What is phrenology?
Understanding function and structure of the brain
What is Broca’s Alphasia?
Patients can understand questions and answer non-verbally, patients can produce speech sounds but are unable to speak.
What is Werruckes Alphasia?
Patients can comprehend language but could not understand
What is Neural Plasticity?
Changes in the brain during development and adulthood caused by experience.
What is Somatic Intervention?
Finding similarities between body functions and behavioural responses.
What is an Independent Variable?
The factor that’s manipulated during an experiment.
What is the Dependant Variable?
The response factor that’s measured because of the independent variable.
What two cells can be found within the nervous system?
Neurons and Glail cells
What is the function of a dendrite?
Cellular extensions that receive the input of other neurons
What is the function of the Soma? (Cell body)
Nucleus of the cell - integrates input from other neurons
What is the function of the Axon?
Transports information from the Soma to the Terminal Branches
What are the terminal branches?
Communicates information from axon to other nearby neurons
What’s the purpose of Glail cells?
Support neurons
What’s the purpose of Astrocytes?
- Holds neurons in place and provides nourishment
- Cleans up dead neurons
What’s the purpose of Olidedendrocytes?
Support axon
Produce mylin coating
What is Microglia?
Works with immune system
Removes waste material in the brain
What are the main components of the Nervous System?
Central Peripheral Autonomic Somatic Sympathetic Parasympathetic
There are two components to the peripheral nervous system, what are they and what’s their purpose?
Sympathetic nervous system
-network of nerves, prepares for fight or flight
Parasympathetic nervous system
- placid non emergency responses
Directionally, what does auterior mean?
Front
Directionally what does posterior mean?
Back
Directionally what does dorsal mean?
Top
Directionally what does vental mean?
Bottom
The anatomy of the brain can be divided in two ways, what are they?
Medial (middle)
Lateral (sides)
There are three correct ways to slice a brain, what are they?
Coronal
Sagittal
Horizontal
The brain can be divided into grey and white matter, explain what this means.
White- communication tracts (axons) covered in myelin
Grey- cell bodies (soma) and dendrites
Grey matter is cerebral cortex
What’s the function of the frontal lobes (cerebral hemisphere)
Motor controls
What’s the function of the parietal lobes (cerebral hemisphere) ?
Touch
What’s the function of the temporal lobes (cerebral hemisphere) ?
Hearing
Memory
What’s the function of the occipital lobes (cerebral hemisphere) ?
Vision
What is an ion ?
Electrically charged molecule
What is an anion?
Negatively charged ion
What is a cation?
Positively charged ion
Where are anions most commonly found?
Neurons- negatively charged
What is meant by depolarisation?
The inside of an axon becoming positive
What does diffusion mean in terms of a cell ?
Molecules move from high to low concentration
What is electrostatic pressure?
Opposite charges attract, same charges repel - this creates balance inside cells
What occurs if a cell membrane becomes permeable?
Diffusion and electrostatic pressure will cause positively charged sodium ions to enter a cell, this leads to increase in positive charges and depolarisation(action potential)
What is an ion channel ?
Gateway in/out of membrane
What is a voltage gated ion channel?
Gateway for ions depending on the type of charge a cell needs
What is meant by chemical signalling?
Information transmitted between neurons
Name neurotransmitters
Dopamine Serotonin Acetylcholine Noradrenaline Glutamate Endorphins
What is sensory processing?
Our senses allowing us to interpret stimuli from the environment
What are the two types of photoreceptors
Cones
Rods
What is the primary visual cortex? (V1)
Left and right visual field in basic senses ( lines edges ) differentiates objects in field of view
Divided into two sub sections
Dorsal pathway
Ventral pathway
What is the V4 stream?
Detects colour
What is the V5 stream?
Motion perception
Neurons are direction sensitive
What occurs when there is damage to the ventral stream?
A person will be able to still see clearly but will have trouble knowing or understanding what or who is in front of them (Visual Agnosia)
What are smooth muscles?
Controls organs
Digestive system
Blood vessels
What are skeletal muscles?
Control movement of body in relation to the environment
What are cardiac muscles?
Heart muscles
Properties of both skeletal and smooth muscles
What is the purpose of the cerebrum ?
(Motor cortex) Conscious movement
What’s the purpose of the brain stem?
Automatic movements (breathing)
What’s the purpose of the basal ganglia?
Produces force for grasping and other similar movements
What’s the purpose of the cerebellum?
Regulates timings and accuracy of movement
What is meant by brain plasticity?
Any change in neural structure
Either through experience and training or in result of injury
What is neurogenesis?
Process in which new neurons are formed in the brain
How can stress affect the brain?
Can cause damage and shrinking of the hippocampus following traumatic events
Can leave memory unaffected depending on age and circumstance
Define learning?
Relatively permanent change in behaviour that results from experience
Define memory
The ability to recall or recognise previous experience
What are the three types of memory?
Long term
Working
Encoding
Describe working memory
Requires attention manipulates and organises thoughts and has access to long term memory
Describe long term memory
Encoding
- process of transforming information into memory
Consolidation
- stabilising a memory after learning
Retrieval
- process of deactivation of the stored memory
What is amnesia?
Loss of memory and/or general intelligence
What is anterograde amnesia?
Loss of memory ability for things AFTER brain damage
Inability to form new memories
What is retrograde amnesia?
Loss of memory ability for things BEFORE brain damage
Inability to remember things in the past
What is meant by explicit memory ?
Memories about events in the world
Facts
General knowledge
What is meant by implicit memory?
Memory for skills
Movement sequences
What is meant by episodic memory ?
Autobiographical
Personal experiences
What is meant by semantic memory
Facts and general knowledge
What are the core impairments of schizophrenia?
Auditory hallucinations
Delusions
Changes in mood
What are the causes of schizophrenia?
Biological disorder
Genetic components - pattern of genes make some SUCCEPTABLE to disease ENVIRONMENT INFLUENCES whether or not it will develop
What happens to the brain with schizophrenia?
Reduced cortical thickness/volume - frontal and temporal corticies - associated with language memory decision making
What kind of neurochemical abnormalities would occur with schizophrenia?
Excess of dopamine
Anphetamine enhances dopaminergic activity