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PSYC 100 > Chapter 3: Brain, Mind & Behaviour > Flashcards

Chapter 3: Brain, Mind & Behaviour Flashcards

1
Q

What is the cerebral cortex and what does it do?

A

The outermost layer of the brain; supports cognitive skills, complex emotions, and complex mental activity including your sense of mind and self.

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2
Q

What are neurons?

A

The cellular building blocks of the brain.

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3
Q

What are genes?

A

The basic physical and functional units of heredity; made up of DNA.

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4
Q

What is the nervous system?

A

A network of neurons running throughout your brain and body.

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5
Q

What are nerves?

A

A collection of neurons that carries signals from your body to your brain.

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6
Q

What are the 3 classes of neurons?

A

Motor neurons, sensory neurons, and interneurons.

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7
Q

What are motor neurons?

A

A neuron that sends signals to make the body take action.

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8
Q

What are sensory neurons?

A

A neuron that carries information from the outside world and within the body to the brain.

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9
Q

What are interneurons?

A

A neuron that connects neurons and interprets, stores, and retrieves information about the world, allowing you to make informed decisions before you act.

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10
Q

What is the central nervous system (CNS) and what does it do?

A

The system composed of the brain and spinal cord; information from your body travels to the brain by way of the nerves in your spinal cord.

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11
Q

What is the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and what does it do?

A

The system composed of the nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord; connects the parts of the body to the brain.

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12
Q

What is the somatic nervous system (SNS) and what does it do?

A

A part of the PNS. The system that allows us to feel external sensations and control volitional (voluntary) movement of the body.

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13
Q

What is the automatic nervous system (ANS) and what does it do?

A

A part of the PNS.The system that allows us to feel internal sensations from and controls automatic (involuntary) movement of the organs, such as the heartbeat.

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14
Q

What is the sympathetic nervous system and what does it do?

A

A part of the ANS that acts on blood vessels, organs, and glands in ways that prepare the body for action, especially in life-threatening situations (fight-or-flight).

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15
Q

What is the parasympathetic nervous system and what does it do?

A

A part of the ANS that returns the body to a resting state by counteracting the actions of the sympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest).

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16
Q

What is the endocrine system and what does it do?

A

A network of glands that produces and releases hormones into the bloodstream to regulate the body’s activities.

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17
Q

What is a hormone and what do they do?

A

The blood-borne chemicals that travel through the circulatory system enabling the brain to regulate the body’s activities.

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18
Q

What are the adrenal glands and what do they do?

A

The endocrine glands located on top of the kidneys; they produce a variety of hormones, including adrenal and cortisol, that are central to the stress response. Activated by the sympathetic branch of the automatic nervous system.
Adrenaline and cortisol increase your heart rate, blood pressure, and blood-sugar levels.

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19
Q

What is the hypothalamus and what does it do?

A

Located near the centermost part of your brain. Plays an important role in governing many survival-related behaviours such as eating, drinking, and having sex.

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20
Q

What is the pancreas and what does it do?

A

The pancreas produces energy that helps with metabolism and regulates blood sugar levels.

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21
Q

What is the pituitary gland and what does it do?

A

The master endocrine gland, located at the base of the brain, that in addition to producing its own hormones, regulates hormone productions in other glands. It modulates hunger, sexual arousal, and sleep (via the pineal gland). Also communicates with the sex glands to produce sex hormones. Also creates the hormone oxytocin.

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22
Q

What are the sex glands and what do they do?

A

The testes (male) and ovaries (female) produce sex hormones such as testosterone and estrogen, influencing growth, sexual development, and brain development.

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23
Q

What is oxytocin and what does it do?

A

Oxytocin is a pituitary hormone that plays a role in interpersonal trust, romantic love, and reproductive functions related to giving birth.

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24
Q

What three structures does the brain separate itself into?

A

The forebrain, the midbrain, and the hindbrain.

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25
What are the parts of the forebrain (neocortex) and what do they do?
Occipital lobe - vision Temporal lobe - hearing; object memory Parietal lobe - touch; spatial awareness; map of the body's skin surface Frontal lobe - complex thought; planning control of movement; map of the body's muscles Insular lobe - taste; awareness of internal organs
26
What are the parts of the forebrain (subcortex) and what do they do?
Hippocampus - memories of time and place; spatial navigation; ability to think about the future Amygdala - emotional associations Basal ganglia - planning and executing movement Thalamus - sensory pathways to and from the cortex (except olfactory); regulating alertness and consciousness Hypothalamus - master controller of the brain and the body; integrates bodily signals with their associated feelings and behaviours; regulates specific functions, including hunger, body rhythms, reward seeking, and aggression
27
What are the parts of the midbrain and what do they do?
Tegmentum - eye and head orientation Ventral tegmental area - reward pathway for the subcortical motor system Substantia nigra - regulates basal ganglia subcortical motor system
28
What are the parts of the hindbrain and what do they do?
Pons - regulation of breathing; relays sensation to the cortex and subcortex Medulla oblongata - vital survival functions including breathing and heart rate; critical reflexes such as coughing and swallowing Reticular formation - arousal and attentiveness; sleep and wakefulness Cerebellum - coordination; precision; balance; accurate timing; overall cognition
29
What does neocortex mean?
The evolutionarily new cerebral cortex that is the largest part of the human brain; supports complex functions such as language, thought, problem solving, and imagination.
30
What is a primary sensory area?
The first regions of the cerebral cortex to receive signals from the sensory organ via its sensory nerve.
31
What is a primary motor area?
The cortex that is responsible for voluntary movement.
32
What is the association cortex?
The cortex that integrates information coming in from the senses with existing knowledge.
33
What is the limbic system and what does it do?
Often associated with emotion; it bridges the older, lower parts of the brain regions that regulate the body with the newer, higher brain structures more related to complex mental functions. Includes the hippocampus, amygdala, basal ganglia, thalamus, and hypothalamus.
34
What is the brainstem and what does it do?
The lowest region of the brain; sits on top of and is continuous with the spinal cord, collecting sensory signals from the body and sending signals down from the brain to create movement and regulate vital functions.
35
What are executive functions?
The cognitive processes that allow us to plan, focus attention, and organize multiple tasks to complete our goals; associated with the function of the prefrontal cortex.
36
What is the corpus callosum?
The bridge of fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain.
37
What does contralateral mean?
That one side of the body is controlled by the opposite side of the brain (eg. the right side of the brain is controlled by the left side of the brain)
38
What is the left hemisphere responsible for?
Language, speaking, verbal or conceptual tasks.
39
What is the right hemisphere responsible for?
Perceptual and emotional tasks (like reading facial expressions).
40
What are brain networks?
The collections of brain regions that are connected and work together to support brain function.
41
What is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)?
A structural image technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to create images of the brain.
42
What is phrenology?
An early pseudoscience suggesting that mental abilities and personality traits could be read from the bumps on a skull.
43
What is Broca's area and what does it do?
Gives people the ability to understand language but NOT to speak it. Next to the motor cortex (which supports movement for speaking).
44
What is Wernicke's area and what does it do?
Gives people the ability to speak but NOT to understand language. Next to the auditory cortex (which supports hearing for comprehension)
45
What are single-cell recordings?
A measurement of the electrical activity in a single neuron.
46
What is electroencephalography (EEG)?
The recording of electrical waves from many thousands of neurons in the brain, gathered using electrodes placed on the scalp.
47
What is magnetoencephalography (MEG)?
The recording of magnetic fields produced by the brain's electrical currents.
48
What is positron emission tomography (PET)?
The injection of radioactive glucose into a person's bloodstream to measure blood flow associated with higher brain activity or the brain's use of specific neurochemicals.
49
What is functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)?
A variation of MRI that measures brain functions by tracking oxygen in the blood flow through the brain.
50
What is deep brain stimulation (DBS)?
The insertion of an electrode deep in a patient's brain to alter activity in specific brain regions.
51
What is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)?
A temporary and reversible disruption or enhancement of cortical brain function that allows scientists to study brain regions and their functions.
52
What is transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS)?
A gentler form of neurostimulation that uses very low levels of direct current delivered via electrodes on the head to stimulate brain function, such as enhancing hand-eye coordination.
53
What is a glial cell?
The cells that make up the myelin sheath around neurons to insulate, support, and nourish neurons and modulate neuronal function.
54
What is an action potential?
A rapid change in voltage created by a neuron when it is sufficiently stimulated to surpass a critical threshold; serves as a basis for neural signaling.
55
What is the process of an action potential?
Stimulus -> threshold -> depolarization -> action potential -> repolarization -> refractory period -> resting state
56
What is a neurotransmitter?
The chemical messenger released at the terminal branch to allow communication between neurons.
57
What is the diffusion of neurotransmitters?
When the neurotransmitters drift out of the synapse over time into the larger extracellular space.
58
What is the degradation of neurotransmitters?
When a chemical reaction breaks down the neurotransmitter in the synapse.
59
What is the reuptake of neurotransmitters?
When the neurotransmitters are reabsorbed into the presynaptic terminal branches of the neuron that originally released them.
60
What are the three traditional classes of neurotransmitters?
Amino acids, monoamines, and acetylcholine.
61
What are amino acids?
The brain's most abundant class of neurotransmitters, including glutamate (important for neuronal excitation) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA, important for neuronal inhibition and the regulation of muscle tone).
62
What are monoamines?
A neurochemical class that includes norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin; important for the flight-or-flight, and reward responses.
63
What is acetylcholine?
A major neurotransmitter class that can behave as both an inhibitory and excitatory signal, supporting both heart and skeletal muscle, and cognitive function.
64
What is an agonist?
A chemical that can mimic or boost the action of a neurotransmitter.
65
What is an antagonist?
A chemical that competes with a naturally occurring neurotransmitter to block neurotransmission.
66
What is a phenotype?
The observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of a genotype and environment.
67
What is a genotype?
The genetic makeup of an organism composed of the organism's complete set of genes.
68
What is an allele?
A variant form of a gene; humans have two alleles per gene, one inherited from each parent.
69
What is gene expression?
The turning on or off of genes in a particular cell to determine how that cell functions.
70
What is epigenetics?
The study of how life events can change how genes are expressed.
71
What are behavioural genetics?
The study of how genetic factors influence trait variation in between individuals.
72
What is neural plasticity?
The brain's capacity to physiologically modify, regenerate, and reinvent itself constantly over the course of a lifetime.
73
What are the three key concepts to understanding neural plasticity?
Critical periods, damage plasticity, and adult plasticity.
74
What are critical periods?
The periods early in life during which very specific experiences must occur to ensure the normal development of a characteristic or behaviour.
75
What is damage plasticity?
The neural modification following injury that largely takes the form of brain reorganization.
76
What is adult plasticity?
The shaping and reshaping of neural circuits throughout adulthood.
77
What are stem cells?
A cell that has not yet undergone gene expression to differentiate into a specialized cell type such as a skin cell, liver cell, or neuron.
78
What is neurogenesis?
The process by which new brain cells are born in adult brains.

PSYC 100 (11 decks)

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