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PSYCH 275 > Chapter 1: Origins of Brain and Behavior > Flashcards

Chapter 1: Origins of Brain and Behavior Flashcards

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1
Q

Why should the study of brain and behavior be linked?

A
  1. How the brain produces behavior is a major scientific question
  2. The brain is the most complex organ on Earth and is found in many groups of animals
  3. A growing list of behavioral disorders can be explained and treated as we increase our understanding of the brain
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2
Q

Neurons

A

specialized nerve cell engaged in information processing

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3
Q

Glial Cells

A

nervous system cell that provides insulation, nutrients, and support and that aids in repairing neurons and eliminating waste

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4
Q

Central Nervous System (CNS)

A

the brain is encased by the skull, the spinal cord is encased by the vertebrae

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5
Q

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

A

neurons and nerve processes outside CNS, sensory connections to receptors in the skin, motor connections to body muscles, sensory and motor connections to internal body organs and gut

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6
Q

Cerebrum (forebrain)

A

major structure o the forebrain that consists of two mirror-image hemispheres (left and right) and is responsible for most conscious behavior

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7
Q

Hemisphere

A

literally, half a sphere, referring to one side of the cerebrum

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8
Q

Brainstem

A

central structure of the brain (including the hindbrain, midbrain, thalamus, and hypothalamus) that is responsible for most life-sustaining, unconscious behavior

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9
Q

Cerebellum

A

major brainstem structure specialized for learning and coordinating movements, assists the cerebrum in generating many behaviors

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10
Q

Embodied Behvaior

A

theory that the movements we make and the movements we perceive in others are central to communication with others

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11
Q

Locked-In Syndrome

A

condition in which a patient is aware and awake but cannot move or communicate verbally because of complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles except the eyes

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12
Q

Minimally Conscious State (MCS)

A

condition in which a person can display some rudimentary behaviors, such as smiling or uttering a few words, but is otherwise not conscious

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13
Q

Clinical Trial

A

consensual experiment directed toward developing a treatment

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14
Q

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)

A

neurosurgery in which electrodes implanted in the brain simulate a targeted area with a low voltage electrical current to produce or facilitate behavior

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15
Q

Persistent Vegetative State (PVS)

A

condition in which a person is alive but unaware, unable to communicate or to function independently at even the most basic level

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16
Q

Psyche

A

synonym for mind, an entity once proposed to be the source of human behavior

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17
Q

Mentalism

A

explanation of behavior as a function of the nonmaterial mind, associated with Aristotle

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18
Q

Dualism

A

philosophical position that both a nonmaterial mind and a material body contribute to behavior, associated with Descartes

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19
Q

Mind-Body Problem

A

difficulty of explaining how a nonmaterial mind and a material body interact

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20
Q

Materialism

A

philosophical position that behavior can be explained as a function of the nervous system without recourse to the mind, associated with Darwin

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21
Q

Epigenetics

A

differences in gene expression related to environment and experience

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22
Q

What are some characteristics of materialism?

A

because all animal species are related, their brains must be related

because all animal species are related, their behavior must be related

brains and behaviors in complex animals such as humans evolved from simpler animal’s brains and behaviors

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23
Q

Eliminative Materialism

A

states that if behavior can be described adequately without recourse to the mind, then the mental explanation should be eliminated

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24
Q

In what order did the nervous system evolve?

A
  1. Neurons and muscles
  2. Nerve net
  3. Bilateral symmetry
  4. Segmentation
  5. Ganglia
  6. Spinal cord
  7. Brain
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25
Q

Nerve Net

A

simple nervous system that has no center but consists of neurons that receive sensory information and connect directly to other neurons that move muscles

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26
Q

Bilateral Symmetry

A

body plan in which organs or parts present on both sides of the body are mirror images in appearance, for example the hands are bilaterally symmetrical, whereas the heart is not

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27
Q

Segmentation

A

division into a number of parts that are similar, refers to the idea that many animals, including vertebrates, are composed of similarly organized body segments

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28
Q

Ganglia

A

collection of nerve cells that functions somewhat like a brain

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29
Q

Chordate

A

animal with both a brain and a spinal cord

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30
Q

What is the central nervous system (CNS)?

A

most interconnections between the brain/body are made through the spinal cord

the spinal cord has input/output: nerve fibers out to muscles and organs, sensory receptors into the spinal cord

called central because it is the core of the nervous system and the core structure mediating behavior

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31
Q

What is the peripheral nervous system?

A

all the neurons in the body outside the brain and spinal cord

sensory and motor connections

signals from the brain and spinal cord to muscle

sensory signals from receptor to brain

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32
Q

What is the cerebrum?

A

major forebrain structure, two nearly identical hemispheres

prominent in mammals and birds

responsible for most conscious behaviors

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33
Q

What is the brainstem?

A

set of structures responsible for critical unconscious behaviors

life sustaining behaviors

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34
Q

What is the cerebellum?

A

learning and motor coordination

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35
Q

What is the brain?

A

the brain is more than just the tissue inside the skull, it is the idea itself of: the organ that exerts control of behavior, a control center

the term brain, then, signifies both the organ itself and the fact that this organ rpoduces behavior

refers to an intelligent, functioning organ that is connected to the rest of the nervous system and the body to produce behavior

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36
Q

Could the brain remain awake and conscious without sensory information and without the ability to move?

A

things to consider:
embodied behavior
sensory deprivation effects
locked-in syndrome
minimally conscious state (MCS)
persistent vegetative state (PVS)

the brain can be conscious in the absence of much overt behavior
in the absence of overt behavior, the brain can communicate through signals

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37
Q

What is behavior?

A

“behavior consists of patterns in time”

animal behavior
inherited: little or no previous experience
learned: requires experience + practice, learned behaviors depend on brain’s plasticity

most behaviors consist of a mix of inherited (innate; fixed) and learned actions

38
Q

What are inherent and learned behaviors?

A

animals with smaller and simpler nervous systems depend mainly on heredity

animals with complex nervous systems are more dependent on learning

39
Q

What are the three perspectives on brain and behavior?

A

mentalism
dualism
materialism

40
Q

What is Aristotle’s mentalism perspective?

A

explanation of behavior as a function of the nonmaterial mind

psyche: where intellectual functions are created, entity once proposed to be the source of human behavior

psyche’s departure from body results in death

a person’s mind (psyche) controls behavior

41
Q

What is Descartes’ dualism perspective?

A

both a nonmaterial mind and the material body contribute to behavior

the mind receives information from the body through the brain

42
Q

What is the mind-body problem?

A

whether or not mental phenomena are a subset of physical phenomena or not

43
Q

What is the dualist hypothesis?

A

mind resides in the pineal gland, where it directs the flow of fluid through the ventricles and into the muscles to move the body

the pineal gland actually influences daily and seasonal biorhythms

44
Q

What are the issues with dualism?

A

young children and those who are insane must lack minds because they often fail to reason appropriately

if someone lacks a mind, is this entity a machine?

45
Q

What is Darwin’s materialism perspective?

A

philosophical position that behavior can be explained as a function of the nervous system without recourse to the mind

behavior = brain + nervous system, no external psyche or nonmaterial entity

natural selection and inheritable factors explain how new species evolve and existing species change over time

46
Q

What is a species?

A

group of organisms

47
Q

What is a phenotype?

A

measurable individual characteristics

48
Q

What is a genotype?

A

individual’s genetic makeup

49
Q

What is epigenetics?

A

gene expression related to environment/experience

the study of differences in gene expression arising from environment and experience

epigenetic factors influence how genes express the traits inherited from parents

epigenetic changes can persist throughout a lifetime, can make dramatic differences in how genes work

50
Q

Who was Gregor Mendel?

A

heritable factors (genes) govern various physical traits displayed by the species

members of a species with a particular genetic makeup, or genotype, are likely to express (turn on) similar phenotypic traits

similar characteristics within or between species are usually due to similar genes

51
Q

Cladogram

A

phylogenetic tree that branches repeatedly, suggesting a taxonomy of organisms based on the time sequence in which evolutionary branches arise

52
Q

Hominid

A

general term referring to primates that walk upright, including all forms of humans, living and extinct

53
Q

Encephalization Quotient (EQ)

A

Jerison’s quantitative measure of brain obtained from the ratio of actual brain size to expected brain size, according to the principle of proper mass, for an animal of a particular body size

54
Q

Topographic

A

representing all different functional areas of the CNS

55
Q

Connectome

A

all pathways connecting regions of the CNS

56
Q

Neoteny

A

process in which juvenile stages of predecessors become adult features of descendants, idea derived from the observation that more recently evolved species resemble the young of their common ancestors

57
Q

Plasticity

A

body’s potential for physical or chemical change, enhances it’s adaptability to environmental change and it’s ability to compensate for injury (aka neuroplasticity)

58
Q

Species-Typical Behavior

A

behavior that is characteristic of all members of a species

59
Q

Culture

A

learned behaviors that are passed on from one generation to the next through teaching and imitation

60
Q

Meme

A

an idea, a behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture

61
Q

What are contemporary perspectives on brain and behaviors?

A

contemporary brain theory is materialistic

materialism argues for objective, measurable descriptions of behavior that can be referenced to brain activity

behavior and neural function are perfectly correlated

e.g. amygdala activation and fear responses

62
Q

How do you trace the evolution of human brain and behavior?

A

the understand the evolution of the human brain and behavior we must consider:

animals that first developed a nervous system and muscles

how the nervous system grew more complex as the brain evolved to mediate complex behavior

how the human brain evolved it’s present complexity

63
Q

What is the evolution of brain and behavior?

A

our lineage can be traced by comparing the genes, brains, and behaviors of a common ancestor

forebear of two or more linages or family groups; ancestral to both groups

a humanlike brain first developed only about 6 million years ago, and our modern human brain has been around for only the past 200,00 years or so

brain cells and brains evolved only recently

64
Q

What is a taxonomy?

A

the branch of biology concerned with naming ad classifying species by grouping representative organisms according to their common characteristics and their relationships to one another

65
Q

How did neurons and muscles evolve?

A

brain cells and muscles evolved together, enabling animals to move

likely origin in single cell animals

66
Q

How did the nerve net evolve?

A

“nervous system” of older structures (e.g. jellyfish)

consists entirely of neurons that receive sensory information and connect directly to other neurons that move muscles

67
Q

How did bilateral symmetry evolve?

A

more complex animals

nervous system is more organized and features bilateral symmetry

68
Q

How did segmentation evolve?

A

similar repeating segments in the nervous system (spinal cord and brain)

69
Q

How did ganglia evolve?

A

more recently evolved invertebrates

clusters of neurons that resemble primitive brains

command centers

70
Q

How did the spinal cord evolve?

A

highly evolved chordates

nervous system pathway connecting brain with sensory receptors and muscles

71
Q

How did the brain evolve?

A

chordate phylum

greater degree of encephalization: a true brain

evolutionary increase in complexity, function, relative size, etc.

72
Q

What is the chordate nervous system?

A

the phylum Chordata (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) display the greatest degree of encephalization: chordates have a true brain

of all chordates, humans have the largest brain relative to body size

the brains of all representative species have many structures in common, illustrating a single basic brain plan

increasing brain sizes accommodate new behaviors, including new forms of locomotion on land, complex movements of the mouth and hands for eating, improved learning ability, and highly organized social behavior

73
Q

What is the evolution of the brain and behavior of humans, apes, and monkeys?

A

evolutionary and brain similarities

our behaviors are linked to the behavior of some evolutionary ancestors

74
Q

What are humans?

A

members of the primate order

enhanced depth perception, highly developed visual sense and hand movements, larger brains

75
Q

What are hominids?

A

evolved 5 million years ago

walk upright; includes all forms of humans, living and extinct

humans are the only surviving hominid species

76
Q

What is Australopithecus?

A

first primates to show distinctly human characteristics

evidence suggests that the Aus. is our common ancestor

the brain of Aus. was about the sane size as that of living nonhuman apes

succeeding members of the human lineage display a steady increase in brain size

77
Q

What are two possible members of the human lineage?

A

homo habilis (handy human): 2 million years ago in Africa, made simple stone tools

homo erectus (upright human): 1.6 million years ago in Europe and Asia, more sophisticated tools than H. habilis

78
Q

What is the encephalization quotient?

A

quantitative measure of brain size to allow comparisons among different species

the lower an animal’s brain falls relative to the trend line, the smaller its EQ

the higher an animal’s brain lies relative to the trend line, the larger its EQ

79
Q

What is the process of counting brain cells?

A

need to consider the neuron’s packing density

human behavior is complex due to large brains and densely packed neurons

80
Q

What is a topographic map?

A

shows different functional areas

81
Q

What is a connectome map?

A

connection of functional regions

82
Q

Why did the hominid brain enlarge over time?

A

climate changes have driven many physical changes in hominids, ranging from brain changes to emergence of human culture

homo sapians adaptability = survival

primate lifestyle: social group size, complex food foraging, food selection, use of fire

83
Q

What are some changes in hominid physiology that occurred over time?

A

cooking food fosters genetic mutation

reductions in face muscle fibers and masticatory muscles

smaller facial muscles and bones allow for changes in diet and energy-rich foods

changes in skull form, increased blood circulation, and brain cooling lead to larger brains

84
Q

What is the human genome?

A

genome: a catalogue of all of a species genes

understanding of the hominid genome is incomplete, only the genomes of apes, archaic humans, and modern humans have been sequenced

85
Q

What are human-specific gene changes?

A

the SARGP2 gene is active during cerebrum development

plays role in determining number of neurons in the cerebrum

its mutation during human evolution might coincide with the Homo habilis, erectus, and sapiens

86
Q

What is the correlation between modern human brain size and intelligence?

A

the evolutionary approach: make brain-behavior comparisons between different species, humans have large brains relative to other species

humans with larger skulls smarter within species?: relationship between brain size and intelligence is mixed

87
Q

What are the problems with correlating brain size and intelligence?

A

difficulty in brain size and measurement

no agreement when it comes to measuring volume or weight

variability: body weight, gender, age, nutrition, disease or injury, stress, neurological disorders, plasticity

88
Q

What are some ways of measuring intelligence?

A

species-typical behavior

general factor intelligence (spearman’s g)

flynn effect (generational increase in IQ)

multiple intelligences

89
Q

What is culture?

A

learned behaviors passed on from one generation to the next through teaching and experience, enabled by our large brain

90
Q

What is the relationship between memes and evolution?

A

cultural elements, ideas, behaviors, or styles that spread from person to person (memes) can also be studied within a evolutionary framework

memes exert selective pressure on further brain development
e.g. using tools lead to selective development in x populations relative to populations not using tools

PSYCH 275 (11 decks)

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