
-multiple sclerosis
-parkinson's
-Hungtington's
Possible complications of brain injury:
Altered consciousness
Coma, vegetative state
Possible complications of brain injury:
Physical complications
seizures, paralysis
Possible complications of brain injury:
cognitive problems
disrupted memory, reasoning
Possible complications of brain injury:
communication problems
difficulty speaking or understanding speech
Possible complications of brain injury:
social problems
difficulty understanding nonverbal signals, trouble reading cues from listeners
Possible complications of brain injury:
behavioral changes
difficulty with self control, risky behavior
Possible complications of brain injury:
emotional changes
depression, anxiety
Possible complications of brain injury:
sensory problems
difficulty recognizing objects
GOAL of neuropsychology
to understand the relationship between brain structures or processes and behavior
following brain damage, find out part of the brain responsible for behavioral and underlying brain processes
Clinical perspective
focus on the effects of brain damage or disease on physiological processes
What can symptoms tell us about the brain area?
"case study approach/small end approach"
cognitive perspective
understand impairments of physiological processes inn terms of disruption of information processing systems
What can the system tell us about information processing?
-can narrow down where the damage is at
"brain hypothesis" vs. "heart hypothesis"
The brain vs. the heart as the source of behavior
It was first thought that the heart was the organ of thinking/mental processes
"neuron hypothesis"
had two differing views,
- neurons as a "neural net"
-neurons as separate entities
Aristotle
-favored the "heart hypothesis" over the "brain hypothesis"
-earliest study of formal logic
-Believed that the mind is mental, not physical
"Mentalism": a non-material mind controls behavior
-felt the heart and brain of a dead cow and the heart was warmer so he decided this must do the mental processing...
Galen of Pergamum
Roman physician who challenged the "heart hypothesis" by describing changes in behavior from gladiator head wounds
-found that sensory nerves traced to the brain not the heart
Rene Descartes
French anatomist who said "I think therefore I am"
"mind-body problem"
-distinguished the mental realm from the physical realm
-the mind is causally connected to the pineal gland
believed in "dualism": a non-material mind controls a material body and behavior (two realms of existence)
Vaucanson's Automatic duck
the interior of an automated duck
-served to illustrate Descartes' view
Descartes' model
Tubes = Nerves
Balloons and springs = muscles and tendons
Water = animal spirits
Descartes important contributions
-used a model
-emphasized nerves
-split between philosophy and physiology
-using a model and emphasizing the nerves is what marked the split between philosophy and physiology
Descartes notion of how nerves work
sensory nerves: act like strings!
motor nerves: act hydraulically
Descartes pain pathway
The first pain pathway using peripheral nerves, the spinal cord, and the brain
-thought they went to a valve in the pineal gland
Descartes' Rationalism vs. empiricism
If I have any knowledge of the external
world, then I have it through reason
instead of the senses.
Descartes was a rationalist!!
Luigi Galvani
Electrical stimulation of the nerve in a frog's leg produced contraction of the leg muscle.
-metal and electricity had to be involved to make the legs jump
Electrical storm experiment
experiment showing the nerves could be stimulated by 'static' electricity from an electrical storm
-when the lighting struck, dozens of frog legs jumped further proving nerves work by ELECTRICITY!
Charles Darwin
English naturalist and biologist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (1809-1882)
-All species come from a common ancestor
-psychological traits are evolved adaptations due to natural selection
Who contributed to materialism? what is materialism?
Charles Darwin!
-the idea that behavior and mind are explained by the workings of the nervous system
Franz Joseph Gall
developed phrenology, proposing that different locations of the brain have different functions
-the first person to suggest this
Phrenology
head shape = brain shape
larger skull = larger brain parts
The size of each of these parts indicated how fully developed it was and therefore the strength of its influence.
the term phrenology to describe the study of the relationship between the skull's surface and a person's personality and behavioral characteristics.
-the belief that bumps on the skull reflect the growth of small, underlying brain areas
Phrenology example from lecture
Gall's passionate widow had a bump on her "amativeness" which was an old fashioned word for arousal of feelings of sexual desire, sexiness, amorourness, etc.
he was intrigued by the possibility of localization of function and took the concept to extremes with his pseudoscience of phrenology
How did Franz Joseph Gall function as an anatomist?
He was the first to dissect the brain by carefully teasing apart organs, rather than just taking a knife and slicing it. He was the first anatomist to distinguish gray matter from white matter
Gray matter
Brain cells (neurons)
White matter
axons (fibers)
corpus callosum
a broad band of nerve fibers joining the two hemispheres of the brain.
-trunk
-splenium
-genu
-rostrum
not sure why this was on the slide or what you should know about it
Who challenged localization of function
Pierre Flourens
Pierre Flourens
Surgically removed brain pieces; argued against Gall's methods
-developed the techniques of lesion (cutting) or ablation (removing) parts of the brain to systematically study the effects of brain damage on behavior
-challenging the validity of phrenology and localization of function
Pierre Flourens example
-Used pigeons as an animal model
-destroyed small regions of cortex expecting that the animals would lose specific functions
Pierre Flourens MAIN FINDINGS
-Loss of behavioral function was related more to amount of tissue damage than to location of tissue damage
-this challenged the validity of the whole idea of localization of function within the brain
-viewed the brain as an integrated whole
-over time there sometimes was recovery of function implying that other brain areas could take over for the damaged area (neuroplasticity!).
Who challenged phrenology?
Pierre Flourens
Neuroplasticity
the ability within the brain to constantly change both the structure and function of many cells in response to experience or trauma. Recovery of functionn implies other brain areas taking over for the damaged
Friedrich Goltz
-Demonstrated that many basic functions were preserved in dogs whose cortex was largely removed
-similar findings to Pierre and also challenged localization
John Hughlings Jackson
The three basic systems/units of brain operate as a whole but in hierarchical fashion (brain, brain stem, and spinal cord)
-attempted to explain such results with the notion of hierarchical organization of the nervous system
Paul Broca
found Broca's area, language production in the left frontal lobe
-determined one hemisphere can do something the other cannot
-more evi [Show Less]