Chapter 5 - The Research Methods of Biopsychology Flashcards
Contrast x-ray techniques
X-ray techniques that involve the injection, into one compartment of the body, of a substance that absorbs x-rays either less than or more than surrounding tissues
Cerebral angiography
A contrast x-ray technique for visualizing the cerebral circulatory system by infusing a radio opaque dye into a cerebral artery
Computed tomography (CT)
A computer-assisted x-ray procedure that can be used to visualize the brain and other internal structures of the living body
Positron emission tomography (PET)
A technique for visualizing brain activity, usually by measuring the accumulation of radioactive fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in active areas of the brain
Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)
A molecule that is similar to glucose, and is thus rapidly taken up by active cells. However, unlike glucose, fluorodeoxyglucose cannot be metabolized; it therefore accumulates in active cells until it is gradually broken down. A radioactive isotope of this molecule is commonly used in positron emission tomography (PET)
Ligand
A molecule that binds to another molecule; neurotransmitters are ligands of their recept
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
A structural brain imaging procedure in which high-resolution images are constructed from the measurement of waves that hydrogen atoms emit when they are activated by radio-frequency waves in a magnetic field
Spatial resolution
The ability of a recording technique to detect differences in spatial location (e.g., to pinpoint a location in the brain)
Diffusion tensor MRI
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that is used for identifying major tracts
Functional MRI (fMRI)
A magnetic resonance imaging technique for inferring brain activity by measuring increased oxygen flow into particular areas
BOLD signal
The blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal that is recorded by functional MRI (fMRI)
Temporal resolution
The ability of a recording technique to detect
differences in time (i.e., to pinpoint when an event occurred)
Functional ultrasound imaging (fUS)
A technique that uses ultrasound (sound waves of a higher frequency than we can hear) to measure changes in blood volume in particular brain regions
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
A technique that can be used to stimulate (“turn on”) or turn off an area of the cortex by creating a magnetic field under a coil positioned next to the skull
Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES)
A technique that can be used to stimulate (“turn on”) an area of the cortex by applying an electrical current through two electrodes placed directly on the scalp
Transcranial ultrasound stimulation (tUS)
A technique that, like transcranial electrical stimulation and magnetic stimulation, can be used to activate particular brain structures
Electroencephalography
A technique for recording the gross electrical activity of the brain through electrodes, which in humans are usually attached to the surface of the scalp
Alpha waves
Regular, 8- to 12-per-second, high-amplitude EEG
waves that typically occur during relaxed wakefulness and just before falling asleep
Event-related potentials (ERPs)
The EEG waves that regularly accompany certain psychological events
Sensory evoked potential
A change in the electrical activity of the brain (e.g., in the cortical EEG) that is elicited by the momentary presentation of a sensory stimulus
Signal averaging
A method of increasing the signal-to-noise ratio by reducing background noise
P300 wave
The positive EEG wave that usually occurs about 300 milliseconds after a momentary stimulus that has meaning for the subject
Far-field potentials
EEG signals recorded in attenuated form at the scalp because they originate far away—for example, in the brain stem
Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
A technique for measuring changes in magnetic fields on the surface of the scalp that are produced by changes in underlying patterns of neural activity
Electromyopgraphy
A procedure for measuring muscle tension
Electrooculography
A technique for recording eye movements through electrodes placed around the eye
Skin conductance level (SCL)
A measure of the background level of skin conductance associated with a particular situation
Skin conductance response (SCR)
The transient change in skin conductance associated with discrete experiences
Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
A recording of the electrical signals associated with heartbeats
Hypertension
Chronically high blood pressure
Plethysmography
Any technique for measuring changes in the volume of blood in a part of the body
Stereotaxic atlas
A series of maps representing the 3D structure of the brain that is used to determine coordinates for stereotaxic surgery
Bregma
The point on the surface of the skull where two of the major sutures intersect; commonly used as a reference point in stereotaxic surgery on rodents
Stereotaxic instrument
A device for performing stereotaxic surgery, composed of two parts: a head holder and an electrode holder
Aspiration
A lesion technique in which tissue is drawn off by suction through the fine tip of a glass pipette
Reversible lesions
Methods for temporarily eliminating the activity in a particular area of the brain while tests are being conducted
Cannula
A fine, hollow tube that is implanted in the body for the purpose of introducing or extracting substances
Neurotoxins
Neural poisons
Autoradiography
The technique of photographically developing brain slices that have been exposed to a radioactively labeled substance (such as 2-deoxyglucose) so that regions of high uptake are made visible
Cerebral dialysis
A method for recording changes in brain chemistry in behaving animals in which a fine tube with a short semipermeable section is implanted in the brain and extracellular neurochemicals are continuously drawn off for analysis
Immunocytochemistry
A procedure for locating particular proteins in the brain by labeling their antibodies with a dye or radioactive element and then exposing slices of brain tissue to the labeled antibodies
In situ hybridization
A technique for locating particular proteins in the brain; molecules that bind to the mRNA that directs the synthesis of the target protein are synthesized and labeled, and brain slices are exposed to them
Gene knockout techniques
Procedures for creating organisms that
lack a particular gene
Gene knockin techniques
Procedures for creating organisms that
have one or more additional genes
Trasngenic mice
Mice into which the genetic material of another species has been introduced
Gene editing techniques
Techniques that allow researchers to edit genes at a particular time during development
CRISPR/Cas9 method
A popular gene editing technique. It allows researchers to edit parts of the genome by removing from, adding to, or altering the DNA sequence
Green fluorescent protein (GFP)
A protein that is found in certain species of jellyfish and that fluoresces when exposed to blue light
Brainbow
A genetic cell-labeling technique where hundreds of different hues can be generated by stochastic and combinatorial expression of a few spectrally distinct fluorescent proteins
(via PubMed)
Opsins
Light-sensitive ion channels that are found in the cell membranes of certain bacteria and algae. When opsins are illuminated with light, they open and allow ions to enter the cell.
Optogenetics
A method that uses genetic engineering techniques to insert the opsin gene, or variants of the opsin gene, into particular types of neurons. By inserting an opsin gene into a particular type of neuron, a researcher can use light to hyperpolarize or depolarize those neurons
Behavioral paradigm
A single set of procedures developed for the investigation of a particular behavioral phenomenon
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
A widely used test of general intelligence that includes 11 subtests
Digit span
The longest sequence of random digits that can be repeated correctly 50 percent of the time—most people have a digit span of 7
Token test
A preliminary test for language-related deficits that involves following verbal instructions to touch or move tokens of different shapes, sizes, and colors
Sodium amytal test
A test involving the anesthetization of first one cerebral hemisphere and then the other to determine which hemisphere plays the dominant role in language
Dichotic listening test
A test of language lateralization in which two different sequences of three spoken digits are presented simultaneously, one to each ear, and the subject is asked to report all of the digits heard
Repetition priming tests
Tests of implicit memory;
In one example, a list of words is presented, then fragments of the original words are presented and the subject is asked to complete them
Cognitive neuroscience
A division of biopsychology that focuses on the use of functional brain imaging to study the neural mechanisms of human cognition
Constituent cognitive processes
Simple cognitive processes that combine to produce complex cognitive processes
Paired-image subtraction technique
The use of PET or fMRI to locate constituent cognitive processes in the brain by producing an image of the difference in brain activity associated with two cognitive tasks that differ in terms of a single constituent cognitive process
Default mode
The pattern of brain activity that is present when humans sit quietly and let their minds wander
Default mode network
The network of brain structures that tends to be active when the brain is in default mode
Resting state-fMRI (R-fMRI)
One application of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) wherein brain scans are carried out while the participant is not performing any explicit tasks
Mean difference image
In the context of functional neuroimaging, the average of the difference images (obtained via paired-image subtraction) obtained from multiple participants
Functional connectivity (FC)
An approach used by cognitive neuroscientists that examines which brain regions have parallel activation patterns over time
Functional connectome
A catalogue of the functional connectivity associated with each behavior and cognitive process
Species-common behaviors
Behaviors that are displayed in the same manner by virtually all like members of a species
Open-field test
In this test an animal is placed in a large, barren chamber and its activity is recorded
Thigmotaxic
Tending to stay near the walls of an open space such as a test chamber
Colony-intruder paradigm
A paradigm for the study of aggressive and defensive behaviors in male rats; a small male intruder rat is placed in an established colony in order to study the aggressive responses of the colony’s alpha male and the defensive responses of the intruder
Elevated plus maze
An apparatus for recording defensiveness or anxiety in rats by assessing their tendency to avoid the two open arms of a plus sign–shaped maze mounted some distance above the floor
Lordosis
The arched-back, rump-up, tail-to-the-side posture of female rodent sexual receptivity
Intromission
Insertion of the penis into the vagina
Ejaculate
To eject sperm from the penis
Lordosis quotient
The proportion of mounts that elicit lordosis
Pavlovian conditioning paradigm
A paradigm in which the experimenter pairs an initially neutral stimulus (conditional stimulus) with a stimulus (unconditional stimulus) that elicits a reflexive response (unconditional response); after several pairings, the neutral stimulus elicits a conditional response
Operant conditioning paradigm
A paradigm in which the rate of a particular voluntary response is increased by reinforcement or decreased by punishment
Self-stimulating paradigm
A paradigm in which animals press a lever to administer reinforcing electrical stimulation to particular sites in their own brains
Conditioned taste aversion
An avoidance response that develops to the taste of food whose consumption has been followed by illness
Radial arm maze
A maze in which several arms radiate out from a central starting chamber; commonly used to study spatial learning in rats
Morris water maze
A pool of milky water that has a goal platform invisible just beneath its surface and is used to study the ability of rats to learn spatial locations
Conditioned defensive burying
The burial of a source of aversive
stimulation by rats
