Module 1 Flashcards
Behavioral Neuroscience
Aims to understand the brain structures and functions that respond to experiences and generate behavior.
Synonyms:
biological psychology
brain and behavior
physiological psychology
Discuss the importance of the Renaissance in better understanding human
anatomy.
Created a brain-centered view of mental processes (emotion, thought, etc).
Ex.
Galen’s experiences in treating head injuries of gladiators.
Leonardo da Vinci portrays fluid-filled ventricles connecting to the eye.
Explain Descartes’s contribution to early neuroscience and his now discredited
ideas of dualism.
René Descartes (1596–1650) tried to explain how the control of behavior might resemble the workings of a machine, proposing the concept of spinal reflexes and a neural pathway for them.
Dualism: The notion, promoted by René Descartes, that the mind is distinct from the material body and brain.
Trace the history of phrenology and the relationship to modern thinking about
brain and behavior.
Phrenology: The belief that bumps on the skull reflect enlargements of brain regions responsible for specific behaviors, feelings, and personality traits.
- Was wrong in many aspects, people believed that by feeling the bumps on one’s head you could deduce their character
But, Phrenology led to the localization of function, which asserts that different brain regions specialize in specific behaviors.
Ex. Paul Broca (1824–1880) noted that damage to a particular region of the left side of the brain reliably causes problems with speech production.
Cardiocentric hypothesis
Aristotle: The heart is responsible for thought, consciousness, sensation, emotions, and personality.
Leonardo da Vinci
Developed detailed drawings of the brains ventricular system (holds CSF).
Gall
Believed in a discrete view of the brain where specific structures or brain locations = a specific function.
Flourens
Believed in a holistic view of the brain (all structures contribute to all mental processes).
Broca and Wernickle
Discrete view of the brain, discovering that certain brain regions selective contribute to language.
Patient “Tan”
Language ability is restricted to a small area based on symptoms of a patient with damage to that region.
Phineas Gage
Removing pre-frontal cortical region resulted in major behavioral changes.
Patient H.M.
The anterior temporal lobes on both sides were removed, they could remember things for a short time only.
Anterograde Amnesia
Inability to form new memories after the onset of a disorder.
Neuron Doctrine
Santiago Ramon and Cajal: Nervous system is composed of discrete neurons, which are separate from one another as opposed to a continuous network.
- Connected via synapses
Reticular Theory
Neurons make up one large and physically connected web= a reticulum.
Optogenetics
Modulating neuron activity with light
- Selectivity (cell type, roi)
- Modulation (can inhibit or excite)
- Transient (can turn on or off)
What are the four basic elements that neurons share ?
(1) an input zone (dendrites, which may be elaborately branched and
contain dendritic spines), (2) an integration zone (the cell body and the axon
hillock), (3) a conduction zone (the axon, which may split into axon collaterals),
and (4) an output zone (the axon terminals).
How is information transmitted from neuron to neuron?
Synapses
What happens after the arrival of an impulse along the axons?
Boutons release transmitters from the axon terminals that bind to receptor proteins and produce a response.
CNS (Central Nervous System)
The brain and spinal cord
PNS (Peripheral Nervous System)
The somatic and autonomic systems
Somatic nervous system
Connects muscles and sensory systems with the CNS.
Autonomic nervous system
Connects internal organs to the CNS.
Further divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisons.
Sympathetic division
Prepares body systems for action
Parasympathetic division
Tends towards relaxation
Gyri and Sulci
Ridges and valleys
Somatic intervention
Bodily variables are manipulated in a precise and controlled manner, and consequent effects on behavior are noted.
Ex. Injecting hormones into mice to note behavioral changes
Correlational approach
The covariance of behavioral and neural events may give rise to hypotheses about the function of the nervous system.
Ex. Measuring brain size and then administering a memory test to see if there is a correlation between two variables.
Behavioral interventions
The behavior of individuals is
altered in a controlled manner, and the consequent alterations of neural structure
and function are noted.
Ex. Having adults of the opposite sex interact to view hormonal changes.
Hyperpolarization
Decreases the probability that a nerve impulse will be produced.
Inhibitory postsynaptic potential
Depolarization
Increases the probability that a nerve impulse will be produced.
excitatory postsynaptic potential
Action potential
Nerve Impulse
Absolute refractory phase
The voltage-gated Na+ channels are
completely insensitive to further stimuli.
Relative refractory phase
Voltage-gated Na+ channels are closed but able to respond to new stimulation,
but the voltage-gated K+ channels remain open, allowing continued efflux of K+.
Conduction velocity
Increased in axons with large
diameters and with myelination
Saltatory Conduction
Action potential jumps between nodes of Ranvier.
What determines if the synapse is an EPSP or IPSP?
Whether a synapse is excitatory or inhibitory depends on the type of
neurotransmitter that is released by the presynaptic neuron and the type of
receptor present on the postsynaptic membrane.
Lock and key analogy
Neurotransmitter receptors operate like a lock and key; a particular transmitter
“key” may open several different types of receptor “locks” (receptor subtypes).
Not all “keys” are neurotransmitters however, other chemicals can also activate
(called agonists) or block (called antagonists) neurotransmitter receptor “locks.”
Dorsal (directional terms)
Superior part of the brain, top half
Ventral (directional terms)
Inferior part of the brain, bottom half
Anterior (directional terms)
Front, towards eyes
Posterior (directional terms)
Back
Medial
Towards the midline of the body, nose
Lateral
Away from the midline of the body
Contralateral
Pertaining to the other side, contralateral communication
Ipsilateral
Belonging to the same side
Horizontal plane
From the eyes to the top of the head
Sagittal plane
From the nose to the back of the head
Coronal plane
From ear to ear
Afferent
Carries information to an area of interest
Efferent
Carries information away from an area of interest
What does each cerebral hemisphere contain?
Frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe, cerebellum, brainstem
What are the three protective membranes that cover the brain called ?
The meninges
What are the meninges composed of ?
Dura mater (tough, most outermost layer), Pia mater (delicate, most inner layer), and Arachnoid (substance between that cushions the brain with CSF)
What is the brain stem composed of ?
Midbrain (top)
Pons (middle)
Medulla (bottom)
Frontal lobe
Executive function, emotion, personality, control of recent memory retrieval
Parietal lobe
Association areas, sensory integration, some language components
Occipital lobe
Vision
Temporal lobe
Hearing and memory
Grey matter
Outer, contains more cell bodies, the computer
White matter
Inner, contains more axons, the wires sending information
Difference between grey and white matter in the spinal cord versus the brain
Grey matter is in the inside, white matter is on the outside
Thalamus
Helps with integrating and relaying sensory information
The basal ganglia
Critical role in the control of movement
Parts of the basal ganglia and their roles
Caudate nucleus
Putamen
- both part of the striatum and involved in the regulation of voluntary motor control, procedural learning, and reward processing, decision making, and social interactions.
Globus pallidus
- controls conscious and voluntary movements
Substantia nigra
-production of dopamine
The Limbic System
Includes structures important for emotion and learning
Parts of the limbic system
Made up of the amygdala, the
hippocampus, the fornix, the
cingulate gyrus, the
mammillary bodies and the
olfactory bulbs.
Cingulate gyrus
Contributes to for emotional processing, pain perception, processing speed, memory, attention, etc
Hippocampus
Involved in learning, memory encoding, memory consolidation, and spatial navigation.
Fornix
Primary efferent pathway from the hippocampus
Mammillary bodies
Important for memory and sense of direction
Amygdala
Processing fearful or threatening stimuli
Cerebellum
Little walnut brain, helps to coordinate muscle movements and fine motor control
The arbor vitae
White-matter, branched tree-like appearance
Midbrain
Closest to top of brainstem, aids in vision, hearing, sleep/wake cycles, and temperature regulation
Superior and Inferior Colliculi
There are two of each in the midbrain, responsible for vision and hearing
Pons
Located anterior to the cerebellum, aids in pain signaling, facial control, movements, hearing, and balance.
Medulla
Continuous with the spinal cord and aids in vitals such as heartbeat, blood pressure, breathing etc.
Hand Analogy
Dendrites=fingers, bringing information towards the cell body, hand=cell body, axon=arm, taking information away from the cell body
Neuron zones
Input zone: Where neurons collect and process information
Integration zone: Where the decision to produce neural signals is made
Conduction zone: Where information can be electrically transmitted over great distances
Output zone: Where the neuron transfers information to other cells
Input Zone
1) Dendrites: the “hands” of the neuron that collects messages
2) Dendritic spines: The “fingers” of the neuron that are the site of message transmission
3) Soma: Cell body
Integration Zone
Axon initial segment/axon hillock: decision making location
Conduction Zone
Axon: Electrical processes that sends message
Myelin Sheath: Conduction glia
Nodes of Ranvier: Breaks between bundles of myelin with ion channels
Output Zone
Axon terminals: Transmission of message
How do we categorize neurons?
Structure: Multipolar (most common): one axon, many dendrites.
Bipolar: one axon, one dendrite
Unipolar: A singular extension branch
Function: Afferent PNS-CNS (sensory), efferent CNS-PNS (motor)
Interneurons: Local and relay
