Lecture 5 - Brain & Behaviour Flashcards
brain is the major biological entity creating
all forms of behaviour and regulating thought/emotion
the brain is the primary site for
interpreting all kinds of different stimuli
biological psychology (behavioural neuroscience) is
scientific study of the reciprocal connections between the structure & activity of the nervous system annd behaviour
central nervous sytem (CNS)
consists of the brain and the spinal cord, that extend from the brain down the back of the body
peripheral nervous sytem
nerves exiting the CNS that carry sensory and motor information into/towards/from the body
spinal cord
long cylinder of neural tissue extending from the medulla of the brain to the middle of the back (CNS)
spinal nerves (31 pairs)
between bones of the vertebrae to brind sensory information to the CNS and carry motor commands to muscles
spinal reflexes
initiated by spinal cord without assistance of the brain
what are the three types of nerve cells/neurons
sensory, motor and interneurons
sensory neurons
carry information from external environment from body back to the CNS
motor neurons
carry commands from the CNS back to the muscles and glands of the body
interneurons
neurons without sensory or motor functions
brainstem
parts of the brain containing the midbrian, pons and medulla (responsible for reflexive behaviours, breating, sleep, movement)
midbrain
part of the brainstem between pons and the cerebral hemispheres and is involved with sensory reflexes, movement and pain
pons
part of the brainstem between the medulla and midbrain that connect the cerebellum to the rest of the brain and is involved in sleep, arousal and expression
medulla
brainstem above the spinal cord that manages essential functions to life like heart rate, breathing and blood pressure
reticular formation
collection of structures along the midline of the brainstem and involved with sleep, mood and arousal
cerebellum
structure attached to the brainstem used for skilled movement and complex cognitive processing
cerebellum
structure attached to the brainstem used for skilled movement and complex cognitive processing used to maintain balance and motor coordination (alcohol affects)
thalamus
in centre of brain where most of the input of sensory system goed to first before going to the cerebral cortex
thalamus
in centre of brain where most of the input of sensory system goed to first before going to the cerebral cortex
hypothalamus
participates in regulation of thirst, temperature, hunger, sex, and agression
basal ganglia
participate in reward and control of movement (problems may lead to OCD, autism or ADHD)
hippocampus
memory - damage may result in dementia and problems with stress management
amygdala
receives sensory info from thalamus to produce emotional and motivational output to be sent to the cerebral cortex
nucleus accumbens
for reward and addiction
cerebral cortex
thin layer of neurons covering the outer surface of the cerebral hemispheres
corpus callosum
wide band of nerve fibers connecting the hemisphere
what are the lobes within the cerebral cortex
frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital
what are the lobes within the cerebral cortex
frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital
frontal lobe
site of the primary motor cortext, prefrontal cortext (behaviour, judgement, attention, judgement)
frontal lobe
site of the primary motor cortext, prefrontal cortext (behaviour, judgement, attention, judgement), broca’s area (speech) and the orbitofrontal cortex (impulse control and response inhibition)
occipital lobe
location of the primary visual to respond to basic info about images
temporal love
location of primary auditory cortex for higher-order visual processing (and Wernicke’s area for speech comprehension)
parietal lobe
lovation of primary somatosensory cortex (touch) and body position, also to understand sime and space
laterization
localisation of a function in either the right or the left cerebral hemisphere
movement and sensation on the right side of the body are processed by
left side of the brain (opposite for left side of the body)
language is lateralised to
the left hemisphere (if they are right handed)
math and logical reasoning are laterised to
left side
music functions, spatial information, intuition, arts and emotional behaviour are laterised to
right side
the PNS is made up of
the somatic and autonomic nervous system
somatic nervous system
part of the PNS that brings sensory information to the CNS and transmits comands to the muscles
autonomic nervous system
division of the PNS that directs activity of glands or organs (not muscles) (e.g. heart keeps beating)
the three subdivisons of the autonomic nervous system
sympathetic, parasympathetic and enteric
symphatic nervous system
prepare your body for a flight-or-fight reaction
parasympathetic nervous system
allow you to store energy, repair your body, and return the activities of internal organs to baseline levels
enteric nervous system
system made up of glands releasing chemical messengers known as hormones into the blood
neuron
cells of the nervous system that are specialised to send and receive neural messages
glia
nervous system cells that perform support functions like forming blood-brain barrier and myelin
neurons are made up of
cell body, axon, dendrite and myelin
cell body
large, central mass of a neuron that contains the nucleus
axon
branch of neuron that is responsible for transmitting info to other neurons
dendrite
branch from the neural cell body that receives input from other neurons
myelin
insulating material covering some axons
neural signal process
it is two steps:
- neuron generates electical signal (action potential), signal travels length of axon from juction of cell body to terminal
- arrival of action potential at axon terminlal of 1st neuron releases chemical messengers, chemicals influence likelihood that second neuron will respond with own action potential
contemporary approaches in biological psychilogy
skin conductance response, electroencephalogram (EEG), transcranial magnetic stimulation and positron emission tomography (PET) and MRI
skin conductance response
electricity measured passed between two electrodes on the skin
EEG
brain electical activity measured using electrodes on scalp
transcranial magnetic stimulation
generate electrical current to affect brain activity
MRI / magnetic resonance imaging
use strong magnetic fields and radio waves to generate images of the organs in the body
