Neurobiology Flashcards
1
Q
What are meninges?
A
Membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord
2
Q
What are the 3 types of meninges?
A
Pia mater, dura mater, arachnoid mater
3
Q
Define meningitis
A
The inflammation of the meninges
4
Q
What do the brains 4 ventricles produce?
A
cerebro-spinal fluid
5
Q
Name the 3 functions of the cerebro-spinal fluid
A
Supplies neurons with glucose and O2, contains antibodies and WBC giving it a role in resisting infection, protects against shocks and mechanical injury
6
Q
What does the hindbrain contain?
A
The medulla oblongata and cerebellum
7
Q
What is the function of the cerebellum?
A
Coordination of voluntary muscular activities e.g. riding bike, maintenance of posture
8
Q
What is the function of the medulla oblongata
A
Controls ventilation, heart rate and blood pressure (Autonomic nervous system)
9
Q
What is the function of the midbrain?
A
Links the hindbrain and forebrain
10
Q
What does the forebrain contain?
A
Limbic system (Hippocampus, Thalamus, Hypothalamus) and cerebrum
11
Q
What is the function of the hippocampus?
A
Involved in learning, reasoning, personality, permanent memory storage, LTM
12
Q
What is the function of the thalamus?
A
Is a relay centre, coordinates consciousness and sleep
13
Q
What is the function of the hypothalamus?
A
Regulates temp, blood solute conc, sleep, thirst, hunger (homeostasis). Links the brain to the endocrine system through the pituitary gland
14
Q
What is the function of the cerebrum?
A
Controls higher mental activities e.g. personality and memory
15
Q
Draw the nervous system
A
NS - CNS (Brain and Spinal Cord). NS - Peripheral - Autonomic (Sympathetic and Parasympathetic) or Somatic
16
Q
What is the function of the autonomic nervous system?
A
Controls involuntary (automatic) activities
17
Q
Describe the sympathetic nervous system
A
Uses the neurotransmitter noradrenaline, is excitatory, increases heart rate, ventilation, and nutrients to muscles
18
Q
Describe the parasympathetic nervous system
A
Uses the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, is inhibitory, decreases heart rate, ventilation and blood pressure
19
Q
What controls heart rate?
A
The cardiac control centre in the medulla
20
Q
Describe the ANS affect on heart rate
A
ANS consists of sym and para. Symp stimulates heart to beat faster, para stimulates heart slower, controlled by CCC in medulla stimulated by blood pressure + CO2 conc (ph), rate controlled by 3 chemicals, nora and adre stimulates SAN increasing rate and force of contraction, acetyl decreases heart rate
21
Q
What is another name for the cerebrum?
A
The cerebral cortex
22
Q
What connects the 2 hemispheres of the cerebrum?
A
The corpus callosum (white matter) allowing lateralisation
23
Q
Name the 4 lobes of the cerebrum
A
Frontal, Temporal, Parietal, Occipital Lobel
24
Q
What is the function of the frontal lobe?
A
Memory formation, emotion, decision making, personality, motor cortex, brocas area
25
What is the function of the temporal lobe?
Hearing, language comprehension (wernickes area) and information retrieval
26
What is the function of the parietal lobe?
Spatial awareness, senses and perception
27
What is the function of the occipital lobe?
Processing and interpretation of vision
28
What is the function of the brain stem?
Controls breathing rate, heart rate and blood pressure
29
Where are the sensory, motor and association areas located?
In the cerebrum
30
What is the function of the sensory areas?
Receives sensory info from receptors. Is lateralised. Primary sensory areas receive impulses first. In parietal lobe
31
What is the function of the motor area?
Generates nerve impulses carried by motor neurons to effectors (muscles). Is lateralised
32
What is the function of the association areas?
Receives and interprets impulses from the primary sensory areas. Provides judgement and verbalisation. Auditory and Visual
33
What is a stroke and what are the 2 types?
The interruption to blood flow in the brain. Ischaemic (blood vessels blocked e.g. clots), haemorrhagic (bleeding in brain or space around it)
34
What are the symptoms, diagnosis techniques and treatments for strokes.
Paralysis, slurred speech. Physical examination and imaging. Surgery and statins. FAST
35
What are the 2 types of homunculus?
Sensory and Motor
36
What does the sensory homunculus show?
What it would look like it each body party grew in proportion to the area of the cortex concerned with its sensory perception. Tongue, lips, fingers, genitals
37
What does the motor homunculus show?
What it would look like if each body part grew in proportion to the area of the cortex concerned with its motor control. Face and hands. The larger the area on the motor cortex + increased movement.
38
Explain the role of Wernickes Area
Left temporal Lobe, Involved in language comprehension by locating words from memory to identify meaning. Wernickes Aphasia - cannot understand someone speaking
39
Explain the role of Brocas Area
Left frontal lobe. Speech production. Motor neurons stimulate muscles in the mouth, larynx, intercostal muscles + diaphram to produce vocal sounds. Brocas Aphasia - understands, but speech slurred/slow
40
What links Brocas and Wernickes Area?
The arcuate fisculus ( a bundle of white matter)
41
What are the 3 methods of studying the brain?
Clinical/ Neuropsychological assessment, Stimulation Methods, Brain Imaging
42
Explain clinical/neuropsychological Assessment
Non invasive. Correlates impairment of function with a damaged area of the brain. Diagnoses, understands and measures the change over time of brain injury
43
Explain stimulation methods
Invasive. Electrical current applied to specific areas of the brain + effect observed. Patient awake to describe subjective experience. Mimics natural events
44
Explain brain imaging
Non invasive. Indicates the relationship between brain structure and their function
45
What are the 5 brain scanning techniques?
Electroencephalography (EEG), Computerised tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
46
Describe and evaluate electroencephalography
Electrodes on scalp record changes in electrical activity in regions of the brain over time. Cheap, non invasive, portable. Not exact as difficult to find where electrical activity coming from
47
Describe and evaluate computerised tomography
Combines x-ray equipment with computers to produce high resolution, cross - sectional images. Measures density. Detailed information, good for examining soft tissue. Involves doses of radiation, expensive
48
Describe and evaluate magnetic resonance imaging
Uses powerful magnetic fields, radio frequency pulses + computers to make detailed images of slices through the brain. Non invasive, better soft tissue contrast than CT. High cost, not appropriate for obese/claustrophobes, not portable Show structural anatomy, not active areas
49
Describe and evaluate functional magnetic resonance imaging
Examines activity of brain tissue in real time. Uses MRI scanner to measure O2 uptake. Non invasive, better soft tissue contrast than CT. High cost, obese/claustrophobe
50
Describe and evaluate positron emission tomography
Injection of radioactive isotope. Radiation detected as it collects in dif areas. Fluorodeoxyglucose. Painless, helps diagnoses for wide range of conditions. Exposure to ionising radiation, claustrophobe. Shows areas of the brain that are functioning at a particular time
51
Define neuroplasticity.
The brains ability to change and adapt by forming new connections between neurons in response to the environment or bodily changes
52
Define developmental plasticity
When neurons in young brains rapidly sprout branches and forms synapses. Is a critical period. Synapses strengthen or weaken. Pathways produced
53
Define synaptic pruning.
Removal of unused connections often during adolescence. Less used = destroyed. Used more = remain
54
Why is the critical period important?
Must receive certain sensory inputs to develop properly. When ends difficult to learn to make new noises as language requires extensive experience and connections drop. Feral children, deaf
55
Explain epigenetics
Changes in neural pathways in response to environmental and developmental triggers. These changes can be passed on. Activate/deactivate parts of the genome
56
Explain the cortisol reaction
Production controlled hippocampus, response to stress hippocampus impulse to hypothalamus releasing corticotrophin releasing hormone + arginine vasopressin, stimulate pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotrophic hormone in blood, adrenal glands take up hormone + release cortisol
57
Why is the cortisol reaction an example of a negative feedback loop.
Cortisol in bloodstream binds to glucocorticoid receptors on hippocampus which respond by sending impulses and inhibiting hypothalamus, decreasing cortisol production
58
Who most commonly has high concentrations of cortisol?
Adults who had traumatic childhoods = higher vulnerability to mental illness
59
What are the 3 types of behaviour?
Innate (Reflex, Kinesis, Taxis)
Learned (Habituation, Imprinting)
Association (Operant + Classical conditioning, latent + insight learning, imitation)
60
Define innate behaviour
Inborn, instinctive complex patterns of behaviour that exist in most members of a species
61
Define a reflex behaviour
A rapid, automatic response to a given stimulus that improves the organisms chance of survival
62
Define taxis behaviour
When the whole organism moves towards or away from something, generally in relation to a stimulus
63
Define kinesis behaviour
Changes in the level of activity of an organisms e.g. faster, turning woodlouse
64
Define learned behaviour
When an animal develops a response to a stimulus due to past experience and practice. Is adaptive
65
Define habituation
Involves organisms learning to ignore stimuli followed neither by punishment or reward (harmless)
66
Define imprinting
Young animals learn to follow the first large moving object they can see that protects them from harm and provides food e.g. Lorenz geese
67
Define association behaviours
Animals learn to associate a particular stimulus to a particular response
68
Define operant conditioning
Association between a particular behaviour and a particular reward/punishment. Use of reinforcers. Skinners rats
69
Define classical conditioning
Association of a natural and artificial stimulus bringing about the same response. Pavlovs Dogs
70
Define latent learning
Animals explore and learn about their surroundings as they do so, includes observing other individuals. Observations used in later life
71
Define insight learning
The complex ability to imagine a solution to a problem without trail and error, instead using previously learned behaviours
72
73
Define imitation
Social behaviours that include copying the behaviour of another individual, usually of the same species. Is passed down through generations, creating differences between populations
74
What do social behaviours create?
Many species form highly structural social groups which rely upon the animals ability to communicate.
75
What is one way animals can communicate?
Through fixed action patterns with sign stimuluses
76
Describe how fixed action patterns work
Animal produces a sign stimulus, which is detected by others, triggering an innate response due to fixed pathways in the brain, without any decision making. FAPS are the sequence of events, they can be modified by experience + some need to be triggered by pre-existing motivational states
77
What is one way of arranging social groups?
Eusocial colonies - used by honey bees, where different individuals perform different roles (castes)
78
How do honey bees communicate?
Via pheromones, physical cues and visual cues e.g. dances
79
Describe the 2 dances used by honey bees
Round dance (food less that 70m from hive but no direction. Waggle dance (food more than 70m but distance/direction given in relation to the hive and sun)
80
What are the 3 types of social groups?
Egalitarian (all individuals equally ranked), despotic (1 member dominant, all others equally submissive), linear/dominance hierarchies (higher ranking individuals dominant to lower ranking)
81
What are the advantages of dominance hierarchies?
Reduce physical conflict, protect from predators and the environment, offspring survival rate increases, easier to collect resources
82
What are the disadvantages of dominance hierarchies?
Disease spreads quickly, may receive less resources (increasing competition), interference with reproduction
83
How is behaviour passed down and changed?
Through genetics as naturally selected for survival and reproduction. Is modified by interactions with the env (opportunities for learning)
84
Define territorial and explain how they are made and why?
Establishing an area so each individual/family group has enough resources for their needs. Reduces conflict (ritualised). Visually (faeces), sound or smell (pheromones)
85
Define courtship
Behaviours by which animals select a mate for reproduction. Is innate to ensure intraspecific mating to produce fertile offspring Allows recognition of species and sex
86
Why is parental care beneficial and why is it usually completed by females?
The offspring are more likely to survive. Females made a bigger investment and know its their offspring
87
What are the 3 types of sexual selection?
Male to male combat, females choice, the handicap model
88
Explain male to male combat
Males compete for access to females. Victory and mating rights go to the most powerful competitor. Explains male weapons and larger body size
89
Explain female choice
Males which are more attractive will successfully mate and pass on their alleles as females want to produce sexy sons
90
Explain the Handicap Model
Suggests that males who are attractive (which may be a disadvantage) and survive are fit in evolutionary terms
91
Define sexual dysmorphism
Males and females look very different to clarify the differences between sexes
