Chapter 3 - Biological Psychology Flashcards
1
Q
How many nerve cells in the brain?
A
~100 billion
2
Q
Define: dendrites
A
-Extensions that receive information from neighbouring neurons
3
Q
What are spines on dendrites for?
Result of lack of spines?
A
- Increase surface area
- Down syndrome
4
Q
Define: Soma
A
- Cell body
- Integrates information from dendrites then passes it along axon
5
Q
Define: Axon
A
- Think “axe”; a thing that goes away from the body!
- Long extension leading away from soma
- Covered with myelin sheath
6
Q
Define: Axon Hillock
A
- Think “hill”; the culmination of something
- Last site on soma where synaptic inputs are summed before going down axon
7
Q
Define: Myelin sheath
A
- Fatty glial cells that insulates axons
- Improves speed and strength of signals
8
Q
Define: Axon terminal (or terminal button)
A
- Knob at the end of the axon
- Transmits signals to dendrites, cell bodes, muscles
9
Q
Define: Synapse
A
- Entire junction where axon terminal communicates with receiving neuron across synaptic cleft
- 100 trillion of them
10
Q
Define: Synaptic cleft
A
-Actual space between neurons (axon and receptor site)
11
Q
Define: Synaptic vesicles
A
- Spherical sacs containing neurotransmitters
- small NTs made onsite; lg. NTs made in soma
12
Q
Define: Glial cells
A
- Support cells
- promote healing, clearing debris
13
Q
Which disease is caused by demyelination?
A
Multiple sclerosis
14
Q
Two kinds of myelinating glial cells?
A
- Schwann cells (PNS) [Think Schwinn tires psi)
- Oligodendrocytes (CNS) [Think oligarchy=Central]
15
Q
Define: Blood Brain Barrier
A
- Glial cells (astrocytes) wrapped around brain blood vessels and capillaries
- Don’t let through large or water soluble molecules
16
Q
What are neurons responding to, by generating electrical activity?
A
Neurotransmitters
17
Q
Define: Resting potential
A
- When no NTs are acting on neuron but ready to fire
- polarized, selectively permeable membrane
- negative 60mV charge on inside of neuron
- +and- particles flowing back and forth membrane
18
Q
Define: Threshold
A
- Stimulation from sensory receptor or another neuron causes a change in membrane permeability, and degree of polarity
- When electrical charge gets high enough compared to outside (~55mV)
- Causes action potential
19
Q
Which kind of ions are inside and outside neuron in resting potential?
A
Outside: Na+ [Think “on” or outside the cell]
Inside: K+ and negative protein
20
Q
Define: Action potential
A
-Electrical impulse that travels down axon and triggers release of NTs
21
Q
Three rules to action potentials
A
- TAA [Think “ta-ta, buh-bye, no stopping me now”]
1. Threshold
2. All-or-none phenomenon
3. Absolute refractory
22
Q
Regarding threshold, intensity of stimulation within a single neuron is communicated by…
A
the RATE of firing.
23
Q
Regarding threshold, intensity in the nervous system overall is communicated by…
A
the RATE of firing and NUMBER of neurons firing.
24
Q
Define and explain what it does: Absolute refractory
A
- Tim;e when another action potential is impossible
- Limits firing rate
- AP propagates only in one direction
25
Give 6 steps of action potential.
1. Threshold of excitation; Na+ begins to enters cell; voltage spikes
2. K+ begins to leave cell
3. Na+ channels become refractory; no more Na+ enters cell.
4. K+ continues to leave cell; voltage drops to resting level.
5. K+ channels close; Na+ channels reset
6. Voltage is below resting from extra K+; K+ diffuses away; voltage rises slightly to resting potential
26
Define: Nodes of Ranvier
- Gaps in myelination on axon where ion flow occurs to regenerate and speed up signal.
- "Saltatory conduction" [Think "sauter" or jumping]
27
Define: Presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons
- Presynaptic is sending neuron
| - Postsynaptic is receiving neuron
28
3 steps of Neurotransmission
1. Release NT
2. Binding of NT
3. Stopping NT activity
29
Factors determining excitatory or inhibitory action of NT depends on...
where and how much is released
30
Roles of 4 NTs
Dopamine: motor function and reward (too much=schizophrenia; too little=parkinsons)
Serotonin: mood and temperature regulation; aggression; sleep cycles
Acetylcholine: Muscle contraction (PNS); Cortical arousal (CNS)
Norepinephrine: Brain arousal; mood, hunger, sleep
31
3 ways NTs are inactivated
- 90% by re-uptake into presynaptic neuron
- Enzymes (MonoamineoxidASE; acetylcholinestrASE)
- Drift away
32
Division of nervous system
CNS>Brain (forebrain, brainstem)/Spinal cord
| PNS>Autonomic (sympathetic, parasympathetic)/Somatic
33
Define: forebrain/cerebrum
- Several structures involved in sensory-info processing, memory, learning, emotion
- Includes cerebral cortex
- Includes corpus callosum
34
Define: corpus callosum
-Thick band of connecting and communicating fibres, connecting R and L hemisphere
35
Name the four lobes of the cortex
Lobes:
- Frontal
- Parietal
- Temporal
- Occipital
36
General functions of the frontal lobe
- Executive functioning
- Complex thoughts and process
- Motor function
- Language
- Memory
37
Frontal lobe parts and what they do
-Pre-frontal cortex: thinking, planning, language
(PF cortex includes Broca's area on left side; important for language;damage causes brocas aphasia or speechlessness)
-Motor cortex in the back half (movement)
38
Parietal lobe (generally)
- Involved in coordinating sensory information
| - Perception of space, and numbers
39
Injuries to parietal lobe
- Left: Acalculia (difficulty with numbers and math)
| - Right: Contralateral neglect (ignore opposite side of body)
40
What seperates frontal and parietal lobe?
Central sulcus
41
Temporal lobe (generally)
- Hearing and language comprehension
| - Storing memories of our past
42
Primary auditory cortex
-Detection of discrete qualities of sound like pitch, volume
43
Auditory association cortex
-Processing and analyzing sounds
44
Wernicke's area damage
-Difficulty understanding speech
45
What separates temporal lobe from rest of cortex?
-Sylvian fissure (lateral fissure, lateral sulcus)
46
Occipital lobe (generally)
-Associated with vision
47
Define: Primary visual cortex
-receives nerve impulses from visual thalamus
48
Define: Visual association cortex
-Analyzes visual date to form images
49
Occipital lobe injury
- Blindness
| - Hallucinations
50
Basal ganglia (generally)
- Involved in voluntary controlled movement
| - Initiation of movement by reward anticipation
51
Basal ganglia injury
-Parkinson's disease
52
Brainstem. What and where is it?
- Primitive part of brain
- Between spinal cord and cerebral cortex
- Contains mid brain and hind brain (medulla, pons, cerebellum)
53
What are the parts of the brain stem?
-Midbrain and hindbrain (medulla, pons, cerebellum)
54
Define: Midbrain
- Part of brainstem between forebrain and hindbrain
| - Help mediate sensory and movement information; reflexes triggered by sound
55
What is the Reticular Activating system?
- Key role in arousal
- Increases signal to noise ratio to cortex
- Associated with ADHD
56
Which part of brain might ADHD be related to and why?
- RAS (reticular activating system)
| - Along with prefrontal cortex
57
Loss of neurons in midbrain are related to:
Schizophrenia and Parkinson's
58
3 parts of the hindbrain
- Medulla
- Pons
- Cerebellum (Alcohol acts on it)
59
Define: Medulla
- Heart shaped [think "medal"]
- Automatic control centre: breathing, heartbeat, swallowing, vomiting
- Alcohol acts on it (can cause death)
60
Define: Pons
- [Think "bridge"]
- Connects cerebellum to cortex
- Involved with dreaming and body movement
61
Define: cerebellum
- "Little brain"
- Balance and coordination
- Alcohol acts on it
62
Cerebral ventricles
- Encapsulate brain and spinal cord in CFS
- 4 of them
- Protect from injury
- buoyancy
- Provides nutrients
- Eliminates waste
63
Spinal cord
- sensory nerves travel up and down
| - Spinal reflexes (don't require brain to respond)
64
Two parts of the Peripheral Nervous System
- Somatic
| - Autonomic
65
Define: Somatic nervous system
- Carries messages from CNS to control and coordinate voluntary movement
- Stimulates muscle contraction with specialized cells
- Sensory nerves in muscles (toward CNS)
- Motor nerves (away from CNS)
66
Two parts of the Autonomic Nervous System and what they do
- Sympathetic [think "has sypathy, so reacts"]: Fight or flight, HR, breathing, sweating, pupils dilating.
- Parasympathetic: during rest and digestion
67
Define: Limbic System
- Emotional centre of brain
| - Also memory, motivation, smell
68
Hypothalamus
- Master regulator of temperature, hunger, thirst, etc
- Controls Pituitary gland (master gland)
- Controls Oxytocin: love hormone, milk, trust, dilate cervix
- Controls Vasoppressin: regulates water retention by kidneys
69
Amygdala
- [Think "almond" cyanide=fear]
- Fear/fear conditioning
- Damage: inability to recognize fearful expressions
70
Hippocampus
- [Think "hungry hippos" gathering memories in space]
- Memory formation, especially spacial
- Contributes to fear conditioning (with Amyg. and PFC)
71
Thalamus
- [Think "salle" or relay room"]
| - Relays sensory information to cerebral cortex
72
Phrenology
- Bumps on head associated with psych. traits
| - Falsified
73
What did case studies of brain damage do for brain mapping?
-Allowed us to study brain functioning by following lesions
74
Electroencephalograph (EEG)
- Recording electrical activity at surface of brain
- High temporal resolution
- Low spatial resolution
75
Computed Tomography (CT)
- Structural
- Multiple xrays to make 3D images
- Cheaper
- Good for bony structures
76
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Structural
- applied magnetic fields release energy from hydrogen atoms, which is measured
- Better for soft tissue
- No rad
77
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
- Functional
- Inject radioactive glucose water
- Measure uptake in tissues
78
Functional MRI (fMRI) and Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD)
- Functional
- Magnetic fields based on changes in oxygenated blodd flow
- Low res, shows changes over time
79
Define: Contralaterality
-Left side controls right side and vice versa
80
Define: Cerebral dominance
- One side is superior for certain basic funtions
| - Handedness
81
Define: Hemispheric asymmetry or Lateralization
- Some support for specialization of some functions on one hemisphere or another
- No support for left/right brained people
82
Left Hemisphere specialization:
Language
Math
Logic
Coordinate complex movements
83
Right Hemisphere specialization
Visual/auditory patterns
Spatial orientation
Artistic/musical
Recognize emotions
84
Define: Plasticity
Ability to change in response to environmental stimulation
85
Sensitive period
-Easier to acquire certain skills but not impossible outside this period
86
Critical period
-Necessary period to acquire given skill
87
5 types of brain plasticity
1. Neurogenesis (new cells)
2. Migration (guided by glial cells)
3. Synaptogenesis (+dendritic branching)
4. Myelination
5. Pruning (inadequate linked to infantile autism)
88
Brain volume growth and cortical convolutions happen:
prenatally
89
myelination of brain happens...
postnatally
