behavioural neuroscience Flashcards
what did many ancient cultures beleive about the mind
the heart was the seat of the mind
what did Hippocrates propose
the first to suggest that the brain controls the body
what did descartes state
formulated the mind-body problem and discussed the interactions between mental and physical. believed that behaviour is driven by a system of fluid and pistons
what did galvani suggest
the first to suggest that nerve signals are electrical, not fluid, and rejected the idea that animal spirits flowed through hollow nerves (which was a common view held at the time). Discovered this by applying an electrical charge to a frogs leg.
what did franz joseph gall do
influenced physiognomy, which is the practice of arrtibuting characteristics to facial features - phrenology (studying bumps on the head). While his methods were flawed, he introduced the notion of “cortical localisation of function”
What did Paul Broca do
first solid evidence of brain modularity (the notion that brain networks are divided into modules that execute discrete cognitive functions), demonstrated in patients that were unable to speak after damage to the left frontal lobe (now known as brocas area), but still had normal language comprehension
what did carl wernicke do
described a patient that was unable to comprehend speech but had normal hearing and language production with damage to the posterior area of the left superior temporal gyrus
what is the PNS divided into
somatic and autonomic systems
what is the enteric NS
controls digestion, has its own reflexes and senses and can act independently of the brain
what does ipsilateral mean
on the same side of the midline
what does contralateral mean
on the opposite side of the midline
what and where is the corpus callosum
the lunge bundle of axons/neural fibres that connect the 2 hemispheres of the brain,
what are homotopic fibres
firbres that connect complementary regions of the hemispheres
what are heterotopic fibres
fibres that connect to different brain regions
what is a callosotomy
a procedure that involves cutting the corpus collosum to stop extreme epileptic seizures
what is the forebrain split into
the telencephalon and diencephalon
the mid brain is also known as
the mesencephalon
the hind brain is split into the
metencephalon and myelencephalon
what are the groves/rises of the cerebral cotex called
groves - sulci, rises - gyri
role of basal ganglia
controlled involuntary movement and highly automised movement such as walking
what is the limbic system
describes the emotion circuit in the brain, including the hypothalamus, thalamus, cingulate gyrus, hippocampus, amygdala and some nuclei of the basal ganglia
role of the thalamus
major relay station for sensory inputs to the cerebral cortex
role of the hypothalamus
controls the autonomic nervous system and endocrine, regulates survival behaviours such as fighting, feeding, flighting and mating)
role of the mesencephalon
the midbrain, connects the pons and cerebellum with the forebrain. also plays an important role in motor movement, particularly that of the eyes.
role of the pons
regulates sleep and arousal
role of cerebellum
receives information from visual, auditory, somatosensory and vestibular systems to help coordinate movement, particular automised movements like balance and walking
role of the myelencephalon
also know as the medulla, which links the hindbrain to the spinal chord and contains neurons important for autonomic functions like respiration and heart rate
4 lobes of the cerebral cortex
parietal, temporal, occipital and frontal
what is orientation selectivity
certain neurons will fire more to visual stimuli at particular orientations
where os the primary visual cortex located
the medial and lateral parts of the occipital cortex/lobe
where is the primary auditory cortex located
within the superior part of the temporal cortex, as well a patch that is buried within the sylvian fissue
where is the primary somatosensory cortex located
immediately posterior to the central sulcus (the large groove separating the frontal and parietal lobes
where is the primary motor cortex located
on the precentral gyrus (immediately anterior to the central sulcus)
role of frontal lobe
“higher order” functions such as voluntary controlled behaviour, impulse control, emotional regulation, abstract reasoning and planning, social cognition and language
what is the resting membrane potential of a neuron
-70 mv
what is the threshold for an action potential
- 50 mv
what is neural integration
the combined effect of EPSPs (excitatory postsynaptic potentials) and IPSPs (inhibitory postsynaptic potentials)
strengths of EEG
good temporal resolution (can distinguish between brief events in time), relatively cheap, portable and possible to record EEG while people are moving around, safe and well tolerated by participants
limitations of EEG
poor spatial resolution (determining which specific regions activity is occuring in), typically only detects activity on the surface of the cortex
strengths of neurophysiology methods (where micro-electrodes are placed into the brain to detect electrical activity)
data is collected form individual neurons, so useful if you want to know exactly what the neuron is doing
limitations of neurophysiology methods
can be invasive (and therefore risky!) and cant investigate the network activity of multiple neurons
strengths of MRI
high spatial resolution, identifying exactly where in the brain different structures are, also valuable as it can identify specific anatomical regions of the brain
limitations of MRI
expensive, large equipment that requires a specialist facility, some safety risks associated with such a large magnet, required specialist staff with radiography training
what is DTI (diffusion tensor imaging)
tehcnology that uses the same MRI technology to detect the large axon tracts (white matter) that flow through, and connect, different regions of the cortex
what does fMRI detect
it detects the presence deoxygenated blood
strengths of PET (positron emissions tomography)
it can detect different chemicals in the brain associated with either metabolism or neurotransmitter/protein levels
limitations of PET
expensive, requires specialist facilities and staff, relatively low spatial resolution compared to MRI, requires radioactive tracers
what are ablation studies
involve removing or inactivating a part of the brain and seeing its effect
what did Egas Moniz introduce
prefrontal leucotomy/ lobotomy
what is electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
a noninvasive electrical brain stimulation that can be used to treat severe depression
where does neurogenesis occur the most
in the hippocampus and olfactory bulb (involved in the detection of smell)
three components of an emotional response
behavioural, autonomic, hormonal
