CURRENT TOPICS

IN MOLECULAR PATHOGENESIS

COGNITION & MEMORY IN HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY

What is conscious experience ?

-Selective attention -Preattentive processing -Orienting response

-Habituation

Neural mechanisms for selective attention

Ignore it Habituation

Orienting response Disengaged from the original focus yes Preattentive processing

yes

yes Engaged at it Selective attention Prolonged to it

Moved to the new one

Attention
less more

A new stimulus

Where plays the important role ?

brainstem
-where interaction of various sensory modalities in single cells. ex: multisensory cells

stimuli

response

from the same place => (+) or not => (-) even (x)

locus ceruleus
-a nucleus in the pons -transmitter: norepinephrine (+)

cerebral cortex

Neural mechanism of conscious

Mind
-only require brain -a set of neurons temporarily working together -specific relevant neurons in many different area in brain work at the same time -cerebral cortex involved

Disease
sensory neglect -damage to association area of the parietal cortex

Learning and memory

Information
Learning
Acquisition& storage

Memory

Categories of memory

Categories of memory

Categories of memory

Neural basis of learning and memory

Short-term memory
Declarative memory
Hippocampus and other temporal lobe structure

Procedural memory
Widely distributed

Long-term memory
Declarative memory
Many areas of association cortex

Procedural memory
Basal nuclei Cerebellum Premotor cortex

Neural basis of learning and memory

Neural basis of learning and memory

LTP(?)

()

XXNeural basis of learning and memory

General Principles of learning and memory

There are multiple memory systems in the

brain. Working memory requires changes in existing neural circuits, whereas long-term memory requires new protein synthesis and grow. These changes may involve multiple cellular mechanisms within single neurons

XXNeural basis of learning and memory

General Principles of learning and memory

Second messenger systems appear to play

a role in mediating cellular change Changes in the properties of membrane channels are often correlated with learning and memory

Additional facts concerning learning and memory

Hormones(epinephrine, ACTH,vasopressin) Enkephalin and endorphin

Language
Produce language the conceptualization of what one wants to say or write Language a complex code that includes the acts of listening, seeing, reading, and speaking

Brain activity

Males and females typically use different brain areas for language processing

Brain activity

Language-generation

Language-cognition

Diseases

The potential for the development of languagespecific mechanisms in the left hemisphere is present at birth

Experiment

Split brain patients the processing of sensory information occurs on the side of the brain opposite to the sensation

Motivation and Emotion

Motivation:

- Is it worth it? (mesolimbic dopamine pathway) - Positive simulation (lateral hypothalamus) Emotion: - limbic system -> frontal cortex i.e. amygdala for fear

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