models of the human mind and organisation of nervous system

Question 1

what is comparative neuroanatomy

Answer 1

• the comparison of brain structures across species
• many advancements come from animal studies
• even fruit flies have similar sleep patterns and used to ‘model’ human disease

Question 2

does size of the brain matter?

Answer 2

no! animals intelligence is not proportional to size of brain. brain size scales with animal size

Question 3

do number of neurons count

Answer 3

yes! the greater the number of neurons, the greater the number of synaptic connections and the greater the complexity of function that the brain can support

Question 4

what do brains support

Answer 4

functional specialisation - particular types of skills or requirements have relatively larger brain areas dedicated to that particular function

Question 5

what did charles darwin claim

Answer 5

root of virtually all human behaviour derives from natural processes operating on ancestral species
- led to moral and ethical debates regarding psychological processes in humans and animals

Question 6

what are companies simulating the brain and mind

Answer 6

• Allen Brain Institute
• The Human Brain Project
• The Virtual Brain

Question 7

what is the allen brain institue?

Answer 7

• $100 mill donation from microsoft founder paul allen
• creating detailed maps/atlas with data from mound and human brain form brain areas > neurons > genes
• in 2020, launched MindScope focusing on vision to explore how brain generates ‘mental phenomenon’

Question 8

what is the human brian project

Answer 8

• eu 10-year initiative worth over $1 bill
• emphasis on simulating neurons for ‘brain inspired computing’ ‘neuromorphic computing’ (‘brain on a chip’)
• address the questions of ‘why simulate the brain?’
  - reduce need for animal experiments, study disease in unprecedented in silico experiments, improve validation of data and experiments with computational validation

Question 9

what is the virtual brain

Answer 9

• does not simulate individual neurons but does investigate patterns of activity at a larger scale equivalent to EEG or MRI
• simulates/models whole brain dynamics and functional connectivity to understand global brain function in healthy and disordered states

Question 10

can you draw an outline of the divisions of the nervous system?

Answer 10

look in your notes lol

Question 11

what does the CNS contain

Answer 11

brian and spinal cord

Question 12

what is brain encased with

Answer 12

skull

Question 13

where does spinal cord sit

Answer 13

within vertebrae, which allows for protection and flexibility in moving body

Question 14

what does PNS refer to

Answer 14

network of nerves that extend out from the CNS thoughout the body

Question 15

does PNS send messgaes

Answer 15

yess! from brain to control muscle movement

Question 16

does PNS receive messages?

Answer 16

yes!! receives sensory info about body position, pain, temp and transmits this to the CNS

Question 17

what can PNS be further subdivided into

Answer 17

Somatic Nervous system and Autonomic Nervous system

Question 18

what is the somatic nervous system

Answer 18

recieves sensory info from sensory organs and controls muscle movement of skeletal muscle and includes spinal nerves that extent through vertebrae

Question 19

what does efferent mean

Answer 19

send signals from brain to muscle

Question 20

what does afferent mean

Answer 20

send signals from peripheral sensory areas to communicate from sense modalities back to brain

Question 21

what is the autonomic nervous system

Answer 21

• self governing includes smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and glands - mediates non-voluntary functions of nervous system

Question 22

what can ANS be subdivided into

Answer 22

parasympathetic, sympathetic, and enteric nervous system

Question 23

what is parasympathetic nervous system

Answer 23

for rest and digest

Question 24

what is sympathetic nervous system

Answer 24

fight or flight mode

Question 25

what is enteric nervous system

Answer 25

• contains 100mill neurons (termed second brain)
• has own reflexes and senses and can act independently of the brain
• nearly all neurotransmitters found in the brain are found in the gut
• major role in emotions and stress