Week 1: The neuropsychologist and consciousness
Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology:
• CH3 (p. 1)
• CH22 (p. 13)
• CH26 (p. 19)
Learning objectives:
• You will gain a beginning insight into all larger brain structures.
• You will learn about the consequences of coma.
• You will learn the definition of relevant concepts within the context of
neuropsychology.
• You will acquire knowledge regarding the profession of a neuropsychologist and are
able to place this in the larger context of psychology.
• You are able to describe several relevant neuropsychological disorders and reasons
why these disorders are neuropsychological in nature.
• You will have an understanding of the concept of consciousness, you will be able to
explain which processes are essential for consciousness, and you will know which
brain structures are involved.
• You will acquire knowledge concerning the levels of coma and will have an
understanding of the crucial signals necessary to determine the level of coma.
• You will be able to explain what awareness means, you will be able to give some
examples of a dysfunctional awareness system, and you will be able to apply your
knowledge of the brain structures involved on a clinical case.
Week 2: The organisation and disorders of the brain
Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology:
• CH3 (p. 1)
• CH9 (p. 30)
• CH11 (p. 33)
• CH13 (p. 40)
• CH14 (p. 47)
• CH15 (p. 51)
• CH16 (p. 55)
• CH26 (p. 19)
• CH27 (p. 61)
Learning objectives:
• Gaining insight into the organisation of the brain (structures and blood supply), its
anatomy and its functioning, while also familiarising oneself with several
neuropsychological disorders and its consequences.
• you can describe where certain brain areas/structures are located in relation to other
areas.
• You can explain how a disrupted blood supply affects the functioning of the brain.
, • You are familiar with several relevant neuropsychological disorders and can explain
them and recognise their symptoms.
Week 3: Lateralisation and plasticity of the brain
Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology:
• CH11 (p. 33)
• CH20 (p. 69)
• CH23 (p. 74)
• CH25 (p.78)
Learning objectives:
• You will gain insight into the lateralisation of the brain (functions).
• You will learn about plasticity and how the brain develops in young children.
• You will gain insight into brain plasticity at a young and later age, you can tell the
difference between functional recovery and compensation, and you will gain insight
into language recovery after brain injury.
• You will gain insight into the different types of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and
their consequences for proper functioning.
Week 4: The occipital lobe
Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology:
• pp. 212-213 (p. 81)
• CH13 (p. 40)
• CH14 (p. 47)
Learning objectives:
• You will understand the pathways through which visual information is processed in
the brain.
• You can explain how we know what we see and where we see it using the different
visual information processing systems.
• You know several visual disorders and know how damage to certain areas can cause
these disorders. Additionally, you are able to recognise these visual disorders by their
symptoms.
,Week 5: The temporal lobe and dementia
Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology:
• CH15 (p. 51)
• CH18 (p. 82)
• CH27 (p. 61)
Learning objectives:
• You will gain insight into the functions of the temporal lobe and can further explain
these insights using the connection between the temporal lobe and other areas of the
brain.
• You understand how different types of memory are tested in a neuropsychological
task and can link the types of memory to given examples.
• You can recognise clinical pictures of different types of dementia and can roughly
distinguish them based upon their specific symptoms and behavioural consequences.
• When given a clinical case description and simple neuropsychological test results, you
can indicate the areas of problematic brain functioning.
Week 6: The parietal lobe and brain tumours
Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology:
• CH14 (p. 47)
• CH15 (p. 51)
• CH16 (p. 55)
• CH21 (p. 84)
• CH26 (p. 19)
Learning objectives:
• You will learn the anatomy of the parietal lobe and its connectivity with other areas in
the brain.
• You will gain insight into the different functions of the parietal lobe and will be able
to reason, from its connectivity with other areas, how these interact.
• You can recognise multiple disorders of the parietal lobes form their symptoms.
• You will be familiar with the different types of brain tumours that exist and know
how these affect behaviour.
• You can explain problems in spatial functioning.
,Week 7: The frontal lobe
Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology:
• CH16 (p. 55)
Learning objectives:
• You will be familiar with the anatomy of the frontal lobe and its connections with
other areas of the brain.
• You will gain insight into the functions of the frontal lobe and can explain them in
light of connectivity to other areas of the brain.
• You will be able to name certain disorders caused by changes in frontal lobe
functioning and are able to recognise them in terms of symptoms and behaviours.
• You are familiar with the different executive functions and can comprehend and
explain their importance for behaviour when given an example.
• When given information about localisation, clinical picture, observation, behaviour,
and simple neuropsychological test results, you can estimate the area of problematic
brain functioning.
,Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology CH3: Nervous system organisation
Neurons in the cortex are organised in layers and in
clusters called nuclei that have specific functioning in
mediating behaviour.
Directions in the nervous system are described
relative to the neuroaxis; an imaginary line drawn
through the length of the central nervous system,
from the lower end of the spinal cord up to the front
of the brain. The face is the anterior/rostral, and the
‘tail’ is the posterior/caudal. The dorsal surface is
the top of the head and the back (where you cannot
see), and the ventral surface is the face and front of
the body. In referring to the brain, superior means
above, and inferior means below. Supraspinal levels
refer to anything above the spinal cord (brainstem,
brain). Lateral means to the sides, and medial means
to the middle. Ipsilateral refers to structures on the
same side of the body, and contralateral refers to
structures on opposite sides of the body.
Different terms also exist to describe the direction
of a section through the brain from a viewer’s
perspective. A coronal section is a cut in a vertical
plane, from the crown of the head down, revealing a
frontal view of the brain. A horizontal section
produces a dorsal view, looking down on
the brain from above. A sagittal section is
cut lengthways, front to back, and reveals
a medial view from the side.
Structures close to one another are
proximal and those far from one another
are distal. Any movement towards a brain
structure is afferent, whereas any
movement away from it is efferent.
1
,The central nervous system (CNS) consists of the brain and the spinal cord, both encased in
bone. The peripheral nervous system (PNS) encompasses everything else. The PNS has two
divisions:
• The somatic nervous system (SNS) that consists of two sets of inputs and outputs to
the CNS. These are the spinal and cranial nerves to and from the sensory organs and
the muscles, joints, and skin. The SNS transmits incoming sensory information to the
CNS and produces movements in response.
• The autonomic nervous system (ANS) that controls the functioning of the body’s
internal organs to rest and be active through the parasympathetic (calming) nerves
and the sympathetic (arousing) nerves.
The CNS lies within bony encasements and is therefore well protected. Lacking bony
protection, the PNS divisions are much more vulnerable to injury, but they can renew
themselves after injury by growing new axons and dendrites. Self-repair is much more
limited within the CNS.
Within the bony case enclosing the CNS is a triple-layered set of meninges. The outer dura
mater is a tough double layer of tissue enclosing the brain in a kind of loose sack. The
middle arachnoid membrane is a very thin sheet of delicate tissue that follows the brain’s
contours. The inner pia mater is a moderately strong tissue that clings to the brain’s surface.
The brain and spinal cord are also cushioned from shock and sudden pressure changes by
the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which circulates through the brain’s four ventricles, the
spinal column, and within the subarachnoid space in the brain’s meninges. CSF is
continually being made and drained off into the circulatory system through connecting
channels among the ventricles. If the outflow in these channels is blocked, as occurs in a
congenital condition called hydrocephalus, severe intellectual impairments and even death
can result from the built-up CSF pressure.
The blood-brain barrier protects the brain and spinal cord by limiting the movement of
chemicals from the rest of the body into the CNS and by protecting it from toxic substances
and infection.
2
, The brain receives its blood supply from four arteries that connect at the base of the brain,
where they enter the skull. Two of these arteries are internal carotid arteries and the other
two are vertebral arteries, both course up each side of the neck. Arteries supply blood
whereas veins take blood back to the heart.
The anterior cerebral artery (ACA) irrigates the medial (the cortex also covers the brain
between the hemispheres) and dorsal parts of the cortex. The middle cerebral artery (MCA)
irrigates the lateral surface of the cortex. The posterior cerebral artery (PCA) irrigates the
ventral and posterior surfaces.
A blood clot in cerebral arteries may cause a stroke and symptoms will vary according to
the location of the loss of blood supply. A large clot in or near the base of an artery will
deprive a great deal of the cortex of its blood supply, whereas a smaller clot in the more
distal branches of the artery will result in more-restricted damage. Some people have
connections between the different arteries, so subsequent to a clot, other arteries can supply
blood, thus minimising a stroke’s effects.
A stem cell has extensive capacity for
self-renewal. In the adult, one stem cell
dies after each division, so the mature
brain contains a constant number of
dividing cells. In the developing
embryo, the new cell does not die as the
brain is expanding, and stem cells give
rise to progenitor cells, which migrate
and act as precursor cells, giving rise to
nondividing primitive nervous system
cell types called blasts. Some blasts
called neuroblasts differentiate into
neurons. Other blasts called glioblasts
differentiate into glial cells. These two
basic brain-cell types take many forms
and constitute the entire adult brain.
3
