Brain Behavior Flashcards
(120 cards)
Types of Neurotransmitters
- Acetylcholine: Controls muscles, released by the motor neurons of the spinal cord and stimulates skeletal muscles.
- Noradrenaline: Prepares the body for action.
- Serotonin: Controls emotional arousal and sleep. lack causes deppression
- Endorphins: Decrease the effects of pain during acute stress and trauma. Related to pleasure circuits in the brain. lack is pack of production
- Dopamine- movement, learning, attention, emotion
- Glutamate- excitory neurotransmitter.
- GABA- inhibitory neurotransmitter. lack causes insomnia, seizures
Agonist and antagonist
- Agonists- molecule similar to neurotransmitters that increase neurotransmitters response and can stimulate a similar response (drugs)
- Antagonists- decrease the neurotransmitters action by blocking production or release
Parkinson’s Disease
- Dopamine Deficiency
- A progressive, degenerative neurologic disease characterized by a tremor that is maximal at rest, retropulsion (a tendency to fall backwards), rigidity, stooped posture, slowness of voluntary movements, and a masklike facial expression
- Dopaminergic cells produce the neurotransmitter Dopamine. The death off Dopaminergic cells results in lower amounts of Dopamine.
- Treatment: the disease is a chronic disease that requires ongoing treatment
Schizophrenia
- Dopamine Excess
- A severe emotional disorder characteristically marked by a retreat from reality with delusions, hallucinations, emotional disharmony, and regressive behavior. A psychotic disorder.
- Treatment: Antipsychotic drugs (suppressing dopamine activity) and psychiatric and social therapy.
- Treatment can only ease the symptoms but not cure a patient from schizophrenia
Endocrine System
- Coordinate cell activities, much Like the Nervous system.
- Unlike the Nervous system, the Endocrine system has a slow effect by releasing hormones from the Endocrine glands into the blood. From the blood, the hormones go to different organs in the body and signals change.
- Endocrine messages outlast nervous system messages so when you feel upset a while after something happened, that’s why
hormones
- mainly stimulate growth & certain types of emotional & physiological reactions.
Ardinal and Pituitary Glands
- Adrenal glands- in times of danger and stress these glands on top of kidneys release hormones to alert the body
- Pituitary gland- most influential gland of Endo system. It controls other glands, regulates growth and triggers hormones to release
Plasticity
the brains ability to change by reorganizing after damage or building new pathways after experience
CNS
brain and spinal cord
PNS
gathers info and transmits CNS’s decisions to other body parts
Nerves
many axons all connected that form neural cables sending information from CNS all over
Sensory Neurons
- carry info from body’s tissues and sensory receptors to brain and spinal cord
Motor Neurons
carry outgoing info from brain and spine to muscles and glands
Interneurons
neurons within the spinal cord that communicate internally
Somatic and Automatic Nervous System
- Somatic Nervous System- enables voluntary control of our skeletal muscles (when we move)
- Automatic Nervous System- operates on its own and control glands and internal organs (heart, sweat, breathing, b pressure etc)
within the PNS
Sympathetic and Parasymathetic Nervous System
-
Sympathetic Nervous system- division of autonomic nervous system that arouses the body mobilizing its energy (in stressful situations) AROUSES
- EX- you freak out and feel terrible before a job interview
-
Parasympathetic Nervous System- conserves energy and calms you CALMS
- You feel better
- Homeostasis- These both works together making us balanced
within PNS
spinal cord function
-
- connects the PNS and brain
- Ascending neural fibers send up sensory info
- Descending fibers send back motor control info
- Reflexes- in spinal cord and composed of a sensory neuron and a motor neuron
- All info goes to the brain through the spinal cord
Left Hemisphere
- Spoken language
- Written language
- Scientific skills
- Numbers
- Reasoning
- Logical and orderly processing
Right Hemisphere
- Music
- Art
- 3D vision
- Imagination
- Insight
- Intuitive and holistic processing
Subcortical structures
- ancient” parts of our brain. Similar to other animals in structure and function
The cortex
The human cortex has a unique structure, and it is responsible for higher functions
Brain stem
- Medulla
- Pons
- Any damage to these structures result in death
- Oldest Part of Brain
Medulla
base of the brain stem, the slight swelling in the spinal cord just after it enters skull.
breathing and heart