Methods of Perturbing the Brain Flashcards
Who was Paul Broca and what did he do?
he was a french surgeon and scientist and in 1861, gained access to perform an autopsy on a dead patient. he found damage in the left frontal area of of the cerebral cortex leading people to believe that speech and language areas are on the left side.
What does lesion mean?
damage
What are lesion studies?
looking at the need for different brain regions to perform certain behavioral tasks.
Do we still use lesion studies?
They are still performed in animal models, but it is often considered unethical to lesion a region of the brain of a
healthy human being in order to learn about the brain.
Explain the purpose of the BRAIN initiative? Who started it, when, how much money was used to fund it, and what was the main purpose?
President Obama launched the BRAIN initiative in 2013 which involved multiple institutes working together to make a plan for top priority research areas in neuroscience. $46 million into tech research was funded.
What kind of breakthroughs was the BRAIN project able to accomplish?
Human Connectome Project - created the world’s largest map of neural circuit structure and function
Funded a publishing of a free and open atlas of the mammalian primary
motor cortex
Before technology, what were the two ways that scientists were able to take a look at the neural system?
Removing the brain or brain lesions.
What are three ways to perturb the brain without harm?
Electrical Simulations, Optogenetics, and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
What is an electrical simulation?
Electrical simulation is when an electrode is implanted into the brain allowing scientists to add electrical currents to the brain to stimulate specific neurons, neural networks, or brain regions.
In the 1950s, what happened with the equipment? What new information did scientists discover?
Techniques and equipment improved, a detailed map of the mammalian cortex emerged. Without this information, we wouldn’t have important treatments involving electrodes such as deep brain stimulation (implanted electrodes) or electroshock therapy (electrodes on scalp surface).
What does tDCS stand for and what is it?
transcranial direct current stimulation - when one negative electrode and one positive electrode are used to run a current through the brain. this increases or decreases activity in certain regions.
Is tDCS effective? Are scientists using this method?
tDCS is not as effective as EBS because it doesn’t produce as big a stimulation. however, scientists produce more experimental data every day because it’s cheap.
What are the downsides to EBS?
It is very hard to target a certain set of neurons because the charge from an electrode will spread. It is also impossible to repeatedly target a certain set of neurons or cells from person to person.
How does Optogenetics solve the problems of EBS downsides?
Optogenetics involve the use of light to control the activity of the cells by expressing light-responsive channels or receptors. Basically, optogenetics can control which neurons are activated.
In the early 2000s, what did German researchers discover?
