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psychology 101 > neuroscience > Flashcards

neuroscience Flashcards

1
Q

neuroimaging

A

pictures of the brain’s anatomy or function, in relation to mental processes.
helps display:
Structure
Brain damages

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2
Q

lesioning

A

Area of brain is destroyed by heat

Gives people really accurate results in terms of which part of the brain is responsible for what function

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3
Q

clinical observation

A

Link behaviour back to the damaged areas of the brain

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4
Q

problems with case studies

A

Not damage to just one particular region

Can’t take one case study and apply those results to a wider range of people with the same brain injury because it could be that it’s not the area that’s damage that is responsible for that particular function

Personality + dominant hand can affect recovery of the brain injury
IQ also affects the results

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5
Q

MRI

A

Creates a 3D anatomical picture of the brain. ONLY ABOUT STRUCTURE + ANATOMY NOT FUNCTION

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6
Q

pros of MRI

A

See anatomy

Clots and leaks, which vessels may burst

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7
Q

cons of MRI

A

Stay completely still in a claustrophobic space + noisy environment

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8
Q

EEG

A

Detects electrical currents generated by neurons on brain surface by affixing metal electrodes to scalp.

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9
Q

pros of EEG

A

excellent temporal resolution (picks up fast changes)
Only good at picking up things near the scalp
Very accessible, not wildly expensive to use
Can tell the cognitive state

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10
Q

cons of EEG

A

poor spatial resolution → can’t look at brain function, spatial resolution = where things are in the brain
Cannot detect anything deeper than the cortex level (far away from the scalp)

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11
Q

fMRI

A

3D image of brain at work, shows which parts are active. Superimposes activity patterns onto the MRI image.

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12
Q

pros of fMRI

A

not only gives you the anatomy of the brain, but it also gives you the function of areas of the brain
Detects fast changing aspects of brain physiology (blood flow & oxygen use) without any radioactivity. Blood contains iron, changes in magnetic fields can be detected.

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13
Q

cons of fMRI

A

Tremendously expensive
High demand → very difficult to get time in the scanners because of their high demand
Have an affinity to metal (metals that are attracted to magnets)
Noisy + claustrophobic

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14
Q

TMS (and pros)

A

Create temporary brain dysfunction, perform experiments that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

used for therapeutic purposes

  • depression
  • uncontrollable ticks
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15
Q

cons of TMS

A

Only works for areas close to the scalp

Need to have a person with a medical license to use it (need to pay someone to come in to supervise or use it with you)

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16
Q

CNS (central nervous system)

A

Brain & spinal cord ← makes up the CNS

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17
Q

parts of the Peripheral nervous system

A
  1. Somatic nervous system

2. autonomic nervous system

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18
Q

Autonomic nervous system

A

Regulation of viscera — heart, lungs, blood vessels, digestion, sex organs.
The automatic brain system (looks after automatic responses)

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19
Q

somatic NS

A

Afferent, efferent & cranial nerves

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20
Q

Afferent nerves

A

Transmit information FROM sense organs TO brain & spinal cord (CNS).

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21
Q

Efferent nerves

A

Taking information from your brain to your organs

* What allows you to move your hand away from the hot stove

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22
Q

Cranial Nerves

A

Control movements of & carry sensations from head & neck.
Vision, hearing, scent

Regulate glandular secretions in head. 
Mucus, snot
Saliva production 
tears
Control visceral functions. 
Digestion
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23
Q

damage to cranial nerves

A
  • Bells Palsy (droopy face/mouth)

- “suicide disease” controllable facial pain

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24
Q

pons

A

Arousal (cognitive arousal → awakeness, alertness)
Regulates respiration.
Involved in sleep and dreaming.
Part of your brain that will shut down your voluntary muscles before sleeping

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25
Q

damage to pons

A

locked-in syndrome

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26
Q

medulla

A

heavily involved in keeping you alive
Regulation of heart rate, blood pressure, rate of respiration.

Also involved in vomiting, defecations, reflexes and swallowing.

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27
Q

cerebellum

A
  1. controls overall bodily balance
  2. Sequencing & timing of precise skilled movements
  3. influences thinking (mentally ordering lists)
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28
Q

damage to cerebellum

A
  1. Damage (injury, disease or alcohol) results in wide stance & staggering gait.
  2. tremors during movement & inability to perform rapidly alternating movements.
  3. impairs performance of tasks requiring exact sequencing
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29
Q

midbrain controls…

A

Auditory & visual stimuli - eye movement. VERY BASIC

in animals: Control movements used in sexual behaviour & fighting, decrease sensitivity to pain.

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30
Q

cortex

A

wrinkled part of brain
Humans gain flexibility of behaviour by having a large cortex.
act more as relay stations/ middle managers for information

31
Q

gyrus

A

the buldge of the cortex

in charge of psychological functions (allows us to do things)

32
Q

Precentral gyrus

A

basic movements

33
Q

postcentral gyrus

A

basic skin sensation

34
Q

sulcus/fissure

A

No psychological function, just LANDMARKS to divide the lobes up and makes it a lot easier to locate some of our gyri in relation to some of their position to some of the sulci
the lines

35
Q

grey matter of brain image

A

the parts of the brain that does most of the functional thinking (thoughts, actions)

36
Q

white matter of brain image

A

made up of myelin neurons (part fat, part protein that wraps itself around axons of neurons)

37
Q

thalamus

A
  • Receiving & relay station for sensory input.

Receives sensory information from the sense organs, performs simple analyses (is it hearing, is it vision?) and passes results on to primary sensory cortex (precentral gryus)

then sends it to other parts of the brain to sense/perceive.

38
Q

hypothalamus

A

regulates the body/keeps everything in the body the same (keeps it in check)

fleeing, fighting, feeding, fornication (sexual reproduction)

39
Q

basal ganglia

A

Regulation and smoothing of movement - beside thalamus

40
Q

damage to basal ganglia

A
  1. Parkinson’s disease
    Movement disorder that progressively gets worse over time
    Disintegration of muscle movements
  2. Foreign accent syndrome
    Usually caused by a stroke
    Wake up speaking in an entire different accent than they did before the accident
3. Huntington’s disease
People don’t know they have it until the parents show the signs
Uncontrollable movements (writh uncontrollably)
41
Q

amygdala (limbic system)

A

Expression of emotion

Affects the processing of NEGATIVE emotions

42
Q

damage to amygdala

A

Affects the processing of NEGATIVE emotions

Won’t be able to interpret fear, feel fear, or express fear

43
Q

Occipital lobe

A

Back of the brain

Receives input from the eyes (at the front of the head!) via the thalamus
44
Q

parietal lobe

A

Important for spatial perception (RIGHT SIDE)

45
Q

temporal lobe

A

Receiving area for initial auditory information.
- also deals with smell (olfactory cortex is located here)
^ damage = hallucination of smell

46
Q

frontal lobe

A

Responsible for motor output, motor planning.

Primary motor cortex → deals with initial movements

47
Q

primary motor areas

A

contralateral control
Right motor cortex controls left side of body
Left motor cortex controls right side of body
LOCATED IN FRONTAL LOBE

48
Q

damage to primary visual cortex

A

causes SCOTOMA

hole in visual field

49
Q

removal of one side of primary visual cortex causes…

A

hemianopia (complete blindness) on the opposite side.

50
Q

hemiplegia

A

Paralysis of one side of the body.

Due to damage to contralateral motor cortex.

51
Q

Prosopagnosia

A

damage to temporal/occipital lobes

Difficulty recognizing faces. Some can’t recognize familiar faces, some can’t recognize a face as a face.

52
Q

Damage to prefrontal cortex

A

Deficiency in response inhibition.
Inability to plan.
Appear uninvolved, depressed & apathetic.
Some may appear “psychopathic”, acting flagrantly and crudely, being sexually promiscuous and may engage in criminal conduct.
Problems with initiating behaviour/changing strategies
Frontal lobes not fully understood.

53
Q

apraxia

A

damage in frontal lobe
Serious disturbances in initiation or organisation of voluntary action.

Unable to perform well known actions.

Motor actions become fragmented & disorganised.

54
Q

neglect syndrome

A

People with right-sided parietal damage tend to neglect the left side of space (seldom vice versa)

55
Q

right side of brain is dominant for…

A

Spatial attention – neglect.

Melody (tone of voice)  – amusia.

Facial recognition – prosopagnosia.

Recognition of natural objects – agnosia.
56
Q

Left side dominant for:

A

Language – aphasia.

Recognition of manufactured objects – agnosia.

Voluntary action – apraxia.

Also for handedness.
57
Q

why do some people go through split brain surgery?

A

relieves intractible epilepsy

splits corpus callosum –> prevents/lessens the severity of seizures

58
Q

Left hemisphere function in the split brain

A

Can’t name objects or words presented in LEFT visual field.

Can’t name objects held in LEFT hand.

BUT can understand words in the left visual field (demonstrated by pointing)

Suggests that the right brain can understand, but cannot speak.

59
Q

Callosal agenesis

A

people who are naturally “split-brained”

60
Q

dendrites

A

Receive nerve impulses (messages) from other neurons.

61
Q

Axons:

A

send action potential

62
Q

soma

A

metabolism/maintenance of the cell (keeps it in check) → the powerhouse

63
Q

axon terminals

A

Secrete neurotransmitters in synapse.

64
Q

Motorneurons (efferent neurons):

A

Begin in CNS, exit through spinal cord, end on muscle fibre.

65
Q

Sensory neurons (afferent neurons):

A

Begin at sense organ (retina, skin, tongue) convey information to brain, via spinal cord.

66
Q

Interneurons:

A

Interposed between other neurons, do much of the computation in the brain.

67
Q

glial cells

A

Act as guidewires for growing neurons.

68
Q

action potential

A

Abrupt, short-lived reversal in the electrical charge of an axon

69
Q

Antagonists

A

Drugs that block or inhibit postsynaptic effects.

70
Q

Agonists

A

Drugs that facilitate postsynaptic effects.

71
Q

venom of black spider

A
  • releases ACH

stimulates neurotransmitter release

72
Q

nicotine

A

stimulates postsynaptic receptor molecules

small doses = pleasurable

73
Q

curare

A

blocks postsynaptic receptor molecules (inhibits synaptic transmission)

74
Q

cocaine + prozac

A

Some drugs inhibit the process of reuptake so that molecules of the neurotransmitter continue to stimulate the postsynaptic receptors for a long time.

psychology 101 (7 decks)

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