Brain Imaging Flashcards
what type of recording is best for action potentials?
single cell
how are graded potentials recorded?
EEG, ERP, MEG
how does single cell recording work?
Electrodes inserted into or adjacent to an individual neuron
Activity of the neuron is then related to the behaviors of the organism
which part of the nervous system is single cell recording most often done in and why?
This is more common in the peripheral nervous system because opportunities to implant electrodes in the human CNS are limited
the firing patterns of neurons vary, depending on…
what information they encode
what is true of most neurons?
Most neurons are tuned to a particular stimulus and have a low level of baseline activity
what aspect of an activity seems important in neuronal firing patterns?
Context of the activity seems important in neuronal firing patterns
in layman’s terms, how does the basic idea of levels of processing work, and give an example
lower levels of processing include many neurons tuned to very specific parts of the stimuli, and higher levels of processing include fewer cells that do more work. For example, in the retina, many many light-receptor cells (rods and cones) project to a few retinal ganglion cells, that then project to fewer LGB (lateral geniculate body) cells, that project to somewhat more visual cortex cells, and those cells project to larger numbers of assicoation cells. higher cells respond to more complex stimuli. ends up looking like ><
what takes place in an EEG?
electrodes are placed on scalp, and the output from the electrodes are recorded in a polygraph, summarizing the activity of the population of neurons in the area of the brain underneath each electrode
true or false: recordings from the skull and brain are similar, validating the noninvasive recording
true
when using EEGs, how can the origin of the signal be determined?
Origin of the signal can be estimated by comparing the recordings from different locations on the skull
what do beta brain waves tell us about the brain state at that time?
Beta: high-frequency, low-amplitude waves associated with being alert
what are alpha brain waves and what are they associated with?
Alpha: lower-frequency, high-amplitude waves associated with relaxation
what are delta brain waves and what are they associated with?
Delta: less-frequent, higher-amplitude waves associated with sleep
what happens to brain waves when in coma?
waves become even lower frequency
what can EEGs be used to assess?
states of consciousness and depth of anesthesia
how can EEG be used diagnostically?
EEG can be used diagnostically to identify abnormal brain signals
what can we tell about epilepsy using EEG?
EEG can be used to localize the starting point for the seizures and monitor the spread
what is meant by ‘partial seizure’?
In partial seizures, the coordinated activity of many neurons firing is limited to a few regions of the brain
what is meant by ‘generalized seizures”?
In generalized seizures, the activity is spread over the entire brain
in talking about EEG and cognitive function, what is coherence theory?
Coherence theory suggests that there is a relation between the EEG activity and behavior
in coherence theory, what is high coherence characteristic of?
High coherence
Low-frequency, high-amplitude waves
Associated with coordinated activity of neurons, but low cognitive load (like delta waves when sleepy)
in coherence theory, what is low coherence characteristic of?
Low coherence
High-frequency, low-amplitude waves
Associated with many neurons firing at different times, actively processing information
(like beta waves)
what are ERPs?
Event-related potentials, brief changes in the EEG signal in response to a sensory stimulus or behaviour
what do ERPs respond to?
Correspond to the excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials in sensory neurons
how do you get an ERP?
Repeatedly present the stimulus to the subject while recording EEG
Stimulus presentation sets the time = 0; record changes from that time
Average over repeated presentations to eliminate unrelated activity
Resulting graph shows both negative and positive waves