Mind, Memory & Mood Flashcards
What functions does the LEFT BRAIN specialise in?
Language
Logic
Fine motor control
(RIGHT visual field!)
What functions does the RIGHT BRAIN specialise in?
Spatial perception
Artistic & musical abilities
(LEFT visual field!)
What happens if the corpus callosum is severed?
The PERCEPTION OF SELF as a complete entity is not identical with consciousness,
but relies on CONNECTING DIVERSE FUNCTIONS IN BOTH HEMISPHERES
What is Plasticity?
Capacity for CHANGE in neurnal connections!
–allows adaptation w. experience
Well used pathways ‘take over’ space
Less used pathways are consolidated or eliminated
What is Amblyopia?
Preferential use of stronger eye = loss of vision in weaker eye
(relates to plasticity and well/less used pathways)
What are Cortical representations?
Regions in cortex dedicated to contorlling a specific type of sensory (or motor) info.!
–experience establishes the sensory maps (that allow us to interpret the world)
–in absence of interpreted sensory input, the cortical space can be lost!
What is memory?
LONG-LASTING CHANGE in a ‘plastic’ element of the brain (i.e. a synapse)
What is Long Term Potentiation (LTP)?
INCREASE IN SYNAPTIC STRENGTH!
{[(Hippocampal neurons show increases in excitability after patterns of stimulation)]}
What could the observed increase in synapti strength following a LTP arise from?
- Enhanced transmitter release
(w. each PREsynaptic AP (more vesicles fuse)) - Increased EPSP amplitude
(for a given amount of neurotransmitter (POSTsynaptic response))
What are the 2 main classes of Glutamate R’s?
In the RESTING state, which type of R can Glutamate activate?
Only AMPA R’s
(NMDA R’s blocked by extracellular Mg2+)
How is the NMDA response triggered?
Unbinding of Mg2+ on NMDA receptors results from AMPA RESPONSE!
Strong depolarisation releases Mg2+
Subsquent glutamate then can activate both NMDA and AMPA R’s
Ca2+ entry thru NMDA R’s initiates a cascade of events, leading to long-lasting enhancement of the postsynaptic response!
What is the cellular mechanism of LTP?
Patterned stimulation of hippocampal neurons results in a LONG-LASTING INCREASE IN SENSITIVITY to subsequent excitatory synaptic input
Once LTP is induced, small presynaptic stimuli generate large postsynaptic responses
