Ch 1 Definitions: What is Behavioral Neuroscience? Flashcards
neuroscience
scientific study of the brain and nervous system in health and in disease
behavioral neuroscience/biological psychology
study of biological foundations of behavior, emotions, and mental processes
mind-body dualism
a philosophical perspective (Rene Descartes) in which
the body is mechanistic,
whereas the mind is separate and nonphysical
monism
a philosophical perspective characteristic of the neurosciences in which
the mind is viewed as the product of activity in the brain
phrenology
the misguided effort to correlate character traits with bumps in the skull
histology
study of cells and tissues at the microscopic level
microtome
a device used to make very thin slices of tissue for histology
Golgi stain
a stain developed by Camillo Golgi used to
observe single neurons
Nissl stain
a stain used to
view populations of cell bodies
myelin stain
a stain used to
trace neural pathways
horseradish peroxidase
a stain used to
trace axon pathways
from their terminals to points of origin
optical imaging
a method for preparing a brain
for examination that literally makes it transparent
computerized tomography (CT)
an imaging technology in which computers are used to
enhance x-ray images
positron emission tomography (PET)
an imaging technique that provides
information regarding the localization of brain activity
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
an imaging technique that provides
very high resolution structural images
voxel
the smallest distinguishable box-shaped part of a 3D image
- short for “volume pixel”
(a pixel is the smallest distinguishable square part of a 2D image)
functional MRI (fMRI)
a technology using a series of MRI images
taken 1 to 4 seconds apart in order to
assess the activity of the brain
diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
use of MRI technology
to trace fiber pathways in the brain
by tracking the flow of water
electroencephalogram (EEG)
the recording of the brain’s electrical activity
through electrodes placed on the scalp
event-related potential (ERP)
an alteration in the EEG recording
produced in response to
the application of a particular stimulus
magnetoencephalography (MEG)
a technology for
recording the magnetic output of the brain
single-cell recording
the recording of the activity
of single neurons
through microelectrodes
surgically implanted in the area of interest
repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
a technique for
stimulating the cortex at regular intervals
by applying magnetic pulse through a wire coil encased in plastic and placed on the scalp
optogenetics
the genetic insertion of molecules into specific neurons
that allows the activity of the neurons to be controlled by light
lesion
pathological or traumatic
damage to tissue
ablation
the surgical removal of tissue
microdialysis
a technique for
assessing the chemical composition of a very small area of the brain
concordance rate
the statistical probability that two cases will agree;
usually used to predict the risk of an identical twin for developing a condition already diagnosed in his or her twin
heritability
the amount that
a trait varies in a population
due to genetics
genetic screen
methods for
correlating genotypes with phenotypes
knockout gene
a gene used to replace a normal gene
that does not produce the protein product of the normal gene
