new shit Flashcards
parts of the vestibular system?
2 Movement Receptors in the inner ear
- Otolith organs
- Semicircular canals
Otolith organs
Provide information about the head relative to the ground and our linear acceleration
Semicircular canals
3 loops at right angles from one another
Respond to rotational movements of the head
slow adapting receptors
takes a while to respond, but then responds continuously
fast adapting receptors
responds rapidly, but quickly stops responding
why does a homunculus have such distorted proportions?
body parts developed in proportion to the surface area of the cortical region dedicated to the control of specific functions
what is code for the somatosensory cortex
S1
examples of plasticity in the somatosensory cortex
- If you lose a finger, neighboring cortical tissue will take over the cortex that represented that finger
e. g. amputees will frequently feel their lost appendage if you touch another part of their body - If you use a body part more frequently you will develop that cortical region more
e. g. piano players have larger representations for fingers)
explain why ice packs are affective for pain
dull ache: C-fibers
where does the emotional perception of pain occur
anterior cingulate cortex
where does the physical perception of pain occur
primary somatosensory cortex
why some people can perceive the bitter taste of phenylthiocarbomide (PTC) but others cannot
1931: After a spill in his lab, Arthur Fox was unaffected while a colleague complained of the bitter taste
Gene for the PTC receptor has various forms (alleles), some for strong taste, mild taste or no taste
Gene is dominant, so even if you have 1 taster allele and 1 non-taster allele, you’ll be a taster
what is learning
a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience
examples of habituation
reduction in a response to a harmless stimuli
e.g. ignoring the train going by when you live in the dorms
examples of sensitization
increase in a response to harmless stimuli
e.g. exaggerated fear response in abused animals
what is the paradigm used to elicit habituation in Aplysia californica?
habituation
- Continually stimulating the siphon activates a sensory neuron
- Sensory neuron weakly activates motor neuron
- Motor neuron weakly activates the gill
- Gill weakly retract
Short-term habituation in Aplysia californica
Increased or decreased neurotransmitter release
Long term habituation in Aplysia californica
increased or decreased pre-synaptic terminals
Know the UCS, UCR, CS and CR for the classical conditioning paradigm of eyeblink
- Puff of air (UCS) to the eyelid will result in movement (UCR)
- Pairing puff of air (UCS) with a tone (CS) again and again will result in classical conditioning
- Now tone alone (CS) will induce nictitating eyelid movement (CR)
the differences between learning in invertebrates
Learning is dependent on PRE-synaptic changes
the differences between learning in vertebrates
Learning is dependent on POST-synaptic changes
sensory memory’s capacity and longevity
large capacity, lasts 1 to 2 seconds
short-term memory’s capacity and longevity
small (5-9 items) for capacity, lasts up to 15-18 seconds
long-term memory’s capacity and longevity
unlimited capacity, lasts indefinitely
example of semantic memory
basic facts and language
e.g. Who is the president?
example of episodic memory
episodes from your life
e.g. That time you got stitches
example of procedural memory
motor memories
e.g. Riding a bicycle
deficits to learning and memory displayed by patient H.M
Temporal lobe removal Profound learning and memory deficits Preserved short-term memory Preserved long-term memory Significant anterograde amnesia Preserved procedural memory
where are semantic memories are stored in the brain?
the cortex
where does working (short-term) memory occur in the brain?
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex
where does procedural memory (skill-learning or motor memory) occur in the brain?
basal ganglia
long-term potentiation (LTP)
-Process to strengthen a synapse (This is what memories are made of!) Dependent on NMDA receptors Need a lot of activation to open them Ca2+ coming into the cell, results in changes to the synapse making it stronger and more efficient