Neurobiology

Question 1

The brain

Answer 1

uses oxygen and metabolites (oxygen and glucose)

- uses 20% of oxygen and calories we consume, only 2% of our total weight

Question 2

limited cognitive abilities

Answer 2

neurons in visual cortex hooked up in such a way that they inhibit each other
- competitive behaviour of neurons limits how much visual information the brain can reasons to at the same time

Question 3

brainstem

Answer 3

“trunk of the brain”

• regulation of respiration
• heart rate
• digestion
• loss of function would = braindead
  includes: medulla, pons, midbrain, diencephalon
• collectively involved in sleep cycle, some sensory and motor functions, growth, and other hormonal behaviours

Question 4

cerebellum

Answer 4

at the back of brain

• coordinates movement, posture, language
• contains great number of neurons in brain

Question 5

cerebral hemisphere

Answer 5

responsible for cognitive abilities and conscious experiment
consists of cerebral cortex, subcortical structures

Question 6

cerebral cortex

Answer 6

outermost matter of cerebellum

- white matter

Question 7

subcortical structures

Answer 7

lie beneath cerebral cortex, but above brain stem

- basal ganglia, amygdala, hippocampal formation

Question 8

gyi & sulci

Answer 8

folds & grooves of cortex

Question 9

occipital lobe

Answer 9

back part of cerebrum

- vision

Question 10

temporal lobe

Answer 10

lies below lateral sulcus

- auditory processing, memory, multi sensory integration

Question 11

parietal lobe

Answer 11

just behind central sulcus

• somatosensory (body sensation) cortex
• visual attention, multi sensory convergence zones

Question 12

frontal lobe

Answer 12

most forward region (forehead)

- houses motor cortex (motor planning, language, judgement, decision making)

Question 13

basal ganglia

Answer 13

subcortical structures of cerebral hemisphere

* voluntary movement

Question 14

limbic system

Answer 14

includes amygdala & hippocampal formation

- emotional role, aversion, gratification

Question 15

corpus callosum

Answer 15

white matter tracts that connect dense bundle of white matter

Question 16

contralateral

Answer 16

both hemisphere have this
“opposite - side”
left side = movement and sensation on right side of body
right side = movement and sensation on left side of body

Question 17

split brain patient

Answer 17

have corpus callosum severed

- can simultaneously search for something in right and left visual fields

Question 18

grey matter

Answer 18

neural cell bodies

- soma contains genes: responsible for metabolism and protein synthesis

Question 19

white matter

Answer 19

axons of the neurons (axons covered in myelin sheath)

- critical in cell communication

Question 20

converging evidence

Answer 20

similar finding reported from multiple studies using different methods

Question 21

phrenology

Answer 21

one of the first organized studies of the brain

• popular in beginning of 19th century
• correlated bumps and indentations of the skull with specific functions of the brain
  ex: uneven surface of brain reflects skull

Question 22

spatial resolution

Answer 22

refers to how small element of an image are
high spatial resolution = device can resolve very small elements
* describes how small of a structure in brain can be imaged

Question 23

CAT or MRI

Answer 23

detect changes in white and grey matter

Question 24

changing the brain

Answer 24

lesions and ablate parts of brain in animals to see how It affects behaviour

Question 25

TMS

Answer 25

transcranial magnetic stimulation

• small electrical current, interferes with neurons normal communication
• has good temporal resolution

Question 26

tDCS

Answer 26

transcranial direct current stimulation

• uses electrical current directly (electrodes on skull)
• improves performance of many cognitive functions

Question 27

PET

Answer 27

position emission tomography

• records blood flow in brain while performing a task
• good spatial resolution
• bad temporal resolution

Question 28

fMRI

Answer 28

functional magnetic resonance imaging

• measures oxygen levels in blood
• good spatial resolution
• bad temporal resolution

Question 29

EEG

Answer 29

electroencephalography

• measures electrical activity in brain
• higher temporal resolution
• poor spacial resolution

Question 30

DOI

Answer 30

diffuse optical imaging

• shines infrared light into brain and measures light that comes back out
• relies on light changing properties when passes oxygenated blood or encounters active neurons
• high spacial and temporal resolutions