Origin of behavioural neuroscience Flashcards
what is behavioural neuroscience
a combination of psychology and physiology
example of reductionism and generalisation
- Complex behavioural system (complex anatomy). Extract one process within this and deduce a principle from it (reductionism). Generalise this process to understand a larger topic
- E.g. Pavlov, drooling lead to generalisation of associative learning
who produced the first reductionist accoutn of movement
descartes
what inspired descartes
pressure in a fountain
what was Descartes balloonist theory of control
• He came up with the balloonist theory of control
o Example he gave was withdrawal heat reflex
o Pipes in body transmit fluid (which expands) which causes pressure. This goes into the brain. The brain channels this pressure to the correct location
Essentially same as what was happening in the fountain
what did Galvani find
Galvani found that if electricity made contact with a part of the leg, the leg would twitch
what is electrochemistry
No detectable heat. Got electricity without heat. This is the theory of action potential
what did Golgi do
Golgi came up with neuronal staining. He took chemistry processes and applied this to brain tissue. Found dye stuck to brain cells. This made it easier to discriminate parts of it.
With staining and microscope, can now see individual cells. Saw a repeated pattern of an organised structure.
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what did muller argue
Muller argued that if you have different currents being carried by same cells (e.g. visual and auditory being carried by the same processes), different parts of the brain are using the same fundamental mechanisms but are working for both
what is synesthesia
People are cross-taught against senses. E.g. could see something they should hear
what did Flourens do
Flourens was the first person to slice and adapt a rat brain.
what did Flourens find
Gross functionality. If you cut the forebrain (equiv of frontal lobe), saw a lack of purposeful movements. If you cut the cerebellum, the rats lose balance and smoothness of movements.
what did Broca do
Broca had a diagnostic characteristic of individuals with different neurological disorders. When they died, he harvested their brains and saw where damage was. He then did a correlation.
He found association between Broca’s area in frontal lobe and impairment in ability to produce speech- comprehension was ok but couldn’t produce things well
what is Somatotopic organisation
organization of the motor area of the brain, specific regions of the cortex being responsible for the motor control of different areas of the body
what is alien hand sydrome
Characterized by a limb that seems to perform meaningful acts without being guided by the intention of the patient
