Questions I forgot: biological Flashcards
git gud
What does anterior mean?
located or occurring in or at the front of something else
What does posterior mean?
located or occurring underneath something else
What is a sulcus?
a cleft (or valley) in the cerebral cortex
What is a fasciculus?
bundle of neurons connecting one location of the brain to another
What is the frontal lobe responsible for?
deals with reasoning, executive function, motor control, and language
What is the parietal lobe responsible for?
deals with somatosensory processing, and (some) attention
What is the temporal lobe responsible for?
deals with hearing, memory, and emotion
What do glial cells do?
protect and communicate with neurons
What is reuptake?
The process of retrieving neurotransmitter that is in the synaptic cleft
What is magnetic resonance imaging?
(MRI) is a neuroimaging technique involving a big magnet in order to give us a structural image of the brain
What is Positron Emission Tomography?
(PET) tracks molecules that have been modified to give a radioactive label in order to create a functional image of the brain
What is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)?
uses an electromagnet applied to the scalp in order to up or downregulate specific brain areas
What is Single Photon Emission Computer Tomography?
(SPECT) uses an injected radioactive fluid to give a structural image of the brain
What are the cranial nerves?
a set of 12 nerves that come directly from the brain which control sensory, motor, and autonomous functions
What is the aggregate field theory?
that mental functions are distributed across the brain rather than localised in specific areas
What is Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) ?
a technique that detects the diffusion of water molecules in different directions in order to reveal white-matter connections in the brain
What is Single-cell recording?
an invasive electrode to measure the activity of a single cluster of neurons
What does magnetoencephalography (MEG) do?
measures the magnetic field produced by the electrical activity of the brain and gives better spatial imagery than EEG
What does Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) do?
detects changes in concentration of oxygenated blood by measuring the amount of near-infrared light it produces
What is temporal resolution?
the level of detail and precision to capture changes in brain activity over time
What do electromagnetic methods do?
measure and analyse the electrical magnetic signal produced by neurons
What is spatial resolution?
the level of detail and precision to capture where specific brain activity occurs
What are functional networks?
how different brain regions communicate and work together
What does the salience network detect?
unexpected stimuli
What is psychophysics?
involves relating a physical stimulus to a behavioural response
what is psychometric function?
what we fit to data in order to measure absolute thresholds
What does structural imaging let us see?
the structure and composition of the brain
What does a weber fraction tell us?
the constant between just noticeable difference and standard stimulus for different stimuli (salt in water = 1/3, tonal pitch = 1/333)
what is a crystalline lens
expands and contracts to help us see near and far
what is the fovea ?
the central part of the retina where the eye is most sensitive to light
what is a rod photoreceptor
sacrifices acuity for sensitivity and used for night vision (scotopic vision)
What is photopic vision
day vision
What is phototransduction
the process by which light energy is converted into electrical energy in the retina
what is a retinal ganglion cell
a type of photoreceptor cell that is found in the retina of the eye (below the bipolar cells)
What is a bipolar cell?
a type of photoreceptor cell that is found in the retina of the eye (below the rods and cones)
What is the duplex theory?
the idea that rods and cones differ structure, number, and distribution
What is the pinna?
the outer ear which is the flap of skin that covers the ear canal
What is place theory?
The idea that lower frequency waves travel further down the ear, and thus, hair cells that detect lower frequency waves are found further into the cochlea
What membrane vibrates when sound waves hit the eardrum?
basilar membrane
What is the meninges?
Layers that surround the brain for protection
what is the SCN and what does it do?
suprachiasmatic nucleus - responsible for keeping time
What is the ventral attention network responsible for?
responds to unexpected but behaviourally relevant stimuli. The temoroparietal junction (TPJ). Favour the right-side
what is Proprioception?
One’s awareness of the location of their body in space
What is interoception?
The ability to sense internal bodily processes such as hunger, thirst and pain
Opponent-process theory (proposed by Hering, then Hurvich and Jameson)
states that LMS cone outputs are coded into six matched primaries -red-green, blue-yellow, black-white
What is the young-helmholtz theory of trichromacy?
There are three types of cone receptors (long, medium and short wavelength) that are sensitive to three different types of light (red, green and blue)
What is forbidden colour?
One that transcend the opponent-process boundary (yellowish blue)
What are the cranial nerves?
set of 12 nerves that come directly from the brain which control sensory, motor functions and autonomous functions
What is phrenology
Debunked theory that skull shape determines personality
What is the aggregate field theory?
That mental functions are distributed across the brain rather than localised in specific areas
what is reticular theory?
that the nervous system is a continuous network, like a web
