Neuroscience Flashcards

1
Q

neuroscience

A

study of the function & structures of the nervous system (brain, neurons, synapses, etc.)

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2
Q

behavioural neuroscience

A

relates to the observable actions of humans & animals (or artificial systems)

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3
Q

changes to our understanding of the brain are limited by. . .

A
  • religious or moral views
  • methodological limitations
  • serendipity (reliance on chance discoveries)
  • scientific conservatism
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4
Q

Hippocrates (Ancient Greece)

A
  • considered father of modern medicine
  • first to propose brain controls the body
  • out brain is the command center of body (not heart)
  • noted behavioural effects of brain damage
  • observed anatomy through open wounds after traumatic head injury of soldiers & gladiators
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5
Q

Who formulated the mind-body problem?

A
  • Rene Descartes, France
  • was first to discuss interactions b/w mental & physical
  • considered humans & animals like machines
  • interested in involuntary reflexes & believed behaviour was driven
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6
Q

What about Luigi Galvani? (Italy) (frog man)

A
  • first to suggest nerve signals are electrical (not fluid)
  • rejected idea of animal spirits flowing through hollow nerves
  • made a chance discovery that an electrical charge applied to a frog’s leg made the muscle contract
  • suggested that nerves much be coated in fat to prevent electricity from leaking out
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7
Q

What about Franz Joseph Gall (Germany)?

A
  • moving beyond mind & brain - first to propose idea of a modular brain
  • was interested in relationship b/w brain & personality
  • influenced by physiognomy
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8
Q

What is physiognomy?

A

art of ascribing personality characters to facial features

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9
Q

What did Franz Joseph Gall propose about the brain?

A
  • proposed the brain is composed of several distinct “organs of thought” or faculties
  • reflected by characteristic patterns of bumps on skull
  • skull maps used to read person’s character
  • this is known as PHRENOLOGY
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10
Q

What did Franz Joseph Gall (Germany) introduce?

A

the important notion of “cortical localisation of function”
- modular organisation

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11
Q

Who provided the first solid evidence of brain modularity?

A

Paul Broca (France)
- first described in patient Leborgne
- unable to speak after damage to left frontal lobe
- normal chewing & language comprehension
Broca’s aphasia
- autopsy used to figure it out

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12
Q

Carl Wernicke, Germany

A

-Wernicke’s area
- Unable to comprehend speech
- Normal hearing & language production
- Similar patients subsequently seen with
damage to posterior part of the superior gyrus

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13
Q

How much does adult brain weigh?

A

1400 g - it is 3% of body weight

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14
Q

How many neurons in adult brain?

A

100 billion neurons
1,000,000 billion synapses
10^1000000 possible circuits

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15
Q

How much of the energy resources of body does the brain consume?

A

20%
Is also remarkably energy
efficient running on
20Watts (equivalent to
simple light globe)

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16
Q

Neuropsychology is. . . ?

A
  • Research and clinical speciality
  • links brain damage (lesions) with psychological
    processes
  • assess risk (before surgery),
  • assess impairments and improvements (after
    damage)
  • behavioural and neuroimaging measures
17
Q

What is psychopharmacology?

A

looks at - the role of neurochemistry in mind and behaviour
- natural = neurotransmitters & Hormones
- artificial = drugs

18
Q

more neurons in the brain =

A

more synaptic connections = more complexity of brain

19
Q

The Allen Brain Institute

A
  • 100 million donation from Microsoft founder Paul Allen
  • Creating very detailed maps/atlas with data from mouse & human brain from brain areas > neurons>genes
20
Q

The Human Brain Project

A
  • EU 10-year initiative worth over $1 Billion
  • emphasis on simulating neurons for brain inspired computing, neuromorphic computing
21
Q

What does the human brain project state?

A
  • HBP seeks to bring the bring vital software tools to neuroscience to:
  • reduce the need for animal experiments
  • study diseases in unprecedented in silico experiments
  • improve the validation of data and experiments with computational validation
22
Q

What does the virtual brain do?

A

Simulates/models whole brain dynamics and
functional connectivity to understand global brain function in healthy and disordered states like epilepsy

23
Q

Main 2 divisions of nervous system

A

peripheral nervous system (PNS)
central nervous system (CNS)

24
Q

PNS

A

cranial & spinal nerves

25
Q

CNS

A
  • brain (including retinal cells in eyeball) & spinal cord
  • brain is encased by skull
  • spinal cord sits in vertebrae
  • allows both protection & flexibility in a moving body
26
Q

PNS

A
  • refers to network of nerves that extend out from CNS throughout body
  • sends messages from brain to control muscle movement
  • receives sensory info about body position, pain, temperature, & transmits to CNS
27
Q

2 main systems in PNS

A
  • somatic & autonomic
28
Q

Somatic system

A
  • subdivision of PNS
  • connects to CNS to sensory input & voluntary motor output
  • controls movement of skeletal muscle
  • efferent & afferent cranial nerves
  • also includes spinal nerves (sensory & motor pathways) that extend through vertebrae
29
Q

Autonomic system

A
  • connects central system to non-voluntary muscles & glands
  • smooth muscle, cardiac muscle
  • consists of PARASYMPATHETIC & SYMAPTHETIC system that regulate important bodily functions & responses through opposing influences throughout body
  • also includes enteric nervous system which supports digestion
30
Q

Somatic nerve fibers

A

efferent nerve fibers send signals from brain to muscle

afferent nerve fibers send signals from peripheral sensory areas to communicate from sense modalities back to brain

31
Q

sympathetic nervous system

A

driven predominantly by increased noradrenaline (NA) & adrenaline

32
Q

parasympathetic nervous system

A

driven mainly by Ach release (acetylcholine)
REST & DIGEST

33
Q

Enteric nervous system

A
  • ENS is part of peripheral nervous system
  • contains 100 M neurons
  • has its own reflexes & senses & can act independently of the brain
  • nearly every neurotransmitter found in brain is also found in gut
  • plays a major role in emotions & stress
  • helps digestion
34
Q

Enteric nervous system

A
  • ENS is part of peripheral nervous system
  • contains 100 M neurons
  • has its own reflexes & senses & can act independently of the brain
  • nearly every neurotransmitter found in brain is also found in gut
  • plays a major role in emotions & stress
  • helps digestion