4) Neurobiology and Behaviour Flashcards
What are endorphins used for?
Pain relief
What does damage to the frontal association area lead to?
- Leads to changes in personality
- Responsible for civility (being polite)
What are the functions of myelin sheaths?
- Acts as a catalyst and short circuit
- Insulin and speed of transmission
What is Cuarare? Which neurotransmitter does it affect?
- Acetylcholine - Indigenous drug that is poison; used to kill animals - Produce heart failure
How has the brain evolved to become more intelligent?
It has increased its folds (surface area) through time
How does the top of the brain differentiate from the bottom?
- Top: action
- Bottom: thinking
Which lobe contains the somato-sensory cortex?
Parietal lobes
What are the functions of testosterone?
Sperm count, sexual maturity, and prenatal sexual differentiation
Where is glutamate active in the brain?
In higher brain centers: learning, thought, emotion “hard to sleep”
What does alcohol affect?
Cerebellum
Which neurotransmitter is affected by addiction?
Dopamine
What does the release of GABA promote? Which substances provide GABA release?
- Calming effect - Tranquilizers - Alcohol
What is the function of the Wernicke area?
- Comprehension for spoken and written words
- Unscrambles sounds into recognizable words
What are the 3 primary roles of Acetylcholine?
- Links motor neurons and voluntary muscles (walking, talking) - Important for the Krebs cycle - Involved in memory (old and new)
Which lobes are the eyes connected to?
- Connected to both the right and the left lobe
- Each eye has two visual fields
Which area in the brain expands when you’re blind? Why?
- The somato-sensory cortex
- The cortex adapts to needs: finger touch is bigger (brail)
What are the functions of the limbic system (collectively)?
- Emotion
- Memory (hippocampus)
- Motivation
What are agonists?
- Enhance and improve the action of neurotransmitters - Increases the availability of neurotransmitters by blocking the reuptake
What happens when an impulse reaches the end of an axon?
Tiny sacs are ruptured and neurotransmitters are released
Why does the brain have distinct regions?
Specialized for survival
What happens if the right hemisphere is damaged?
Loses the ability to understand jokes and sarcasm
If an individual has problem with his/her amygdala, what are possible symptoms?
- Problems with facial recognition of emotion
- Trouble recognizing tone of voice
- Docile behaviour
What happens when neurotransmitters are released in the synaptic gap?
- They float in the synaptic gap - Bind to the dendrite of the receiving neuron
What does “all-or-none” mean in terms of neurons?
- Either fires or doesn’t
- Some pulses say fire, some say don’t fire
- The nucleus makes a decision from the summation of the information coming in
What is the central nervous system made up of?
- Brain - Spinal cord
What are the functions of the right hemisphere?
- Non-verbal, puts words in context (Tail and Tale - words that sound the same but have different meanings)
- Facial recognition, art, music, puzzles
What are the functions of the pons?
- Relays messages for movement
- Sleep cycles
- Circadian rhythm (24 hours)
What does the binding of a neurotransmitter cause?
New impulse; may fire or inhibit
What is dopamine responsible for? (2)
- Movement - Emotional arousal
What does PMS affect?
Affects serotonin levels: may lead to anxiety, depression and fluid retention
What does serotonin do in the brain?
- Inhibitory transmitter - Relax, sleep
What are the three types of studies to detect hereditary influences?
- Family Studies
- Twin studies
- Adoption studies
What is an outgoing signal (efferent)?
From our brain to our muscles
Which gland produces growth hormone?
Pituitary gland
What is the resting potential of a neuron at rest?
Slight negative charge
Which neurotransmitter is also a hormone?
Norepinephrine
What are the three basic parts of the neuron?
1) Dendrites
2) Cell body (or soma)
3) Axon
Give examples of antagonists.
Painkillers, anti-psychotic drugs
What happens if the thyroid releases too little thyroxin? What happens if the thyroid releases too much thyroxin?
- Too much thyroxine: hyper, nervous, thin
- Too little thyroxine: sluggish, overweight
Which neurotransmitter plays a role in post-partum depression? How?
- Endorphins - The body adjusts and releases a lot of endorphins - After 48 hours, you have an endorphin withdrawal (depressed)
Which neurotransmitter can cause Alzheimer’s disease?
Deterioration of acetylcholine neurons
Where is the forebrain situated in terms of the cortex?
Sub-Cortical (below cortex)
What are family studies?
- Examines blood-relatives
- Look at who shares genes
- Ex: siblings have a more similar genetic makeup than cousins
What part of the neuron releases neurotransmitters?
Axon terminal
What is the function of the somatic nervous system?
- Control of our VOLUNTARY movements
- Eyes, hands, muscle contraction
What hormones do the ovaries produce?
Estrogen and progesterone
Is caffeine an agonist or antagonist? How?
- Agonist - It increases the availability of glutamate, which makes you active and awake - It mimics the action of the drug artificially - It isn’t the caffeine that makes you awake, it’s what the caffeine does to your brain chemistry
Which neurotransmitter does LSD affect?
- Decreasees action of serotonin - Inhibits the inhibitor - Hallucinations
What is the absolute refractory period? How long does it last?
- 1-2 miliseconds
- No firing
What % of neurons release glutamate?
40%
If ________ is affected, we might not be able to move properly.
Acetylcholine
What is the peripheral nervous system made up of?
All parts of our nervous system except for the brain and spinal cord
What is psychosis?
A lack of reality
What are some advantages of being left-handed?
- Tend to do better at mathematics
- Post-stroke language recovery
What are twin studies? What results show heredity?
- Compare identical twins (M2) and fraternal twins (D2), which controls for environment
- If M2 shows greater similarity on a trait than D2: heredity
What is the structure of the thalamus? What are its functions?
- Two egg-shaped structures above the brainstem
- Relay center for messages on the way to the cerebral cortex
What are the functions of glial cells?
Support services, nutrition, removes waste, helps the production of myelin sheath
What is the endocrine system?
- Series of glands that manufactures and releases hormones
- Released in one part of the body, and affects something else
- Carried by the bloodstream to reach the target
What are endorphins triggered by?
Drugs like opium, heroin, and morphine
Which neurotransmitter does an orgasm affect?
An orgasm is a dopamine rush
Where are the adrenal glands located?
Just above the kidneys
Females have thicker ________________
corpus callosums
What is the function of the parasympathetic nervous system?
- Almost the exact opposite effect of the SNS
- Relaxes the body and inhibits or slows many high energy functions
- Resting Heart Rate is returned to homeostasis: 60bpm
Differentiate sensory and motor neurons.
- Sensory neurons: incoming messages by our body receptors
- Motor neurons: outgoing from the brain
Where is the occipital lobe located?
In the back of the brain
What happens if you damage the hippocampus?
You can’t form new memories
What is a CT scan? What is its function?
- Rotating X-Ray
- Cross-sectional view of the brain
- Common in concussions, and head injuries
What can “highjack” the frontal cortex?
The amygdala
Deficient levels of which neurotransmitter are linked to mood disorders?
Serotonin
How do neurons communicate?
1) Incoming signal changes the ions balance
* Positive ions rush in (K+ and Na+)
2) Causes depolarization (inside is less negative than outside)
* Negative ions (Cl-) are forced out
3) Ionic change leads to an impulse
* This is called the action potential: “The spark”
4) Once passed, the original balanced is restored; ready for the next impusle
* Repolarization
What is the function of the sympathetic nervous system?
- Prepares the body for intense physical activity
- Raises heart rate: fight or flight syndrome
Which test can be used to see the brain in action?
Functional MRI (f/MRI)
How does each side of the brain see this?
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D D D D D D D
- Left-side: a bunch of D”s
- Right-side: the letter L
- Both work together
What does too much dopamine cause?
- Schizophrenic behavior - Psychosis