Module 3 Flashcards
Neuroscience is concerned with discovering the ____ and ____ taking place in the physical brain
Structure and processes
Nervous system
A portion of the body consisting of neurons, nerves, and glial cells whose function is to allow different portions of the body to communicate with one another.
Neurons
Specialized cells that can receive and transmit information
Nerves
Bundles of connective tissue that allows neurons to communicate with one another and other parts of the body.
Glial cells
Cells within the nervous system that provide support to neurons.
Central nervous system
Brain and spinal chord. Conscious and voluntary actions
Peripheral nervous system
All neurons, nerves, and glial cells outside of the central nervous system. Motor and involuntary actions
Cognition mainly takes place in this system (PNS or CNS)
Central nervous system
The ____ _____ is a relay between the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system
Spinal cord
The PNS provides the input by bringing in information from the external _____
Senses
The CNS processes information from the PNS and sends a______ as output back to the PNS
Behavioral decision
The ___PNS/CNS controls muscles to generate a behavior
PNS (eye movement and skin response studies)
True or false : involuntary responses can impact voluntary response
True (s (e.g. anger increasing impulsive decision making)
True or false : cognition can impact even involuntary responses
True (e.g. feeling fear when told there is a spider on you)
Autonomic nervous system
A portion of the PNS that connects to most organs in the body and regulates certain unconscious bodily functions. It contains the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.
Sympathetic nervous system
A subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that unconsciously regulates certain functions of the body to prepare for immediate action.
Fight or flight response
A sympathetic nervous system response that prepares the body with increased strength and stamina in response to a perceived threat.
Parasympathetic nervous system
A subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that regulates certain bodily functions under conditions when immediate action is not needed.
Brainstem
A stalk-like structure at the base of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord and regulates involuntary functions like heart rate and breathing.
Hypothalamus
A small but highly complex cluster of neurons that lies in the center of the brain that regulates multiple involuntary behavioral functions.
Reflex action
The simplest form of autonomic behavioral responses in which the spinal chord generates the behavioral signal without the brain.
Cerebrum
The largest portion of the human brain, sitting at the top of the brain and consisting of the cerebral cortex and related structures.
A folded, layered structure that is the largest single structure and the most superficial portion of the human brain.
Cerebral cortex
Gray matter
Topmost layer of the cortex, consisting of neuronal cell bodies
White matter
Nerve tracts that connect neurons to each other
Hippocampus
A complex structure which is involved in memory formation and is structurally an extension of the temporal lobe of the cortex and is involved in the formation of long-term memories
Site of what we consider cognition
Cerebral cortex
There is good reason to believe that the size of the human cortex is the critical factor in why humans are so ______ relative to other species
Intelligent
Encephalization quotient (EQ)
A measure of actual brain size relative to the size that would be predicted based on body size alone. It is strongly correlated with intelligence.
Contralateral
A spatial relationship between brain and body observed in vertebrates in which one side of the brain controls or receives input from the opposite side of the body.
Contralateral vision
Everything to the left of the point in space you are looking at—called the left visual field—projects to the right hemisphere while the right visual field projects to the left hemisphere
Gyri/gyrus
The “hill”-like projections of the folds of the cerebral cortex.
Sulci/sulcus
The “valley”-like indentations of the folds of the cerebral cortex.
Lobes
The four anatomical divisions of the cortex that exist on each hemisphere (occipital, temporal, parietal, frontal)
Fissure
A deep sulcus fold in the cerebral cortex.
Hemisphere
Each of the two halves of the cerebrum, divided into a left and right, and connected by the corpus callosum.
Corpus callosum
A band of fibers that connect the right and left hemispheres of the cerebrum.
Role of each hemisphere
Left : language
Right : spatial reasoning
The concept that certain cognitive functions reside in specific regions of the cerebral cortex.
Functional localization
The study of brain function and impairment due to brain pathology.
Neuropsychology
Phineas Gage had dammage to the _____
Frontal cortex
Aphasia
The loss of language comprehension or expression due to brain damage.
Broca’s aphasia
A form of aphasia typically due to damage to the inferior frontal gyrus that leads to slow and labored speech production.
Wernicke’s or receptive aphasia
A form of aphasia typically due to damage to the superior temporal gyrus that leads to fluid but nonsensical speech production.
Split-brain
Patients (typically epileptic) who have had their corpus callosum severed, disconnecting the two hemispheres of the cortex.
Where must you present an object to a split-brain patient if you want them to name that object?
Right visual field
Cognitive neuroscience
A subfield of neuroscience that uses multiple tools to measure and analyze active brain processing in awake and (typically) healthy individuals.
Electroencephalography (EEG)
A method that measures electrical activity in a large group of neurons (millions) at certain times, when someone is performing a task (perception, creativity, etc.) Electrodes are placed on skull.
Event-related potential (ERP)
Rapid changes in electrical potential, as measured by EEG, due to the onset of a stimulus.
Advantage and incovenient of EEG
Advantage : good temporal resolution
Incovenient : bad spatial resolution,indirect measure of activity
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
A technique in cognitive neuroscience for measuring ratios of oxygenated bloodflow in the brain in order to determine task-related neural activity.
Multivariate-pattern analysis (MVPA)
A data-analysis that uses machine learning to decode what task or stimulus a participant is engaging in, based on the distribution of activity across the brain.
Strength and weakness of fMRI
Strength : good spatial resolution
Weakness : bad temporal resolution
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy
A tool of cognitive neuroscience which uses near-infrared light in order to measure oxygenated vs non-oxygenated hemoglobin, a component of blood to derive the hemodynamic response.
Hemodynamic response
The blood delivers oxygen more quickly to active neurons than to inactive neurons.
Both fMRI and EEG are _______ techniques. They measure how certain physiological responses in parts of the brain vary with different cognitive tasks.
Correlational techniques
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
A research technique that uses magnetic pulses to disrupt localized brain processing (temporary lesion or stimulation) in order to observe effects on cognitive function.
TMS is ___causal/correlational
Causal
TMS strength and weakness
Strength : high spatial and temporal resolution
Weakness : only possible to disrupt regions close to the brain surface; cannot precisely pinpoint effect of TMS on the brain
Neuroplasticity
Ability for the brain to reorganize the spatial arrangement of its function
The function of different parts of the cortex is not due to their inherent physical structure but based on …
The inputs to those regions.
Branch-like projections that protrude from the cell body of a neuron and contain receptor sites to which neurotransmitters can bind.
Dendrites
A projection of the neuronal cell body along which action potentials are propagated, terminating in the release of neurotransmitters.
Axon
Synapse
The site at which communication between two neurons occurs. It consists of an empty space between the axon terminal of a neuron that is sending information and receptors on the dendrites of the receiving neuron.
Chemical agents that serve as “messengers” between neurons.
Neurotransmitters
Sites on the dendrite of a neuron to which neurotransmitters can bind.
Receptors
synaptic vesicles
Storage sites within a neuron that hold neurotransmitters prior to their release.
A process in which neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft are reabsorbed by a sending neuron.
Reuptake
The all-or-none firing of a neuron that leads to the release of neurotransmitters.
Action potnetial
When the firing of a neuron causes a receiving neuron to fire more frequently.
Excitatory
When the firing of a neuron causes a receiving neuron to fire less frequently.
Inhibitory
In most neurons, the action potential only serves to relay a signal _____ within/between the neuron(s)
Within
The means by which neurons communicate with one another is through neurotransmitter release, which is a _____ process, not an electrical one
Chemical
Sensory receptors
Receive information from the physical world outside the body by taking measurements of environmental conditions
Transduction
The conversion of information from one form to another (in sensory neurons)
Motor neurons
Neurons whose output leads to the activation of muscle fibers
Association neurons
Neurons that receive input and send output to other neurons
Neural convergence
When multiple neurons send signals to a single neuron
Specificity encoding
A theory of neural coding in which a complex pattern or object is encoded by the response of a single neuron.
Distributed/population encoding:
A theory of neural representation in which complex patterns or objects are represented by the distribution of activation across many neurons.
Sparse coding
A theory of neural coding in which a complex pattern or object is encoded by the distribution of responses across a small set of neurons.
Terms for directions of the brain
Top : dorsal
Back : caudal/posterior
Bottom : ventral
Front : rostral/frontal/anterior
Caudal/posterior lobe
Occipital lobe
Dorsal lobe
Parietal lobe
Rostral/frontal/Anterior lobe
Frontal lobe
Ventral lobe
Temporal lobe
Functional specialization: Phrenology
- Parts of the brain correspond to mental functions and personality
- Well-used mental functions: related brain area grows (bump), rake up larger space in brain
- Under-used mental functions: related brain area shrinks (dent)
Visual selective brain areas
Parahippocampal place area: Recognizing or thinking about scenes/spatial layouts
Motor selective areas
Supplementary motor cortex:- Performing or imagining motor movements
Behavioral neuroscience methods
Animal models
Voluntary behavioural measurements
In the CNS, objective measures (Memory Test
* Correct Response or Reaction time to Respond
* Subjective self report)
Psychophysiological - Involuntary -measurements
Changes in body to learn about psychological factors
* Face or body gestures
* Eye movements (covered in attention and language lectures)
* Skin conductance
In the PNS
Skin conductance
Skin conducts electricity when it sweats
* PNS sympathetic activity when we are emotionally aroused
This response affects CNS and voluntary actions
* Response to threat and fear when doing something
Animal models (behavioral neuroscience methods)
Neural underpinnings of actions (not cognition) typically with animal models
Strength of animal models
- Provides a causal link between brain and behavior, because can lesion the brains of animals, control their environment
Weakness of animal models
- Doesn’t tell us about human cognition
- Autobiographical memory and how humans act in their world
- Differences in brain structure and function across species
- limits on the generalization of these findings
Patient (Neuropsychological) cases
Study brain function by comparing the behavior of brain-injured patients to healthy control participants
* If brain injury to area X leads to impairment on specific cognitive function, then that brain area must support that function (functional specialization idea)
Split brain patients are limited in their capacity for …
Developing creative solutions to complex problems and generating imaginative ideas
Alternative Uses Test (AUT)
List as many uses as you can for common objects
* The more listed, the more creative
Neuroimaging techniques
Examine change in neuronal communication that give rise to mental functions
Activity in the right lateral occipitotemporal cortex only when viewing _____ ______ > object
Body parts
Brain stimulation
Non invasive method of changing brain activity that can inhibit or increase activity
TMS improves ______
Memory. Participants in the TMS group had improved scores (up to 25%) on the post-training compared to pre-training memory test
