Chapter 1 - Biology and Behaviour Flashcards
___ is the study of the nervous system–primarily the brain–and its connections to thoughts, behaviours, and other functions.
Neuropsychology
The nervous system is made up of neurons. There are three types:
___: transmit information from receptors to the brain and spinal cord
___: transmit information from the brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands
___: most common type, located between other types, and responsible for startle reflexes through the ___–where neurons transmit pain information and these neurons simultaneously respond and send information to other brain regions
Sensory/affarent neurons (ascend the spinal cord towards the brain)
Motor/efferent neurons (exit the spinal cord to get to other parts of the body)
The nervous system is also categorized into two main areas: the ___ and the ___. The first category is made up of the brain and the spinal cord, while the latter connects the previous parts to the rest of the body through nerves.
The second category is further divided into ___ and ___ regions. The first type category is responsible for voluntary or conscious-controlled actions while the latter focuses on involuntary actions of digestion, respiration, heart rate, and temperature.
Central nervous system
Peripheral nervous system
Somatic nervous system
Autonomic nervous system
The autonomic nervous system is further divided into ___ and ___ antagonistic categories.
The first category is activated during stress and is nicknamed the fight or flight response, which helps the body prepare against a potential threat using ___ neurotransmitters. It dilates the pupils, relaxes the bronchi, elevates the heart rate, limits digestion, and redirects blood to locomotion muscles.
The second category is activated during rest and digest phases using the ___ neurotransmitter. This response includes constricted bronchi, constricted pupils, increased digestion, slows heart rate, and etc.
Sympathetic
Parasympathetic
Epinephrine, norepinephrine
Acetylcholine
The brain is a major component of the central nervous system. It is surrounded in protective connective tissues called the ___, which separates into 3 layers called ___, in order from closest to furthest from the brain. The tissue also anchors the brain and reabsorbs ___: aqueous solution that the brain and spinal cord rest in and is produced by the brain’s ventricles/internal cavities.
Outside of the tissue is the skull, followed by the ___, and finally skin.
Meninges
Pia mater, arachnoid mater, dura mater (PAD)
Cerebrospinal fluid
Periosteum
The brain is organized into regions based on its neurological and evolutionary development. Evolution wise, the brain develops from the structures most essential to survival: ___ to higher order functioning: ___.
In neonatal development, the brain develops from a neural tube. The tube is then divided into three main regions called: ___ (forebrain), ___ (midbrain), and ___ (hindbrain). The forebrain is then further divided into ___ and ___ to make five components and are the basic structural outline for the brain today.
Brainstem: hindbrain and midbrain Cerebral cortex Procencephalon Mesencephalon Rhombencephalon Diencephalon Telencephalon
The hindbrain or ___ is the part of the brain needed for basic survival. It further develops into ___ and ___. The first develops the ___, which is necessary for vital functions: breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure. The later develops into the pons and cerebellum. The ___ is responsible for sensory and motor pathways between the medulla oblongata and cerebral cortex. The ___ is responsible for maintaining balance, posture, and coordinating body movements. Damage to this area leads to slurred speech, clumsiness, and loss of balance.
The hindbrain is also responsible for arousal processes of sleeping and being awake through the ___.
Rhombencephalon
Myenchephalon –> Medulla oblongata
Metencephalon –> Pons and cerebellum
Reticular formation
The midbrain or ___ is make up of the ___ and ___. This first is associated with receiving sensory and motor visual information and responding to according reflexed. The second is associated with receiving auditory sensory and motor information and responding and its corresponding reflexes.
Mesenchephalon
Superior and inferior colliculus
The forebrain or ___ is responsible for complex cognitive, behavioural, and perceptual processes, memory, emotion, personality and intellect. It develops into the ___, which is made up of the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and limbic system and the ___, which is made up of the hypothalalmus, thalamus, the posterior pituitary gland, and pineal gland.
Prosencephalon
Telencephalon
Diencephalon
To understand the function of certain brain regions, many techniques can be employed.
Previously, brain lesions or damage was done through ___, where one part was surgically removed and studying consequent behaviour.
Electrodes can provoke or record behaviour to produce cortical maps and an electroencephalogram (EEG), respectively.
Other methods include, like ___ and ___ monitor blood flow during cognitive processes with the assumption higher blood flow is a result of brain activity.
Specific imaging techniques are also employed including CT (___), PET (___), and MRI (___).
Ablation/Extirpation
Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
Computed tomography (CT): X-ray based
Positron emissions tomography (PET): radioactive sugar based
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): magnets interact with hydrogen
The diencephalon region of the forebrain is made up of the thalamus, hypothalalmus, posterior pituitary, and the pineal gland.
The ___ is made up of three regions: anterior, ventromedial, and lateral. The anterior region is responsible for sexual activity, and regulating body temperature and sleep. The lateral region is responsible for signaling hunger and thirst. The ventromedial regions is responsible for satiety. This part of the brain is also responsible for maintaining the autonomic nervous system’s homestatic conditions, regulating some hormones, and aggressive behaviour.
The ___ is responsible for receiving sensory information, except smell, and then forwarding it to appropriate regions of the cerebral cortex.
The ___ releases hormones under the hypothalamus’ control including vasopressin/anti-diuretic hormone, and oxytocin.
The ___ is responsible for circadian rhythms, primarily sleep through melatonin.
Hypothalamus
Thalamus
Anterior pituitary gland
Pineal gland
The telencephalon is made up of the limbic system, cerebral cortex, and the basal ganglia.
The ___ is a group of structures that help coordinate and smooth out movements and keep posture steady. Damage to this region, as seen in Parkinson’s disease, results in tremours, jerky movements, and poor posture. This regions is also associated with schizophrenia and over compulsive disorder.
The ___ is associated with emotions and memory and includes the septal nuclei (pleasure, addiction), amygdala (fear, aggression), and hippocampus (memories and communication with other regions of limbic system via the ___).
Damage to the hippocampus can result in ___ (forgetting new memories) or ___ (forgetting previous memories) amnesia.
Basal ganglia Limbic system Fornix Antegrade Retrograde
The ___ is the outer sheet and most recent evolution of of the forebrain. It is made up of four lobes: ___ and like the rest of the cerebrum/telencephalon is split into two cerebral hemispheres. There are several folds and bumps on the sheet known as ___, respectively.
Cerebral cortex/neocortex
Parietal, occipital, temporal, and frontal
Sulci, gyri
The frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex is made up of the pre-frontal cortex, motor cortex, and Broca’s area. Of which, the primary motor cortex is located on the ___, which is in front of the ___/fold that splits the frontal and parietal lobe.
The ___ is responsible for long term planning, impulse control, memory, emotion, perception, and directing other regions of the brain by integrating information from various areas. Synthesizing this information makes this region a ___ area of the brain.
The ___ is responsible for voluntary muscle movement, a basic task. As a result, this region is a ___ area. Space allocation in this region is organized by the complexity of the motor skill rather than limb size, as shown in a motor homunculus.
___ is responsible for speech production and is located in the dominant hemisphere–usually left.
Precentral gyrus Central sulcus Pre-frontal cortex; association Primary motor cortex; projection Broca's area
The parietal lobe of the frontal lobe includes the ___ cortex, which is located on the ___. This region works closely with the primary motor cortex to form the sensorimotor cortex. This lobe is responsible for touch, temperature, pressure, and pain sensations, spatial orientation and manipulation.
Somatosensory cortex
Postcentral gyrus
