Lecture 7 - Spatial Behaviour

Question 1

What problems can spatial disorientation englobed ?

Answer 1

• Problems finding the way, whether to go left or right
• Problems recognizing places (until seeing distinguishing features)
• Failure to use landmarks
• Able to verbally describe known routes
• Unable to locate cities & states on map

Question 2

What are the different types of space ?

Answer 2

• Body space
• Grasping space
• Distal space
• Time space : autonoetic awareness & autobiographical memory

Question 3

What are the different brain areas involved in spatial behaviour ?

Answer 3

• Prefrontal cortex : executive & scene manipulation
• Perirhinal cortex : object-based information
• Hippocampus : event within a scene, scene contribution
• Parahippocampal : scene-based information
• Occipital cortex : visual information
• Parietal cortex : Body-oriented information
  ATN : head direction
• Retrospinal cortex : scene translation

Question 4

What are the different types of spatial behaviors ?

Answer 4

• Route following
• Piloting
• Food catching
  -Dead reckoning

Question 5

What are the different tests for spatial behavior ?

Answer 5

• Visualization tests
• Orientation tests
• Spatial memory tests

Question 6

What are the 3 possible disorders of spatial behavior ?

Answer 6

• Topographical disorientation : inability to find your way in relationship to salient environmental cues
• Retrograde spatial amnesia : not able to navigate in environment that were familiar before injury
• Anterograde spatial amnesia : able to navigate in familiar but not in novel environments

Question 7

What are the different types of topographical disorientation ?

Answer 7

• Egocentric disorientation
• Heading disorientation
• Landmark agnosia
• Anterograde disorientation
• Spatial disorientation
• Balint Syndrome

Question 8

What are the symptoms of egocentric disorientation ?

Answer 8

• Difficulty perceiving relative location of objects with respect to oneself
• Inability to reach for identified objects
• Inability to describe routes (despite intact general memory)

Question 9

Where are located lesions that can lead to egocentric disorientation ?

Answer 9

Posterior parietal cortex (uni or bilateral)

Question 10

What are the symptoms of heading disorientation ?

Answer 10

• No sense of direction
• Able to recognize specific landmarks but unable to use them as navigation cues

Question 11

Where are located lesions that can lead to heading disorientation ?

Answer 11

R posterior cingulate cortex

Question 12

Where are located lesions that can lead to landmark agnosia ?

Answer 12

Lingual & fusiform gyri & parahippocampal gyrus (bilateral or medial R occipital lobe)

Question 13

Where are located lesions that can lead to anterograde disorientation ?

Answer 13

Parahippocampal gyrus (R inferior ventral cortex)

Question 14

Where are located lesions that can lead to spatial-mapping or memory deficit ?

Answer 14

Hippocampus

Question 15

What are the symptoms of landmark agnosia ?

Answer 15

• Inability to recognize specific landmarks but able to recognize object categories

Question 16

What are the symptoms of anterograde disorientation ?

Answer 16

• Inability to navigate in new environments

Question 17

What are the symptoms of spatial disorientation ?

Answer 17

• Problems in experiencing spatial proportions (“Alice in Wonderland” syndrome)

Question 18

What is developmental topographical disorientation ?

Answer 18

Lifelong inability to navigate or orient oneself in the environment despite normal other cognitive functions

Question 19

What functions are guided by the dorsal stream?

Answer 19

• Action guidance : reaching, grasping, body & eye movement

Question 20

What pathways are associated with the dorsal stream ?

Answer 20

• Parieto-prefrontal pathway (FEF)
• Pareto-premotor pathway (inputs from superior colliculus)

Question 21

What functions are associated with the ventral stream ?

Answer 21

• Perception functions : spatial navigation, landmark recognition, route knowledge

Question 22

What pathways are associated with the ventral stream ?

Answer 22

• Pareto-medial temporal pathway

Question 23

What is simult agnosia and what causes it ?

Answer 23

• Simult agnosia : inability to perceive more than one object at a time
• Lesions : bilateral parietal lesions

Question 24

What is optic ataxia and what causes it ?

Answer 24

• Optic ataxia : difficulty in using visual information to guide hand movements
• Lesions : parietal lobe damage

Question 25

What is Balint syndrome and what causes it ?

Answer 25

- Balint syndrome : inability to fixate eyes on specific stimuli, simult agnosia & optic ataxia (severe spatial orientation issues) - Lesions : bilateral dorsal parietal lesions

Question 26

What spatial deficits are associated with R parietal lesions ?

Answer 26

Issues with visual location & depth perception

Question 27

What spatial function is associated with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex ?

Answer 27

Memory for locations

Question 28

What spatial function is associated with the premotor regions ?

Answer 28

Reaching for objects

Question 29

What spatial function is associated with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex ?

Answer 29

Location value

Question 30

How do the temporal lobes directly contribute to navigation?

Answer 30

Dorsal input & ego-centric spatial guidance

Question 31

How do the temporal lobes are indirectly related to memory/recognition ?

Answer 31

Visual input & allocentric spatial guidance

Question 32

What spatial navigation abilities are affected if damage to hippocampus & parahippocampal gyrus ?

Answer 32

- Ability to describe & navigate in familiar environment but unable in new environments

Question 33

What spatial navigation abilities are affected if damage to hippocampus & entorhinal cortex ?

Answer 33

- Able to produce a cognitive map, but unable to describe contextual details

Question 34

Lesions to which area lead to anterograde spatial amnesia ?

Answer 34

Hippocampus

Question 35

Lesions to which area lead to retrograde spatial amnesia ?

Answer 35

Entorhinal cortex

Question 36

What are the three main types of cells involved in spatial behavior and navigation ?

Answer 36

- Place cells - Head-direction cells - Grid cells

Question 37

Where are the 3 types of positioning system cells mainly found ?

Answer 37

- Parietal & rhinal cortices - Hippocampus

Question 38

What are the four elements of a coherent scene according to SCT ?

Answer 38

- Navigation - Episodic memory - Imagining - Future thinking