2Brain and Nervous System Flashcards
Learning Objectives: Name the various parts of the nervous system and their respective functions Explain how neurons communicate with each other Identify the location and function of the limbic system Articulate how the primary motor cortex is an example of brain region specialization Name at least three neuroimaging techniques and describe how they work
_____ is the most complex part of the human body.
brain
What does the brain control?
all voluntary and involuntary movement and bodily functions
How does the brain communicate with each part of the body?
through the nervous system
What is the Nervous System? and what does it do?
a network of channels that carry electrochemical signals.
What did Ernst Weber do experiments about?
sense of touch
How did Weber conduct his experiment?
he used and instrument with two points and he would place those points on a persons arm or back.
What did Weber find from his experiment?
He found that when the points are closer it is hard to distinguish the difference and also that the back is less sensitive and our tongue is super sensitive to touch.
It is through the _____ that we experience pleasure and pain, feel emotions, learn and use language, and plan goals.
nervous system
What is the main difference between humans and other animals, in terms of brain development?
humans have a more developed frontal cortex (the front part of the brain associated with planning)
The body’s network for electrochemical communication. This system includes all the nerves cells in the body.
Nervous System
The Nervous System is broken up to two main parts…
Central Nervous System (CNS) and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
What is the Central Nervous System (CNS) made of?
brain and spinal cord
What part of the Nervous System is encased in bone?
Central Nervous System
The Central Nervous System communicates largely by sending electrical signals through individual nerve cells that make up the fundamental building blocks of the nervous system, called_____.
neurons
How many neurons are approximately in the human brain?
100 billion
What is Synapses?
When neurons make many contacts with other neurons.
(T/F) Neurons are cells.
True
What are the three main parts of a Neuron?
Dendrites, Soma, Axon
When a Neuron is communicating with another neuron who receives the information?
Dendrites
What part of the Neuron acts like an antenna?
Dendrites
Where does the Dendrites channel the information to?
Soma
What is the Cell Body of a Neuron?
Soma
What does the Soma do?
builds up as an electro-chemical signal (A.K.A. action potential)
The electrical part of the signal, is called _____.
action potential
Where does the electrical part of the signal (action potential) go?
it shoots down the axon.
A long tail that leads away form the soma and toward the next neutron, is called _____.
axon
What is an axon covered in?
myelin sheath
_____—a layer of fatty cells that allow the signal to travel very rapidly from neuron to neuron
myelin sheath
What is a synaptic gap?
space between neurons
In an action potential, the electrical signal reaches the end of the axon, tiny packets of chemicals, called _____, are released.
neurotransmitters
What are two example of Neurotransmitters?and what they do?
Serotonin- sleep, hunger, mood
Dopamine- attention, learning, pleasure
What is the largest part of the Central Nervous System?
Brain
How much and what does your brain consume?
20% or the total oxygen & calories
What percentage of our weight is our brain?
2%
What are the three basic parts of the brain?
hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain
or
brain stem, cerebellum, cerebrum
Where is the Limbic System located?
in the hindbrain
_____ is the most basic structure of the brain and is located at the top of the spine and bottom of the brain.
brain stem
_____ is considered the oldest part of the brain and is found in other animals.
brain stem
What is the brain stem in charge of?
very basic “life support” functions (breathing, digestion, heart beat)
_____ system is a collection of highly specialized neural structures that sit at the top of the brain stem, which are involved in regulating our emotions
limbic
What areas of the brain does the limbic system include?
amygdala, thalamus, hippocampus, insula cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and prefrontal cortex
What does the limbic system influence?
humger, sleep-wake cycle, sexual desire, fear, aggression, memory
The _____ is a structure at the very back of the brain.
cerebellum
What is the cerebellum in control of?
movement, posture (it coordinates without conscious awareness
Aristotle referred to it as “small brain”
Cerebellum
The _____ (also called the “cerebral cortex”) is the “newest,” most advanced portion of the brain.
cerebrum
The cerebrum has _____ hemispheres?
two, left and right
What is the cerebrum in charge of?
awareness, voluntary control (speaking, planning, sensory areas)
What connects the two hemispheres of the Cerebral Cortex?
Corpus Callosum
What is a corpus callosum made of?
Thick bundle of axons
______ happens when the corpus callosum is severed so that the two halves of the brain cannot easily communicate with one another.
split-brain
_____ means that the left side of the brain is responsible for controlling a number of sensory and motor functions of the right side of the body, and vice versa.
Contralateral
(T/F) The brain is an organ.
True
What is the four lobes of the cerebral cortex?
Frontal, Parietal, Occipital, Temporal (F-POT)
What specific function does the Occipital lobe have?
Sight
Where is the Occipital lobe located?
back of the cerebral cortex
Where is the Temporal lobe located?
underside of the cerebral cortex
What specific function does the Temporal lobe have?
sound and smell
Where is the Parietal lobe located?
upperback of the cerebral cortex
What specific function does the Parietal lobe have?
touch and taste
Where is the Frontal lobe located?
forward part of the cerebral cortex
What specific function does the Frontal lobe have?
behavior motor plans are processed, speech, language, creative problem solving, planning and organization
What is the “Primary Motor Cortex?”
This strip running along the side of the brain is in charge of voluntary movements like waving goodbye, wiggling your eyebrows, and kissing.
(T/F) Your lips are dedicated the equivalent amount of brain process as your fingers and your hand combined.
true
_____ a complex network of nerves that travel to every part of the body and it carries the signals necessary for the body to survive.
Perpheral Nervous System (PNS)
Broca’s Area?
Paul Broca did an autopsy on a patient that had lost his speech and noticed that this area was damaged.
What are the four neuroimaging techniques?
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
Electroencephalograpy (EEG)
DIffuse Optical Imaging (DOI)
_____ records metabolic activity in the brain by detecting amounts of radioactive substances that were injected into the bloodstream.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
What can you find from a Positron Emission Tompgraphy (PET)?
see how much and individual uses a particular part of the brain while at rest or not performing a task.
_____ relies on blood flow. This method measures changes in the levels of naturally occurring oxygen in the blood. As a brain region becomes active, it requires more oxygen.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
What can you find from a Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)?
measures brain activity based on this increase oxygen level.
What type of scans have poor temporal resolution?
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
_____ , meaning that they cannot tell us exactly when brain activity occurred. This is because it takes several seconds for blood to arrive at a portion of the brain working on a task.
temporal resolution
One imaging technique that has better temporal resolution is _____, which measures electrical brain activity instead of blood flow. Electrodes are place on the scalp of participants and they are nearly instantaneous in picking up electrical activity.
Electroencephalography (EEG)
_____, a term that refers to how small the elements of an image are; high spatial resolution means the device or technique can resolve very small elements; in neuroscience it describes how small of a structure in the brain can be imaged.
, meaning that it is not accurate with regards to specific location.
Spatial Resolution
What imaging scanning technique has poor Spatial Resolution and better temporal resolution?
Electroencephalography (EEG)
_____ works by shining infrared light into the brain. It might seem strange that light can pass through the head and brain. Light properties change as they pass through oxygenated blood and through active neurons. As a result, researchers can make inferences regarding where and when brain activity is happening.
Diffuse Optical Imaging (DOI)
What Imaging scanning technique has high temporal and spatial resolution?
Diffuse Optical Imaging (DOI)
