behavioural neuroscience Flashcards
what is neuroscience?
study of the function and structures of the nervous system (e.g. brain, neurons, synapses etc)
what is behaviour?
relates to the observable actions of humans, animals (or artificial systems). History of using behvaiour as an indicator of internal mental processes, thoughts, emotions, desires (“behaviourism”)
what are our understanding of the brian limited by?
- religious or moral views
- methodological limitations
- serendipity - reliance on chance discoveries
- scientific conservatism
what did ancient cultures (Egyptian, Indian, Chinese) believe about the placement of the mind?
it was in the heart
why did the ancient cultures think the mind was in the heart?
constantly beating, faster during heightened emotional states
when was the first linkages of brain damage and mental symptoms
1600BCE
who was Hippocrates?
- father of modern medicine
- first to propose that the brain controls body
- noted behavioural effects of brain damage
who was Rene Descartes?
- formulated mind-body problem
- first to discuss interactions between mental and physical
- considered humans and animals like machines
- interested in involuntary reflexes and believed behaviour was driven by a system of fluid and pistons
Who was Luigi Galvani
- first to suggest nerve signals are electrical (not fluid)
- refected idea of animal spirits flowing through hollow nerves
- made chance discovery that an electrical charge applied to a frog’s leg made the muscle contract
- suggested nerves must be coated in fat to prevent electricity from leaking out
- inspired books like ‘Frankenstein’
who was Franz Joseph Gall
- moved beyond ‘mind’ and ‘brain’ - first to propose modular brain
- was interested in the relationship between brain and personality
- influenced by physiognomy (the art of ascribing personality characteristics to facial features)
- propsed brain is composed of several distinct ‘organs of thought’ or faculties
- compared animal and human skulls as well as people from ‘extremes’ of society ie criminals
- this method was termed phrenology - flawed but introduced notion of ‘cortical localisation of function’
who was Paul Broca
- provided first solid evidence of brain modularity
- first described in patient named Leborgne (unable to speak after damaged left frontal lobe, normal chewing and language comprehension)
who was Carl Wernicke
just after Broca’s discovery, found patient with:
- unable to comprehend speech
- normal hearing and language production
- similar patients seen with damage to posterior part of the superior gyrus
how much does the adult brain weigh
1, 400 g (3% of body weight)
how many neurons
100 billion
how many synapses
1,000,000 billion synapses
