lesion

Examples of lesion in the following topics:

• Studying the Brain

  • A lesion is a general term for any abnormality in tissue, usually caused by disease or trauma.
  • Lesions are important to the study of brain and behavior because if a psychologist sees a person with a partially damaged brain and then sees changes in that person’s behavior, those behavioral changes can often be attributed to the brain damage.
  • This image shows the location of a brain lesion on the left hemisphere which caused the patient to experience partial paralysis on their right bicep.
  • Cancerous lesion (i.e., tumor) in the brain's right cerebral hemisphere from lung cancer, shown on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging with intravenous contrast.

• Psychosurgery

  • It was hypothesized that making two lesions would produce better results, but the rate of effectiveness is still approximately the same as the subcaudate tractotomy procedure alone.
  • Through the use of some psychiatric medications, the same areas of the brain are able to be targeted and suppressed without the need to surgically create lesions or remove parts of the brain.

• Neural Correlates of Memory Storage

  • Lesion studies and case studies of individuals with brain injuries have allowed scientists to determine which areas of the brain are most associated with which kinds of memory.
  • Imaging research and lesion studies have led scientists to conclude that certain areas of the brain may be more specialized for collecting, processing, and encoding specific types of memories.

• The Endocrine System and Hunger

  • This theory developed from the findings that bilateral lesions of the lateral hypothalamus can cause anorexia, a severely diminished appetite for food, while bilateral lesions on the ventromedial hypothalamus can cause overeating and obesity.

• Lower-Level Structures

  • Lesions of, or stimulation to, the thalamus are associated with changes in emotional reactivity.
  • Lesions of the hypothalamus interfere with motivated behaviors like sexuality, combativeness, and hunger.

• Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders

  • IED may also be associated with lesions in the prefrontal cortex, with damage to these areas, including the amygdala, increasing the incidence of impulsive and aggressive behavior and the inability to predict the outcomes of an individual's own actions.
  • Lesions in these areas are also associated with improper blood sugar control, leading to decreased brain function in these areas, which are associated with planning and decision making.

• Brain Imaging Techniques

  • Functional imaging, which is used to diagnose metabolic diseases and lesions on a finer scale (such as Alzheimer's disease), and also for neurological and cognitive-psychology research.

• The Limbic System

  • Lesions of the hypothalamus interfere with several unconscious functions (such as respiration and metabolism) and some so-called motivated behaviors like sexuality, combativeness, and hunger.

• Repressed Memories

  • Psychogenic amnesia is distinguished from organic amnesia in that it is supposed to result from a nonorganic cause; no structural brain damage or brain lesion should be evident, but some form of psychological stress should precipitate the amnesia.

• Cerebral Hemispheres and Lobes of the Brain

  • Damage to the primary visual cortex (located on the surface of the posterior occipital lobe) can cause blindness, due to the holes in the visual map on the surface of the cortex caused by the lesions.