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Behavioral Neuroscience > Vocab > Flashcards

Vocab Flashcards

1
Q

Motor Neurons

A

A nerve cell that transmits motor messages, stimulating a muscle or gland; CNS to muscles and glands (efferent(exits CNS))

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2
Q

Sensory Neurons

A

Neuron that is affected by changes in the environment such as light, odor, or touch; Sensory organs to CNS (afferent(into CNS))

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3
Q

Somatic NS

A

Controls voluntary movements

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4
Q

Autonomic NS

A

controls involuntary movements; 2 divisions

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5
Q

Sympathetic Division

A

Fight or flight

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6
Q

Parasympathetic Division

A

Rest or digest

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7
Q

Cerebral cortex

A

outer covering of cerebral hemispheres, part of the telencephalon; has gray and white matter

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8
Q

Gyrus

A

bumps in brain

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9
Q

Sulcus

A

grooves in brain

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10
Q

Broca’s area

A

language production; located in the frontal lobe; damage makes it hard to say things and speak

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11
Q

Frontal lobe

A

primary motor cortex (precentral gyrus), Broca’s area; olfactory bulbs; emotional expression, memory, language, judgement, sexual behaviors

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12
Q

Parietal lobe

A

primary somatosensory cortex; primary gustatory cortex; involved in attention, working memory, spacial navigation

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13
Q

Temporal lobe

A

auditory cortex; object recognition, facial recognition

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14
Q

Wernicke’s area

A

language comprehension; damage causes words to make no sense

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15
Q

Occipital lobe

A

primary visual cortex

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16
Q

Limbic system

A

critical for emotion and learning; contains hippocampus and amygdala

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17
Q

Hippocampus

A

important for emotion and learning

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18
Q

Amygdala

A

in temporal lobe; emotional regulation and odor perception

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19
Q

Thalamus

A

directs almost all incoming sensory information; everything except smell goes to

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20
Q

Hypothalamus

A

involves hunger, thirst, temperature regulation, sex drive; pituitary gland

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21
Q

Superior colliculi

A

visual reflexes; gray matter

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22
Q

Inferior colliculi

A

auditory reflexes; gray matter

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23
Q

Substantia nigra

A

series of cell bodies in midbrain; brainstem structure that innervates the basal ganglia

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24
Q

Reticular formation

A

extensive region of the brainstem that is involved in arousal (walking)

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25
Q

Medulla

A

breathing and reflexes

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26
Q

Pons

A

regulates sleep

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27
Q

Cerebellum

A

fine motor movement, balance, learning skills; central regulation of movement

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28
Q

Meninges

A

3 protective sheets of tissue - dura matter (outermost), pia matter (innermost), and arachnoid (between)

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29
Q

Ventricular system

A

System of fluid-filled cavities in the brain; filled with cerebrospinal fluid

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30
Q

Anterior

A

Front of the brain (rostral (nostril))

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31
Q

Posterior

A

Back of the brain (caudal)

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32
Q

Afferent

A

An axon or nerve carries information into a region

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33
Q

Efferent

A

An axon or nerve carries information away from region

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34
Q

Sylvian fissure

A

aka lateral sulcus; divides temporal lobe from other regions of hemisphere

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35
Q

Central sulcus

A

fissure that divides frontal lobe from parietal lobe

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36
Q

Longitudinal fissure

A

separates the two hemispheres

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37
Q

Stroke

A

Loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain; face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty

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38
Q

Tumor

A

abnormal cells destroy or displace healthy cells

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39
Q

Epilepsy

A

abnormal discharge of electrical activity from the neurons in the cerebral cortex

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40
Q

Spatial resolution

A

how detailed across space

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41
Q

Temporal resolution

A

how often over time

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42
Q

Spatial coverage

A

how much space

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43
Q

Ionotropic receptor

A

fast; receptor protein that includes an ion channel that is opened when receptor is bound by an agonist

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44
Q

Metabotropic receptor

A

slow; receptor protein that doesn’t contain an ion channel, but may, when activated use a G protein

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45
Q

Receptor subtype

A

any type of receptor having functional characteristics that distinguish it from other types of receptors for the same NT

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46
Q

Agonist

A

drug that binds a receptor molecule and initiates a response

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47
Q

Antagonist

A

drug that interferes with or prevents action of a neurotransmitter

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48
Q

Competitive ligand

A

directly competes with endogenous ligand for same binding site on a receptor molecule

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49
Q

Noncompetitive ligand

A

alters response to an endogenous ligand without interacting with endogenous ligand’s recognition site

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50
Q

Affinity

A

natural tendency of molecules of a drug to bind to receptors; how likely and how long it binds

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51
Q

Efficacy

A

extent to which a drug activates a response when it binds to a receptor; how well does it actually work

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52
Q

down-regulation

A

decrease of available receptors to which the drug can bind

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53
Q

up-regulation

A

increase in number of receptors at synapses of neurons

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54
Q

cholinergic

A

cells that use acetylcholine as their synaptic transmitter

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55
Q

nicotinic

A

cholinergic receptors that respond to nicotine and acetylcholine

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56
Q

mesostriatal pathway

A

set of dopaminergic axons arising from the midbrain and innervating the basal ganglia, substantia nigra, and striatum

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57
Q

mesolimbocortical pathway

A

set of dopaminergic axons arising from the midbrain and innervating the limbic system and cortex

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58
Q

Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA)

A

portion of midbrain that projects dopaminergic fibers to the nucleus accumbens

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59
Q

Divergent thinking

A

one stimulus, many responses (Alternative Uses Task)

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60
Q

Convergent thinking

A

finding one response (Remote Association Task)

61
Q

Doctrine of Specific Nerve Energies

A

The nature of a sensation depends on which sensory fibers are stimulated, not on how fibers are stimulated

62
Q

Vitalism

A

theory that the origin and phenomena of life are dependent on a force distinct from purely chemical or physical forces.

63
Q

Somatosensation

A

body sensation; particularly touch and pain sensation

64
Q

Mechanoreception

A

touch; mechanical displacement of skin

65
Q

Thermoception

A

temp

66
Q

Nociception

A

pain

67
Q

Proprioception

A

perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body

68
Q

Receptive field

A

the stimulus region of the sensory space in which a stimulus will trigger the firing of that neuron

69
Q

Primary sensory cortex

A

receives the most of the info about that modality from the thalamus or nonprimary sensory neurons

70
Q

Nonprimary sensory cortex

A

cortical regions receiving direct projections from primary sensory cortex

71
Q

Primary somatosensory cortex

A

primary cortex for receiving touch and pain info; where sensory receptors on body surface are mapped

72
Q

Lateral inhibition

A

Phenomenon by which interconnected neurons inhibit their neighbors

73
Q

Dermatome

A

strip of skin innervated by a particular spinal nerve

74
Q

Intensity

A

the amount of sound energy falling on a unit area (decibel)

75
Q

Frequency

A

the number of times per second that a pattern of pressure repeats (hertz)

76
Q

Pure tone

A

tone with single frequency of vibration

77
Q

Complex sound

A

summation of pure tones; most sounds in the world

78
Q

Loudness

A

perceptual aspect of sound related to perceived intensity or magnitude (amplitude)

79
Q

Pitch

A

our perception of frequency; allows ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale

80
Q

Timbre

A

listener can judge that 2 sounds that have the same loudness and pitch are dissimilar; determined by harmonic structure of sounds

81
Q

Pinna

A

external part of the ear

82
Q

Ear canal

A

tube from the pinna to middle of the ear

83
Q

Middle ear

A

consists of tympanic membrane, sealing the end of auditory canal and ossicles

84
Q

Tympanic membrane

A

eardrum; partition between external and middle ear

85
Q

Ossicles

A

3 small bones that transmit sound across middle ear- incus (anvil), malleus (hammer), stapes (stirrup)

86
Q

Inner ear

A

cochlea and vestibular

87
Q

Cochlea

A

snail-shaped structure that contains primary receptor cells for hearing

88
Q

Hair cells

A

transduce sound energy to neural impulses and send them along to the primary auditory cortex

89
Q

Vestibulocochlear nerve

A

cranial nerve which runs from cochlea to brainstem auditory nuclei

90
Q

Primary auditory cortex

A

region of superior temporal cortex where auditory processing occurs

91
Q

Inferior colliculi

A

Paired gray matter structures of dorsal midbrain that receive auditory info

92
Q

Vestibular system

A

inner ear system that encodes orientation and acceleration of head in 3 axes; crucial for sense of balance

93
Q

Tonotopic Organization

A

major organizational feature in auditory systems where neurons are arranged as an orderly map of stimulus frequency, with cells responsive to high frequencies located at a distance from those responsive to low frequencies

94
Q

The Spins

A

alcohol causes cupula to become lighter than surrounding endolymph; causes system to become sensitive to gravity

95
Q

Olfactory cleft

A

narrow space at back of nose into which air flows; where main olfactory epithelium is located

96
Q

Olfactory epithelium

A

in human nose with primary function to detect odorants in inspired air

97
Q

Olfactory sensory neurons (OSNS)

A

main cell type in olfactory epithelium

98
Q

Cilia

A

hair-like protrusions on dendrites of OSNs

99
Q

Olfactory bulb

A

blue-berry sized extension of brain above nose where olfactory info is first processed

100
Q

Primary olfactory cortex

A

related to sniffing and smelling

101
Q

Orbitofrontal cortex

A

related to smell but NOT sniffing

102
Q

Retronasal olfactory sensation

A

odor sensations perceived as originating from the mouth; perceived when chewing and swallowing

103
Q

Sensory transduction

A

process of converting that sensory signal to an electrical signal in the sensory neuron.

104
Q

Synesthesia

A

production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body

105
Q

White meat

A

fast twitch fibers; high protein, low fat

106
Q

Dark meat

A

slow twitch fibers; low protein, high fat

107
Q

Closed-loop control mechanisms

A

maximize accuracy

108
Q

Open-loop control mechanisms

A

maximize speed

109
Q

Ballistic movements

A

rapid muscular movements completed no matter what sensory feedback is received

110
Q

Golgi tendon organ

A

detects tension; found in tendon

111
Q

Muscle spindle

A

detects stretch or change in amount of stretch; found in muscle

112
Q

Central Pattern Generators

A

neural circuitry that is responsible for generating the rhythmic pattern of a behavior (patterned and non-patterned output)

113
Q

Primary motor cortex

A

executive region for the initiation of movement

114
Q

Non-primary motor cortex

A

made up of supplementary motor area and premotor cortex; anterior to M1

115
Q

Supplementary motor area (SMA)

A

initiates sequences of movements

116
Q

Premotor cortex

A

contains neurons that fire when motor sequences are guided externally by stimuli

117
Q

Mirror neuron

A

active both when an individual makes a particular movement and when that individual sees another make that same movement

118
Q

Basal ganglia

A

group of forebrain nuclei, including caudate nucleus, globus pallidus and putamen

119
Q

Striatum

A

caudate nucleus and putamen

120
Q

Cerebellum

A

structure located at the back of the brain that is involved with central regulation of movement

121
Q

Direct pathway

A

net excitation of motor cortex; initiate movement

122
Q

Indirect pathway

A

net inhibition of motor cortex; inhibit unwanted movements

123
Q

Parkinson’s Disease

A

degenerative neurological disorder; causes tremors, loss of muscle tone and difficulty in initiating motor movements

124
Q

Huntington’s Disease

A

progressive genetic disorder with abrupt involuntary movements and profound changes in mental functioning

125
Q

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

A

degeneration of motoneurons and subsequent loss of their target muscles

126
Q

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

A

localized, noninvasive stimulation of cortical neurons through application of strong magnetic fields (not good spatial res, high temporal res, pretty good spatial coverage)

127
Q

Angiograms

A

image of circulatory system; involve injection into blood vessels

128
Q

Single-cell recordings

A

great spatial and temporal res; not good spatial coverage

129
Q

CT scans

A

series of X-rays; creates 3-D scan of brain; doesn’t differentiate brain matter

130
Q

Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

A

injected radioactive; measures blood flow, oxygen use and sugar metabolism (good spatial res and low temporal)

131
Q

Electroencephalography (EEG)

A

recording of electrical activity of brain recorded from electrodes placed on scalp (excellent temporal, bad spatial res)

132
Q

Event Related Potentials (ERP)

A

averaged EEG recordings (good temporal; bad spatial)

133
Q

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

A

noninvasive technique using magnetic energy to generate images that reveal structural details (good temporal and spatial res)

134
Q

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)

A

viewing white matter tracts with MRI scans

135
Q

Function MRI (fMRI)

A

indirect measure of neural activity; cheaper than PET (high spatial res, low temporal)

136
Q

interneuron

A

receives input from neurons and sends out output to other neurons; not sensory nor motor

137
Q

Glial cells

A

directly affect neuronal functioning by providing neurons with raw materials; communicate with each other and with neurons

138
Q

Resting membrane potential

A

difference in electrical potential across the membrane of a neuron during an inactive period

139
Q

Diffusion

A

when particles move from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration; move down their concentration gradient

140
Q

Sodium-potassium pump

A

energetically expensive mechanism that pushes sodium ions out and pulls potassium ions in (3Na out for every 2K in)

141
Q

Electrostatic pressure

A

propensity of charged ions to move toward areas with opposite charge

142
Q

Equilibrium potential

A

voltage difference across permeable membrane to counterbalance the diffusion force pushing an ion from one side of membrane with high concentration to side with low concentration

143
Q

Action potential

A

propagated electrical message of a neuron that travels along the axon to presynaptic axon terminals

144
Q

Absolute refractory

A

immediately following AP and no amount of stimulus can induce another AP

145
Q

Relative refractory

A

only a very strong stimulation can produce another AP

146
Q

Neurotransmitter

A

chemical released from presynaptic axon terminal that serves as basis of communication between neurons

147
Q

Postsynaptic potential

A

when NTs are absorbed by the dendrites or soma

148
Q

Spatial summation

A

when you have AP from multiple arriving at the same time

149
Q

Temporal summation

A

multiple EPSPs that are summing over time and arriving at different times

Behavioral Neuroscience (2 decks)

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