Ch.1

Question 1

Neuroscience

Answer 1

Multidisciplinary study of the brain
Injuries, chemical imbalances, development, language processing, drug usage, plasticity, memory, spatial navigation

Question 2

CNS

Answer 2

Brain, spinal cord, retina: all encased in bone (spinal cord encased by vertebrae, brain encased in skull)
Retina develops as an outpocketing of developing diencephalon
Central location and role in all our behaviors

Question 3

PNS

Answer 3

Everything else: all nerves that carry signals in and out of the CNS
Nerves: bundle of nerve fibers
Somatic NS: all conscious/voluntary, ALL senses,
Autonomic (ANS): involuntary, viscera/internal organs, solarplexus,
Somatosensation: somato (body), pain, movement of joints and body awareness, vestibular
Spinal and cranial nerves: somatic and autonomic

Question 4

Neurons

Answer 4

In CNS AND PNS
Specialized nerve cells engaged in info processing
Carry signals from one body location to another

Question 5

Dendrites

Answer 5

Info comes in at dendrites: unidirectional

Question 6

Glial Cells

Answer 6

Glial Cells: non-neuronal cells, support function of neurons, immune cells, can shut off responses
originally got is name from “glue” because it was thought that they held brain areas together which is not true

Question 7

Sagittal section of the brain

Answer 7

Sagittal Section, separating

Question 8

Behaviour; learned vs innate

Answer 8

Behavior consists of patterns in time
Animal behavior varies enormously and indicates the diverse functions of the brain
Innate Behavior: inherited ways of responding, no experience needed to perform, fixed, genetically encoded (suckling in infants)
Learned Behaviors: require experience, dependent on brain plasticity (ability to change in response to a learning experience), have to learn it from society MORE COMPLEX NERVOUS SYSTEM = MORE CAPACITY FOR CHANGE

Question 9

Mentalism

Answer 9

Mentalism: an explanation of behavior as a function of the non-material mind
Psyche: synonym for mind; suggests that human intellect is produced by this; marks the beginning of modern psychology
It was believed that brain cooled the blood

Question 10

Dualism, brain regions and problems

Answer 10

Both a non-material mind and a material body contribute to behavior
Mind-body problem: quandary of explaining how a nonmaterial mind and material body interact
Descartes believed that mind resides in the pineal gland, where it directs the flow of cerebrospinal fluid through the ventricles and into the muscles to move the body
Problem: DOESN’T REALLY EXPLAIN HOW THE NONMATERIAL ENTITY INFLUENCES A MATERIAL GLAND
Chose the pineal gland based on a “guess”: it doesn’t have a mirror structure like other parts of the brain, he thought it was floating in the ventricles but this isnt true

Question 11

Materialism; evolution and unity of diversity

Answer 11

what modern neuroscience uses
Behaviour can be explained as a function of the nervous system without recourse to the mind
Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace: both contributed to the theory of evolution
Russel published his work a year before Darwin
Darwin published Origin of Species, provided biological mechanism for every single function you can think of
Evolution explains the UNITY AND DIVERSITY OF LIFE
UNity: all living organisms share common ancestor that is now extinct
Diversity: as the ancestor produced descendants, it started to diversify into different adaptations, lead to speciation, and diversity arises from this (all organisms use DNA bc we all had this common ancestor)

Question 12

Extant species

Answer 12

Species today (STILL ALIVE) are descendants of ancestral species = descent with modification; evolution and descent with modification are EQUIVALENT TERMS, as adaptations are accumulated, you add on to the ancestral forms
Mechanism for evolution (aka descent with modification) is natural selection

Question 13

Descent with Modification

Answer 13

Descendants of remote ancestors spread into diverse habitats thatpresented new environmental challenges or pressures
Time scale of evolution is over millions of years
Adaptations were accumulated

Question 14

Evolution formula

Answer 14

EVOLUTION FORMULA: Heritable (genetic) variations in individuals which arise from random mutations (raw material for evolution, END UP WITH VARIATIONS IN PHYSICAL CHARACTER) + overproduction of offspring competed for limited sources under selection pressures = natural selection and individuals well suited to the environment leave more offspring (reproductive successs_
Over time, favourable adaptations accumulate

Question 15

why can individuals not evolve

Answer 15

Individuals cannot evolve, POPULATIONS do (populations are groups of individuals that interbreed with each other)
Natural selection acts on HERITABLE characteristics only, cannot act on acquired characteristics (muscles cannot be passed down generations)
wh

Question 16

why is evolution not goal directed

Answer 16

Evolution is NOT goal directed, and does not lead to perfectly adapted organisms
Random variation in a population (mutations in the genome) — enhanced reproductive success (variation is random, but if it is beneficial, then there is more likely chance of survival)

Question 17

Evolution and origin of life

Answer 17

Evoltuion doesn’t explain the origins of life: evolution explains how all organisms have evolved from single common ancestor
Natural selection can only work on EXISTING characteristics, no organism is perfectly engineered for their environments

Question 18

species

Answer 18

Species: can interbreed and produce viable and fertile offspring

Question 19

Phenotype, genotype, gene, allele

Answer 19

Phenotype: set of individual characteristics that can be seen or measured (MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS, physical structure)
Genotype: genetic makeup of an individual, dictate what phenotype is
Gene: discrete unit of hereditary info consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA, codes for heritable character (flower color)
Allele: alternative version of a gene, variations (allele = trait, purpose vs. white flowers) ALLELES LEAD TO GENETIC VARIATION IN POPULATION

Question 20

“Highly Conserved” species

Answer 20

Highly Conserved: species tend to be very similar; genes that produce the nervous system in different animal species that tend to be very similar

Question 21

Epigenetics and transgenerational epigenetics

Answer 21

differences in gene expression related to environment and experience
Greek word for beyond genetics: studies differences in gene expression related to environment and experience
The markers that get added to our DNA impact whether that gene is on or off
Environment can leave markers on our genes which impact how they express
Histones
Complex has to be loosened otherwise DNA cannot get access to
DNA Methylation: gene cannot be expressed, ball is very tightly wound (as we are exposed to different things in the environment, markers on DNA Impacts the genetics we are expressing)
Environment things influencing the parent can be passed down transgenerationally (trauma could be ‘passed down’ based on epigenetics)

Question 22

why are neurons evolutionarily older than brains

Answer 22

Neurons are evolutionary older than brains which make sense: brain cells first, AND THEN BRAINS and after

Question 23

difference between taxonomy and cladograms

Answer 23

Classifying species, doesn’t have anything to do with ancestry
Based on fairly arbitrary morphological data: BASED ON PHENOTYPIC/STRUCTURAL DATA
Bottom is broadest category of the species; top is the most specific
Cladograms
Based on phylogeny: evolutionary descent of different species, tells us about ancestry

Question 24

Bacteria:

Answer 24

single celled, no nucleus, prokaryotes, no membrane bound organelles

Question 25

Eukaryotes:

Answer 25

have a nucleus

Question 26

Archea:

Answer 26

prokaryotes, extremophiles, live in earth’s most extreme environments

Question 27

(King Philip Couldn’t Order Fried Greens)

Answer 27

Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus NEED TO REMEMBER THIS (King Philip Couldn’t Order Fried Greens)

Question 28

Chordata:

Answer 28

true brain and backbone

Question 29

How classifications are written

Answer 29

First word: genus, second word species, italics, first word capitalized

Question 30

protists

Answer 30

(Single celled organisms that have a nucleus, plants, animals, fungi)

Question 31

Human classification

Answer 31

Monera: bacteria, archea, which are now separate domains) Eukarya: protists (Single celled organisms that have a nucleus, plants, animals, fungi)
Kingdom: animals; neurons and muscles
Phylum: chordates, true brain and spinal chord
Class: mammals; larger brain social behavior
Order: Primates, very good visual system, hands for control
Family: great apes, hominidae
Genus: human (homo)
Species: modern human (homo sapiens), complex culture “sapiens” = wise

Question 32

HOW TO READ A CLADOGRAM:

Answer 32

starting from left to right; furthest left is evolutionary the oldest, right side evolved the most recently
All branch points are important: A, B, C, D, E: represent common ancestor (and these ancestors are now extinct)
ALL ORGANISMS ON TOP: NOT EXTINCT, EXTANT (still living)

Question 33

Brain evolution stages from 1-4

Answer 33

(1), LEAST COMPLEX; HUMANS HAVE THIS Nerve Net: first type of nervous system to involve; cranial nerves and spinal nerves are like this, no centralized brain or spinal cord however, sea anemone, has a nervous system
(2) HUMANS HAVE THIS Segmented Nerve Trunk: bilaterally symmetrical organization, what is on the left side is also on the right side (divide body in two, sides mirror each other) also have a head and tail region, segmentation as well (like our spinal cords)
(3) Ganglia: structures that resemble and function somewhat like a brain, sacs of neurons, each sac is called a ganglion, still not a true brain
(4) MOST COMPLEX, LAST THING TO EVOLVE: true brain and spinal cord

Question 34

Which brain regions are getting larger and why?

Answer 34

Cerebrum and cerebellum: getting larger with evolution (cerebellum, motor learning, muscle coordination) cerebrum (planning?? And what else) animals that have the most complex behavior have these
The cerebrum and cerebellum become more prominent and extensively folded: the folding increases the surface area and MEANS WE ARE GETTING MORE NEURONS = MORE INTELLIGENT SPECIES/MORE COMPLEX

Question 35

first human

Answer 35

1st animal designated as “genus” homo was HOMO HABILIS (handy human), first human, first one to use tools

Question 36

What is more important than brain size?

Answer 36

cELL COUNT MATTERS MUCH MORE and the amount of connections (synapses)

Question 37

1973 Harry Jerison’s Encephalization Quotient:

Answer 37

quantitative measure of brain size obtained from the ratio of actual brain size to expected brain size; allows for comparisons among different species; RATIO OF BRAIN TO BODY SIZE
Low EQ: smaller brain that expected
Humans: VERY HIGH EQ

Question 38

Hypothesis, theory, natural law

Answer 38

Hypothesis, MOST SPECIFIC: proposed and tentative explanation for set of observations, cannot proven to be true, MUST BE TESTABLE
Theory: well-substantiated and widely accepted explanation of natural phenomena, subject to testing, revision, and refutation (evolution proceeds via natural selection), HAS TO HAVE A MECHANISM AND BE MECHANISTIC LIKE EVOLUTION
Natural Law: broadest, describes events in nature that occur exactly the same way every time under the same conditions, not an explanation, but a DESCRIPTION (LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS)

Question 39

Inductive vs, Deductive

Answer 39

Inductive: specific to general, starting with hypothesis, anecdotes, collecting data, recognizing patterns and forming general conclusions
Deductive: general to specific (testing hypothesis),