Bio Psych Exam #1 Flashcards
Biological psychology definition
the relationship between the brain and behavior
Molecular neuroscience
what is happening in the brain at individual chemical levels (pharmaceuticals, understanding basis of neurological and psychological disorders)
Systems neuroscience
how do we see, hear and move → how do these systems come into play
Affective and social neuroscience
what is happening in the brain when you are feeling emotions or in social settings
Basic functions of the brain
1) Create a sensory reality
2) Integrate information
3) Produce behavior
In → integrate → out
10 principles of the nervous system
- The nervous system produces movement in a perceptual world that the brain constructs (different brains have different perceptions – color blindedness)
- Neuroplasticity is the hallmark of nervous system functioning (learning)
- Many brain circuits are crossed (interaction of activation)
- The brain is symmetrical and asymmetrical (language and spatial)
- Brain systems are organized hierarchically and in parallel
- The brain divides sensory input for object recognition and movement
- Brain functions are localized and distributed
- The nervous system works by juxtaposing excitation and inhibition
Parts of the Central Nervous system
- Brain
- Spinal cord
**function: controls and mediates behavior
Parts of the Peripheral Nervous system
- somatic nervous system
- autonomic nervous system
- enteric nervous system
Somatic nervous system
Cranial and spinal nerves
Autonomic nervous system
Regulates organs and glands → parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system
Enteric Nervous system
control the gut → highly related to stress
Who is the father of modern neuroscience
Santiago Ramon y Cajal:
- pathologist from Spain → first one to look at neurons under a microscope
- When two different brain cells come together, they don’t actually touch → very important
Parts of a neuron
- dendrites
- cell body (soma)
- axon
- end/terminal buttons
Dendrites
look like tree branches
- where we receive information
- Includes dendritic spines: the bumpy part → take in information from other cells and funnels it to the cell body – spines give more surface area so we can have more connections
Cell body of a neuron
- Contains nucleus + other typical cell structures
- Computation happens here: decides what will happen and sends the signal down the axon to the ends
Axon of a neuron
- Goes from the cell body to the ends
- Myelinated: coated in myelin (a fat) → insulation
- Ends are called “terminal buttons”
Synapses
the space/gap between neurons
- Includes terminal buttons on one side (end of the axon) and the surface of the dendrite of the adjacent cell on the other side
- Contiguous not continuous
Myelin
acts as insulation for the electrical AP
- without myelin, electrical activity would bleed out and not get very far
- in breast/whole milk = helps build this in the brain for babies
- when myelin is degraded it causes multiple sclerosis (MS)
Types of neurons
- all have the same structure but look different
1) sensory neurons
2) interneurons
3) motor neurons
Histology definition
Study of tissues under a microscope
Use of histology
- Different ways to stain cells which can show us different things
1) Nissl staining: shows cell bodies (violet)
2) Golgi staining: cell bodies and dendrites
3) Individual neurons with electron microscope → allows us to see synapse
4) Multi-photon microscope
What do glial cells do (broadly)?
The glue: holding everything together and doing the “boring” functions – support, connect, protect
Types of glial cells
1) astrocyte: form a barrier that prevents toxic substances from entering the brain (“blood-brain barrier”)
2) Oligodendroglial cell and Schwann cell: form the myelin sheath over the axon
2a) Oligodendroglial / oligodendrocytes: in the central nervous system (CNS)
2b) Schwann cells: in the peripheral nervous system (PNS)
How do neurons talk to each other?
electrochemical transmission