Brain Flashcards
neuroscience vs. psychology
neuro: study of brain (functions)
psych: study of mind (how brain works to inform the mind)
astonishing hypothesis
mental activities are due to behavior of nerve cells
philosophical dualism
nature of the mind is different from the body
intuitive dualism
we occupy bodies so thinking of the mind and bodies should be natural
localization
certain parts of the brain are responsible for different functions
types of neurons
sensory, motor, interneurons
how did they discover how many neurons there are
took brain and put into blender to average neuron distribution, sampled and counted 86 million
how is intensity of neuron measured
number of neurons firing and frequency of firing
outline path of signal
dendrites -> axon covered in myelin sheath -> axon terminal
what is a neurotransmitter
chemical messengers that send signals across neurons
can be excitatory (more likely to fire) or inhibitory (less likely to fire)
acetylcholine
stimulates muscle movement, memory, arousal, attention and mood
dopamine
1/4 monoamines
excite and inhibit
reinforcement learning, attention, movement, reward, pleasure, addition
serotonin
mood, sleep, impulsivity, aggression, appetite
noreiphephrine/noradrenaline
eating habits, alertness, wakefulness, fight-or-flight
gamma-aminobutyric acid
main inhibitory neurotransmitter
low levels = anxiety
endorphins
relief from pain or stress of exercise, pleasure of eating, well-being
beta blocker drugs
blocks target chemicals for anxiety noreiphephrine (fight and flight)
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
increase serotonin by inhibiting the reuptake of
agonist drugs
bind to receptors to produce a similar response
antagonist
binds to receptors to inhibit a response
how drugs increase neurotransmitters
influence chemical precursor of transmitter substance to increase production of neurotransmitter
drug prevents storage of transmitters in vesicles, increasing neurotransmitter floating around
how drugs decrease neurotransmitters
inhibit or stimulate release of transmitter substance
block postsynaptic receptors
amphetamine
take up space in vesicles
increase dopamine outside
drugs that boost dopamine
cocaine and amphetamine
how does amphetamine psychosis arise
delusions and hallucinations resulting from too much dopamine
how can schizophrenia be improved (hallucinations and delusions)
using drugs that reduce dopamine
how does tardive dyskinesia arise
uncontrollable shaking from too little dopamine
how can Parkinsons be improved (uncontrollable movement)
increasing levels of dopamine (cocaine)
what part of brain is responsible for speech
Broca’s area
what part of the brain is responsible for language comprehension
wernicke’s area
what part of brain is responsible for memory and hearing
temporal lobe (hippocampus)
what part of brain is responsible for vision
occipital lobe
what part of brain is responsible for body sensations and visual attention
parietal lobe
what part of brain is responsible for motor movement and problem-solving
frontal lobe
what part of brain is responsible for voluntary muscles
motor area
what part of brain is responsible for skin sensations
sensory area
what part of brain is responsible for consciousness and heart-rate
brain stem
what part of brain is responsible for posture and balance
cerebellum
neuroplasticity
changes in physical structure and functional organization of brain due to experience
learning causes neurons that fire and wire together
other evidence for neuroplasticity
after brain damage, another part of the brain picks up that function
changes in amygdala due to post-traumatic stress
greater when younger
what is the left hemisphere responsible for
numbers, language, speech, scientific skills, right-hand, reasoning
what is right hemisphere responsible for
3D, art and music awareness, imagination, left-hand, face recognition
corpus callosum
bundle of nerves that connects the two hemispheres
what is function lateralization
function dominance in one hemisphere of the brain over the other
what is contralateral mean
one side of brain controls OTHER side of body
why do we have 2 hemispheres
we are bilateral
sensory information in your right visual field gets went to where
left hemisphere
seizure or epilepsy
abnormal brain cell activity (electrical storm)
implications of identity of split brain
both parts of brain contribute to identity
4 parts of central nervous system
Forebrain, Midbrain, hindbrain, spinal cord
peripheral nervous system
somatic (volitional actions) and autonomic nervous systems (involuntary)
