NEUROPSYCHOLOGIE
AANTEKENINGEN
COLLEGES +
RESPONSIECOLLEGES
Daphne Bremer
NEUROPSYCHOLOGIE 2023-2023 Radboud Universiteit
,Neuropsychologie College 1
Zaterdag 16 september 2023
The brain primary function is to produce behaviour:
- receive information about the world.
- Integrate information to create sensory reality. (Different for every species)
- Make constant streams of predictions about what to expect.
- Produce commands to control the movement of muscles.
The make up of the nervous system allows the brain to do so.
What is behaviour?
- Relatively fixed behaviour
Depend on heredity.
- Relatively flexible behaviour
Depends on learning.
Complexity of behaviour varies considerably in different species depending on complexity of
the nervous system.
Complexer zenuwstelsel meer complex gedrag mogelijk
Mentalism: behavior as a function of the nonmaterial mind (geest/soul). Het is de kern en
source van ons gedrag. Het is er ook nog als we doodgaan (Aristotle)
Dualism: nonmaterial mind and the material body contribute to behaviour. Mind directs
rational behaviour. Body and brain direct all the other behaviour via mechanical and physical
principles (sensation, movement, digestion). Mind is connected to the body through the pineal
gland of the brain (Descartes)
Mind-body problem: Impossible to explain how the soul and the material body connect.
Materialsm: behavior can be explained as a function of the nervous system without
considering the mind as a separate substance. Related to evolutionary theory of Charles
Darwin.
Het zegt niet dat we geen gedachtes of emoties hebben!
Darwin: differential success in the reproduction (passing genes) of different
characteristics/behavior (phenotypes) result from interaction of organisms with their
environment.
Als je beter met de omgeving kan omgaan, heb je meer kans op overleven en om je genen
door te geven, wat over verloop van tijd voor bepaalde kenmerken zorgt.
Competition is a key concept.
Mens heeft het grootste/zwaarste brein ten opzichte van hun lichaamsgewicht.
Des te complexer je brein des te complexer je gedrag
The brain is plastic: neural tissue has the capacity to the world by changing how its functions
are organized. Because the brain can adapt to the world, different species could develop.
Neuroplasticity is seen both in the developing brain and in adaptations 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 operates
(turn genes on or off during your lifetime). Cumulative effects can make a dramatic difference
in how your genes work and how likely a species is to pass on its genes evolution.
Genotype = genetic make-up
Phenotype = uiterlijk, hoe genen tot uiting komen.
Genotype + environment = verschillende soorten phenotype.
The brain – and especially the cortex – is highly flexible.
- That means humans can have different lifestyles, different environments, but equal
skill and success differences in brain organization are huge. There is no average brain.
Autonomic = heartrate, digestion, transpiration.
Forebrain: major structure of the brain, consisting of two almost identical hemispheres.
Prominent in mammals and birds, responsible for most higher order conscious behavior.
Cerebellum: little brain, involved in the coordination of motor and cognitive pro
Brainstem: central structures of the brain, including hindbrain, midbrain, thalamus and
hypothalamus. Source of behaviour in simpler animals, responsible for most unconscious
behavior.
Spinal cord: consists of nerves that carry incoming and outgoing messages between the brain
and the rest of the body including reflexes.
Forebrain: Cerebral / Neo cortex
The cerebral cortex is a thin sheet, composed of 6 layers of nerve
cells folded many times. It is responsible for regulating various
mental activities.
Gyri = bumps (rimpels bovenkant)
Suici: grooves (rimpels groeven)
Forebrain: Allocortex
Evolutionary older part of cortex consisting of ¾ layers of nerve
cells. Present in structures of the limbic system (cingulate cortex,
hippocampus, amygdala) as well as structures relates to the
olfactory system.
Cingulate cortex: Controlling motivational states, attention and self-monitoring.
Mailtje vergeten met bijlage oeps schrikken allocortex
Rostral/anterior = the front (gezichtkant, borst)
Dorsal = up (bovenkant van het hoofd, bij honden de rug, middenrug van bovenaf gezien)
Caudal/posterior = the back (achterkant/kont)
, Ventral = onderkant (van onderen, voeten)
Axial = horizontal
Cell structures:
Gray matter (cortex): the action cell bodies and their dendrites.
White matter: fat-sheated neuronal axons, plus glial cells for
structural support
Corpus callosum:
- Fiber system consisting of white matter tracts connecting the two cerebral
hemispheres. The corpus callosum is the largest white matter structure in the brain,
consisting of 200-250 million contralateral axonal pojections.
neuron = cellbody = gray matter
axons = white matter
neurons together = fibers.
Nerve when outside of the nervous system
Tract when inside the nervous system
Forebrain: Lobes of the cerebral cortex
- Each hemisphere is devided into four lobes
- Frontal (speech, initiates muscle movements,
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)
Blauw = frontal
Rood = parietal
Geel = temporal
Paars = occipital
Sensorial integration = sensory input, integrated in te
brain so that it makes sense.
