Chapter 1: Origins of Behavioral Neuroscience Flashcards
Plasticity
in the nervous system. this refers to change, flexibility, or adaptations,usually in response to an experience or learning
Neurons
- nerve cell
- information processing and info-transmitting cells of nervous system
Neurogenesis
production of new neurons through the division of neural stem cells
- occurs in hippocampus and olfactory bulb and appear to play role in learning
Generalization
general conclusion based on many observations of similar phenomena
Reduction
phenomenon is described in terms of more elementary processes that underlie it
Dualism
belief that body is physical but the mind (soul) is not
Monism
belief that world consists only of matter and energy and that mind is phenomenon produced by workings of nervous system
Ancient World
Galen- all nerves are connected to the brain
17th Century
Descartes
Galvani
Descartes
mind controlled movements of body, while the body using (sense organs) supplies mind with info about what was happening in environment
*Reflex
Reflex
automatic, stereotyped movement that is produced as direct result of stimulus
Galvani
ability of muscle to contract and ability of nerve to send message to muscle were characteristics of tissues
19th Century
Muller
Flourens
Broca
Ramon Santiago y Cajon
Muller
Doctrine of specific nerve energies
Doctrine of Specific Nerve Energies
because all nerve fibers carry the same type of message, sensory information must be specified by the particular nerve fibers that are active
- brain must be functionally divided (some parts of brain perform some functions, while other parts perform others)
- messages occur in different channels
Flourens
experimental ablation (removing various parts of brain and observing what they can do
Broca
used experimental ablation to determine Broca’s area
Ramon Santiago y Cajal
Golgi staining techniques to examine individual neurons of brain
- proposed that nervous system had billions of discrete individual neurons
Epigenetics
changes to gene expression induced by environmental factors
Functionalism
principle that best way to understand a biological phenomenon (behavior or physiological structure) is to try to understand its useful functions for the organism
Natural Selection
process by which inherited traits that confer a selective advantage (increases animal’s likelihood to live and reproduce) become more prevalent in population
Mutation
change in genetic info contained in chromosomes of sperm or eggs, which can be passed on to an organism’s offspring
- provides genetic variability
Selective Advantage
characteristic of an organism that permits it to produce more than the average number of offspring of its species
Evolution
gradual change in structure and physiology of plant and animal species- generally producing more complex organisms- as a result of natural selection
Research with animals
we can’t make further progress in understanding and treating diseases without using animals
Informed Consent
process in which researchers must inform any potential participant about the nature of research study, how any data will be collected and stored, and what anticipated benefits and costs of participating will be
Neuroethics
interdisciplinary field devoted to understanding implication of and developing best practices in ethics for neuroscience research
Behavioral Neuroscientists
study behavioral phenomena with experiments on lab animals
- understand the physiology of behavior
Neurology
diagnosis and treatment of nervous system diseases
Cognitive Neuroscience
specialized training in principles and procedures of neurology
