Chapter 2 Flashcards
(33 cards)
Neuroscience
The scientific study of the brain and the rest of the nervous system
Structural properties of the nervous system
Central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS)
Central nervous system
Consists of brain and the spinal cord
Processes information and generates behavioural plan relates mostly to none
Peripheral nervous system
Consists of motor and sensory neutrons that connects the brain and the spinal cord to the rest of the body (sensory organs: skin,eyes,ears etc)
These sensory nervous collect information
- muscles and body organs
The nervous has three functions
1- collect information (PNS)
2- process information (CNS)
3- generate behaviour (relay process out)
The brain stem
Wrists at the tip of the spinal cord connecting the brain to spinal cord
- it completes many basic physiological functions such as BREATHING AND DIGESTION
The cerebellum (little brain)
Is important for motor control and coordination
Subcritical structures ( found between the brain stem and cortex)
Thymus (egg) relays sensory information to the brain
Basal ganglia : planning and producing skilled movements
Hippocampus(the seahorse) : learning new facts
Amygdala ( the almond): the emotional memories
Subcritical white matter
Massive tracts of neural wiring connecting region of Cortex to other brain areas especially other parts of the cortex
Corpus colosseum
Connects Cortes to the other two hemispheres
Cerebral cortex (bark )
Just a very thin layering of cells on the outer surface of the brain
-thin but heavily folded, squeezing in a lot of surface area
-plays a role in most voluntary behaviours
The four lines named for the four adjacent bones of the skull (cerebral cortex)
The frontal lobe
The parietal lobe
The occipital lobe
The temporal lobe
The frontal lobe
Planning and performing complex action
Parietal lobe
Touch, feeling, sense of space
Occipital lobe
Vision
Temporal lobe
Hearing and remembering
Comparative neuroanatomy
Comparing brains across the species gives us some insight into our brain function
Bigger does not mean better
Elephant brain: 5kg
Human brain: 1.4
Elephants are smart, but would you trade brains with them?
Neurone process information
Collect information
Process information
Output information
Neutrons have 3 basic parts
Dendrites : collect information
Soma: cell body
Axon: integrates and outputs information
Neutrons have wide variety of shapes and sizes for different processing tasks
Glia: provide support, structure and nourishment for neutrons and outnumber neutrons ratio 9:1
Non-invasive techniques of neuroimaging
CT, MRI,DTI these techniques allow characterization of lesions ( areas of brain damage) and tracking of changes due to drug abuse, age, etc
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Detection of water density
Strong magnetic field aligns water molecules
Radio waves disturb alignment
Relaxation time back to alignment is measured
This measure depends on density of water in the tissue
Results :
Extremely detailed 3D model of the living brain
Safe and relatively low cost
Has revolutionized medical and scientific research into the brain
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
Uses MRI to measure white matter tracts if nerves
Water diffuses well along nerves but memenranes block diffusion through nerves
MRI signal is adjusted to measure diffusion rate of water
Nerves are detected as directional preference in diffusion
Results:
It is possible to reconstruct connections in the brain including the strength of these connections
New approach
Reflex
Expression of three nervous system functions
Stimulus-little processing- response
