Midterm Flashcards
(101 cards)
1
Q
Behavioral Neurobiology
A
the scientific study of the biology of behavior - this is a biological approach to the study of psychology
2
Q
Comparative Approach
A
the study of biological processes by comparing different species
3
Q
Why are animal brains studied by neuroscientists?
A
They have less ethical restrictions, comparative approach is used, nonhuman brains are simpler, thus allowing researchers to get to the foundation of brain-behavior relations.
Human and nonhuman brains are quite similar though, human brains just are larger with more cortical connections.
4
Q
Nervous System
A
brain, spinal cord, nerves
5
Q
Central Nervous System
A
brain and spinal cord (receives information from the Peripheral Nervous System and makes decisions)
6
Q
Peripheral Nervous System
A
the sensory and motor neurons that connect the Central Nervous System to the rest of the body (sends sensory input to the CNS)
7
Q
Parasympathetic Nervous System
A
Branch of PNS, rest and digest, conserve energy, psychological relaxation
8
Q
How much of our brain do we use?
A
100%
9
Q
Sympathetic Nervous System
A
Branch of PNS, fight/flight, mobilize energy, psychological arousal
10
Q
Meninges
A
three protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord
11
Q
Dura mater
A
tough outer layer of the meninges
12
Q
Arachnoid mater
A
spider-web-like filaments that extend from the dura mater to the pia mater
subarachnoid space underneath that is filled withe CEREBROSPINAL FLUID and blood vessels
13
Q
Pia mater
A
adheres to the surface of the CNS< very thin membrane
14
Q
Cerebrospinal fluid
A
Fills the subarachnoid space and ventricles and cushions the brain
15
Q
Coronal plane
A
Divides body into front and back
16
Q
Saggital plane
A
divides the body into a right and left side
17
Q
Axial plane
A
A horizontal flat surface dividing the body into upper and lower parts; also known as the transverse plane
18
Q
Brain structure
A
Telencephalon
Diencephalon
Mesencephalon
Metencephalon
Myelencephalon
Spinal Cord
(The Dog’s Mess Met My Shirt)
19
Q
Telecephalon
A
cortex
basal ganglia
limbic system
20
Q
Cortex function
A
high level processing
21
Q
Basal ganglia function
A
motor control
22
Q
Limbic system function
A
emotion and memory (amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate cortex)
23
Q
Diencephalon
A
Thalamus and hypothalamus
24
Q
Thalamus function
A
“sensory switchboard”
Relays sensory information to corresponding areas of the brain, except for smell
25
Hypothalamus function
homeostasis, temperature
26
Metencephalon
Cerebellum and pons
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Cerebellum function
Fine motor control
28
Pons function
Bridge between various parts of the nervous system including the cerebellum and cerebrum
29
Myelencephalon
Medulla (breathing, heart rate, etc.)
30
Medulla function
Heart rate and breathing
31
Folia
Folds of the cerebellum (made up of grey matter)
Allows there to be just as many neurons as the rest of the brain in this little structure by being tightly packed, and is necessary for fine motor control
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What do you call clusters of cell bodies in the central nervous system?
Nuclei
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What do you call clusters of cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system?
Ganglia
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What do you call a bundle of axons in the central nervous system?
Tracts
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What do you call a bundle of axons in the peripheral nervous system?
Nerves
36
What are glial cells in the central nervous system?
Oligodendrocytes
37
What are glial cells in the peripheral nervous system?
Schwann cells
38
Bumps on the brain are called?
Gyri
39
Grooves on the brain are called?
Sulci if small, fissures if big
40
Frontal lobe function
Executive planning, goals, some of your personality, inhibiting inappropriate behaviors, primary motor function
41
Parietal lobe function
somatic sensory processing, touch, heat, etc.
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Temporal lobe function
hearing, object identification, contains amygdala and hippocampus
43
Occipital lobe function
vision
44
Cell at resting membrane potential
Inside of the cell is more negatively charged than outside. Inside of the cell contains potassium and negatively charged ions
45
How does a neuron reach -55mV?
Na channels open and more (positively charged) Na+ enters the cell, causing depolarization
46
What happens at -55mV?
An action potential is reached. The cell depolarizes until about +20 mV, and then the Na+ channels close and the K+ channels open resulting in repolarization.
47
Repolarization
Return of the cell to resting state, caused by reentry of potassium into the cell while sodium exits the cells.
48
Hyperpolarization
Too much K+ leaves the cells causing hyperpolarization (refractory period, no action potential may occur)
49
Action potential
How neurons communicate to one another. They are all or nothing.
50
EPSPs
Excitatory postsynaptic potentials
Encourages depolarization, depends on what channels are open, more likely to fire
For example, if K channel opens, then K move out, making inside more negative. If Na channels open and sodium goes in, then it becomes more positive.
51
IPSPs
Inhibitory postsynaptic potentials
Inhibits depolarization, depends on what channels are open, less likely to fire
For example, if K channel opens, then K move out, making inside more negative. If Na channels open and sodium goes in, then it becomes more positive.
52
Antagonist
Does NOT facilitate postsynaptic receptor effects
Decreases synthesis, decreases amount of neurotransmitter in the synapse
If it DECREASES the effects in the next neuron, it's an antagonist
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Agonist
Facilitates postsynaptic receptor effects (acts like the neurotransmitter)
Increases synthesis, increases amount of neurotransmitter in the synapse
If it INCREASES the effects in the next neuron, it's an agonist
54
Saltatory Conduction
The transmission of action potentials in myelinated axons, speeds up signals, jumps from one ranvier node to the next
55
Acetylcholine
Neurotransmitter associated with memory and muscles (excitatory)
56
Dopamine
Neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and maintaining motor behavior (excitatory and inhibitory)
57
Norepinephrine
Neurotransmitter associated with emotion and concentration (excitatory and inhibitory)
58
Serotonin
Neurotransmitter associated with waking EEG and related to depression (excitatory)
59
Glutamate
Memory, and all over the brain (excitatory)
60
GABA
Muscle tone (inhibitory)
61
EEG
Temporal resolution = Excellent
Spatial resolution = poor
Invasive = Minimal
Cost = Minimal
62
MEG
Detects magnetic fields created by the brain's electrical signals
Temporal resolution = Excellent
Spatial resolution = Fair
Invasive = Minimal
Cost = Expensive
63
CT/CAT Scans
Computerized Tomography - structural scans, lots of x-rays taken from different angels and put together into a 3-D picture by a computer
Temporal resolution = None (simply structural)
Spatial resolution = Fair
Invasive = Not
Cost = Expensive
64
PET Scan
Positron Emission Tomography
Inject radio-tracer (typically attached to glucose) to trace parts of the brain that are functioning
Temporal resolution = Poor (blood takes time to flow)
Spatial resolution = Fair
Invasive = Very (radioactive tracer in your brain!)
Cost = Expensive
65
fMRI
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
When used only for structural images (MRI), most detailed neuroimaging technique
Functional MRI - Measures blood flow to particular areas of brain *Needs baseline for comparison*
Temporal resolution = Poor
Spatial resolution = Fair (but decent)
Invasive = Minimal
Cost = Moderate
66
Cone Mediated Vision
*High acuity colored perception (in bright situations)
*Detailed and colored
*Not super sensitive because they can only respond in bright situations
Imagine looking at a BRIGHT cone
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Rod Mediated Vision
*Lacks detail and color (in dim situations)
*More sensitive, detects motion in peripheral
*Night vision system
*Respond maximally to green and related wavelengths
68
Dorsal Stream
WHERE pathway
Helps guide behavior based on visual cues
Damage = deficits in recognition of visual input
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Ventral Stream
WHAT pathway
Conscious visual perception
Damage = deficits in recognition of visual input
70
Object Agnosia
Part of ventral stream damage
Inability to name an object
71
Color agnosia
Part of ventral stream damage
Inability to recognize colors for common environmental objects
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Proposagnosia
Part of ventral stream damage
Inability to recognize faces
73
Apperceptive agnosia
Part of ventral stream damage
Can perceive lines and edges but cannot put them together into a coherent whole
74
Associative agnosia
Part of ventral stream damage
Have conscious perception but cannot draw from memory
75
Achromatopsia
Color blindness from cone photo pigment deficiency
76
Frontal lobe and Primary motor cortex
Planning & initiating motor signals
77
Primary somatosensory cortex and partietal lobe
Sensory information
78
Basal ganglia and cerebellum
motor control monitoring and feedback
79
Spinal cord
afferent/efferent information and reflexes
80
Association Cortex
Sometimes called association areas, the region of the cerebral cortex that is the site of the highest intellectual functions, such as thinking and problem solving.
Two types:
*Posterior Parietal Association Cortex (PPA)
*Dorsolateral Prefrontal Association Cortex (DPA)
81
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Association Cortex
*Receives info from PPA
*Decision making, abstract goals and plans
*Sends info to secondary motor cortex and frontal eye field
82
Secondary Motor Cortex
*Receives info from association cortex
*Major point of departure for motor signals
*Somatotopically organized
83
Cerebellum
Receives information for afferent/efferent neurons, necessary for fine motor control
84
Basal Ganglia
Subcortical structure
*Sensory motor functioning
*Habit learning
*Damage = Parkinson's tremor
85
What is responsible for reflexes
SPINAL CORD!
(relays efferent and afferent information)
86
Stroke
A cerebrovascular event of sudden onset
Causes:
*Cerebral hemorrhage: blood vessel ruptures, due to aneurysm
*Cerebral ischemia: disruption of blood supply to brain
*Does not happen immediately; blood-deprived neurons become overactive and release glutamate which then over-activates
87
Arteriosclerosis
Abnormal hardening of the walls of an artery or arteries
88
Simple Partial Seizures
Primarily sensory or motor (or both)
89
Complex partial seizure
Temporal lobes; compulsive and repetitive behavior. May be preceded by a warning
90
Tonic-Clonic seizure
Aura, rigid body, convulsions
91
Absence seizure
No convulsions, but a disruption of consciousness
92
Closed-head injuries
Brain collides with skull, causing a coup and contrecoup injury
93
Parkinson's Disease
*Movement disorder of middle to old age
*Most common symptom: resting tremors
*Associated with degeneration of substantia nigra
94
Multiple Sclerosis
*Disease attacks CNS myelin, leaving areas of hard scar tissue (sclerosis)
*Symptoms: visual disturbances, muscle weakness, numbness, tremor, and loss of motor coordination
*Higher incidences for those who grew up in cool climates, low correlation to genetics
95
Two types of dementia
Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia
96
Alzheimer's Disease
*Diagnosable via autopsy: must observe the neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques
*Memory impairment, loss of language and semantic knowledge
*Plaques and tangles are left behind from the degeneration of neurons
*Preventative measures: healthy diet and exercise. Cognitive and emotional activity
97
Vascular Dementia
Caused by blockages in brain's blood supply. "mini strokes"
98
Grillner Treadmill Experiment
Showed that the spinal cord, with no contribution whatsoever from the brain, can control walking
99
Pure research
Curiosity, done solely for the purpose of acquiring knowledge
100
Applied research
Intended to bring about some direct benefit
101
Traditional research
turning purse research into useful applications
