Prefrontal Cortex The prefrontal cortex is the most anterior portion of the frontal lobe. It responds mostly to stimuli signaling the need for movement, however it is also responsible for many other specialized functions. It receives information from all sensory systems and can integrate a large amount of information (Kalat 2004). Studies have shown that the prefrontal cortex is responsible for working memory. Working memory is defined as "the information that is currently available
psychological (hallucinogenic, entheogenic) changes in humans. Because of the mind-altering properties of the drug, much research on psilocybin is devoted to understanding its physiological effects on brain chemistry. A recent study tested prefrontal activation during a cognitive challenge and the neurometabolic effects of four different drugs on 113 regions of interest of the brain (Gouzoulis 1999). The four substances tested were psilocybin, d-methamphetamine (METH), methylenedioxyethylamphetamine
primary motor cortex and the prefrontal cortex, which extend from the central sulcus to the anterior of the brain. The posterior part of the frontal lobe is the precentral gyrus which is specialized in the control of fine movements. The very most anterior portion of the frontal lobe is the prefrontal cortex. The neurons in this area have up to sixteen times as many dendritic spines as neurons in the occipital lobe or primary visual cortex. As a result, the prefrontal cortex is able to integrate
old the doctors discovered a grapefruit size benign meningioma tumor in his brain. After this, he had six more surgeries and his last one left him paralyzed on his left side. This was because most of his tumors were found in the right hemisphere, prefrontal cortex with his last surgery towards the premotor and motor cortex causing his paralysis. Ryan overcame being paralyzed with a desire to play basketball and video games. Today he is running sound for church, working full time and helping with student
world to a radical new procedure to treat the mental illness of schizophrenia. This procedure was a surgical operation performed on the brain, called a prefrontal leucotomy and would become more commonly known as the lobotomy. The operation consisted of the insertion of a needle to perform incisions that destroyed connections between the prefrontal region and other parts of the brain. This helped to reduce incidents of the negative behavior, b... ... middle of paper ... ...berg: Selected Poems
normal brains. It is this increased dopamine that is believed to be responsible for the symptoms of the disease. However, the is much debate in the scientific community as to the exact mechanism by which altered dopamine levels, especially in the prefrontal cortex, striatum, and limbic system, produce schizophrenia. There is much clinical evidense that provides support for the dopamine hypothesis. The first evidense that dopamine may be involved in schizophrenia came from amphetamine users. Amphetamines
Laughter "Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it." --E. B. White Why do people laugh? Laughter is contagious and therapeutic. It helps us cope with stress, and relax with friends. It is an indication of happiness, the sole reason we go on living. But what causes people to laugh? People laugh at jokes, semantic humor, which relies on cognitive ability to process the "humor" therein, or sometimes at slapstick type behavior requiring no intellectual
thoughts"(NIMH, 1996), that affects about five percent of school age children (McEwan, 1998). Loss of control and thought may be believed to be caused by certain impaired brain functions that are important for children to maintain attention. The prefrontal cortex, caudate nucleus, and globus pallidus are three parts of the brain that are involved with regulating attention (Barkley, 1998). In a Scientific American article, entitled "Attention-Deficit Hypera... ... middle of paper ... ...Attention-Deficit
What impairments would you expect to see following lesions to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex? Compare and contrast with lesions affecting the dorsolateral prefontal cortex. In 1948 Phineas Gage, an American railroad construction foreman, was involved in a terrible accident during which a tamping iron was explosively forced upwards through his left cheek and exiting the top of his head (Harlow, 1948). He stunned his colleagues by not only surviving the event and swiftly regaining consciousness
Lily Huang author of Protect the Willfully Ignorant states “An increasingly urgent question of privacy or how best to keep your public plot walled in” (474). Most internet users savvy or not, are aware of the potential risks. Most people know the potential risk for permanency and of the pictures or information we put out on social networks or other sites and the content being seen. We have all heard the warnings since grammar school from everyone about the internet and how to use it. Teachers, parents
A recently published article seems to lend new information as to the way in which emotions influence our decision-making process. While emotions and reasoning are considered inherently separate by some, new experiments are challenging that perception. A series of studies done by experimental psychologists now show us that emotion plays a very natural role in decision-making situations. The experiments, ranging in type from neuroimaging to simple classical conditioning, suggest that emotions can affect
“Some werewolves are hairy on the inside.” Stephen King, a famous horror film writer and director, knows that serial killers are some of most evil but unrecognizable people in society. Walking down the street, serial killers go completely unnoticed. This “under the radar” way of living is what makes them very dangerous. Serial killers appear entirely normal on the outside, but it is what is on the inside that makes them unlike everybody else. Inside is where their minds are altered to accept
I decided to study medicine many years ago because it enables one to make a direct difference to another person’s life by putting into practice a deep knowledge of science. However after being in quarantine due to a swine flu outbreak whilst on a Chinese language camp this summer my feelings developed. I had an insight into public health and disease control on a global scale and it was the intensity and sense of urgency that appealed to me. A doctor has no routine and is exposed to scientific and
the general public and therefore research on their brains has been conducted. When comparing scans of everyday citizens’ brains as opposed to the brain of a convicted serial killer, the differences are clear. The two scans differ widely with the prefrontal gray matter of the average person’s, dwarfing that of the murderer’s (Adams). Pr... ... middle of paper ... ...lack of serotonin is a known chemical difference within the mind and body of serial killers. It is also crucial to consider the genetic
emotional stimuli, especially expressive faces, in psychopaths. Kawasaki et al. (2001) explored the relationship between emotional sensory stimuli and the prefrontal cortex. They looked at neuron response in a 48-year old epilepsy patient using depth electrodes to record neuron activity. They found a short latency to aversive stimuli in the ventral prefrontal cortex. The inability for individuals high in psychopathy to process emotional stimuli can further be explored by assessing how they respond to specific
The course Psychology 361: Introduction to Clinical Psychology served as an introduction to the profession and personal life of clinical psychologists. We discussed the ethical and legal issues, the importance of the client-therapist relationship, the rights and responsibilities of the client and the therapist and the different types of therapy within this field of practice. However, after evaluating these concepts in depth, I have come to find some of the material surprising, interesting and difficult
“experience simulator.” (2004, February) It means that the prefrontal cortex enables individuals to experience the future before it even happens. This ability also enables one “to desire things” and lets one imagine how it will make them feel a type of way and defines synthetic happiness. In the article, The Role of the Brain in Happiness by Doctor Bill Conklin, he explained that by using a functional MRI machine, he was able to see that the left prefrontal cortex is more active when an individuals feel happy
medial orbital portion of the prefrontal lobe (Kringelbach, 2005). This particular portion of the prefrontal cortex is called the orbitofrontal cortex of the brain and, it consists of Brodmann area 10, 11 and 47. It receives inputs from the ventral visual stream, and, inputs from the taste, somatosensory and olfactory receptors (Kringelbach, 2005). The orbitofrontal cortex is associated with the limbic system including the amydala, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Association to the limbic
Procrastination: Habit or Disorder? "Procrastination is 'the art of keeping up with yesterday and avoiding today.' " - Wayne Dyer (6) Universally common to college students, procrastination is often addressed as a bad habit. Yet, in most cases, this isn't a nuance, but a perpetual occurrence - no longer qualifying for the term "habit." Typically thought of as a behavioral trait, procrastination thrives on a cycle of blame shifting and avoidance. Falling victim to this "habit" myself, I embarked
Adolescence is a venerable and unstable time of adjustment in which a child transcends into adulthood (Casey, 2008). During adolescence there are examinable changes in various areas of life. These changes occur physically as the adolescent goes through puberty, as well as psychological changes where high emotional reactivity emerges, and social development is at its height (Casey, 2008). Adolescents are more likely than adults or children to engage in risky behaviour that can subsequently lead to