Behavioural Neuro Flashcards
Who created a map of localised brain functions, which turned out to be wrong but fundamentally a good idea?
Franz Joseph Gall
What is phrenology?
Psychological functions being localised to different areas of the cortex.
Describe Karl Lashley’s “mass action” hypothesis.
The size of a brain lesion defines the deficit.
Give 2 disadvantages of myelin sheaths.
Reduces action potential size and requires them to be regenerated periodically.
Which type of glial cell produces myelin?
Oligodendrocytes
Which type of glial cell provides energy as lactate, sometimes storing it as glycogen?
Astrocytes
Which type of glial cell removes dead tissue and infection?
Microglia
What is a chemical way to measure communication between neurons?
Microdialysis
Give 2 disadvantages of EEGs for neurophysiological recording.
Low spatial resolution and they only record from the cortex.
Give 2 disadvantages of multi-cell recording for neurophysiological recording.
It only records groups of neurons and is invasive.
Give 2 advantages of single cell recording for neurophysiological recording.
Very high spatial resolution and high temporal resolution.
Give and advantage and disadvantage of intracellular approaches to neurophysiological recording.
Allows examination of sub-cellular processes, but can only be done on one cell at a time.
Which type of post-synaptic receptor transmits information quickest?
Ionotropic
Which hypothesis suggests synapses all have equal weighting in making a neuron fire?
Point neuron hypothesis.
Describe an agonist.
A drug that facilitates the effects of a particular neurotransmitter on the postsynaptic cell.
Describe an antagonist.
A drug that inhibits the effects of a particular neurotransmitter on the postsynaptic cell.
Where are nicotinic receptors found?
In the brain and muscles.
Where are muscarinic receptors found?
The brain.
Which brain functions is the dorsolateral pond often linked to?
Sleep and learning.
Name a brain area which is often badly damaged due to Alzheimer’s disease, causing a decrease in ACh.
Basal forebrain.
What does a lesion to the medial septum cause?
Loss of LFP rhythm in the hippocampus.
After a task is well learned, dopamine neurons respond respond to the primary/secondary reinforcer.
Secondary
What is the name for the activation of various neurotransmitter systems having a large impact on the rest of the brain?
Neuromodulation.
Describe the main physiological characteristic of slow wave sleep.
Delta activity.
What activity during R.E.M. Sleep shows EEG desynchrony?
Theta and beta activity.
EEG synchrony, moderate muscle tone and absence of eye movements are characteristics of which stage of sleep?
Slow wave sleep.
Which sleep disorder causes sufferers to stop breathing during sleep, potentially causing brain damage?
Sleep apnea.
Which sleep disorder causes sufferers to suddenly fall asleep while doing another activity?
Narcolepsy.
Which sleep disorder causes a brief conscious paralysis?
Cataplexy.
Which sleep disorder causes sufferers to act out their dreams?
REM sleep disorder.
Briefly describe the mutual inhibitory system controlling arousal.
The sleep promoting region in the VLPA and the brain and forebrain arousal systems.
Which neurons in the lateral hypothalamus activate arousal systems?
Orexinergic neurons.
Which cells are described as R.E.M.-on cells?
Acetylcholine.
Which sleep disorder is caused by an inability to produce K complexes, meaning sufferers get no slow wave sleep?
Fatal familia insomnia.
Flow of cerebrospinal fluid is (increased/decreased) during sleep.
Increased
Declarative memories are improved by (R.E.M./SWS) sleep.
SWS
Non-declarative memories are improved by (R.E.M./SWS) sleep.
R.E.M.
Describe a possible mechanism for consolidation of memories during sleep.
The replay of a sequence of place cells.
Which neurons have an internal mechanism to track time, and help control the timing of sleep?
Suprachiasmatic nucleus neurons.
What causes Parkinson’s disease?
Loss of dopamine neurons from the midbrain.
Describe 4 symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
Muscle rigidity, akinesua, bradykinesia and resting tremor.
Festive Lewy bodies.
Accumulated unused proteins clogging up the cytoplasm of cells, suggesting neurodegeneration.
What is a side effect of the drug L-Dopa?
Tardive dyskinesia, or uncontrolled movements.
Describe 4 cognitive deficits seen in late stage Alzheimer’s disease.
Memory, attention, language and spatial orientation.
What accumulates in extra cellular plaques in the cortex during Alzheimer’s disease?
Beta-amyloid peptide (AB).
What causes Huntington’s disease?
A hereditary gene on chromosome 4 that causes production of the protein huntingtin (htt), with a segment of repeated glutamine.
Give the formal name for motor neuron disease.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Where does the damage occur in multiple sclerosis?
The white matter in the brain and in the spinal cord.
What damage occurs in multiple sclerosis?
Demyelination.
What causes a hemorrhagic stroke?
A burst blood vessel.
What causes an obstructive stroke?
A blocked blood vessel.
Describe priming.
The improvement in identifying/processing a stimulus because it has been presented previously.
Describe sensitisation.
Increase in response to a stimulus through repeated exposure.
What elements of episodic memory do rats demonstrate, and which area is response for this?
‘What, where and which’ - the hippocampus.
Define spatial memory.
A map like cognitive representation of familiar spatial locations.
Define navigation.
Mechanisms that enable us to find our way around familiar and unfamiliar environments.
Which area of the rat Brian becomes more active during accurate navigation?
The right hippocampus.
The posterior hippocampus is (larger/smaller) in people with lots of navigational experience.
Larger.
What cells in the medial entorhinal cortex help us understand distance, speed and navigation without landmarks?
Grid cells.
Describe allocentric memory.
The hippocampus network keeps track of spatial location relative to landmarks.
How was schizophrenia treated before drug therapies?
Insulin coma, shock therapy and frontal lobotomy.
Which brain abnormality often coincides with the onset of schizophrenia?
Dramatic loss of cortical gray matter in adolescence.
Describe hypofrontality.
Decreased activity in the dorsolateral frontal cortex, associated with negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
Short alleles for the serotonin transporter only increases risk of depression in combination with what?
Having suffered stressful life events.
Describe extinction of a conditioned fear.
The cue is presented many times without the aversive stimuli, so the individual learns not to be scared.
Describe cognitive regulation of a conditioned fear.
Activity in the amygdala is decreased by increasing activation in the VM -‘and DL prefrontal cortex.
Describe blocking the reconsolidation of a conditioned fear.
When a previously consolidated memory is recalled, LTP is blocked by blocking protein synthesis and the memory is erased.
Damage to the flocculonodular lobe or vermis of the cerebellum produces what effect?
Postural and balance problems.
Damage to the intermediate zone of the cerebellum produces what effect?
Limb rigidity.
Damage to the lateral zone of the cerebellum produces what effect?
Weakness and decomposition of movement and cerebellar ataxia.
Where are mirror neurons found?
The ventral premotor cortex and inferior temporal lobe.
Describe limb apraxia.
Inappropriate movement of limbs, especially to verbal commands.
Describe constructional apraxia.
Inability to perceive and imagine geometric relations.
Describe phenomenal consciousness.
A rich detailed perception of everything we experience.
Describe access consciousness.
The information that we can access through cognitive processes.
What does change blindness suggest about consciousness?
Obviously different items are consciously processed but subtly different items are not.
What 3 systems are associated with acetylcholine?
Dorsolateral pons, basal forebrain and medial septum.
What 3 systems are associated with the dopamine system?
Nigrostriatal, mesolimbic and mesocortical.
Where is the most important noradrenergic system?
Locus coeruleus.
Where does the most important serotinergic system originate?
Raphe nuclei of the midbrain and pons.
What is the path integration?
Info on speed and how far has been travelled (from grid cells).
