Post-Midterm Lecture Notes

.pdf

School

University of California, Berkeley *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

Subject

Psychology

Date

Nov 24, 2024

Type

pdf

Pages

Uploaded by CommodoreIcePorcupine3

Autism Part 1 - Controversy on the causes and treatments of Autism, and the classification of Autism as a disorder - Autism spectrum disorders are on average 80% reliant on genetic causes, so environmental causes are about 20% of the causes Autism Myths: 1. People with Autism do not want friends a. This is false. Those with Autism struggle with social skills and therefore have difficulties interacting with peers. 2. People with Autism can’t feel or express emotions a. Autism doesn’t make an individual unable to feel emotions, it makes them communicate and perceive emotions in different ways 3. People with Autism can’t understand the emotions of others a. Autism impacts an individual's ability to understand unspoken communication 4. People with Autism are intellectually disabled a. Autism often brings many exceptional abilities and talents What is Autism? - DMV-5 used to diagnose Autism - OCD is a comorbid condition of Autism, overly focused interests and obsessions with certain things - Overly sensitive to sensory input, especially noise - ASD is polygenic, not single risk factor, at the association level of genetics

Early signs of Autism (6 - 12 months) - Limited smiling when approached by caregivers - Not necessarily comforted by caregiver’s presence - Delayed babbling, sign of disrupted speech - Does not respond to their name - Poor eye contact - Rarely seeks attention, satisfied entertaining themselves - Does not gesture to communicate by 10 months - Autism is a spectrum, these are generalities Children are reliably diagnosed as young as 24 months, but the median age is older than 4 years old - Parents can not reliably be experts on noticing ASD behavior Public opinion on Autism: - Vaccines (that contain mercury) can cause autism by damaging intestinal lining of the child which compromises the protection of the digestive system and therefore damaging neurons ASD Genetic Mechanism: - Polygenic inheritance, Polygenic traits - Changes in over 1000 genes associated with ASD, but these associations lack specificity and causation - Most gene variations have only a small effect, and can combine with environmental risk factors - Non-genetic factors may contribute to about 30-40% of ASD risk - Many genes associated with ASD are involved in brain development - Inheritance pattern is unknown, but tends to run in families - Environmental factors include parental age, infections of the mother - Why do we talk about brain development? - The proteins produced from these genes affect multiple aspects of brain development - These genes coming together impact production, growth, and organization of neurons - Polygenic traits impact dendrites - Some studies indicate that those with ASD have more neurons during brain development

ASD: Commonly Implicated Genes: - SYNGAP1: gene provides instructions for making a protein called SynGAP - Plays an important role in nerve cells in the brain - Found at the junction between nerve cells (synapses) where cell-to-cell communication takes place - DYRK1A: gene provides instructions for the enzyme that is important in the development of the nervous system - The proteins whose activity the DYRK1A enzyme helps regulate are involved in various processes in cells, including cell growth and division and the process by which cells mature to carry out specific functions - SHANK3: gene provides instructions for making a protein that is found in many of the body’s tissues, most abundant in the brain - SHANK3 protein plays a role in the healthy functioning of synapses - Connections between nerve cells where cell to cell communication occurs - CHD8: gene provides instructions for making a protein that regulates gene activity by a process known as chromatin remodeling - Helps to control the amount of neurons in the brain with the objective of preventing overgrowth - Chromatin is the complex of DNA and protein that packages DNA into chromosomes. Chromatin can be changed to alter how tightly DNA is packaged - CHD8 protein is thought to affect the expression of many other genes that are involved in the brain development before birth ASD Terms: - Synaptogenesis: The rapid expansion in synaptic formation in order to deal with the bombardment of sensory input - During infancy, brain is flooded with sensory input that is hard to organize, Synaptogenesis helps the brain deal with sensory input - Synaptic Pruning: reduction in the number of synaptic connection which enables more efficient synaptic configurations (more efficient, supports ongoing learning) - We do not need unnecessary synapses - Brain Adaptation (Connections not used): are pruned as they are no longer needed, preventing unnecessary connections that slow the brain down

- Early brain overgrowth - Due to prenatal cell cycle deregulation, causes over-abundance of cortical neurons, leads to disrupted neural network development and disrupted function - Evidence that ASD begins in the womb Autism: Brain Imaging Study: - Brain Pathology Studies: - 67% overabundance of brain cells in frontal region - Excess number of neurons: - Too many incorrect connections - Miswiring of brain network - Slowing down of frontal brain regions - Decreased synaptic pruning in frontal regions to explain executive dysfunction Normal Pruning: - Genetic differences in Autism are linked to lack of synaptic pruning - Helps the brain to specialize and become more complex, accurate - Volumetric loss in the basal ganglia and the cerebellum (balance and coordination) Cerebellum & Autism - Abnormalities of cerebellar function in autism are associated with deficits in motor behavior → Difficulty executing appropriate behavior Autism & Stimming: - Self-stimulatory behavior also known as stimming and self-stimulation - The repetition of physical movements, sounds, words, or moving objects

- Form of communication - Self soothing mechanism Autism Part 2 fMRI Autism Study: - More activation does not mean more accuracy - Individuals w Autism presented with photos human faces and neutral pictures of objects in fMRI - Compared activation in fusiform gyrus between faces and neutral objects and words - Study showed that the fusiform gyrus was activated, but that it is misused to read words or look at neutral objects Q: What did fMRI give us that we didn’t know before? - Before it could be concluded that Autism patients’ fusiform gyrus was not activated when observing faces, but that is a misconception - Other interpretations besides misuse: - Processing is less efficient in reading, and people with autism require more visual resources to perform a task, hence visual centers are used for object recognition and reading, therefore, recruiting the fusiform gyrus is actually helping those with autism Mirror Neurons: - Concept originated from the observation of neurons in the frontal cortex of the monkey - Helped advance discussions on social cognition - Mirror neurons not activated at rest, but activated during motor movement - Also activate when the monkey observes motor movement - There is not a brain basis for how we interpret the actions of others, and can explain a lack of imitation, reduced joint attention - In Autism, there are resting mirror neurons when they should be activated Brain & Empathy: Right Supr-Marginal Gyrus: - Involved in perception of space, identifying postures and gestures of other people, therefore important to mirror neurons - Damage to this area is associated with impaired empathizing, empathy requires an understanding of other - Damage implicates reduced compassion - Lack of self-consciousness such as guilt or embarrassment

EEG: Mu Rhythm and Autism: - The mu rhythm is present when the body is at rest - Mu rhythm is suppressed or blocked when the person performs a motor action - Suppressed when the person views another or visualizes a motor action - Mu is impaired in individuals with Autism → does not suppress Interventions: - Speech therapy is a front-line intervention Theory of Mind: - Influential when talking about Autism, because theoretical frameworks give us a way to look at Autism Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA): - Gold standard for Autism treatment - Reverse social deficits in Autism - Social stories designed to help individuals with Autism learn subtleties of social interaction Neurochemistry of Social Bonding - Oxytocin: - Hormone & Neuropeptide (neuronal signaling molecules) - Produced in the hypothalamus and released in the pituitary gland - Plays a role in social bonding Autism Co-occurring Conditions: - ADHD → most common co-occurring condition w/ Autism - Easy for clinicians to miss the ASD diagnosis in children with ADHD Autism & Learning Disabilities: - Dyspraxia: affects motor skills - Dyslexia: affects language processing - Lack of recruitment of brain regions - Activation found in unusual places - Dysgraphia: affects writing abilities - Dyscalculia: affects ability to do math - Intraparietal Sulcus, decreased gray matter density Learning Disabilities & Brain: - Reduced dendritic growth - Reduced myelination

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Recommended textbooks for you

Ciccarelli: Psychology_5 (5th Edition)

Psychology

ISBN:9780134477961

Author:Saundra K. Ciccarelli, J. Noland White

Publisher:PEARSON

Cognitive Psychology

Psychology

ISBN:9781337408271

Author:Goldstein, E. Bruce.

Publisher:Cengage Learning,

Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and ...

Psychology

ISBN:9781337565691

Author:Dennis Coon, John O. Mitterer, Tanya S. Martini

Publisher:Cengage Learning

Psychology in Your Life (Second Edition)

Psychology

ISBN:9780393265156

Author:Sarah Grison, Michael Gazzaniga

Publisher:W. W. Norton & Company

Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research a...

Psychology

ISBN:9781285763880

Author:E. Bruce Goldstein

Publisher:Cengage Learning

Theories of Personality (MindTap Course List)

Psychology

ISBN:9781305652958

Author:Duane P. Schultz, Sydney Ellen Schultz

Publisher:Cengage Learning

SEE MORE TEXTBOOKS

Recommended textbooks for you

Ciccarelli: Psychology_5 (5th Edition)
Psychology
ISBN:9780134477961
Author:Saundra K. Ciccarelli, J. Noland White
Publisher:PEARSON
Cognitive Psychology
Psychology
ISBN:9781337408271
Author:Goldstein, E. Bruce.
Publisher:Cengage Learning,
Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and ...
Psychology
ISBN:9781337565691
Author:Dennis Coon, John O. Mitterer, Tanya S. Martini
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Psychology in Your Life (Second Edition)
Psychology
ISBN:9780393265156
Author:Sarah Grison, Michael Gazzaniga
Publisher:W. W. Norton & Company
Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research a...
Psychology
ISBN:9781285763880
Author:E. Bruce Goldstein
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Theories of Personality (MindTap Course List)
Psychology
ISBN:9781305652958
Author:Duane P. Schultz, Sydney Ellen Schultz
Publisher:Cengage Learning