Chapter 3: The Neuroscience of Behavior Flashcards
Who is Phineas Gage?
Dead guy who had damage to his frontal cortex, changing his personality.
Frontal cortex makes humans different from animals.
Biology affects personality
What is phrenology?
The oldest method of studying brain-mind connection. The brain is split up into regions with their own purposes.
What is Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area?
Broca’s area is a part of the brain that has to do with production. Wernicke’s area is related to comprehension.
What is the homunculus?
The homunculus is depictions of the sensory (input) and motor (output) cortex in terms of how many brain cells contribute to different motor functions.
What are the four lobes of the brain?
Frontal, Temporal, Parietal, Occipital
What is electroencephalography?
EEG is probably the oldest way of studying the brain (probably early 1900s).
It records electrical signals from the brain’s neurons
Pros:
Cheap, non invasive
millisecond temporal resolution
Cons:
Does not show precise brain region generating signal
What are the components of a Neuron?
Neuron
Axon (passes message away from cell body)
Dendrite (receives signal)
Myelin (speeds up signal)
Transmission
What is an alternative use of the MRI?
You can take a look at how brain activity treanslates into motivation, emotion, and behavior.
Describe the plasticity of the brain.
- Damage can result in reorganization
- In particular, more plastic in children
- Even adults can generate new brain cells
What is the Corpus Collosum?
A structure in the brain that connects the left and right hemispheres.
What is the difference between the left and right side of the brain?
The left side is associated with language and speech.
The right side is associated with emotions and spatial skills.
RIght hemisphere has some language, but not the lexical grammatical part
