NSCI320 Chapter Notes - Chapter 10-11: Prefrontal Cortex, Basal Ganglia, Explicit Memory

• School: University of Delaware
• Department: Neuroscience
• Course: NSCI320
• Professor: Eric Roth

Document Summary

Executive functions: the complex cognitive functions (listed above) that the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia serve, attention, working memory, planning, goal setting, things like being stressed out or distracted can impair working memory and executive functioning. Shared resource hypothesis: all parts of complex cognition working memory, attention, distraction, etc. Are(cid:374)"t totally separated pro(cid:272)esses, (cid:271)ut rather share (cid:272)o(cid:373)(cid:373)o(cid:374) (cid:374)eural resources: increasing demands on one cognitive resource would tax another shared resource, higher cognitive areas share resources that memory uses, increasing demands on one cognitive system stresses anoyther. Long term memory: information that happened a long time ago, beyond the length of time of working memory, frees up cognitive resources so (cid:449)e do(cid:374)"t hold e(cid:448)erythi(cid:374)g i(cid:374) (cid:449)orki(cid:374)g memory at once, guide future actions. Epileptic seizures: result of abnormally large quantities of activity in large groups of neurons in the brain, mass of neural firing takes control of most of the brain.