Neuroscience

Question 1

Features of action potential

Answer 1

All-or-none law: either total potential or no potential (like light switch)
Refractory period: time needed to regenerate potential in order to fire again (like toilet flushing)

Question 2

Neuronal excitation

Answer 2

Increasing the firing of a neuron

Question 3

Neuronal inhibition

Answer 3

Decreasing the firing of a neuron

Question 4

Medulla

Answer 4

Lower area of brain

Breathing, heart rate, swallowing/digestion

Question 5

Hypothalamus

Answer 5

Lower area of brain

Aggression, sex drive

Question 6

Cerebellum

Answer 6

Lower area of brain

Coordination of motor movements, multitasking/ switching from one activity to the next

Question 7

Thalamus

Answer 7

Lower area of brain

Transportation of raw sensory data to higher order processing regions of brain

Question 8

Neocortex/cerebral cortex/cortex

Answer 8

Higher order processing regions of brain

Question 9

Corpus callosum

Answer 9

Connects right and left sides of brain

Question 10

Occipital lobe

Answer 10

Located in back portion of cortex (touching temporal and parietal lobes)
Sight
Location of visual cortex

Question 11

Temporal lobe

Answer 11

Located in bottom portion of cortex (touching parietal, frontal, and occipital lobes)
Hearing and language

Question 12

Parietal lobe

Answer 12

Located in top middle portion of cortex (touching frontal, temporal, and occipital lobes)
Touch
Location of somatosensory cortex

Question 13

Frontal lobe

Answer 13

Located in front portion of cortex (touching parietal and temporal lobes)
Higher order cognition (focusing, shifting focus, decision making, problem solving)
Location of primary motor cortex

Question 14

Hippocampal region

Answer 14

Towards center of brain, but below cortex
Important for memory (particularly forming new memories)
Interior to temporal lobe

Question 15

Why smells can be such powerful memory triggers

Answer 15

Area for processing smell is near area for processing memories

Question 16

Amygdala

Answer 16

Emotion processing (particularly fight or flight)
Social processing

Question 17

Location of Broca’s area

Answer 17

Temporal lobe (near frontal lobe)

Question 18

Location of Wernicke’s area

Answer 18

Temporal lobe (near parietal lobe)

Question 19

Organization of somatosensory cortex

Answer 19

Touching a certain area of this region of the brain corresponds to touching a certain body part
Homunculi: “little men” (represent body parts that correspond to a certain area of this region)

Question 20

Methods used to study brain anatomy

Answer 20

CT and MRI

Question 21

Methods used to study loss of brain function

Answer 21

Neuropsychology, TMS

Question 22

Methods used to measure brain activity indirectly

Answer 22

PET, fMRI

Question 23

Methods used to measure brain activity directly

Answer 23

EEG, MEG, ERP, single cell recording

Question 24

CT and MRI

Answer 24

Used to detect brain damage
MRI is more detailed than CT
CT is better at picking up certain things (brain bleeding, etc.)
MRI can be used to detect disease pathology over time

Question 25

Neuropsychology

Answer 25

Studying effects of brain damage Often looks at double dissociation (tells us that 2 processes that normally go together are separate and independent) Example: perception without sensation (blindsight) vs. sensation without perception (prosopagnosia- face blindness)

Question 26

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Answer 26

Magnetic field temporarily induces damage to 1 specific area of brain Can be used to further study functions of specific areas of brain Low spatial resolution (whole parts of brain), high temporal resolution (millisecond to second)

Question 27

Positron emission tomography (PET)

Answer 27

Indirectly measure brain functioning Radioactive tracer in bloodstream is detected by scanner Blood flow increases in areas of brain that are active during a cognitive process Low spatial (whole brain regions) and low temporal (minutes to hours) resolution

Question 28

fMRI

Answer 28

Indirectly measure brain functioning Measure blood flow in brain without radioactivity Uses magnet to line up hemoglobin molecules Activity: loss of O2 causes stronger magnetic response More accurate than PET Low spatial (whole brain regions) and low temporal (minutes to hours) resolution

Question 29

Single cell recording

Answer 29

Recording electrode positioned near neuron Reference electrode positioned outside of tissue Difference in charge between recording and reference: action potential High spatial (single neuron) and temporal (milliseconds to seconds) resolution

Question 30

Event-related potential (ERP)

Answer 30

Directly measure brain functioning Small electrodes placed on person's scalp Each electrode picks up signals that fire together Ideal for investigating fast processes (can pick up rapid signals) Disadvantage: hard to pinpoint exact areas of brain High temporal (milliseconds to seconds), but low spatial (whole areas of brain) resolution