Unit 1: Chapter 1-Nerve Cells and Nerve Impulses (+Introduction) Flashcards
(32 cards)
What are the four kinds of biological behaviour?
Physiological, ontogenetic, evolutionary, and functional.
Contrast monism and dualism
“monism, the idea that the universe consists of only one type of being. (The opposite is dualism, the idea that minds are one type of substance and matter is another.)”
What are the three general points to be made about the entire textbook?
- Perception occurs in your brain. When something contacts your hand, the hand sends a message to your brain. You feel it in your brain, not your hand.
- Mental activity and certain types of brain activity are, so far as we can tell, inseparable. (monistic)
3.We should be cautious about what is an explanation and what is not. For example, people with depression have less than usual activity in certain brain areas. Does that evidence tell us why people became depressed? No, it does not.
Briefly describe the physiological explanation of behaviour and provide an example.
A physiological explanation relates a behavior to the activity of the brain and other organs. It deals with the machinery of the body—for example, the chemical reactions that enable hormones to influence brain activity and the routes by which brain activity controls muscle contractions.
Briefly describe the ontogenetic explanation of behaviour and provide an example
The term ontogenetic comes from Greek roots meaning the origin (or genesis) of being. An ontogenetic explanation describes how a structure or behavior develops, including the influences of genes, nutrition, experiences, and their interactions. For example, males and females differ on average in several ways.
Briefly describe the evolutionary explanation of behaviour and provide an example.
An evolutionary explanation reconstructs the evolutionary history of a structure or behavior. The characteristic features of an animal are almost always modifications of something found in ancestral species. For example, bat wings ae modified limbs while porcupine quills are modified hairs.
Briefly describe the functional explanation of behaviour and provide an example.
A functional explanation describes why a structure or behavior evolved as it did. Within a small, isolated population, a gene can spread by accident through a process called genetic drift. For example, a dominant male with many offspring spreads all his genes, including some that may have been irrelevant to his success or even disadvantageous. However, a gene that is prevalent in a large population probably provided some advantage—at least in the past, though not necessarily today.
Explain the two major positions concerning the relationship between the brain and conscious experience.
Monism and dualism
Describe the professionals who conduct neuroscience research and who provide clinical treatment for brain disorders.
They often have PhD’s…other than that you have this material mastered.
Identify the 4 reasons for animal research.
1) The underlying mechanisms of behavior are similar across species and sometimes easier to study in a nonhuman species.
2) We are interested in animals for their own sake
3) What we learn about animals sheds light on human evolution
4) Legal or ethical restrictions prevent certain kinds of research on humans. p.9
Discuss the ethical issues concerning the use of animals in research
What are the three R’s in animal research and what do they mean?
Reduce: The amount of harm or animals harmed
Replacement: Use a computer simulator instead
Revise: Change your project
Describe the main structures of neurons and the structural differences among neurons.
Neurons receive information and transmit it to other cells.
What is the difference between a motor neuron and a sensory neuron both in terms of function and structure?
Sensory neurons are more specialized to detect certain kinds of stimuli (light/sound etc)
The cell of a sensory neuron is located in the middle of the spine and has less pronounced dendrites.
Name and describe the 5 parts of the cell
Nucleus-contains the chromosomes
Mitochondria-preforms metabolic activities
Rhibosomes-synthesize protein molecules
Membrane-wall or “skin” of the cell that keeps most things out.
Endoplasmic reticulum-transports newly synthesized proteins
Name the parts of a neuron
Dendrites-
Nucleus-
Axons-
Myelin sheath-
Soma-
What are dendrites and dendrite spines?
Dendrites are branching fibers that get narrower near their ends. The dendrite’s surface is lined with specialized synaptic receptors, at which the dendrite receives information from other neurons. 20
Dendrite spines are branches of the tree and the dendrite is the whole tree.
What is the soma or cell body?
The cell body, or soma (Greek for “body”; plural: somata), contains the nucleus, ribosomes, and mitochondria. Most of a neuron’s metabolic work occurs here.
What is the axon?
The axon is a thin fiber of constant diameter. (The term axon comes from a Greek word meaning “axis.”) The axon conveys an impulse toward other neurons, an organ, or a muscle.
What is the myelin sheath and the nodes of______?
Many vertebrate axons are covered with an insulating material called a myelin sheath with interruptions known as nodes of Ranvier.
What is the presynaptic terminal?
The end of each branch has a swelling, called a presynaptic terminal, also known as an end bulb or bouton (French for “button”). At that point the axon releases chemicals that cross through the junction between that neuron and another cell
Contrast afferent and efferent axons.
An afferent axon brings information into a structure; an efferent axon carries information away from a structure. Every sensory neuron is an afferent to the rest of the nervous system, and every motor neuron is an efferent from the nervous system. Within the nervous system, a given neuron is an efferent from one structure and an afferent to another
If a cell’s dendrites and axon are entirely contained within a single structure, the cell is called a______.
an interneuron or intrinsic neuron of that structure.
Summarize the main types of glia and their functions.
Astrocytes pass chemicals back and forth between neurons and blood and among neighboring neurons.
Microglia proliferate in areas of brain damage and remove toxic materials. Radial glia (not shown here) guide the migration of neurons during embryological development.
Glia have other functions as well.
