Neuroscience: Visual and Amygdala Pathways

The bundle of axons that carries visual information from the eye to the brain.

The crossing point for some axons in the optic nerve, where information from the nasal retina of each eye switches hemispheres.

The part of the thalamus that receives visual input from the optic nerve and relays it to the visual cortex.

The bundle of axons that carry visual information from the LGN to the visual cortex.

The primary visual cortex in the brain, where visual input from the optic radiations is processed.

A condition where a person has complete blindness in one eye. This is caused by damage to the optic nerve of that eye.

A condition where a person has loss of peripheral vision in both eyes. This is caused by damage to the optic chiasm, affecting the nasal retinas of both eyes.

A condition where a person has loss of vision in one half of their visual field. This is caused by damage to the V1 in one hemisphere.

A task that requires participants to identify if a stimulus is the same as one presented 'n' items before.

The part of the brain involved in maintaining the goal of a task and keeping track of information, important for working memory.

The brain region responsible for processing visual information, especially face recognition. It's active during encoding and recognition phases.

How people should ideally make decisions, considering all possible outcomes and their values.

How people actually make decisions, often influenced by biases, emotions, and heuristics.

Decisions based on evaluating expected outcomes and aiming to achieve a specific goal.

Decisions that are not controlled by rewards, but are triggered automatically by specific stimuli.

A decision-making strategy that relies on internal models of the world to evaluate different actions, like using a map to navigate.

A decision-making strategy that relies on simple input-output mappings, similar to stimulus-response decisions, without considering internal models.

The value assigned to different outcomes, taking into account the probability of obtaining them and the costs involved.

The time it takes to direct attention to a specific location (spatial attention) is faster than the time it takes to direct attention to a specific feature (feature attention).

Attention can be focused on different objects, and the properties of these objects (like combined features) determine their identification.

When spatial attention is not involved, object representations are affected by intentional control, meaning goals influence how we perceive them.

This experiment showed that attending to a moving face increased fMRI activity in the FFA (fusiform face area), while attending to a moving house increased activity in the PPA (parahippocampal place area).

Attention can be directed to specific locations in space (spatial attention), like a spotlight highlighting different areas within a scene.

Attention can also focus on selecting from perceptual groupings, like objects, highlighting a specific object from a group.

This network is involved in directing attention to specific tasks and goals, acting as a top-down control system for visual processing.

This model describes how different brain areas work together to control attention and influence visual cortical processing.

This network includes brain regions like the frontal cortex and parietal cortex, which are crucial for controlling and directing attention.

The top-down control of attention from this network influences how visual information is processed in the cortex, making sure we focus on what's important for our goals.

A brain structure crucial for processing emotions, especially fear, and plays a major role in learning, memory, and attention related to emotional stimuli.

Part of the amygdala that receives input from the olfactory system, contributing to processing smell-related emotions. Also sends information to the medial nucleus and other brain regions.

A disorder characterized by a lack of fear, often manifested by a tendency to approach objects that would normally elicit a fear response.

Refers to the inability to recognize the emotional significance of events or objects, a symptom of Klüver–Bucy syndrome.

The amygdala's interconnectedness with other brain regions highlights its role in learning and memory related to emotions. For example, it helps us learn to fear a specific object or situation.

The amygdala uses various neurotransmitters like glutamate, dopamine, and hormones to regulate its functions.

Damage to the lateral amygdala, a specific part of the amygdala, disrupts the ability to learn new fear responses, highlighting its critical role in fear conditioning.

The tendency to prefer immediate rewards over delayed ones, even if the delayed reward is larger.

A brain region involved in evaluating rewards and making decisions based on value.

A brain region involved in cognitive control and regulating behavior.

A neurotransmitter crucial for reward processing and motivation.

The pathway in the brain that connects the VTA to the limbic system, involved in emotional processing and reward.

The pathway in the brain that connects the VTA to the prefrontal cortex, involved in planning and executive functions.

The theory that dopamine neurons are more active when rewards are unexpected than when they are expected.

A primary reinforcer provides an innate, biological need.

A neural structure that plays a crucial role in processing rewards and motivation.

The value of a reward can change depending on various factors.