Neuroscience biology & behavior (329) Flashcards
Neurotransmitters: inhibitory / calming
serotonin
GABA
Overpruning can disrupt normal brain functions and connectivity.
Neurotransmitters: excitatory
dopamine
glutamate
Neurotransmitters: other
acetylcholine
histamine
norepinephrine
key term: apraxia
key term: amygdala
processes emotions, anxiety, fear and pleasure
key term: neuroplasticity
the lifelong ability of the brain to reorganize neural pathways based on new experiences -> as we learn, experience, acquire new knowledge and skills pathways are laid down -> to learn or memorize a fact or skill, there must be persistent functional changes in the brain that represent the new knowledge
the ability of the brain to change w/ learning
key term: synaptic pruning
neurological process removes unnecessary / damaged neuronal structures
-improves networking capacirt
-Pruning = weeding out weaker synapses
-as brain develops, simple is replaced by complex
what scans show the structure of the brain
CT
MRI
what scans show the function of the brain
PET
SPECT
fMRI
major functions of the brain
-maintenance of homeostasis
-regulation of ANS & hormones
-control of biological drives & behaviors (cycle of sleep & wakefulness, circadian rhythms)
-conscious mental activity
-memory
-social skills
corpus callosum
relays information between the two cerebral hemispheres
-if damaged, people cannot integrate emotions and logical information
if left (logical) brain side id dominant
less ability to feel emotion
if right (emotional) brain side is dominant
difficult to control emotions and problem solve; loss of object constancy
limbic system
learning, memory, emotions and visceral responses (gut feelings)
-abnormal functioning leads to excessive emotional response
hippocampus
memory and controls the endocrine & immune systems
-affected by alcohol, can cause korsakoff syndrome
