Review Flashcards
Endocrine
hormone, released into the bloodstream, selectively affects distant target tissues
Synapse
chemical release and local diffusion
Pheromone
chemicals released outside the body to affect other individuals of the same species
Allomone
chemicals released outside the body to affect individuals of another species
Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis
Fear/stress response (cortisol, glucocorticoids). Excessive stress can affect glucocorticoid release, which can lead to diabetes
Hypothalamic Pituitary Gonadal Axis
Reproduction and sex characteristics (estrogens and androgens)
Negative Feedback Loop
returns system to set point, important for homeostasis
What happens if blood glucose levels are too high?
pancreas releases insulin and liver removes glucose from blood and stores it as glycogen
What happens if blood glucose levels are too low?
pancreas releases glucagon and the liver breaks down stored glycogen and releases glucose into blood
The maintenance of the blood glucose levels is an example of what?
A negative feedback loop
Positive Feedback Loops
not homeostatic, but important for driving mechanisms to completion
Paternal Behavior
-brain changes to be more like the maternal brain
-most common in pair-bonding species
Alloparental Behavior
-most common between females
-consists of females taking care of each others young, which is especially pronounced in highly social species
-virgin females with high exposure to young show changes to the brain like a parous female
What do osmosensory neurons monitor?
solute concentration (responsible for osmotic thirst)
What do baroreceptors in the heart/blood vessels/kidneys monitor?
blood pressure (responsible for volumetric thirst
Osmotic Thirst
a type of thirst triggered by an increase in the concentration of solutes (like salt) in the extracellular fluid, leading to water moving out of cells and causing cellular dehydration
What can cause osmotic thirst?
eating a salty meal
Volumetric Thirst
when there is a loss of volume from the extracellular fluid stores
What can cause volumetric thirst?
vomiting or diarrhea
Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH)
(Also known as vasopressin) regulates water and electrolyte balance in the body by controlling how much what the kidneys re-absorb
-prevents making too much urine in order to retain water
What are four mechanisms of thirst?
- decrease atrial natriuretic peptide (vasodilator)
- release of vasopressin (vessel constriction)
- release of angiotensin II (vasoconstriction, thirst increase)
- Release of more vasopressin and aldosterone (sodium conservation)
Preoptic Area (POA)
Physiological responses to temperature changes
Vasopressin in the POA is responsible for what?
parental thermoregulation
Lateral Hypothalamus (LH)
Behavioral responses to temperature changes
What are behavioral responses to temperature change?
shivering, heat-seeking or avoiding behaviors
What are physiological responses to changes in temperature?
Constriction or dilation of blood vessels, sweating, respiration, thyroid hormone secretion
The release of insulin promotes what?
changing glucose into glycogen
The release of glucagon promotes what?
changing glycogen into glucose
Homeostatic food intake
eat to live
ventral medial hypothalamus
satiety
lateral hypothalamus
hunger
arcuate nucleus
integrates hunger/satiety signals
orexin
promotes food intake
ghrelin
appetite stimulant; high before eating
Peptide Tyrosine Tyrosine (PYY)
appetite suppressant; high after eating
Leptin
monitors fat storage
Hedonic food intake
eating just for pleasure, not survival
Brain areas associated with hedonic food intake
VTA and nucleus accumbens
Neurotransmitters associated with hedonic food intake
dopamine, endocannabinoids, opioids
Function of suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
produces extremely precise circadian timing due to specific molecular mechanisms
Lesioning in the SCN does what?
ablates circadian rhythms hormonal release
How long is the circadian rhythm?
about 24 hrs
Clock and Cycle
form a dimer to promote the transcription
Signaling from the retinohypothalamic pathway causes
the cell to begin transcription
Genes called period and cryptochrome
produce proteins of the same name
Cry and Per
-inhibit Clock and Cycle
-are degraded, allowing the cycle to start over
Rapid-Eye-Movement (REM)
small amplitude, fast EEG waves like an awake person
Stage 1 sleep
-waves of smaller amplitude and irregular frequency begin
-vertex spikes, or sharp waves
-heart rate slows, muscles relax, eyes roll slowly
-lasts several minutes
Stage 2 Sleep
-sleep spindles: burts of 12-14 Hz waves
-K-complexes: sharp negative potentials
Stage 3 Sleep
-slow wave sleep
-delta waves: large amplitude, slow waves
How long does each cycle take?
about 90-110 minutes
What is sleep like for infancy/childhood?
most REM- suggesting it is important for nervous system maturation
What is the relationship between depression and sleep?
People with depression have increased REM sleep, though often have trouble getting to sleep
Insomnia is most prevalent in
women and older individuals
SWS and REM are crucial for what?
memory consolidation
What can prolonged sleep deprivation cause?
irritability, hallucinations, disorientation, and difficulty concentrating
Persistent vegetative state is what?
The deepest degree of unconsciousness
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is responsible for what
circadian rhythm
locus coeruleus
releases norepinephrine to regulate sleep-wake cycles
lateral hypothalamus
releases orexin to regulate wakefulness
GABA promotes what on the tuberomammillary nucleus?
SWS which inhibits wakefulness
The reticular formation (in the brainstem) does what?
projects axons to the brain premating wakefulness
What are the different types of long-term memory?
-explicit (conscious)
-implicit (unconscious)
What are the different types of explicit memory?
episodic (events that have happened to you) and semantic (general knowledge of the world)
What are the different types of implicit memory?
priming and procedural
In order to recall a past, what needs to happen?
encoding, consolidation, and retrieval
Dorsomedial thalamus
declarative memory (conscious recollection) and what questions
What is the hippocampuses role in memory?
memory consolidation and spatial memory
Amygdala is associated with what learning?
Fear learning
Basal ganglia is associated with what aspects of memory?
habitual learning, working memory
What does damage to the basal ganglia result in?
affects the learning of sensorimotor, social, and perceptual skills
What are hebbian synapses
-neurons that fire together wire together
-The neuronal connections that fired together are strengthened, so that those neurons are activated together during memory recall.
Long Term Potentiation (LTP)
relies on NMDA signalling, forms stronger synapses
Nitric Oxide is what?
A retrograde transmitter in LTP formation
Long Term Depression (LTD)
relies on NMDA signalling, forms weaker synapses
Retrograde Amnesia
can remember past events before the trauma
Anterogrand Amnesia
can’t form new memories
James-Lange
Eliciting Stimulus leads to autonomic arousal and behavior responses which then leads to fear
Cannon-Bard
Eliciting stimulus leads to subcortical activity in thalamus which then creates autonomic arousal and conscious emotion (fear)
Overt Attention
Attention coincides with sensory orientation (focus/attention)
Covert Attention
Attention is away from sensory orientation (vigilance)
Inattentional Blindness
missing information other than what you’re focused on (gorilla example)
Bottom-up process
taking sensory information and then assembling and integrating it
Top-up processing
Using models, ideas, and expectations to interpret sensory information
A reflexive response to stimuli is
a bottom-up process
Stress increases what?
epinephrine and norepinephrine release
What does stress cause?
-decrease in immune function
-prolonged stress can cause fatigue, ulcers, hypertension, etc.
Stress reduction does what to the amygdalae?
Reduces activity in the amygdalae
Memories recalled in a stressful state can become stronger when?
recalled in the presence of stress hormones
Decreased serotonin is correlated with what?
aggression and violence
Oxytocin has what affects?
antixylotic
Romantic love can have what affect?
A reduction in amygdalae and posterior cingulate activity
Broca’s Area is associated with what?
production of speech
Wernicke’s Area is associated with what?
comprehension of speech
Damage to Wernicke’s results in what?
gibberish language, no comprehension
Damage to Broca’s results in what?
trouble producing speech
What are the changes in a brain as a result of Alzheimer’s?
-Cortex shrivels up, damage in areas involved in thinking, planning and remembering
-ventricles filled with cerebrospinal fluid grow larger
-hippocampus shrinks severely
Negative Symptoms
removal of normal function
Blunted Effect
removal of facial/body expression
Positive Symptoms
Addition of atypical function
What are some positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
hallucinations and delusions
Why are schizophrenia patients not able to tell what is real?
reduced metabolic activity in frontal lobes
What is the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia?
increased dopamine and DA receptors causes schizophrenia
supported by:
-taking lots of amphetamines (increases DA) can have SZ effects
-Clozapine relieves negative symptoms via the serotonin receptor
What is the glutamate hypothesis of schizophrenia?
phendcyline can produce SZ symptoms through NMDA receptors (glutamate)
What are two risk genes of schizophrenia?
DISC 1 and SRRM2
Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech and thoughts
Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia
anhedonia, avolition, blunted affect
Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
memory issues, inability to process social cues, impaired sensory perception
What is the learned helplessness model of depression?
When the inability to escape from a repetitive stressful stimulus causes depression
Is heritability a risk factor for depression?
yes
Depression can
have epigenetic changes in gene expression
Deep brain stimulation targets what?
the cingulate cortex
What are some common antidepressants?
-monoamine oxidase (MAO)
-tricyclic antidepressants
-SSRIs
How does monoamine oxidase (MAO) work?
inhibitors prevent the breakdown of monoamines (dopamine, serotonin) in the synapses
How does tricyclic antidepressants work?
block reuptake of norepinephrine, serotonin and/or dopamine
How do selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) work?
block the reuptake of serotonin
What medication is used to treat OCD?
SSRIs
What medication is used to treat bipolar disorder?
lithium (takes away manic high)
What is used to treat ADHD?
stimulants such as amphetamines
Describe the relationship between leptin and energy balance in the body
monitors fat storage
Describe the role of hormones in affecting target tissues in the body
Hormones released into the bloodstream influence distant target tissues
What is the primary means of communication used by the endocrine system?
hormones
Describe the role of the HPA axis in the body’s overall stress response
Controls the release of cortisol and other glucocorticoids
Fear conditioning relies on the
amygdalae
LTP ______ synaptic strength while LTD ______ synaptic strength
strengthens; weakens
Blood loss triggers what kind of thirst?
volumetric
Sleep deprivation can cause irritability, difficulty concentrating, and hallucinations
true
Lesioning which area would affect behavioral responses to temperature change
lateral hypothalamus
To remember a memory, it needs to be encoded, _______, and recalled
consolidated
The hippocampus helps consolidate memories
true
OCD is often managed with
SSRIs
You pull an all-nighter studying for this final. What is NOT one of the side effects?
increase in muscle tone
(weakened immune response, decreased memory consolidation, and increased irritability are side effects)
Returning a system back to a set point is the role of a __________ feedback loop
negative
Lesioning the SCN
abolishes circadian hormonal release
Damage to the basal ganglia increases acquisition of sensorimotor, social, and perceptual skills
false
How long is the typical sleep cycle?
90 to 110 minutes long
Which demographic groups are primarily affected by insomnia?
women and older individuals
A patient has trouble speaking, but understands what is being said. What brain area is likely affected?
Broca’s Area
Hallucinations are a negative symptom of schizophrenia
false
Drugs that treat anxiety are called
antixylotics
A patient cannot remember anything before a car accident. This is an example of retrograde amnesia
True
If a person is trying to focus to a lecture while also listening to a nearby convo, which type of attention is used?
overt for lecture, covert for conversation
In most split-brain patients, words presented to the left visual field
cannot be verbally repeated
Which symptom would not likely result from damage to the right fusiform gyrus?
inability to recognize coworkers voices
