3.5 + 3.6 Flashcards
What’s a Neuron?
Cells in the nervous system that communicate with one another to perform information-processing tasks
~Approx 100 billion in the brain
What is the Cell Body?
Coordinates information-processing tasks and keeps the cell alive
Receives information from other neurons and relays it to the cell body
Dendrites
Transmits information to other neurons, muscles, or glands
Axon
What does Myelin Sheath do?
Provides insulating layer of fatty material
What are Glial Cells?
Support cells found in the nervous system
What’s a Synapse?
Junction or region between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites or cell body of another
What’s the difference between Sensory Neurons and Motor Neurons?
Sensory: Receive information from the external world; convey this information to the brain via the spinal cord
Motor: Carry signals from the spinal cord to the muscles to produce movement
What are Interneurons?
They connect Motor, Sensory, and other neurons to each other.
What does Ontogeny refer to?
The brain development of a single individual
What does Phylogeny refer to?
How the brain develops within a particular species
What is Epigenetics?
The study of environmental influences that determine whether or not genes are expressed, or the degree to which they are expressed, without altering the basic DNA sequences that constitute the genes themselves.
What are Epigenetic Marks?
What are the two main ones?
Chemical modifications to DNA that can turn genes on or off.
DNA Methylation
Histone Modification
What is DNA Methylation?
Adding a methyl group to DNA.
There are special enzymes, referred to as epigenetic writers, whose role is to add methyl groups to DNA. Although adding a methyl group doesn’t alter the basic DNA sequence, it switches off the methylated gene
What’s Histone Modification?
Adding chemical modifications to proteins called histones that are involved in packaging DNA.
Rel
What’s Heritability?
A measure of the variability of behavioural traits among individuals that can be accounted for by genetic factors.
What are the four important aspects of Heritability?
It’s an abstract concept
It’s a population concept
Depends on the environment
It’s not fate!
What’s the difference between Dizygotic and Monozygotic Twins?
Dizygotic: Share 50% of their genes
Monozygotic: Share 100% of their genes!
Unit of hereditary transmission; sections on strands of DNA organized into chromosomes
Gene
Strands of DNA wound around each other in a double-helix configuration
Chromosomes
Monozygotic versus dizygotic twins
Degree of relatedness
What are the main functions of the left/right hemispheres, respectively?
Left: more verbal
Right: more spatial
Device used to record electrical activity in the brain
EEG;
Electroencephalograph
These two scientists inserted electrodes into the brains of anaesthetized cats; made discovery of feature detectors by mapping visual cortex
Hubel and Wiesel
Shows brain activity while someone engages in a cognitive or motor task:
PET
MRI
What can Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) do?
Can (ethically) mimic brain damage:
Temporarily deactivates neurons in the cerebral cortex.
Can be combined with fMRI technique
Manipulation can provide causal explanations.
