Unit 3: Brain and Behavior

Question 1

The Biological Perspective

Answer 1

Focuses on the biological bases of behavior and mental processes

Question 2

The Central Nervous System

Answer 2

The brain and spinal cord. The brain interprets and stores information and sends orders to muscles, glands, and organs. Spinal cord connects the brain and the peripheral nervous system.

Question 3

The Peripheral Nervous System

Answer 3

Transmit information to and from the central nervous system, and consists of the autonomic nervous system and somatic nervous system.

Question 4

The Autonomic Nervous System

Answer 4

Automatically regulates glands, internal organs, and blood vessels, pupil dilation, digestion, and blood pressure, and consists of the parasympathetic division (maintains body functions under ordinary conditions, saves energy) and sympathetic division (prepares the body to react and expand energy in times of stress).

Question 5

The Somatic Nervous System

Answer 5

Carries sensory information and controls movement of the muscles and consists of the sensory system (afferent), which carries messages from senses to CNS, and the motor system (efferent), which carries messages from CNS to muscles and glands.

Question 6

Neurons

Answer 6

•Cells that make up the nervous system (brain, spinal cord, etc.)
•100 billion+ neurons
•Cell body (soma) – nucleus with chromosomes
•Dendrites – receive information from other neurons
•Axon – transmits information to other neurons, muscles, and glands
•Myelin:
o Insulating layer of fatty material
o Composed of glial cells
o Helps transmit information down the axon
o Gaps in myelin sheath are called nodes of Ranvier

Question 7

Types of Neurons

Answer 7

• Sensory (or afferent) neurons: Carry messages from sense organs to spinal cord or brain.
• Motor (or efferent) neurons: Carry messages from spinal cord or brain to muscles and glands.
• Interneurons (or association neurons): Carry messages from one neuron to another.
• Mirror neurons: Specialized neurons (in the frontal and parietal lobes) that become activated when we observe others perform a behavior or express an emotion
• Glial cells (or glia): Cells that insulate and support neurons by holding them together, provide nourishment and remove waste products, prevent harmful substances from passing into brain, and form myelin sheath

Question 8

The Action Potential

Answer 8

• Neurons communicate through electrochemical impulses.
• A neuron contains charged particles called ions.
• When at rest, the neuron is negatively charged on the inside and positively charged on the outside (the resting potential); at this point, the neuron is in a state of polarization.
• When stimulated, the charge is reversed by allowing positive sodium ions to enter the cell, a process called depolarization.• The action potential is the sequence of electrical charges moving down the cell – the firing of the nerve cell.
• Neurons do not fire in response to a single message from another neuron. A single message causes a small, temporary shift in the electrical charge, called a graded potential. For a neuron to fire, impulses from many neurons must exceed a certain minimum threshold of excitation.

Question 9

Summary of an Action Potential

Answer 9

• Cell membrane of axon opens
• Positive ions flow into the axon
• Initiates the firing of the neuron
• Transmits the information down the axon

Question 10

Synapse

Answer 10

• Junction between one neuron’s axon and another’s dendrites/cell body
• Neurotransmitters cross the synapse
• Plays a fundamental role in the communication between neurons
• Presynaptic neuron’s axons end in terminal buttons
• Terminal buttons contain synaptic vesicles
• Synaptic vesicles contain neurotransmitters
• Neurotransmitters are chemicals that transmit information across the synaptic gap (cleft)
• Postsynaptic neuron’s dendrites contain receptor sites
• Receptor sites fit certain neurotransmitters
• Neurotransmitters bind to specific receptor sites in a lock-and-key system

Question 11

Reuptake

Answer 11

Neurotransmitters are absorbed back into the presynaptic neuron

Question 12

Enzyme Deactivation (Disassembly)

Answer 12

Neurotransmitters are broken down by enzymes in the synapse

Question 13

Autoreceptors

Answer 13

• Neurotransmitters bind to autoreceptor sites

* Neurotransmitters passively drift out of the synaptic gap

Question 14

Neurotransmitters

Answer 14

• Acetylcholine (Ach)
• Dopamine
• Serotonin
• Norepinephrine
• Endorphins

Question 15

Acetylcholine (Ach)

Answer 15

Enables muscle action, learning and memory. With alzheimers, Ach producing neurons deteriorate.

Question 16

Dopamine

Answer 16

Influences movement, learning, attention and emotion. High levels linked to schizophrenia, low levels linked to Parkinson’s disease.

Question 17

Serotonin

Answer 17

Affects mood, hunger, sleep arousal. Low levels linked to depression.

Question 18

Norepinephrine

Answer 18

Helps control alertness and arousal. Low levels depress mood.

Question 19

Endorphins

Answer 19

Boosts mood, lessens pain. Artificial opiates cause brain to stop producing endorphins.

Question 20

Parkinson’s Disease / Symptoms

Answer 20

• Results from the death of neurons that produce dopamine (influences movement)
• Symptoms: Difficulty moving, tremors

Question 21

The Brain

Answer 21

The brain is the core of the nervous system, the part that makes sense of the information received from the senses, makes decisions, and sends commands out to the muscles and the rest of the body.

Question 22

Lesioning and brain stimulation studies

Answer 22

We can study the brain by using deep lesioning to destroy certain areas of the brain in laboratory animals or by electrically stimulating those areas. We can also use case studies of human brain damage to learn about the brain’s functions but cannot easily generalize from one case to another.

Question 23

Mapping brain structure

Answer 23

CT scans are computer-aided X-rays of the brain and show the skull and brain structure. MRI scans use a magnetic field, radio pulses, and a computer to give researchers an even more detailed look at the structure of the brain.

Question 24

Mapping brain function

Answer 24

The electroencephalograph (EEG) allows researchers to look at the electrical activity of the surface of the brain, through the use of electrodes placed on the scalp that are then amplified and viewed using a computer. PET scans use a radioactive sugar injected 
into the bloodstream to track the activity of brain cells, which is enhanced and color-coded by a computer. SPECT allows for the imaging of brain blood flow.  fMRI tracks changes in the oxygen levels of the blood and can tell researchers what areas of the brain are active.

Question 25

Structure of the brain

Answer 25

• Amygdala: part of the limbic system, involved in emotion and aggression.
• Cerebrum: responsible for sensing, thinking, learning, emotion, consciousness, and voluntary movement.
• Corpus callosum: bridge of fibers passing information between the 2 cerebral hemispheres.
• Thalamus: relay center for cortex, handles incoming and outgoing signals.
• Hypothalamus: responsible for regulating basic biological needs, hunger, thirst, temperature control.
• Pituitary gland: master gland that regulates other endocrine glands.
• Hippocampus: part of the limbic system involved in learning and memory.
• Pons: involved in sleep and arousal.
• Medulla: responsible for regulating unconscious processes, breathing and circulation.
• Reticular formation: related to sleep ad arousal.
• Spinal cord: transmit info between brain and body, handles simple reflexes.
• Cerebellum: coordinates fine muscle movement and balance.

Question 26

Cerebral cortex

Answer 26

• frontal lobe: planning, speech and thinking •primary motor cortex: fine movement control
• primary somatosensory cortex: awareness of location of body parts
• parietal lobe: body sensations
• occipital lobe: vision
• temporal lobe: hearing, advanced visual processing

Question 27

Motor Cortex

Answer 27

The motor cortex in the frontal lobe controls the voluntary muscles of the body. Cells at the top of the motor cortex control muscles at the bottom of the body, whereas cells at the bottom of the motor cortex control muscles at the top of the body. Body parts are drawn larger or smaller in the picture according to the number of cortical cells devoted to that body part. For example, the hand has many small muscles and requires a larger area of cortical cells to control it.

Question 28

Somatosensory Cortex

Answer 28

The somatosensory cortex, located in the parietal lobe just behind the motor cortex, is organized in much the same manner and receives information about the sense of touch and body position.

Question 29

Reticular formation

Answer 29

a nerve network in the brainstem, controls arousal

Question 30

Brain Structure and Behavior

Answer 30

According to Eysenck’s theory:

•Extraverts have less arousable reticular formation
o they are easily bored
o seek stimulation to maintain their brain activity levels

•Introverts have more activity in the reticular formation
o they are easily aroused
o avoid external stimulation, seek relaxing environments

Question 31

Corpus callosum

Answer 31

A thick band of nerve fibers connecting the left and right cerebral hemispheres. Enables the right and left hemispheres to communicate.

Question 32

Hemispheric Differences in the Brain

Answer 32

•Left Hemisphere
o Controls the right side of the body
o Involved with language, logical thought, analysis, mathematical abilities, and processes information in pieces

•Right Hemisphere
o Controls the left side of the body
o Involved in spatial, musical, artistic abilities, recognition of emotions, and processes information in whole

Question 33

Gender Differences and Examples

Answer 33

•Research shows more gender similarities than differences. Example of gender differences in the brain…
o Men tend to compartmentalize information
o Women tend to integrate information between the two hemispheres

Question 34

There are a few more in outline not mentioned here

Answer 34

There are a few more in outline not mentioned here