Fusiform Gyrus!!!!

One of my favorite words to say in the land of Psychology is fusiform gyrus. It is the area of the brain that controls face recognition and can also be called the fusiform face area. My interest in this particular part of the brain actually stems from the abnormality that exists in this part of the brain. One of the main disorders are Proposagnosia, which is "facial blindness". Proposagnosia is the inability to recognize people or faces that are familiar. If an individual has this disorder they have a normal intelligence level and memory. They are able to point out the facial features that make up a face, such as eyes, nose, mouth, but their inability stems from putting the pieces of the face together so that it makes a complete face. 

The exact function of the fusiform gyrus is still under debate, but many researchers have concluded it to include the following functions: the processing of color information, body and face recognition (as stated), the ability to recognize words, the identification of things that belong to a certain group, and number recognition (this is under debate still). The location of the fusiform gyrus is in the inferior temporal cortex, as shown below.

This image is from this link.

The above information is just a general overview of the fusiform gyrus. I think the deterioration that occurs and results in Proposagnosia is an amazing act of the brain.  No matter how many times someone passes the individual with this disorder, they won't really be able to recognize them.

Hope you enjoyed the Psych Knowledge for this time! If you have any questions or comments feel free to ask, or if you have any topics you'd like me to discuss feel free to ask. Thank you!

I love you Basal Ganglia!

The basal ganglia is a set of forebrain structures within the lateral hypothalamus, which includes the caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus palidus. The connection or function that is most obvious is within the frontal areas of the cortex, which is responsible for planning planning things in a particular order, and certain aspects of memory and emotional expression. When the basal ganglia has deteriorated, which occurs in cases of Parkinson's or Huntington's disease, the most visible sign is impaired movement. However there are also signs of depression, deficiencies with memory, reasoning, as well as attention.

This image is from: http://neuralmodel.net/library/brain/basal_ganglia.htm

The basal ganglia also plays a role in language, especially those who are bilingual. How do individuals who speak two, or more, languages manage to keep each language separate? The answer is our dear friend basal ganglia.  The language receptors are stored in different areas of the brain, and for those who are efficient with language are able to juggle the different languages. Those individuals who learned two or more languages in early childhood had language areas in the temporal and frontal cortex become "thicker" than average. With those who are better at one language versus the other, the second or weaker language takes more of an effort and therefore activates the language areas stronger than the other language does. The shift from one language to another activates the frontal cortex, and basal ganglia.

Memory tasks that require a procedure, known as procedural memory(motor skills and habits), are linked with the basal ganglia. Another type of memory, declarative, is linked with the hippocampus, has to do with the ability to put things into words. The basal ganglia is also linked to sleep disorders, Schizophrenia, Parkinson's Disease, movement, and of  what is described above. There is more that can be said, but let's just say this is a condensed version of what information there is out there.

If you have any questions, or would like some more information, please feel free to ask or leave any comments/questions/concerns. Thank you for reading Psych Knowledge!

For more information on basal ganglia, click on the link below to listen to a podcast of what happens when the basal ganglia "short circuits"....(This podcast does not belong to me, and is the rights of Radiolab and WNYC.) Enjoy!

Damn It, Basal Ganglia!

Intro of Psych Knowledge and the Lobes of the Brain

Hello everyone!
     This blog will be written about my knowledge of Psychology. The reason for choosing this particular topic is because it is something that I am familiar with and it is something that I am studying. There has been so much research done to prove a particular finding, but there is a vast ocean of  knowledge that has not been found out. Psychologists are familiar with the lobes of the brain and the basic functions that that each part does, but the details of every single one of those parts is still unknown. So let's start with something easy, like the four lobes of the brain.
     The four parts of the brain are the Frontal Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Occipital Lobe, and Temporal Lobe. The Frontal Lobe is located right above your eyes and is responsible for the planning of movements, some aspects of memory and the inhibition of inappropriate behaviors. The Parietal Lobe is located behind the Frontal Lobe. It is responsible for integrating sensory information from different parts of the body, the notions of numbers and their function, manipulation of objects, and there are some aspects of vision.  The Occipital Lobe is located in the back of the brain and is responsible for vision processing and can be linked to the origination of  dreams. The fourth lobe is called the Temporal Lobe and is located where the temples are, which is below the Frontal and Parietal Lobe. Its function is auditory perception, advanced visual processing, and is a key to the formation of long-term memory.
      That is just some basics about the brain and what the functions of the four lobes of the brain. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Hope you enjoyed the Psych Knowledge!