Midterm Flashcards
what was the medieval view of BNE?
behaviour stemmed from 4 bodily factors (humours)
- phlegm: sluggishness
- blood: hot-blooded
- yellow bile: aggressive nervousness
- black bile
what was Berthold’s experiment? what was it based off of?
1st BE experiment based on pangenesis:
- bits and pieces of various organs secreted into the blood
- bits and pieces assembled into tiny humans in the gonads
what important ideas did the idea of pangenesis predispose Berthold to?
- various bodily sites release agents into the blood
- agents travel through blood to particular targets
- testes (gonads) are important part of the process
what happened to Group 1 of Berthold’s experiment?
castrated (removed both testes) -> developed as capons
- never fought with other males, failed to crow, avoiding females, failed to exhibit mating behaviour, different physical appearance
what happened to Group 2 of Berthold’s experiment?
castrated + reimplanted 1 testis from each bird into abdominal cavity -> normal male development
- normal appearance and behaviour (crows, engaged in battle w/ others, usual reactions to hens)
what happened to Group 3 of Berthold’s experiment?
castrated + reimplanted 1 testis from each bird into the other’s abdominal cavity -> normal male development
what were the conclusions of Berthold’s experiment?
- testes are transplantable organs
- transplanted testes can function and produce sperm
- b/c testes functioned normally after all nerves severed, no specific nerves directing testicular function
what was the important of Berthold’s experiment? what did it cause him to propose?
demonstrated that a substance produced by the testes could travel through the bloodstream and eventually effect behaviour
- a product of the testes was necessary for a cockerel to develop into a normal adult rooster
- proposed a secretory blood-borne product of transplanted testes was responsible for normal development of groups 2+3
compare and contrast hormonal signaling and neurotransmission
both are chemical in nature
- where does it occur/where are they synthesized
- distance
- graded vs all-or-none
- duration
- mediates what
- voluntary?
what is an example of hormones affecting behaviour?
if testes of adult male zebra finches are removed, then the birds reduce singing
- castrated finches can resume singing if the testes are reimplanted or if the birds are provided with testosterone or estradiol (type of estrogen)
what accounts for the reduced singing in adult male zebra finches? when is singing behaviour most frequent?
some testosterone from testes converted into estrogens -> lack of estrogens account for reduced singing
- singing behaviour is most frequent when blood estrogen concentrations are high
how can behaviour of adult male zebra finches influence hormones?
when seeing a territorial intruder, it may elevate blood testosterone concentrations in the resident male and thereby stimulate singing or fighting behaviour
how can behaviour of mice influence hormones?
male mice that lose a fight show reduced circulating testosterone concentrations for several days or weeks afterwards
- similar results in humans
how can behaviour of humans influence hormones?
the experience of watching a World Cup soccer final elevated testosterone and cortisol in males when compared with a control day
what is the precursor to all steroids?
pregnenalone
what is ectocrine mediation?
substances such as pheromones are released into the environment by individuals to communicate with others
what are allomones?
pheromone-like compound secreted to the external environment but the target is a different species
ex) bolas spider releases sex pheromone that attracts female moths as prey
what is the hypothalamus? what is unique about it?
main structure through which the brain exerts control over the endocrine system
- BBB diminished here, so it is sensitive to numerous blood-borne substances
what are the preoptic area (POA) and ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) responsible for?
sexual behaviour
- sensitive to gonadal hormones
what is the supraoptic nucleus (SON) responsible for?
thirst and drinking behaviour
what are the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and arcuate responsible for?
eating, appetite regulation, etc.
what are the ten hypothalamic nuclei?
- paraventricular (PVN)
- preoptic (POA)
- anterior
- supraoptic (SON)
- suprachiasmatic (SCN) (biological rhythms)
- arcuate
- mammillary body (memory)
- ventromedial
- posterior
- dorsomedial
what is a characteristic of the posterior pituitary? why is this important?
richly vascular
1) neurosecretory cells secrete oxytocin and vasopressin directly into vessels of posterior pituitary, circulating them throughout the body
2) other hypothalamic cells secrete releasing hormones in the hypophyseal portal system (circulates from median eminence to anterior pituitary)
- stimulates release of corresponding hormones
what is an example of how the posterior pituitary works?
neurosecretory cells in PVN and SON
- oxytocin and vasopressin are transported down the axons of magnocellular neurons of the SON and PVN, reaching capillaries of the posterior lobe (via Herring bodies - axon terminals that release hormones into capillaries)