PSYC 325 Biopsychology Final Exam
PSYC 325
Biopsychology
Final Exam (Week 8)
Discuss Medial Temporal Lobe Amnesia, Emphasizing The Cases Of H.M. And R.B. What Have We Learned From The Study Of This Disorder?
During the case of H.M., the removal of one medial temporal lobe in the past had already proved to be an effective treatment for patients with a unilateral temporal lobe focus. An electroencephalography suggested that the reason why H.M. had convulsions was because of the focus on the in the medial portions of both his left and right temporal lobes. A decision was made to perform a surgery that would remove the medial portions of both temporal lobes, which would include most of the hippocampus, amygdala, and adjacent cortex. Once the surgery was complete new evidence suggested that H.M. developed anterograde amnesia in which he could no longer form new memories and no longer recall memories from two years before the surgery. Evidence suggested that the post-surgery findings established the fundamental principle in which memory is a distinct cerebral function. Memory is found to be separate from other cognitive and perceptual abilities (Pinel, 2014).
During the case of R.B., a botched cardiac bypass surgery consequently resulting in ischemic brain damage left him amnesic because the pump that was circulating R.B.’s blood to his body while his heart was disconnected broke down, and R.B. was left without blood pumping for several minutes before a replacement pump arrived from another part of the hospital. A detailed postmortem examination of R.B.’s brain was carried out with the consent of his family revealed that there was a circumscribed bilateral lesion involving the entire CA1 field of the hippocampus. The findings from R.B.’s were considered together and suggested that damage to the hippocampus itself is sufficient enough to create clinically substantial and readily evident memory impairment. Another finding was that any additional damage to the neighboring cortical regions along the parahippocampalgyrus, similar to H.M., can greatly aggravate the memory impairment. Some of the strongest evidence suggests that selective hippocampal damage can cause medial temporal lobe amnesia and it comes from cases of transient global amnesia (Pinel, 2014).
Reference
Pinel, J. (2014). Biopsychology (8th edition).Pearson Publishing.
Compare The Following Three Theories Of Cerebral Asymmetry: The Analytic-Synthetic Theory, The Motor Theory, And The Linguistic Theory. Describe Relevant Evidence, And Reach A Conclusion.
The analytic-synthetic theory of cerebral asymmetry is a theory that proposes that there are two basic modes of thinking, which are an analytic mode and a synthetic mode. This theory suggests that the two modes have been segregated to the left and right hemispheres during the course of evolution. The left hemisphere is suggested to operate more in a logical, analytical, and in a more computer like fashion by analyzing and abstracting stimuli and processing data sequentially and by labels. The right hemisphere primarily synthesizes, organizing and processing information in terms of wholes. The motor theory of cerebral asymmetry is a theory that proposes that the left hemisphere is specialized specifically more for the control of fine movements and not for the control of speech, although speech is only one of many category controlled by the left hemisphere. Some evidence that supports this theory is that motor function deficits often stem from aphasia producing lesions (Pinel, 2014).
The linguistic theory of cerebral asymmetry is a theory that proposes that the major role of the left hemisphere is language because of the left hemisphere’s crucial specialization for analytic thought and skilled motor activity. The linguistic theory of cerebral asymmetry contrasts the analytic–synthetic theory as well as the motor theory simply because those two theories propose language as a secondary specialization that resides in the left hemisphere. Evidence does display that the left hemisphere does seem to control comprehension and hold the ability to process data and split-brain research has displayed the left hemisphere as being more dominant than the right, but the right is not excluded. My understanding of the left and right hemisphere is that they work simultaneously processing data between the two and coming up with a vigilant thought process. Not excluding one or the other but understanding that everything has its function sending neurotransmissions back and forth (Pinel, 2014).
Reference
Pinel, J. (2014). Biopsychology (8th edition).Pearson Publishing.
Identify Three Areas Of The Brain That Are Involved In The Regulation Of Sleep. What Is Thought To Be The Function Of Each Area? Be Sure To Describe The Evidence That Has Implicated Them.
During a Spanish flu epidemic within the period of the First World War, Constantin von Economo observed that most of the world was swept by a serious viral infection of the brain called encephalitis lethargica. Encephalitis lethargica was known for causing patients to fall into a state of lethargy or coma before death, while others lasted several days without sleeping before dying. Constantin von Economo autopsied many brains of these two types of patients, and found that patients who had been comatose before their deaths had lesions in the posterior hypothalamus or the upper part of the midbrain and the patients who had experienced wakefulness before dying had lesions in the preoptic area of the anterior hypothalamus. Evidence suggested that the posterior hypothalamus and adjacent midbrain promotes wakefulness, and the anterior hypothalamus and adjacent basal forebrain promotes sleep (Pinel, 2014).
Various autopsies have also discovered that a person’s brainstem once damaged can cause a person to fall into a deep sleep or become comatose. This evidence suggests that the brain stem also plays significance in the state of wakefulness. Evidence of this was discovered with experimentation in cats by Bremer in 1937 when he transected the caudal brain stem from the rest of the nervous system in various different groups of cats. Years later in 1949, brain researchers Giuseppe Moruzzi and Horace Magoun successfully triggered comas in cats by using coagulation to destroy the central part of the brainstem, known as the reticular formation. Evidence suggested that comas were due to the absence of wakefulness. Moruzzi and Magoun proposed that low levels of activity in the reticular formation produce sleep and that high levels produce wakefulness. The reticular formation theory is so commonly accepted it is referred to as the reticular activating system. Great advances are still being researched due to its mysterious nature of the brain that are involved in the regulation of sleep and more areas of the brain may play more of a role than science may know (Pinel, 2014).
Reference
Pinel, J. (2014). Biopsychology (8th edition).Pearson Publishing.
Compare And Contrast Parkinson’s Disease And Huntington’s Disease.
Huntington’s disease, also called Huntington’s chorea, chorea major, or HD, is a progressive disorder that is an inherited genetic neurological disorder. Huntington’s disease is categorized by having uncoordinated abnormal erratic body movements called chorea and also having a decline in mental capabilities. Symptoms of Huntington’s disease can and usually do develop within the age of thirty to fifty, but they have been known to appear as early as age two or even as late as eighty years old. Since Huntington’s disease is a progressing disease it can lead to pretentious aspects of behavior and a decline in life expectancy. The defective gene is an autosomal dominant gene protein that causes brain alterations causing abnormal involuntary movements, a severe decline in thinking and reasoning skills, depression, anxiety, irritability, uncharacteristic anger and other mood changes. The brain develops lapses in concentration, memory, judgment and it declines the ability to plan and organize(Maddux, 2012).
Parkinson’s disease, also called PD is also a chronic and progressive movement disorder. Parkinson disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the individuals’ motor skills and speech, as well as many other functions. Parkinson’s disease is categorized by having symptoms of muscle rigidity, and tremors. Other symptoms include a slowing of physical movement, which is called bradykinesia and, in more extreme cases, a loss of physical movement, which is called akinesia. Parkinson’s disease involves the malfunctioning and overall death of vital neurons within the brain. The death of vital neurons within the brain are usually the one’s that produce the chemical dopamine, affecting the neurology of sending signals to the part of the brain that controls coordination and movement. Dopamine production reduces as Parkinson’s disease progresses, which will eventually leave that individual to be unable to control their movement. Both diseases control brain functioning and movement, and they are extremely serious diseases (Maddux, 2012).
Reference
Maddux, J.E. &Winstead, B.A. (2012). Psychopathology: Foundations for a contemporary understanding (3rd ed.) Routledge.
Describe and discuss two important ideas that have emerged from research on the effects of stress on health. Explain the research that led to each idea and why it is important.
Stress is a feeling of strain and pressure and it can be caused by external stimuli related to the environment, but stress may also be caused by an internal feeling inside an individual caused by that persons own perceptions. Stress is a much overlooked reaction to issues resulting from problems with everything, environmentally, socially, and emotionally. Stress can be internalized as well as externalized much like any severe and impairing emotional disorders (SED) and/or behavioral problems. People who internalize stress have a tendency to have anxiety problems, withdrawal issues and in turn a lot of the time they deal with depression. People who externalize stress, on the other hand, are generally more prone to be aggressive, disruptive, hyperactive, and display troubled behavior. Eustress is when a person perceives a stressor as a positive, and distress is when a person perceives a stressor as a dissonance or form of conflict (Maddux, 2012). That should obviously tell us something about stress, people who have a tendency to be stressed are obviously in disagreement about how that action should be resolved or approached.
Stress can make any existing problem even worse and chronic stress could also cause disease. Stress could cause disease by how it affects the habits of your daily life, developing a drug habit, excessive overeating, and depression (Thorn & Pence, 2007). The body has a natural stress response system that regulates its own amounts of adrenaline and cortisol within the body. When the natural stress response system is put into a state where the natural levels remain irregular the overexposure to cortisol and adrenaline can easily disrupt regular brain and bodily functions. These increases symptoms like anxiety, depression, memory and concentration impairment, heart and digestion issues, as well as weight fluctuation and sleep disorders. Stress is an extremely overlooked issue that if left unchecked can be drastic to an individual’s health (Seaward, 2014).
Reference
Seaward, BL. (2014).Essentials of Managing Stress. 3rd ed. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Maddux, J.E. &Winstead, B.A. (2012). Psychopathology: Foundations for a contemporary understanding (3rd ed.) Routledge.
Thorn, B.E., Pence, L.B., et al. (2007).“A randomized clinical trial of targeted cognitive behavioral treatment to reduce catastrophizing in chronic headache sufferers.”Journal of Pain 8 , 938-949.