Module 1 - Evolution of Nervous Systems

Question 1

Brain is a _____ whereas behaviour is an _____

Answer 1

physical object/observable action

Question 2

What is responsible for all behaviour?

Answer 2

the brain

Question 3

Field of Neuropsychology

Answer 3

studies relationship between brain function and behaviour
focuses on humans only
has a lot to do with the study of deficits in human brain

Question 4

Behavioural Neuroscience

Answer 4

study of brain-behaviour relationships in both humans and lab animals

Question 5

Cognitive Neuroscience

Answer 5

studies the neural bases of cognition

Question 6

Order of the Evolution of Fields of Psychology (oldest-newest)

Answer 6

neuropsychology - behavioural neuroscience - cognitive neuroscience

Question 7

What does the brain require to cause behaviour:

Answer 7

Component parts (neurons and glial cells)
Connections (such as nerves and tracts)
Automatic body maintenance mechanisms (typically in hypothalamus, brainstem, and peripheral nervous system)

Question 8

Common Ancestor

Answer 8

some ancestor that is an ancestor (or source) of two difference groups

Question 9

When did first life appear?

Answer 9

3.5 billion years ago

Question 10

When did brain cells first appear

Answer 10

700 million years ago

Question 11

When did the first human like brain appear

Answer 11

6 million years ago

Question 12

When did the first modern human brain appear

Answer 12

200,000 years ago

Question 13

Taxonomy

Answer 13

refers to classifying organisms into groups and subgroups

Question 14

What is the main limit of taxonomy

Answer 14

comparisons can be made between species, but not within species

Question 15

Cladogram

Answer 15

a way of showing taxonomy in the form of a diagram

Question 16

Are nervous systems necessary for life

Answer 16

no

Question 17

Order of evolution leading to brain + provide examples of ancestors

Answer 17

neurons and muscles (evolved together - no example)
nerve nets (jellyfish or sea anemones)
bilateral symmetry (flatworms)
muscle segmentation (earthworms)
ganglia (octopus, insects)
spinal cord (fish, frogs, birds, – essentially chordates)
brain

Question 18

Why does evolution occur in general?

Answer 18

to help organisms adapt to changes in their environment

Question 19

What features involving cerebrum and cerebellum are associated with more complex behaviours?

Answer 19

Larger cerebrum and more folding in cerebellum

Question 20

Are human specialized or special

Answer 20

Specialized because they have specialized traits that other animals have, just not to the same degree of complexity

Question 21

Defining features of great ape group

Answer 21

colour vision
enhanced depth perception
deft hand movements
one infant per pregnancy
relatively large brain

Question 22

What is the most likely common ancestor of human animals + their characteristics

Answer 22

Australopithecus
- several species of this
- shorter, walked upright, and used tools
- lived about 3 mil years ago
- ex. Lucky

Question 23

What was the first human species named

Answer 23

homo habillis

Question 24

Timeline of the evolution of human species

Answer 24

homo habilis
homo erectus (sub group raised called homo florensiensis)
neanderthals
modern humans (which coexisted with neanderthals and eventually replaced them)

Question 25

Is the brain body ratio 1:1

Answer 25

No

Question 26

Use neurons and packing concepts to explain why humans have complex behaviours

Answer 26

humans have a large number of neurons and dense packing of them which explains our complex behaviours

Question 27

More neurons =

Answer 27

more connections to be made

Question 28

What are the two maps of connections in the cerebrum (ways of looking at how neurons operate)

Answer 28

Topographic and connectome

Question 29

What is a topographic map of connection

Answer 29

looks specifically at functional areas themselves in the brain, such as areas for hearing/vision/movement/etc. (not the connections between them)

Question 30

What is a connector map of connection

Answer 30

displays connections between functional regions in the brain

Question 31

Possible reasons for hominid brain growth

Answer 31

climate, lifestyle, physiological change, altered maturation, neoteny, or changes in genome

Question 32

Why might brains be larger

Answer 32

larger brain cells
person may be larger overall
male brains tend to be larger than female ones
good nutrition
enriched environments

Question 33

Why might brains be smaller

Answer 33

smaller brain cells
older brains tend to shrink
female brains tend to be smaller than male
brain injury near birth
stress early in life
fetal alcohol syndrome
autism spectrum disorder

Question 34

Order of taxonomic classifications

Answer 34

Kingdom - phylum - class - order - family - genus - species

Question 35

Why is it difficult to measure brain/intelligence relations?

Answer 35

difficult to measure brain size
may be reasons for a persons brain being smaller/larger
reasons for a persons intelligence being higher/lower