Biology and Behavior Flashcards
Franz Gall
father of phrenology
Pierre Flourens
first to study the function of major parts of the brain; did this by expiration on rabbits and pigeons
extirpation aka ablation
surgically removing various parts of the brain to observe behavioral consequences
William James
father of American psychology; his view helped to form functionalism
functionalism
a system of thought in psychology that studied how mental processes help individuals adapt to their environment
John Dewey
his 1896 article is seen as the inception of functionalism; broke the process of reacting to a stimulus into discrete parts
Paul Broca
examined behavioral deficits of people with brain damage; found that a man who’d been unable to talk was unable because of a lesion in a specific area in his brain, Broca’s area
Hermann von Helmholtz
first to measure the speed of a nerve impulse; credited with the transition of psych into the natural sciences
Sir Charles Serrington
first inferred the existence of synapses
Sensory (afferent) neurons
transmit sensory info from receptors to the spinal cord and brain
motor (efferent) neurons
transmit motor info from the brain/spinal cord to muscles and glands
interneurons
found between motor and sensory neurons; most abundant
reflex arcs
control reflexes
central nervous system (CNS)
brain and spinal cord
peripheral nervous system (PNS)
nerve tissue and fibers outside the brain and spinal cord (olfactory and optic nerves, too)
somatic nervous system
consists of sensory and motor neurons
autonomic nervous system
regulates involuntary muscles associated with many internal organs and glands
parasympathetic nervous system
main role is to conserve energy (lower heart rate, increase digestion); main neurotransmitter is acetylcholine
sympathetic nervous system
activated by stress; secretion of noradrenaline and adrenaline
meninges
thick sheath of connective tissue
Three layers of meninges
Dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater
Cerebrospinal fluid
aqueous solution in which the brain and spinal cord rest
ventricles
internal cavities of the brain; cells inside ventricles produce CSF
Brainstem
most primitive region of the brain
limbic sytem
group of neural structures assoc. with emotion and memory
cerebral cortex
outermost covering of the cerebral hemispheres; assoc. with complex perceptual, cognitive and behavioral processes
hindbrain (rhombencephalon)
controls balance, motor coordination, breathing, digestion and general arousal processes such as sleeping and walking
myelencephalon
part of the hindbrain division; becomes medulla oblongata
metencephalon
part of the hindbrain division; becomes pons and cerebellum
medulla oblongata
lower brain structure responsible for regulating vital functions such as breathing, heart rate and blood pressure
pons
lies above medulla; contains sensory/motor pathways between cortex and medulla
cerebellum
helps maintain posture and balance and coordinates body movements
midbrain (mesencephalon)
receives sensory and motor info
colliculi
superior colliculus: receives visual sensory input
inferior colliculus: receives auditory sensory input
forebrain (prosencephalon)
assoc. with complex perceptual, cognitive and behavioral processes
telencephalon
part of forebrain division; forms cerebral cortex, basal ganglia and limbic system
diencephalon
part of forebrain division; forms thalamus, hypothalamus, posterior pituitary gland and pineal gland
neuropsychology
study of functions and behaviors assoc. with specific regions of the brain
cortical maps
using electrical impulses to determine functions of specific regions of brain
electroencephalogram (EEG)
involves placing several electrodes on scalp to study electrical activity generated by large groups of neurons
regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF)
detects broad patterns of neural activity based on increased blood flow to different parts of the brain
computed tomography (CT)
multiple x-rays are taken at different angles and processed by a computer to cross-sectional images of the tissue
positon emission tomography (PET)
a radioactive sugar is injected and absorbed into the body; its dispersion and uptake throughout target tissue is imaged
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
uses a magnetic field to interact with hydrogens and map out hydrogen dense regions
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
uses the same technique as MRI but specifically measures for blood flow
thalamus
serves as relay station for all incoming sensory information besides smell
hypothalamus
- key player in emotional experiences during high arousal states
- controls some endocrine functions
- regulate metabolism, temperature, and H2O balance
- regulares autonomic nervous system
- important in drive behaviors such as thirst, hunger, and sexual behavior
lateral hypothalamus
-detects when body needs more food or fluids
ventromedial hypothalamus
-provides signal to stop eating
anterior hypothalamus
- controls sexual behavior
- regulates sleep and body temperature
posterior pituitary
- composed of axonal projections from hypothalamus
- releases antidiuretic hormone (ADH, aka vasopressin) and oxytocin
pineal gland
secretes melatonin which regulates circadian rhythms
basal ganglia
- in the middle of brain, group of structures that coordinate muscle movement
- help make movements smooth and posture steady
extrapyramidal system
gathers info about body position and carries it to CNS, but does not function directly through motor neurons
Parkinson’s disease
- jerky movements and resting tremors
- caused by destruction of DA neurons in basal ganglia
septal nuclei
one of the primary pleasure centers
amygdala
plays an important role in defensive and aggressive behaviors
hippocampus
plays vital role in learning and memory processes; helps consolidate information to form long-term memories
fornix
long projection through with the hippocampus communicates with the rest of the brain
anterograde amnesia
not being able to establish new long-term memories, can still remember things before brain injury
retrograde amnesia
memory loss of events before brain injury
gyri and sulci
bumps and folds in the brain, respectively
cerebral hemispheres
the two halves of the cerebrum
four lobes of the brain
frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital
frontal lobe regions and main function
prefrontal cortex and motor cortex; executive function
prefrontal cortex
manages executive function by supervising and directing the operations of other brain regions
association area
an area that integrates input from diverse brain regions
projection areas
perform more rudimentary/simple tasks
precentral gyrus
the primary motor cortex is located on this; it lies just in front of the central sulcus
primary motor cortex
initiates voluntary movement by sending neural impulses down the spinal cord toward the muscles
Broca’s area
located in frontal lobe; vital for speech production; usually found in only one hemisphere (the dominant one)
Parietal lobe
located to the rear of the frontal lobe
somatosensory cortex
part of parietal lobe; involved in somatosensory information processing (touch, pressure, temp, pain)
postcentral gyrus
just behind the central sulcus; the somatosensory cortex is located on it
occipital lobe
located at the very rear of the brain; contains visual (striate) cortex; implicated in learning and motor control
temporal lobe
assoc. with auditory cortex and Wernicke’s area
auditory complex
primary site of most sound processing
Wernicke’s area
associated with language reception and comprehension
contralateral communication
one side of the brain communicates with the opposite side of the body
ipsilateral communication
one side of the brain communicates with the same side of the body; this is true with respect to hearing
brain hemisphere dominance
dominant hemisphere is considered the one most heavily used during language reception and production; most people are left-side dominant
dominant hemisphere
primarily analytic in function (language, logic, math, etc)
nondominant hemisphere
assoc. with intuition, creativity, music cognition and spatial processing
acetylcholine
- used to transmit nerve impulses to the muscles
- linked to attention and arousal
catecholamines (monoamines/biogenic amines)
- epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine
- all play important roles in the experience of emotions
epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline)
- involved in alertness and wakefulness
- promote fight-or-flight
- norepinephrine is local, epinephrine is systemic
Dopamine
- plays role in movement and posture
- found in high concentration in basal ganglia
dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia
-argues that delusions, hallucinations and agitation of the disease result from either foo much DA or an oversensitivity to DA
serotonin
- regulates modd, eating, sleeping and dreaming
- plays role in depression and mania
GABA
produces inhibitory post-synaptic potentials; stabilizes neural stability in the brain; works by causing hyper polarization of postsynaptic membrane
Glycine
inhibitory neurotransmitter in CNS; increases chloride influx into neuron, hyperpolarizing the post-synaptic membrane
glutamate
excitatory neurotransmitter
neuromodulators (neuropeptides)
- peptides involved in neurotransmission
- slow and have longer effects
endorphins and enkephalins
neuromodulators that work as painkillers produced in the brain; work similar to opioids
endocrine system
- works by releasing hormones
- relatively slow compared to neurotransmission
hypophyseal portal system
directly connects hypothalamus and pituitary gland
pituitary gland
master gland; anterior and posterior parts
anterior pituitary gland
releases hormones that regulate activity; controlled by hypothalamus
adrenal glands
located on top of kidneys; divided into adrenal medulla and adrenal cortex
adrenal medulla
releases epinephrine and norepinephrine in conjunction with the sympathetic nervous system
adrenal cortex
produces corticosteroids; contributes to sexual function by producing sex hormones
corticosteroids
includes stress hormone cortisol
sex hormones
testosterone and estrogen
gonads
sex glands of the body; ovaries and testes
libido
increased by sex hormones; contributes to mating and sexual function
innate behavior
genetically programmed, seen in everyone
learned behaviors
based on experience and environment
adaptive value
extent to which a behavior or trait positively benefits a species
concordance rates
refer to the likelihood that both twins exhibit the same trait
neuralation
occurs when the ectoderm overlaying notochord begins to furrow, forming neural groove surrounded by two neural folds
neural crest
cells at edge of neural fold; will migrate throughout bod to form disparate tissues
neural tube
furrow of neuralation closes, forming this; becomes CNS
alar plate and basal plate
parts of neural tube; alar becomes sensory neurons and basal becomes motor neurons
primitive reflexes
found in babies, disappear with age
rooting reflex
automatic turning of the head in the direction of a stimulus touching the cheek
Moro reflex
infants react to abrupt movements of their heads by flinging out their arms, then slowly retracting them while crying
Babinski reflex
causes the toes to spread apart automatically when the sole of the foot is touched
grasping reflex
occurs when infant closes his or her finger around an object placed in their hand
