Chapter 4

Question 1

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Answer 1

electronic amplifier detects electrical activity of all neurons between two electrodes
- ‘brain waves’ are the electrical activity between these two electrodes

Question 2

Temporal Resolution

Answer 2

events as close as 1 ms apart
accurate track the brains responses to events

Question 3

Spatial Resolution

Answer 3

imprecise unless electrodes are applied directly to the brain surface
- cost effective; good first step

Question 4

Event-related Potential

Answer 4

averaging many recorded responses to stimulus
- cancels out background noise
- reveals brains unique response to stimulus

Question 5

EEG- Awake

Answer 5

low voltage, high frequency brain waves

Question 6

EEG- Drowsy

Answer 6

higher voltage slower frequency brain waves

Question 7

EEG- Deep, Dreamless sleep

Answer 7

high voltage, low frequency brain waves

Question 8

Stereotaxic Instrument

Answer 8

mainly in animals
- device that holds the head in a fixed position allowing us the pride in the brain
- probes typically fine-wire electrodes
-microelectrodes can monitor and stimulate a single neuron ( typically only in animal research)

Question 9

Atlas

Answer 9

3D map of the brain

Question 10

Optogenetic Techniuw

Answer 10

light sensitive channels can be inserted in specific types of neurons
- more precise that electrical stimulation
- light gated channels
- only on animals or petridish

Question 11

Microdialysis

Answer 11

a more complex variation of cannulation
- chemical stimulation
- drawing out the liquid and removing the neurotransmitter in that specific area so we know which neurotransmitters are there

Question 12

Cannulation

Answer 12

tiny tube you put in brain so the tube is right above the place you want to target
- inject drug through tube and target the one area
- use the stereotaxic instrument to get the brain in a fixed position

Question 13

Natural Experiments

Answer 13

• case studies
• historically brain damage patients were a rich source of brain research
• damage may overlap different functional areas
• damage may fail to affect the entirety of a functional area

Question 14

Ablation

Answer 14

surgical removal of brain tissue
- used for large areas; imprecise
- often done by aspiration; tiny vacuum

Question 15

Lesioning

Answer 15

surgical damaging of neural tissue
- precise and sometimes reversible
- inject acid into certain part of brain killing the neurons in that one section

Question 16

Reversible lesions

Answer 16

inject a drug or chemical instead of acid
- can also make that one part of the brain very cold so it is temporarily turned off but overtime, the brain becomes alive again

Question 17

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Answer 17

noninvasive technique using a magnet coil to induced a voltage
- device held over scalp and pulsed at varying rates
- either decreases or increases firing rate
- valuable in both research and therapeutically
- transcranial direct current stimulation
- used in stroke patients; used for recovery by activating certain areas
- can last if you use a strong ‘dose’
- depression/anxiety for people who are resistant to certain medication

Question 18

Computed Tomography (CT) or (CAT)

Answer 18

produces series of x-rays then composites them into a 3-D image
- ‘false colours’ added for contrast
- image shows differing densities of blood vessels in the brain
- good for looking at only structure; not function
- can give someone a dyed drink or inject a dyed substance and it can highlight blood vessels by collaring them

Question 19

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Answer 19

measures radio-frequency waves emitted by hydrogen atoms exposed to magnetic field
- most hydrogen atoms within water molecules (78% of the brain); creates very detailed images of the brain
- non-hydrogen elements can now be measured
- only structure not functions

Question 20

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)

Answer 20

MRI variant measuring the movement of water molecules
- measures structure and function a little bit
- shows us the pathways between different brain areas

Question 21

Positron Emission

Answer 21

• function
• observation of brain regions through a radioactive substance injected into bloodstream
• scanner picks up emitted positrons to form a colour-coded
• cannot detect canes less than 30s in duration
• can’t tell us where it is happening; just general

Question 22

Different scans

Answer 22

• different scans; subtract the neutral condition from the test condition
• image you see is the difference between the two

Question 23

2DG

Answer 23

• radioactive glucose; more active cells need glucose so the 2DG will be absorbed so active cells will absorb more 2DG than non active ones

Question 24

Functional Magneti Resonance Imaging (FMRI)

Answer 24

detects increase in blood flow and oxygen use
- suitable for repeated measurements
good spatial resolution
alternative to PET scans
- costly due to expense of equipment
- can detect changes in brain activity every couple seconds

Question 25

Limitations

Answer 25

fMRI is low sensitivity test-retest reliability often low methods of data selection ( 'data snooping')

Question 26

Spatial Resolution; Important

Answer 26

CT and MRI

Question 27

Data Snooping

Answer 27

people then to measure everything and look for significant results rather than asking a question and testing it - a lot of bias

Question 28

Family Study

Answer 28

determines how a characteristic is shared among relatives - heredity effects typically cofounded by environment - variables measured on a numerical scale require a correlation coefficient - good for binary characteristics; traits that are there or not there

Question 29

Correlation

Answer 29

degree of relationship between two variables - expressed with correlation coefficient; a number between 0.0 and +/- 1.0

Question 30

Postive Correlation

Answer 30

both values increase together or decrease together

Question 31

Negative Correlation

Answer 31

when one variable increases, the other decreases

Question 32

Twin Study

Answer 32

assessing how similar twins are compared to each other and non-twin or fraternal twin siblings - identical twins share 100% DNA and fraternal 50%

Question 33

Concordance Rate

Answer 33

frequency with with relatives are alike in a characteristic

Question 34

Genetic Engineering

Answer 34

manipulating an organism's genes - only in nonhumans, mainly rats and mice

Question 35

Knockout technique

Answer 35

non-functioning mutation introduced into gene, then transferred to embryos - turn off a gene; non existent - RNA strand can't even be created

Question 36

Knockdown technique

Answer 36

silencing a gene by interfering with its expression - less severe - uses an antisense RNA; gene will still be transcribes but aminoacides don't get formed and so proteins do not get made

Question 37

Antisense RNA

Answer 37

complementary strand of RNA which binds to mRNA to black gene expression

Question 38

Gene Transer

Answer 38

recumbent DNA - gene from another organism is inserted into recipient cells

Question 39

Gene Therapy

Answer 39

treatment of disorders by manipulating genes - ideal to treat disorder when we know there is a gene responsible for it

Question 40

Vector

Answer 40

- often a disabled virus; carries gene in body to the cells and inserts the gene for us

Question 41

Plagiarism

Answer 41

theft of another work or ideas

Question 42

Fabrication

Answer 42

faking results - more serious than plagarism - introduces erroneous information to the field - 2% of researches admit to falsification

Question 43

Informed Consent

Answer 43

individuals voluntary agreement to participate with understanding of potential adverse effects

Question 44

Deception

Answer 44

misinforming or failing to disclose to participants the details of the study - many restrictive guidelines on appropriate deception - informed consent required if there is a risk of physical pain or severe emotional distress - risks must be told no matter what

Question 45

Speciesism

Answer 45

term coined by animal rights activists

Question 46

Dual Standard

Answer 46

experimenters preference for inflicting discomfort or dangers on animals rather than human

Question 47

Gene Therapy Ethical Concerns

Answer 47

- gene manipulation could affect reproduction - future generations cannot consent to this manipulation - extent to which gene editing should be permitted

Question 48

Stem Cell Therapy

Answer 48

- applicantion of pluripotent embryonic stem cells; brain/spinal cord injury, stroke, etc.

Question 49

Ethical Concerns with Stem Cell Therapy

Answer 49

- creation and intentional termination of human embryos for research (some find this morally repugnant) - dangers posed by non-approved stem cell therapies offered in private clinics