Neuro-Psych Midterm 1 Flashcards

Question

Brain looks wrinkled with?

Answer 1

- clefts - can be fissure or sulcus → lateral fissures are deep enough to hit the ventricles; separates frontal and temporal lobe → central sulcus are not deep enough to hit the ventricles; separates frontal from parietal - ridges - gyri

Answer 2

executive functioning

Answer 3

goal orientated movement

Answer 4

hearing, language, and music (encoding memory)

Answer 5

visual processing

Answer 6

plan and control voluntary movements - part of frontal lobe

Answer 7

sensory information - part of pareital lobe

Answer 8

- Contains the cerebral hemispheres (cerebrum), basal ganglia, limbic system, thalamus, and hypothalamus - Involved with many functions including mental activities, movement, emotion, and behaviors

Answer 9

involved with motor movements, executive functions, behavior, and emotions

Answer 10

involved with many functions like memory, emotions, and behavior

Answer 11

Contains the: 1. Hypothalamus - Controls the body’s hormone production - Temperature regulation, feeding, sexual behavior, sleeping, emotional behavior, and movement 2. Thalamus - Channels sensory information travelling to the cerebral cortex from all sensory systems

Answer 12

Contains neural circuits for: - Hearing - Seeing - Orientating movements - Pain perception functions

Answer 13

Cerebellum: plays a role in motor coordination, motor learning, and maintaining body equilibrium Reticular formation: involved with sleep-wake behavior and behavioral arousal Pons & medulla oblongata: controls vital body movements

Answer 14

The bottom of the brain which connects the brain to the spinal cord Regulates body functions & controls balance Consists of midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata Reticular formation runs through it

Answer 15

There are four main type of connections between regions: 1. Projections between one lobe and another 2. Projections within a lobe 3. Interhemispheric connections 4. Connections through the thalamus

Answer 16

gray matter & white matter

Answer 17

- cerebral cortex (outer-most layer) - folds in brain increase gray matter - more area for information and cognitive processing - 40% of brain - consists of nerve cell bodies (dendrites and axon terminal)

Answer 18

- deeper within brain (subcortical) - 60% of brain - made up of myelin and bundles of axons - fatty molecule that provides insulation for axon - involved in signal transmission

Answer 19

four ventricles are connected: 1. left lateral ventricle 2. right lateral ventricle 3. third ventricle 4. fourth ventricle

Answer 20

ventricles and subarachnoid space are filled with CSF - CSF cushions brain and spinal cord, washes out waste, and delievers nutrients

Answer 21

- loss of brain volume - brain shrinkage → larger ventricles

Answer 22

both hemispheres are responsible for different functions right and left hemispheres operate on contralateral sides of body

Answer 23

left hemisphere: - language processing - arithmetic - analytical thinking right hemisphere: - visuospatial processing - emotional processing - holistic thinking

Answer 24

- schizophrenia: reduced brain asymmetry (causes auditory hallucinations) - dyslexia: bilateral language dominance - handedness: left-handed individuals show bilateral language dominance - sex differences: females show stronger left-sided language lateralization

Answer 25

Extends from the bottom of the medulla 31 segments with spinal nerves Supported by vertebra

Answer 26

1. Act as a pathway for impulses going to and from the brain 2. Control automatic reflexes without consulting the high brain centers 3. Control body movement and functions

Answer 27

12 pairs of cranial nerves in brain: key part of nervous system - somatic nervous system sense and motor impulses - help you make facial expressions, move your eyes and process smells

Answer 28

31 pairs of spinal nerves: facilitate voluntary motor control, sensory perception, and reflex responses

Answer 29

Posterior root: brings in sensory information Anterior root: sends out motor information White-matter: carries information to and from the brain Branches: sensory neurons may influence motor neurons (e.g., spinal reflex arc)

Answer 30

sympathetic division: - body arousal - fight-or-flight response parasympathetic division: - rest-and-digest

Answer 31

Also known as action potentials convey information form one area to another

Answer 32

1. neurons have resting potential (70mV) 2. when threshold is reached (50mV), it becomes depolarized 3. depolarization causes electrical spike 4. membrane is then repolarized 5. hyperpolarization occurs when neuron is in refractory period - neuron is unable to be stimulated again 6. wave of action potential travels down axon

Answer 33

- synapses carry either excitatory or inhibitory messages - involved with breathing, heart rate, cognition, and sleep

Answer 34

encloses molecules that transmit chemical messages

Answer 35

contains receptor molecules that receive chemical messages

Answer 36

site to which a neurotransmitter molecule binds

Answer 37

small space separating presynaptic terminal and postsynaptic dendritic spine

Answer 38

1. synthesis: neurotransmitters are transported from cell nucleus to terminal buttons 2. release: transmitter is released across membrane by exocytosis 3. receptor action: transmitter crosses synaptic cleft and binds to receptor 4. inactivation: transmitter is taken back into terminal or inactivated in synaptic cleft

Answer 39

1. small-molecule transmitters: derived from food breaks down acetylcholine (ACh), amines, and amino acids 2. neuropeptide transmitters: made through translation of mRNA from instruction in neurons DNA 3. transmitter gases: synthesized in cell as needed

Answer 40

Acetylcholine Amines Amino Acids

Answer 41

Essential for communication between motor neurons and muscle fibers Key for “rest and digest” Involved with learning and memory, arousal, and attention

Answer 42

Dopamine* – plays a role in movement, attention and learning, and in behaviors that are reinforcing Serotonin* – involved with mood regulation, aggression, appetite, arousal, pain perception, and respiration Norepinephrine – involved with alertness, arousal, attention, and the stress response Epinephrine – also involved with the stress response

Answer 43

Glutamate (Glu) – involved with learning and memory, motor function, pain perception, neuropsychiatric disorders Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) – associated with stress & anxiety, mood, sleep, and pain perception Histamine – controls arousal and waking, and constriction of smooth muscles

Answer 44

cholinergic system (ACh) - involved with waking behaviour, attention, and memory dopaminergic system (dopamine) - involved with coordinating movement, addiction, and mood regulation noradrenergic system (NE) - involved with emotions, hyperactivity and ADHD, and learning serotonergic system (5-HT) - involved with wakefulness, learning, depression, and schizophrenia

Answer 45

1. x-ray (bones) - conventional radiography - pneumoencephalography - angiography - computed tomography (CT) 2. magnetic resonance imagine (MRI) (diagnosing conditions) - structural MRI (sMRI) - diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) - magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)

Answer 46

X-rays pass through the skull (or body) A shadowy image shows locations of different tissues (brain tissue = light grey, bone tissue = white) Radiography is still used for examining the skull for fractures and the brain for gross abnormalities This method is not the primary method for visualizing brain abnormalities

Answer 47

Advances traditional x-ray by taking advantage of the fact that x-rays are not absorbed by air A small amount of CSF is removed from the spinal cord and replaced with air (spinal tap) X-ray is taken as the air moves up the spinal cord and into the brain Ventricles stand out because of the air

Answer 48

Advantages: - shows blockages and abnormalites - brain tumors, hydrocephalis Disadvantages: - very invasive and painful - high potential for morbidity and mortality

Answer 49

A method for imaging blood vessels - check how the blood is flowing through the brain and the health of the vessels A substance that is absorbed by x-rays is injected into the bloodstream Can be painful and dangerous

Answer 50

A narrow x-ray beam goes through the same object at many angles - get a 3D image, and briefly exposed to radiation The CT scan can localize brain tumors and lesions as they come up darker Skull is white, grey and white matter are similar, and ventricles are dark

Answer 51

In cases of brain trauma it’s much better than conventional radiology, you can see the ventricles and everything more clearly

Answer 52

A large magnet and a radiofrequency pulse generate a signal through the brain that produces an image A hydrogen atoms nucleus consists of a single proton that align in the magnet. When many align in the same direction and can be summed Proton density varies in different brain tissue therefore electrical currents differ depending on the tissue being examined CFS, myelin, non-myelin atoms: all have different degrees of hydrogen atoms to allow use to see the different colours in the scan Con: Patients Cannot go in scanner if have unremovable piercings or implanted metal though

Answer 53

much larger ventricles, a lot more black space = less overall brain volume

Answer 54

The number (e.g., 1.5) represents the strength of the magnetic fields - 1.5T is the most common and widely available - 7T is great for cutting-edge research but is not widely available - 7T: good for seeing different sub-divisions, gives clear and crisp image

Answer 55

T1w is great anatomical detail - focuses more on the structure T2w is great for detecting fluid-filled structures and edema - focuses on the fluid (CFS build up in the frontal regions)

Answer 56

MRI - CANT HAVE IT: People with pace-makers or cochlear implants - MRI takes longer: on average 30 mins - Common reasons for MRI: neurological conditions, headaches, trouble with vision, joint injury CT - CANT HAVE IT: Pregnant woman because of radiation for fetus, people under the age of 30 - 5-10 mins is length of the exam for most people - Common uses: look at the head if people have chronic headaches, abdominal pain

Answer 57

Main difference is MRI uses strong magnetic filed to generate an imagine, CT uses radiation that generates through the body and is processed

Answer 58

Detects the movements of water molecules to create virtual images of the brains nerve fiber pathways A magnetic field is used to detect this water diffusion Water molecules in nerve fibers follow the tract orientation moving in the direction of its longitudinal axis

Answer 59

Water molecules and nerve fibres are in the myelin, which allows us to see where the white matter is (the connections) Different colours represent different representations This method allows researchers and clinicians to study the structural connectivity between different brain regions and understand the organization of neural pathways DTI can detect abnormalities in neural pathways and identify changes in fiber myelination Has low signal-to-noise ratio Arcuate pathway allows us to speak coherently - If we have decreases in myelin (damage to the pathway) we might be slower at processing

Answer 60

Fractional Anisotropy (FA) - reflects the directionality of water diffusion/displacement Higher FA: more organized and coherent tracks (it’s good) (brighter colour) - Brain regions are being connected at a higher rate Low FA: potential tissue damage or disruption to the tracks Mean diffusivity (MD) - reflects the average magnitude of water diffusion/displacement High MD: is bad because there is a lot more water in the brain which can reflect swelling, inflammation and loss of neurons Low MD: is good

Answer 61

Another MRI method to examine brain development, function, and disease Used to look at the different metabolites in the brain - NAA- most common metabolite: often observed where there's neuronal loss MRS varies the radiofrequency used for aligning the hydrogen protons Can detect: - Abnormalities in brain metabolism - Brain-cell loss in degenerative disease - Loss of myelin in demyelinating disease such as multiple sclerosis Has limited special resolution and requires high concentration of the metabolite of interest to be reliably detected

Answer 62

Brain’s electrical activity - Electroencephalography (EEG) - Event-related potentials (ERPs) Dynamic Brain imaging - Position emission tomography (PET) - Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) - Optical tomography Brain’s magnetic activity -Magnetoencephalography (MEG)