Chapter 3: Biological Basis of Behavior Flashcards
neuroanatomy
study of the parts and function of neurons (neuron at rest will be negatively charged inside the cell)
efferent neurons
motor neurons
afferent neurons
sensory neurons
acetylcholine
- function: motor movement
- lack of is associated with Alzheimer’s Disease
dopamine
- function: motor movement and alertness
- lack of is associated with Parkinson’s disease
- overabundance with schizophrenia
endorphins
- function: pain control
- involved in addictions
seratonin
- function: mood control
- lack of is associated with clinical depression
GABA
- function: important inhibitory transmitter
- seizures, sleep problems
glutamate
function: excitatory neurotransmitter, involved with memory
- migraines, seizures
norepinephrine
- function: alertness, arousal
- depression
epinephrine
- function: sympathetic nervous system arousal
- sleep disorders and mood disorders
interneurons
-part of the CNS that relay info between other neurons of CNS and PNS
reflex
sensory neurons interact directly with motor neurons
Phineas Gage
-damage to the frontal lobe caused him to become impulsive and rude
lobotomy
-lesion of the frontal cortex to treat mental illnesses
EEG
-detects brain waves in order to discover information on brain functioning (used often in sleep cycles)
CAT or CT
-X-rays used to create 3-D structure of brain (no function)
MRI
- gives more detailed image than CT
- magnetic fields measure the density of different parts of the brain
PET
- measures how much glucose the brain is using
- which parts of the brain are functioning
fMRI
structure of brain with info about the blood flow
hindbrain
- medulla (above the spinal cord)
- pons: regulates breathing, sensations, facial expressions (located above the medulla)
- cerebellum: procedural memory
midbrain
- between the hindbrain and forebrain and integrates some sensory info and muscle movements
- reticular formation: controls arousal and attention
brainstem
medulla, pons, midbrain
forebrain
- controls thought and reason
- thalamus: responsible for communicating signals between the spinal cord and the areas of the forebrain, located above the brainstem
- hypothalamus: next to thalamus, controls homoestasis, sexual arousal, hunger, thirst, endocrine system
- amygdala: vital to experiences of emotion (esp. fear and anger) (surrounds thalamus)
- hippocampus: where memories are processed and then sent to the cerebral cortex for permanent storage (surrounds thalamus)
cerebral cortex
covers most of the brain structures
- fissures (sulci): grooves
- gyri: bumps
contralateral control
-left hemisphere controls sensory and movement of right and vice versa
brain lateralization (hemispheric specialization)
- specialization of each hemisphere
- language usually processed in the left side of the brain
Roger Sperry and Michael Gazzaniga
-performed first split-brain procedure
association area
-not active in sensory or motor control, but rather active in thought and behavior
frontal lobe
- prefronatal cortex: planning, pursuing goals, maintaining emotional control
- Broca’s area: controls muscles producing speech
- motor cortex: controls voluntary movements
parietal lobe
-contains sensory cortex that receives sensations from the rest of our body
occipital lobes
- interpret messages from our eyes in the visual cortex
- impulses from the right half of each retina are processed in the right occipital lobe (and same for left)
temporal lobes
- auditory cortex interprets sounds sensed from ears
- sound received from the left ear is processed in both hemispheres
- Wernicke’s area: interprets both written and spoken speech, affecting our ability to understand language
endocrine system
- adrenal glands: signals adrenaline and fight-or-flight response
- parathyroid: controls levels of Ca2+ in the blood
- thyroid: regulates metabolism
- ovaries and testes: produce sex hormones
neural transmission
-an electric charge is created the neuron, the charge travels down a cell, and chemicals are released that cross the synapse to the next cell
