Intro To Brain And Behaviour Flashcards
5 reasons to study brain and behaviour?
Cog neuroscience relates to neural basis of behaviour
Bridges gap between bio sciences and psychology and psychiatry
Understanding neural basis can help distinguish different theories
Mental representation definition
The sense which properties outside the world are simulated by simulation
Neural representation definition
The way in which properties of outside world manifest themselves in the neural signal
What does dualism claim?
Mind and body are separate substances
The soul (mind) controls movement of muscles through influence on pineal body
Eyes send visual info to brain and is examined by soul
When soul decides to act, it tilts pineal body diverting pressurised fluid through nerves and to muscles
Who proved Descartes (dualism) wrong and what did they do?
Luigi Galvani
Found electrical stimulation of frogs nerve caused muscle contraction
And so brain didn’t direct fluid
Prompted others to research nature of messages transmitted by nerves and muscle contraction
Results of efforts gave rise to physiology of behaviour
What s the dual aspect theory (in terms of explanation of behaviour)?
Mind and body are 2 levels of explanation of the same thing
What is reductionism (in terms if explanation of behaviour)?
Mind is eventually explained solely by physical and biological theory
Define generalisation
Instances of behaviour as examples of general laws
Define reductionism
Complex phenomena explained by smaller simpler ones
What is split brain?
Treatment for epilepsy
Split brain down corpus collosum
What is the corpus collosum?
Bundle of nerve fibres that connect right and left hemisphere of brain
What 2 researchers were at the forefront of using split brain discoveries?
Sperry and Gazzaniga
What was used to test split brain patients?
Tachistoscopic presentation
Stim shown to one hemisphere only
For 150ms or less to stop eye movement
If stim is presented to right VF what happens?
Verbally answers spoon eg
If stim is presented to left VF what happens?
Subject answers “i see nothing”
Which hemisphere controls language production and right side motor control?
Left
Which hemisphere is right side motor control controlled?
Right
What happens if subject is asked to use left hand to pick up object shown of screen in left VF?
Subject choses correct object as right hemisphere can see the spoon and controls the left side of the body, so controls left hand
What happens if subject is asked to use right hand to pick object shown to left VF?
Can’t chose correct or can due to chance as shown to right hemisphere but doesn’t control right side
What happens if SB subject is presented with aroma in right nostril and is asked what they smell and to select object with left hand?
Deny smelling anything as perfume in right nostril and speech in left hemisphere, can’t send info
Left hand choses correct object as right nostril goes to right hemisphere which controls left hand
Anterior/ rostral =
Front
Posterior/ caudal=
Back
Dorsal=
Top
Ventral=
Bottom
Lateral=
Towards side
Medial=
Towards middle
Ipsilateral=
Same side
Contralateral=
Opposite side
What is a traverse section of brain?
Right angle to neuraxis
What is a sagittal section of brain?
Parallel to neuraxis and perpendicular to ground
What is a horizontal section of brain?
Parallel to ground
2 parts of nervous system
CNS- central
PNS- peripheral
2 parts of CNS
Brain and spinal cord
2 parts of PNS
Somatic and autonomic nervous system
2 nerves of somatic NS
Affront and efferent nerves
2 nerves of autonomic NS
Afferent and efferent nerves
2 parts of autonomic NS that use efferent nerves
Parasympathetic and sympathetic NS
What % of blood and oxygen supply does brain use?
20% of blood and 15-20% of oxygen
What is the Foramen Magnum in the skull?
Hole for passage of spinal cord
What are the 3 layers of the meninges?
Dura mater- tough, flexible and outermost layer
Arachnoid- middle layer, like a sheet of cellophane, draped over brain but doesn’t dip into valleys of brain
Pis mater- last layer, adheres to brains surface
What is the space between arachnoid and pia mater called and what’s it filled with?
The subarachnoid space
Filled with cerebrospinal fluid CSF
What are ventricles, what are 4 types and what are they filled with?
Set of hollow chambers Filled with CSF 1. Lateral ventricles 2. Third ventricles 3. Cerebral aqueduct 4. Fourth ventricle
What is CSF and use?
Cerebrospinal fluid
Similar to blood plasma
Forms watery cushion for brain
What is CSF formed by?
Choroid plexus
