Chapter 5: Methods and Strategies of Research Flashcards

1
Q

An important research method used to investigate brain functions involves destroying part of the brain and evaluating an animal’s subsequent behavior.

A

Experimental ablation.

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2
Q

A wound or injury.

A

Lesion

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3
Q

What a researcher who destroys part of the brain usually refers to the damage as.

A

Brain lesion

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4
Q

Experiments in which part of the brain is damaged and the individual’s behavior is subsequently observed.

A

Lesion studies

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5
Q

An alternating current of a very high frequency.

A

Radio frequency (RF) current

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6
Q

Excitatory amino acid which kills neurons by stimulating them to death.

A

Kainic acid

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7
Q

Lesions produced in a way of employing an excitatory amino acid.

A

Excitotoxic lesions

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8
Q

A small metal tube where an excitatory amino acid is injected through.

A

Cannula

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9
Q

A toxic protein conjugated with antibodies that will bind with particular proteins found only on certain types of neurons in the brain.

A

Saporin

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10
Q

Produced by including an additional group of animals in a lesion study.

A

Sham lesions

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11
Q

Blocks action potentials in axons entering or
leaving that region, thus effectively producing a temporary lesion.

A

Reversible brain lesion

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12
Q

A local anesthetic that blocks action potentials in axons entering or leaving a region; drug that stimulates GABA receptors.

A

Muscimol

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13
Q

Allows researchers to get an electrode or cannula to a precise location in the depths of an animal’s brain.

A

Stereotaxic surgery

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14
Q

Refers to the ability to locate objects in space.

A

Stereotaxis

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15
Q

Contains a holder that keeps the animal’s head in a standard position and an arm that moves an electrode or a cannula through measured distances in all three axes of space.

A

Stereotaxic apparatus

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16
Q

A book, website, or software that contains images that correspond to frontal sections of the brain taken at various distances rostral and caudal to bregma.

A

Stereotaxic atlas

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17
Q

Formed by several bones that grow together in the skull.

A

Sutures (Seams)

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18
Q

A soft spot at the junction of the coronal and sagittal sutures on the heads of babies.

A

Fontanelle

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19
Q

The junction once the gap on the heads of babies closes.

A

Bregma

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20
Q

Used to treat chronic pain, movement disorders (including Parkinson’s disease), epilepsy, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder; utilizes a stereotaxic apparatus to implant a permanent electrode into the brain of patients.

A

Deep brain stimulation

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21
Q

Procedures where histologists (specialists in these techniques) fix, slice, stain, and examine the brain.

A

Histological methods

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22
Q

Where the neural tissue is placed to be preserved from autolytic enzymes and to prevent its decomposition by bacteria or molds.

A

Fixative

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23
Q

Most commonly used fixative; aqueous solution of formaldehyde, a gas; links protein to strengthen the very soft and fragile brain tissue, and kills any microorganisms that might destroy it.

A

Formalin

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24
Q

Entails removal of the blood and its replacement with another fluid.

A

Perfusion

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25
Q

Contains three parts: a knife, a platform on
which to mount the tissue, and a mechanism that advances the knife (or the platform) the correct amount after each slice so that another section can be cut.

A

Microtome

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26
Q

Similar to a microtome; however, the entire cutting process occurs within a freezer, allowing sections to be cut at very cold temperatures.

A

Cryostat

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27
Q

A transparent liquid that covers the stained sections.

A

Mounting medium

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28
Q

2 examples of dyes that stain the cell bodies of brain tissue.

A

Methylene blue
Cresyl violet

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29
Q

One of the simplest stains researchers use for verifying the location of a brain lesion.

A

Cell-body stain

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30
Q

The material that takes up the dye within the cell; consists of RNA, DNA, and associated proteins located in the nucleus and scattered, in the form of granules, in the cytoplasm.

A

Nissl substance

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31
Q

Used to examine stained tissue; limited in its ability to reveal extremely small details.

A

Light microscope

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32
Q

Used by investigators to see very small anatomical structures as synaptic vesicles and details of cell organelles.

A

Transmission electron microscope

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33
Q

Provides less magnification than a standard transmission electron microscope, which transmits the electron beam through the tissue.

A

Scanning electron microscope

34
Q

The advent of this microscope makes it possible to see details inside thick sections of tissue or even in slabs of tissue maintained in tissue cultures or in the upper layers of tissue in the exposed living brain.

A

Confocal lase scanning microscope

35
Q

A special mirror that transmits light of certain wavelengths and reflects light of other wavelengths.

A

Dichroic mirror

36
Q

Employ chemicals that are taken up by dendrites or cell bodies and are then transported through the axons toward the terminal buttons.

A

Anterograde labeling method

37
Q

A protein found in kidney beans.

A

PHA-L

38
Q

Take advantage of an immune reaction; used to make the molecules of PHA-L visible.

A

Immunocytochemical method

39
Q

Proteins (or peptides), such as those found on the surface of bacteria or viruses.

A

Antigens

40
Q

Proteins that are produced by white blood cells to destroy invading microorganisms.

A

Antibodies

41
Q

Employ chemicals that are taken up by terminal buttons and carried backward through the axons
toward the cell bodies.

A

Retrograde labeling methods

42
Q

A retrograde chemical.

A

Fluorogold

43
Q

Identify a series of two, three, or more neurons that form serial synaptic connections with each other.

A

Transneuronal tracing methods

44
Q

A weakened form of a pig herpes virus that was originally developed as a vaccine.

A

Pseudorabis virus

45
Q

Similar to the one that causes cold sores used for anterograde transneuronal tracing.

A

Herpes simplex virus

46
Q

The first method that was developed; usually referred to as a CT scan.

A

Computerized Tomography (CT)

47
Q

Provides an even more detailed, high-resolution picture of what is inside a person’s head.

A

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

48
Q

Takes advantage of the fact that the movement of water molecules in bundles of white matter will not be random but will tend to be in a direction parallel to the axons that make up the bundles.

A

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)

49
Q

Usually made of thin wires, have a very fine tip, small enough to record the electrical activity of individual neurons.

A

Microelectrodes

50
Q

Technique used in recording the activity of neurons.

A

Single-unit recording

51
Q

Records that are obtained with these devices represent the postsynaptic potentials of many thousands—or millions—of cells in the area of the electrode.

A

Macroelectrodes

52
Q

Plots the changes in voltage detected by the electrodes along a timeline during recording.

A

Polygraph

53
Q

“Writings of electricity from the head.”

A

Electroencephalograms (EEGs)

54
Q

Performed with neuromagnetometers oriented so that a computer can examine their output and calculate the source of particular signals in the brain.

A

Magnetoencephalography

55
Q

Devices that contain an array of several SQUIDs.

A

Neuromagnetometers

56
Q

Can be translated roughly as “writing with one’s own radiation.”

A

Autoradiography

57
Q

One of the nuclear proteins produced during neural activation

A

Fos

58
Q

A computerized method of detecting metabolic or chemical changes within the brain.

A

Functional imaging

59
Q

The first functional imaging method to be developed.

A

Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

60
Q

The current brain-imaging method with the best spatial resolution; reveal more detailed information about the activity of particular brain regions.

A

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

61
Q

Uses a coil of wires, usually arranged in the shape of the numeral 8, to noninvasively stimulate neurons in the cerebral cortex.

A

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

62
Q

Can be used to stimulate or inhibit particular types of neurons in specific brain regions.

A

Optogenetic methods

63
Q

Found in green algae; controls ion channels that, when open, permit the flow of sodium, potassium, and calcium ions.

A

Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2)

64
Q

A second photosensitive protein found in a bacterium; controls a transporter that moves chloride into the cell when activated by yellow light.

A

Natronomonas pharaonis halorhodopsin (NpHR)

65
Q

A procedure used to measure the amount of
neurotransmitter released in particular regions of the brain.

A

Microdialysis

66
Q

A process in which substances are separated
by means of an artificial membrane that is permeable to some molecules but not others.

A

Dialysis

67
Q

Allows a researcher tolocalize the chemicals themselves or localize the enzymes that produce the neurochemicals of interest, within specific
neurons.

A

Immunocytochemical methods

68
Q

Involves exposing brain tissue to antibodies that are selective for a protein on the receptor of interest.

A

Immunocytochemistry

69
Q

If both twins have been diagnosed with this disorder, they are said to be?

A

Concordant

70
Q

If only one has received this diagnosis, the twins are said to be?

A

Discordant

71
Q

Consists of the DNA that encodes our genetic information.

A

Genome

72
Q

The particular form of an individual gene.

A

Allele

73
Q

Identify families whose members vary with respect to a particular trait.

A

Linkage studies

74
Q

Attempt to determine the location in the genome of genes responsible for various physical and behavioral traits.

A

Genomic studies

75
Q

Sequences of DNA whose locations are already known.

A

Markers

76
Q

Permit researchers to compare all or portions of the genomes of different individuals to determine whether differences in the people’s genomes correlate with the presence or absence of
diseases (or other traits).

A

Genomwide association studies

77
Q

Used to change the production of
a specific protein.

A

Targeted mutations

78
Q

Cause the animal’s genes to stop expressing a
particular gene when the animal is given a particular drug.

A

Conditional knockouts

79
Q

Can be used to block the production of a specific protein, revealing its role in a behavior.

A

Antisense oligonucleotides

80
Q

Help researchers understand the genetic and environmental contributions to a behavior.

A

Adoption studies

81
Q

Help researchers understand the contributions of genetic differences to variations in behavior.

A

Concordance rate