Biology and Behavior Flashcards
(118 cards)
1
Q
Franz Gall
A
father of phrenology
2
Q
Pierre Flourens
A
first to study the function of major parts of the brain; did this by expiration on rabbits and pigeons
3
Q
extirpation aka ablation
A
surgically removing various parts of the brain to observe behavioral consequences
4
Q
William James
A
father of American psychology; his view helped to form functionalism
5
Q
functionalism
A
a system of thought in psychology that studied how mental processes help individuals adapt to their environment
6
Q
John Dewey
A
his 1896 article is seen as the inception of functionalism; broke the process of reacting to a stimulus into discrete parts
7
Q
Paul Broca
A
examined behavioral deficits of people with brain damage; found that a man who’d been unable to talk was unable because of a lesion in a specific area in his brain, Broca’s area
8
Q
Hermann von Helmholtz
A
first to measure the speed of a nerve impulse; credited with the transition of psych into the natural sciences
9
Q
Sir Charles Serrington
A
first inferred the existence of synapses
10
Q
Sensory (afferent) neurons
A
transmit sensory info from receptors to the spinal cord and brain
11
Q
motor (efferent) neurons
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transmit motor info from the brain/spinal cord to muscles and glands
12
Q
interneurons
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found between motor and sensory neurons; most abundant
13
Q
reflex arcs
A
control reflexes
14
Q
central nervous system (CNS)
A
brain and spinal cord
15
Q
peripheral nervous system (PNS)
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nerve tissue and fibers outside the brain and spinal cord (olfactory and optic nerves, too)
16
Q
somatic nervous system
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consists of sensory and motor neurons
17
Q
autonomic nervous system
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regulates involuntary muscles associated with many internal organs and glands
18
Q
parasympathetic nervous system
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main role is to conserve energy (lower heart rate, increase digestion); main neurotransmitter is acetylcholine
19
Q
sympathetic nervous system
A
activated by stress; secretion of noradrenaline and adrenaline
20
Q
meninges
A
thick sheath of connective tissue
21
Q
Three layers of meninges
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Dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater
22
Q
Cerebrospinal fluid
A
aqueous solution in which the brain and spinal cord rest
23
Q
ventricles
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internal cavities of the brain; cells inside ventricles produce CSF
24
Q
Brainstem
A
most primitive region of the brain
25
limbic sytem
group of neural structures assoc. with emotion and memory
26
cerebral cortex
outermost covering of the cerebral hemispheres; assoc. with complex perceptual, cognitive and behavioral processes
27
hindbrain (rhombencephalon)
controls balance, motor coordination, breathing, digestion and general arousal processes such as sleeping and walking
28
myelencephalon
part of the hindbrain division; becomes medulla oblongata
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metencephalon
part of the hindbrain division; becomes pons and cerebellum
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medulla oblongata
lower brain structure responsible for regulating vital functions such as breathing, heart rate and blood pressure
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pons
lies above medulla; contains sensory/motor pathways between cortex and medulla
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cerebellum
helps maintain posture and balance and coordinates body movements
33
midbrain (mesencephalon)
receives sensory and motor info
34
colliculi
superior colliculus: receives visual sensory input
| inferior colliculus: receives auditory sensory input
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forebrain (prosencephalon)
assoc. with complex perceptual, cognitive and behavioral processes
36
telencephalon
part of forebrain division; forms cerebral cortex, basal ganglia and limbic system
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diencephalon
part of forebrain division; forms thalamus, hypothalamus, posterior pituitary gland and pineal gland
38
neuropsychology
study of functions and behaviors assoc. with specific regions of the brain
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cortical maps
using electrical impulses to determine functions of specific regions of brain
40
electroencephalogram (EEG)
involves placing several electrodes on scalp to study electrical activity generated by large groups of neurons
41
regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF)
detects broad patterns of neural activity based on increased blood flow to different parts of the brain
42
computed tomography (CT)
multiple x-rays are taken at different angles and processed by a computer to cross-sectional images of the tissue
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positon emission tomography (PET)
a radioactive sugar is injected and absorbed into the body; its dispersion and uptake throughout target tissue is imaged
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magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
uses a magnetic field to interact with hydrogens and map out hydrogen dense regions
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functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
uses the same technique as MRI but specifically measures for blood flow
46
thalamus
serves as relay station for all incoming sensory information besides smell
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hypothalamus
- key player in emotional experiences during high arousal states
- controls some endocrine functions
- regulate metabolism, temperature, and H2O balance
- regulares autonomic nervous system
- important in drive behaviors such as thirst, hunger, and sexual behavior
48
lateral hypothalamus
-detects when body needs more food or fluids
49
ventromedial hypothalamus
-provides signal to stop eating
50
anterior hypothalamus
- controls sexual behavior
| - regulates sleep and body temperature
51
posterior pituitary
- composed of axonal projections from hypothalamus
| - releases antidiuretic hormone (ADH, aka vasopressin) and oxytocin
52
pineal gland
secretes melatonin which regulates circadian rhythms
53
basal ganglia
- in the middle of brain, group of structures that coordinate muscle movement
- help make movements smooth and posture steady
54
extrapyramidal system
gathers info about body position and carries it to CNS, but does not function directly through motor neurons
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Parkinson's disease
- jerky movements and resting tremors
| - caused by destruction of DA neurons in basal ganglia
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septal nuclei
one of the primary pleasure centers
57
amygdala
plays an important role in defensive and aggressive behaviors
58
hippocampus
plays vital role in learning and memory processes; helps consolidate information to form long-term memories
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fornix
long projection through with the hippocampus communicates with the rest of the brain
60
anterograde amnesia
not being able to establish new long-term memories, can still remember things before brain injury
61
retrograde amnesia
memory loss of events before brain injury
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gyri and sulci
bumps and folds in the brain, respectively
63
cerebral hemispheres
the two halves of the cerebrum
64
four lobes of the brain
frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital
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frontal lobe regions and main function
prefrontal cortex and motor cortex; executive function
66
prefrontal cortex
manages executive function by supervising and directing the operations of other brain regions
67
association area
an area that integrates input from diverse brain regions
68
projection areas
perform more rudimentary/simple tasks
69
precentral gyrus
the primary motor cortex is located on this; it lies just in front of the central sulcus
70
primary motor cortex
initiates voluntary movement by sending neural impulses down the spinal cord toward the muscles
71
Broca's area
located in frontal lobe; vital for speech production; usually found in only one hemisphere (the dominant one)
72
Parietal lobe
located to the rear of the frontal lobe
73
somatosensory cortex
part of parietal lobe; involved in somatosensory information processing (touch, pressure, temp, pain)
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postcentral gyrus
just behind the central sulcus; the somatosensory cortex is located on it
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occipital lobe
located at the very rear of the brain; contains visual (striate) cortex; implicated in learning and motor control
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temporal lobe
assoc. with auditory cortex and Wernicke's area
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auditory complex
primary site of most sound processing
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Wernicke's area
associated with language reception and comprehension
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contralateral communication
one side of the brain communicates with the opposite side of the body
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ipsilateral communication
one side of the brain communicates with the same side of the body; this is true with respect to hearing
81
brain hemisphere dominance
dominant hemisphere is considered the one most heavily used during language reception and production; most people are left-side dominant
82
dominant hemisphere
primarily analytic in function (language, logic, math, etc)
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nondominant hemisphere
assoc. with intuition, creativity, music cognition and spatial processing
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acetylcholine
- used to transmit nerve impulses to the muscles
| - linked to attention and arousal
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catecholamines (monoamines/biogenic amines)
- epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine
| - all play important roles in the experience of emotions
86
epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline)
- involved in alertness and wakefulness
- promote fight-or-flight
- norepinephrine is local, epinephrine is systemic
87
Dopamine
- plays role in movement and posture
| - found in high concentration in basal ganglia
88
dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia
-argues that delusions, hallucinations and agitation of the disease result from either foo much DA or an oversensitivity to DA
89
serotonin
- regulates modd, eating, sleeping and dreaming
| - plays role in depression and mania
90
GABA
produces inhibitory post-synaptic potentials; stabilizes neural stability in the brain; works by causing hyper polarization of postsynaptic membrane
91
Glycine
inhibitory neurotransmitter in CNS; increases chloride influx into neuron, hyperpolarizing the post-synaptic membrane
92
glutamate
excitatory neurotransmitter
93
neuromodulators (neuropeptides)
- peptides involved in neurotransmission
| - slow and have longer effects
94
endorphins and enkephalins
neuromodulators that work as painkillers produced in the brain; work similar to opioids
95
endocrine system
- works by releasing hormones
| - relatively slow compared to neurotransmission
96
hypophyseal portal system
directly connects hypothalamus and pituitary gland
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pituitary gland
master gland; anterior and posterior parts
98
anterior pituitary gland
releases hormones that regulate activity; controlled by hypothalamus
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adrenal glands
located on top of kidneys; divided into adrenal medulla and adrenal cortex
100
adrenal medulla
releases epinephrine and norepinephrine in conjunction with the sympathetic nervous system
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adrenal cortex
produces corticosteroids; contributes to sexual function by producing sex hormones
102
corticosteroids
includes stress hormone cortisol
103
sex hormones
testosterone and estrogen
104
gonads
sex glands of the body; ovaries and testes
105
libido
increased by sex hormones; contributes to mating and sexual function
106
innate behavior
genetically programmed, seen in everyone
107
learned behaviors
based on experience and environment
108
adaptive value
extent to which a behavior or trait positively benefits a species
109
concordance rates
refer to the likelihood that both twins exhibit the same trait
110
neuralation
occurs when the ectoderm overlaying notochord begins to furrow, forming neural groove surrounded by two neural folds
111
neural crest
cells at edge of neural fold; will migrate throughout bod to form disparate tissues
112
neural tube
furrow of neuralation closes, forming this; becomes CNS
113
alar plate and basal plate
parts of neural tube; alar becomes sensory neurons and basal becomes motor neurons
114
primitive reflexes
found in babies, disappear with age
115
rooting reflex
automatic turning of the head in the direction of a stimulus touching the cheek
116
Moro reflex
infants react to abrupt movements of their heads by flinging out their arms, then slowly retracting them while crying
117
Babinski reflex
causes the toes to spread apart automatically when the sole of the foot is touched
118
grasping reflex
occurs when infant closes his or her finger around an object placed in their hand
