Midterm 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What is cognitive neuroscience?

A

The study of how the brain and brain structures give rise to the mind and cognitive functions

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2
Q

Who was Golgi and what was his work?

A

Camillo Golgi is known for staining structures of whole, individual neurons

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3
Q

Who was Ramon Y Cajal?

A

He used Golgi’s method to discover that the brain was made up of discrete cells (neurons)

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4
Q

What has enabled modern cognitive neuroscientists to study the mind and the brain?

A

Brain imaging techniques

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5
Q

What is a neuron? Can you describe its structure?

A

The neuron is one of the cells that make up the nervous system. They consist of dendrites, a cell body, axon, and terminal buttons.

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6
Q

What is the other cells that make up the nervous system along side neurons?

A

Glial cells

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7
Q

What is a multipolar neuron?

A

A neuron that has many dendrites and an axon branching out

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8
Q

What is a membrane potential? What is a neuron’s resting membrane potential?

A

It is the difference in charge between inside of cell and outside. A neuron’s resting potential is ~-70mv

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9
Q

What maintains the resting membrane potential?

A

Na/K+ pump

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10
Q

Describe voltage-gated, ligand-gated, and nongated channels function

A

Voltage-gated opens and closes depending on the charge of an ion, ligand-gated depends on NT, and nongated are always open

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11
Q

Describe the ion concentrations at rest

A

More K+ inside the cell, more Na+ outside the cell

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12
Q

Describe the two forces that act on Na+ and K+ if channels opened

A

Chemical and electrical force would move Na+ into cell, chemical force would move Na+ out but electrical force would move it in

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13
Q

What is the purpose of the Na/K pump?

A

It maintains the concentrations

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14
Q

What does depolarizing and hyperpolarizing do to the membrane potential of the neuron?

A

Depolarization brings the membrane potential up, while hyperpolarizing brings it down

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15
Q

Explain the process of an action potential and the all-or-none principle

A

You already know this man

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16
Q

How is threshold reached for an action potential?

A

EPSP leads to small amounts of Na+ entering the cell

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17
Q

How can action potentials represent continuous information when action potentials fire all-or-none?

A

Many neurons are connected and represent some field of stimulus and perception

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18
Q

Compare and contrast relative and absolute refractory periods

A

Absolute is when the Na+ channels are inactivated, while relative follows hyperpolarization and requires more stimulus to activate

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19
Q

Why does an action potential tend to move in one direction?

A

Due to the refractory period preventing another action potential at the site

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20
Q

How does myelin affect action potential conduction?

A

Myelin insulates the axon, meaning there is no need to trade Na+ at a site as it will skip towards the node

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21
Q

What is saltatory conduction?

A

It is the process of an action potential jumping through myelin sheaths through the nodes of Ranvier

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22
Q

What is a synaptic transmission?

A

Communcation between neurons: electric synapse and chemical synapse

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23
Q

Whar are dendritic spines?

A

These are the sites of response retrieval in the dendrites of neurons

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24
Q

Describe chemical synaptic transmission

A

Neurotransmitters release from a presynaptic neuron, reacts to the receptors on the postsynaptic neuron, and then reacts accordingly

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25
Q

What is the difference between ionotropic and metabatropic receptors

A

Ionotropic has the receptor being the site of opening, while metabatropic involves G-protein cascade opening elsewhere

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26
Q

Define EPSP and IPSP

A

EPSP makes the postsynaptic neuron more likely to fire and action potential, while IPSP makes it less likely

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27
Q

How is NT ceased in the synapse

A

Reuptake or degradation

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28
Q

What is the advantage of reuptake over degradation?

A

Neurotranmitters are recycled and readily available compared to having to make new NT

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29
Q

Describe how EPSP and IPSP produce action potentials

A

EPSP probably opens Na+ while IPSP probably closes it

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30
Q

How does electrical synapse work?

A

The membranes are connected, allowing the action potentials to continue

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31
Q

What are the 4 types of glial cells?

A

Astrocytes, Oligodendrocytes, Schwaan cells, and Microglia

32
Q

What are the difference between oligodendrocytes and Schwaan cells?

A

Oligo works in CNS and Schwaan does so in PNS

33
Q

What makes up the CNS? PNS?

A

CNS: brain and spine, PNS: everything else

The PNS splits into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system

34
Q

What is the advantage of having the sympathetic and parasympathetic system?

A

It allows a faster stop in response (think of accelerator and brake)

35
Q

What makes up gray matter, white matter, and where are these located in the brain and spinal cord?

A

Gray matter is the neuron while white matter is the myelinated axons. In the spinal cord, white envelops the gray, while in the brain it is the opposite.

36
Q

What is a nerve?

A

A nerve is a bundle of axons in the PNS

37
Q

What are gyri and sulci? What are their purpose

A

A gyrus is the piece of brain between grooves (the sluci). A fissure is a major sulci. The purpose of all these convolutions are to fit more brain matter in a smaller space

38
Q

What are ventricles and what are their purpose?

A

Ventricles in the brain produce and spread the CSF around the brain

39
Q

What is a homunculus?

A

It is an illustration on the sensitivity of of our bodies to our brain

40
Q

What are two additional names for the primary visual cortex?

A

It is also referred to as the striate cortex or the visual area 1 (V1)

41
Q

What is neurogenesis, and does it occur in the adult brain?

A

Neurogenesis is the process of creating neurons. Neurogenesis ends upon birth

42
Q

What are the 5 types of research?

A

Case studies, observations, surveys, correlational studies, and experimental

43
Q

What is a disadvantage of case studies and correlational work?

A

Case studies are unique and can’t be generalized, correlational studies cannot show causation

44
Q

What does the Sternberg item-recognition task measure? Stroop task?

A

Both study working memory and what can be automatic tasks

45
Q

What are three common causes of brain lesions and what case studies can tell us

A

Stroke, tumors, head injuries

These case studies can tell us what structures have a role in cognitive functions

46
Q

What are two types of strokes and two types of brain tumors?

A

Hemhoragic stroke - blood vessel rupture and leak
Ischemic stroke - blood clot stops flow
Meningoma -
Glioma -

47
Q

What are the strengths and weaknesses of studying naturally occurring brain lesions?

A

You can determine if a region is responsible for some cognitive task, but lesions rarely are contained

48
Q

What is double dissociation and why is it important?

A

Double dissociation is the process of comparing two mental processes independently of each other. It allows us to see how much something will affect some cognitive function

49
Q

What is experimental ablation?

A

It is the removal or destruction of a region of the brain for study

50
Q

How do pharmacological studies show us knowledge of the nervous system?

A

By introducing NT in he body, we see how it changes reaction time or stuff

51
Q

What is TMS and what are its strength and weaknesses?

A

Transcranial magnetic stimulation disrupts processing noninvasivly. Noninvasive, but too much variation in setup to be experimentally accurate

52
Q

What do structural methods tell us about the brain? Functional methods? Give three example of each type

A

Structural methods show us images during cognitive processes: CT, MRI, DTI
Functional methods show us neuronal activity: EEG, MEG, PET

53
Q

How does a CT scan work?

A

Tubes emit radiation that bounces back to give image

54
Q

How does MRI work?

A

Use of magnets to yield an image

Very expensive

55
Q

How does DTI work?

A

Use of MRI to view white matter tracts

56
Q

How does EEG work?

A

Electrode placed in scalp to view population of neuron activity

57
Q

How does fMRI work?

A

Measures oxygen levels as a means of use in the brain

58
Q

What is Broca’s aphsia?

A

Trouble in the production of own speech, can understand others though

59
Q

What is Wernicke’s aphasia?

A

Can produce speech, but trouble understanding others and using the right words to express self

60
Q

What is the relationship between handedness and language lateralization?

A

A higher percent of left-handed people have speech and language in the right hemisphere

61
Q

What are the five sense systems and their receptors?

A
Sight: photoreceptors
Touch: free nerve endings
Smell: olfactory
Taste: taste receptors
Hearing: hair cells
62
Q

What is transduction?

A

It is the process of turning stimuli into electrical information

63
Q

What are the four types of information about stimulus that is encoded?

A

Modality: the type of stimulus
Intensity: size of stimulus
Duration: how long the stimulus lasts
Location: where the stimulus took place

64
Q

What’s the difference between sensation and perception?

A

Sensation is bottom-up and is the stimulus

Perception is top-down and is how we experience the stimulus

65
Q

How do auditory hair cells work?

A

Certain frequency enter the ear and cause stretching of the membranes, which open the mechanoreceptors. This leads to action potentials to the brain

66
Q

how are the cochlea and the primary auditory cortex organized?

A

They are tonotopic, meaning frequency is mapped on the cochlea and the brain’s temporal lobe

67
Q

Does damage to the auditory cortex lead to deafness?

A

No, the nerve pathways are diffuse. Deafness comes from damage to the eardrum and the receptors

68
Q

How does the brain calculate where a sound comes from?

A

Coincidence detectors

69
Q

What are the functions of the olfactory and gustatory systems?

A

Both are used to detect chemicals in possible foods

70
Q

How does the brain encode the identity of an odor?

A

It uses a pattern of receptors activated upon smell

71
Q

What is unusual about the olfactory pathway?

A

It does need to go through the thalamus

72
Q

What is the neural pathway for the gustatory system?

A

Taste receptors, cranial nerve, thalamus, cortex

73
Q

What flavors don’t have receptors?

A

Salty and sour

74
Q

How is spicy detected by receptors?

A

Not detected by taste receptors but pain receptors

75
Q

How does satiation change activity in the brain in the gustatory system?

A

Satiation decreases hunger motivation

76
Q

What is anosima? Aguesia?

A

Inability to smell, inability to taste