PSYCH 120A Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Phineas Gage, Stroop Effect, Prototype Theory
Document Summary
Tamping iron went through his prefrontal cortex. Allowed researchers to study the effects of frontal damage. Few intellectual damage, but poor inhibition, more moody, easily aggravated, impulsive. Couldn"t sustain goals or plan for the future. Processes that shape and constrain our thoughts, memories and actions to allow us to accomplish our behavioral goals. Involved in many of the cognitive skills that are unique. Picking up a phone is a prepotent response. Rewarded: annoying ringing goes away, can speak to someone who you may not have spoken to in a while. Irregular response: ignoring phone, reinforced on in special circumstances. Pfc acts as a switchboard, biases activity one way or another based on context. Pfc is more relevant for irregular responses. Damage to pfc lose switchboard that links context and stimulus automatic dominant response will be carried out regardless of context. Read words = prepotent response, almost automatic. Almost never need to name ink colors.
