Samenvatting hoorcolleges
Neuropsychologie
,HC1: Evolution and function of the NS
Importance of the brain
- Receive information through sences (smell, sight)
- Integrate information to create a sensory reality
- Make predictions
- Produce commands to control the movement of muscles
What is behavior
- Relatively Fixed Behavior: From birth, genes. Dependent on heredity (erfelijkheid)
- Relatively Flexible Behavior: Dependent on learning
Complexity of behavior variates in different species depending on complexity of nervous
system.
Philosophy of brain and behavior
- Mentalism (Aristotle): an explanation of behavior as a function of the nonmaterial
mind. Like a soul. It is not in your body. We couldn’t measure it. Would still be there
if we die.
- Dualism (Descartes): Both a nonmaterial mind and the material body contribute to
behavior. Mind directs rational behavior. Body and brain direct all other behavior via
mechanical and physical principles like sensation, movement and digestion. Mind is
connected to the body through the pineal gland of the brain. Mind-Body problem: It
is difficult/ impossible to explain a nonmaterial mind in command of a material body.
- Materialism (Darwin): Behavior can be explained fully as a function of the nervous
system, without considering the mind as a separate substance. Related to
evolutionary theory of Darwin. Competition is a key concept. Survival of the fittest.
We can study the human brain by looking at animals’ brains.
Evolution of the brain
- Nerve net: simple nervous system organized as a net, with no brain.
- Segmented nerve trunk: bilaterally symmetrical organization
- Ganglia: structures that resample and function somewhat like a brain
- Brain: true brain and spinal cord
The brain is plastic
- Neural tissue has the capacity to adapt to the world by changing how its functions
are organized
- Because the brain can adapt to the world, different spieces could develop
- Neuroplasticity is seen both in the developing brain and in adaptions of brain
structure following injury
Epigenetics
- Study of differences in gene expression related to environment and experience
- Epigenetic factors do not change your genes, but they do influence how your genes
operate
, - Epigenetic changes can persistent throughout a lifetime, and the cumulative effects
can make dramatic differences in how your genes work and how likely a spieces is to
pass on its genes → evolution
The nervous system
Brain
Forebrain: major structure of the
brain, consisting of two almost
identical hemispheres.
Prominent in mammals and
birds, responsible for most
higher order conscious
behaviors.
Cerebellum: little brain, involved
in the coordination of motor and
cognitive processes
Brainstem: central structures of
the brain. They include the
hindbrain, midbrain, thalamus &
hypothalamus. Source of
behavior in simpler animals,
responsible for most of our
unconscious behaviors
Spinal cord: consists of nerves that carry incoming and outgoing messages between the
brain and the rest of the body including reflexes
, Overview
Forebrain: Cerberal/ Neo cortex
The cerebral cortex is a thin sheet composed of 6 layers of nerve cells folded many times to
fit inside the skull responsible for regulating various mental activities
Forebrain: Allocortex Cortex (found in several parts of the brain)
Evolutionary older part of cortex consisting of 3 or 4 layers of nerve cells is found in
structures of the limbic system (cingulate cortex, hippocampus, amygdala), as well as
structures related to the olfactory system.
Forebrain: Lobes of the cerebral Cortex
Each hemisphere is divided into four lobes
- Frontal: speech, initiates, muscle movement, planning, decision making and
executive functioning
- Parietal: cognitive and sensory integration for touch and body position, attention
- Temporal: auditory, taste, memory, sensory integration
- Occipital: visual
Neuropsychologie
,HC1: Evolution and function of the NS
Importance of the brain
- Receive information through sences (smell, sight)
- Integrate information to create a sensory reality
- Make predictions
- Produce commands to control the movement of muscles
What is behavior
- Relatively Fixed Behavior: From birth, genes. Dependent on heredity (erfelijkheid)
- Relatively Flexible Behavior: Dependent on learning
Complexity of behavior variates in different species depending on complexity of nervous
system.
Philosophy of brain and behavior
- Mentalism (Aristotle): an explanation of behavior as a function of the nonmaterial
mind. Like a soul. It is not in your body. We couldn’t measure it. Would still be there
if we die.
- Dualism (Descartes): Both a nonmaterial mind and the material body contribute to
behavior. Mind directs rational behavior. Body and brain direct all other behavior via
mechanical and physical principles like sensation, movement and digestion. Mind is
connected to the body through the pineal gland of the brain. Mind-Body problem: It
is difficult/ impossible to explain a nonmaterial mind in command of a material body.
- Materialism (Darwin): Behavior can be explained fully as a function of the nervous
system, without considering the mind as a separate substance. Related to
evolutionary theory of Darwin. Competition is a key concept. Survival of the fittest.
We can study the human brain by looking at animals’ brains.
Evolution of the brain
- Nerve net: simple nervous system organized as a net, with no brain.
- Segmented nerve trunk: bilaterally symmetrical organization
- Ganglia: structures that resample and function somewhat like a brain
- Brain: true brain and spinal cord
The brain is plastic
- Neural tissue has the capacity to adapt to the world by changing how its functions
are organized
- Because the brain can adapt to the world, different spieces could develop
- Neuroplasticity is seen both in the developing brain and in adaptions of brain
structure following injury
Epigenetics
- Study of differences in gene expression related to environment and experience
- Epigenetic factors do not change your genes, but they do influence how your genes
operate
, - Epigenetic changes can persistent throughout a lifetime, and the cumulative effects
can make dramatic differences in how your genes work and how likely a spieces is to
pass on its genes → evolution
The nervous system
Brain
Forebrain: major structure of the
brain, consisting of two almost
identical hemispheres.
Prominent in mammals and
birds, responsible for most
higher order conscious
behaviors.
Cerebellum: little brain, involved
in the coordination of motor and
cognitive processes
Brainstem: central structures of
the brain. They include the
hindbrain, midbrain, thalamus &
hypothalamus. Source of
behavior in simpler animals,
responsible for most of our
unconscious behaviors
Spinal cord: consists of nerves that carry incoming and outgoing messages between the
brain and the rest of the body including reflexes
, Overview
Forebrain: Cerberal/ Neo cortex
The cerebral cortex is a thin sheet composed of 6 layers of nerve cells folded many times to
fit inside the skull responsible for regulating various mental activities
Forebrain: Allocortex Cortex (found in several parts of the brain)
Evolutionary older part of cortex consisting of 3 or 4 layers of nerve cells is found in
structures of the limbic system (cingulate cortex, hippocampus, amygdala), as well as
structures related to the olfactory system.
Forebrain: Lobes of the cerebral Cortex
Each hemisphere is divided into four lobes
- Frontal: speech, initiates, muscle movement, planning, decision making and
executive functioning
- Parietal: cognitive and sensory integration for touch and body position, attention
- Temporal: auditory, taste, memory, sensory integration
- Occipital: visual
