Neuropsychology Exam 2-LATEST UPDATES 2022

Neuropsychology Exam 2 Organization of the corticostriatal circuit: - Mediates motivation and action o Generates motivation to achieve or obtain what we find rewarding o Coordinate our behaviors and actions to achieve these goals o It allows for the generation of an appropriate response under appropriate circumstances o Can be hijacked to generate maladaptive behaviors - Ventral striatum is the central node of the corticostriatal circuit o Functions like a gate o Mediates activation of physiological and behavioral circuits o Information from various sources (extrinsic motivation; food, and intrinsic motivators; hunger) o When particular conditions allow, the ventral striatum opens and hence shaping our subsequent actions. o Over time the VS gate opens in an anticipation of a reward. o Functionally it acts as a transition point for information between limbic input structures (blue) and the associated structures to motivation and action generation (beige) - BLUE NODES o PFC  Is functioning to integrate bottom up and top down information to shape adaptive responses  Executive functions such as  Conflict monitoring  Goal directed planning o Amygdala  Signals pertain to sensory input from the environment  Helps learn specific cues to identify when action is necessary in the environment by providing sensory cues when an affective tone. o Hippocampus  Help learning the context in which a specific motivation will be satisfied by a specific action.  Provides contextual memory o Midbrain  Originates a critical dopaminergic projection to the VS gate.  Dopamine determines the opening of the VS to generate goal directed behaviors  The key that allows for the convergent signals to activate the output nodes in the CS circuit.  Originate from the ventral tegmental area.  Over time dopamine signals are produced in a prediction to a rewarding stimulus.  If there is no dopamine released the association of input and output can be weakened - BEIGE NODES o Dorsal striatum and pallidum, thalamus and motor cortex plays a central role in movement.  Part of the basal ganglia o Ventral pallidum  Contains cholinergic neurons which project to PFC  Effect can be mediated by the thalamus or hypothalamus  Helps permit signals related to food motivation and reward signals  Associated with pleasure (hedonic realization)  Mediates hedonic impact  Signals incentive salience - Extensive connectivity between the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens) and distributed nodes of the CS circuit - Nucleus accumbens can be separated in to a core and a shell section. o Associated with pleasure and reward, motivation and reinforcement learning o Shell is involved in cognitive processing of motivational salience which is desire/wanting  Interconnection with other nodes in CS circuit  Also, plays a role in reward perception and positive reinforcement o Core involved in cognitive functioning of motor functions related to motivation and reward