PSYC 2650 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Binding Problem, Aphasia, Neuropsychology
11 Dec 2015
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Document Summary
Capgras syndrome: a relatively rare disorder, resulting from specific forms of brain damage, in which the afflicted person recognizes the people in his or her world but denies they are who they appear to be. Instead the person insists these familiar individuals are imposters. Neuroimaging techniques: allow researchers to take high-quality 3d pictures of living brains. One site of damage in the brain of capgras patients is the temporal lobe. This disrupts circuits involving the amygdala: serves as an emotional evaluator, helping an organism to detect stimuli associated with threat or danger, or indictors of safety. There are also abnormalities in the right prefrontal cortex: the outer surface of the frontmost part of the brain. The recognition of all stimuli involves 2 separate mechanisms: one that hinges on factual knowledge and one that"s tied to the warm sense of familiarity. Damage to the amygdala explains why people with capgras syndrome lack familiarity.
