Mental Health (Psychosocial Health pt 2)

Question 1

Neural Plasticity

Answer 1

Learning is a survival mechanism.
The brain is flexible and mouldable.
There is an actual physical change in the brain when we learn.
Known as plasticity.
In the brain we forge new connections between cells to relay information.
Like the muscle the more you use it the stronger and more flexible it becomes.
-learning something new changes your brain in a positive manner

Question 2

Plasticity

Answer 2

Structural and functional changes in neurons in the brain when we experience something new or learn something.

Question 3

How does neural plasticity work?

Answer 3

You have brain cells called neurons.
Neurons send information to other neurons via axon-synapses-dendrites.
Neurotransmitter carries the message across the synaptic gap in chemical form and it carries on.

Question 4

Synapses

Answer 4

Don’t touch
Electrical signal shoots down axon until reaches the synapses.

Question 5

What the exact changes that can occur during neural plasticity?

Answer 5

Axonal sprouting
Neurochemical changes
Synaptic pruning
Neurogenesis

Question 6

Axonal Sprouting

Answer 6

Axons produce new nerve endings (branches/terminals) that can connect and send signals to other nerve pathways.
Each cell has only one axon, but these new branches can strengthen connections and make new ones.

Question 7

Neurochemical Change

Answer 7

Making more or less neurotransmitters

Question 8

Synaptic Pruning

Answer 8

Old neural pathways that aren’t needed anymore can die off allowing new and more useful pathways to be strengthened.

Question 9

Neurogenesis

Answer 9

Making new nerve cells

Question 10

Neurotransmitters

Answer 10

Chemicals that communicate between neurons.
These are signals that can affect feelings, mood, hunger, fear, memories.
80% of signalling done by 2 neurotransmitters known as glutamate and GABA.
Both work together to control many processes, including the brain’s overall level of excitation.
Psychiatry often focuses more on groups of neurotransmitters that act as regulators (of consciousness, cognition, attention, and emotion).
-these are known as serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine.

Question 11

GABA

Answer 11

Inhibitory.
-the breaks and stop sign
Regulates brain activity and reduces anxiety/depression, enhances sleep.
Produces overall calming effect.

Question 12

Glutamate

Answer 12

Excitatory
Most abundant neurotransmitter in your brain.
Plays a key role in cognitive functions like thinking, learning, and memory.

Question 13

Serotonin

Answer 13

Is inhibitory, keeps brain activity under control.
Influences mood, digestion, sleep, sexual desire, wound healing, and blood clotting.
Imbalances of serotonin associated with seasonal affective disorder, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, nausea, nervousness, and diarrhea.
Medications to regular serotonin to reduce the above.

Question 14

Norepinephrine

Answer 14

Is excitatory
Increases blood pressure and heart rate.
Amplifies signals that influence attention, perception, motivation, alertness, focus, and arousal.
Medications aim to increase levels in order to improve focus and concentration, or to reduce depression.

Question 15

Dopamine

Answer 15

Both excitatory and inhibitory.
Plays a role in your body’s reward system.
-pleasure, heightened arousal, satisfaction
Helps with focus, concentration, memory, sleep, mood, and motivation.
Dysfunctions of the dopamine system associated with Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, bipolar, and attention deficient (ritalin prescribed for this)

Question 16

Brain-Derived Neurotropic Factor (BDNF)

Answer 16

A protein that helps build and repair cell circuitry.
-growth and survival of neurons
-minimize the amount that die and promote the growth of new ones
It maintains the infrastructure and highways of the brain.
-the neurotransmitters carry signals on those highways
Important for neurogenesis and for making new synapses.

Question 17

Describe the analogy of a neuron to a tree…

Answer 17

A neuron is like a tree that instead of leaves has synapses along its dendrite branches.
Eventually new (axonal) branches sprout providng more synapses to further solidify the connection.
BDNF makes those branches sprout.

Question 18

Interactions between neurotransmitters, drugs, and exercise…

Answer 18

Most drugs we use to improve mental health use one or more of the neurotransmitters we just talked about.
-but raising or lowered the level doesn’t elicit a crisp one to one result because the system is so complex.
-manipulating one makes a ripple effect in the brain
Going for a run is like taking a little bit of Prozac and a little Ritalin because exercise elevates these neurotransmitters.
-in fact it does better, it balances them
Exercise is better alternative to neurotransmitters drugs to regulate them.

Question 19

What did research discover with BDNF?

Answer 19

Mice who were given the opportunity to exercise has heavier brains with more neurons, and they were smarter.
-mice who had toys and obstacles to play with with other mice did even better (social stimuli are important with physical activity)
-basically exercising with friends/groups has benefits above and beyond other forms of exercise
Acute and chronic exercise increases BDNF.
Consistently demonstrated to be upregulated with exercise treatments.
In humans, BDNF (serum levels) shown to increase with exercise.
Cognitive functioning and learning improved as BDNF increases with exercise.
Increases in BDNF levels in response to an exercise treatment could be an important finding as serum concentration of BDNF are reduced in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, depression, anorexia, and many other disease.

Question 20

Neurogenesis

Answer 20

Making new cells.
-always making new brain cells
An increase in cell proliferation and less cellular death is one of the most consistently observed effects of exercise in animal models.
-these effects are seen at all stages of life
Research discovered that newborn pups with mothers that had exercised during pregnancy exhibited a greater number of surviving cells than pups born from sedentary mothers.
-this is harder to measure in humans…
-one study had middle age participants engage in a 3 month exercise programs where results showed increase in cerebral blood volume (marker for neurogenesis) and increase in memory and verbal learning skills.

Question 21

How does exercise improve learning?

Answer 21

Optimizes mind set to improve alertness, attention, and motivation via neurotransmitters.
It prepares and encourages nerve cells to bind to one another, which is the cellular basis for learning new info.
-thanks to BDNF
Exercise spurs the development of new nerve cells and slows down the death of other cells.

Question 22

How much exercise do you need to improve learning?

Answer 22

Studies available measure various outcomes and thus there are few studies on each of the numerous specific variables that can be measured.
Previous interventions vary greatly in design making it challenging to come to any conclusions about dose response.
We can’t learn challenging material while exercising at high intensity, blood is taken away from the prefrontal cortex.
-blood flow shifts back immediately after making it a great time for learning
Just one bout (acute) of moderate/high intensity exercise can improve your cognitive flexibility.

Question 23

Cognitive Flexibility

Answer 23

Is a brain function that reflects our ability to shift thinking and produce creative thoughts and answers to common questions.
It’s crucial in intellectually demanding jobs and higher-level learning.