Higher Cortical Function- Manaye

Question 1

What are higher cortical functions?

Answer 1

• memory
• orientation
• concentration
• language
• recognition of stimuli (examined by tests for agnosia)
• learned skilled movements (examined by tests for apraxia)

Question 2

Describe the functional localization of the cerebral cortex.

Answer 2

• frontal lobe helps you think about words
• occipital lobe helps you to see words
• parietal lobe helps you to speak words
• temporal lobe helps you to hear words

Question 3

What is consciousness?

Answer 3

encompasses perception of sensation, voluntary initiation and control of movement, and capabilities associated with higher mental processing

• involves SIMULTANEOUS activity of large areas of the cerebral cortex
• alert (heightened) state and drowsiness (awake but not inattentive)
• reticular activating system and neurohormonal systems
• clinical consciousness is defined on a continuum that grades levels of behavior- alertness, drowsiness, stupor, coma

Question 4

What is attention?

Answer 4

• selects information for cognitive process
• selection may be shaped by emotion, motivation, and salience and is under some executive control
• without flexible, voluntary access control, humans would not be able to change habitual behavior to take advantage of new opportunities
• without stimulus-driven attention, we would not be able to respond quickly to significant events
• thus we need both VOLUNTARY and AUTOMATIC attention

Question 5

What is cognition?

Answer 5

• ability to attend to external stimuli and internal motivation
• identify the significance of the stimuli and make meaningful responses

Question 6

What cortices are responsible for cognition?

Answer 6

Association cortices are responsible for this complex processing

Question 7

What is intelligence?

Answer 7

• the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, and think abstractly
• comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience
• it is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts
• it reflects a broader and deeper capacity for comprehending our surroundings- catching on, making sense, of things, figuring out what to do to resolve complex problems

Question 8

How do you test via ability, achievement aptitude?

Answer 8

intelligence quotient (IQ): MA/CA x 100

MA=mental age
CA= chronological age/biological age

Question 9

What are the functional categories of the cortex?

Answer 9

• association cortices process raw sensory signals into complex concepts that can be remembered and used to create new ideas that can be formulated into action
• unimodal association cortex: refines single sensory information in that it is a region of the cortex devoted to higher level of information relevant to specific sensory modality; it is adjacent to each primary sensory area
• multimodal association cortex (not motor): receives input from all sensory modalities and handles complex intellectual functions

Question 10

Describe the location of the frontal lobe and its function.

Answer 10

the frontal lobe is located in front of the central sulcus and above the lateral (Sylvian) fissure

• plays an integral role in voluntary motor movement for opposite side of body includes face and eyes
• plays a role in the executive functions

Question 11

What are the executive functions and what occurs with damage to the prefrontal cortex?

Answer 11

Executive functions:

• memory formation
• emotions
• decisions
• personality

damage to the prefrontal cortex:
-high degree of distractibility and an inability to plan and carry out any complex idea with increased level of stubborness