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129 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
categories of learning:
associative, non-associative
associative: association between two or more stimuli, between stimulus and response
- conditioning: classical - stimulus acquires significance through repetition; instrumental: behavior increased due to effect it has on environment

nonassociative: single stimulus, change in behavior
- habituation: decrease in behavior resulting from repetition
- sensitization: increase in sensitivity to stimulation
categories of memory:
declarative, non-declarative
declarative: "what" - information and facts acquired through learning
- left frontal lobe, entorhinal cortex

nondeclarative: "how" - motor or perceptual skill, performance from memory
- less localized than declarative memory
law of effect
thorndike
behavior with positive outcome will be repeated, those with negative outcomes will be reduced
memory persistence
consolidation
classification of memory in terms of time frame (sensory - seconds, short-term, intermediate-term, long-term)

consolidation: transfer of information to long-term memory
stages of processing of declarative memory (4)
1. encoding: information entering sensory channels --> STM
2. consolidation: STM, ITM --> LTM
- involves MTL, hippocampus
3. storage: distributed in cortex, requires protein synthesis
4. retrieval: access to stored information; reconsolidated after access (makes information subject to modification)
medial temporal lobe memory system
hippocampus, rhinal sulcus, perirhinal cortex, parahippocampal cortex
- information flow: parahippocampal, rhinal cortical areas --> hippocampus
dual-trace hypothesis of memory
hebb
formation of memory sets up brief activity in a neural circuit (STM), sustained activity builds stable circuit resulting in change in nervous system (LTM)
glutamate receptors and synaptic mechanisms of memory
glutamate activates AMPA receptor in postsynaptic cell --> NA+ enters cell --> depolarization --> Mg2+ block released --> NMDA accepts glutamate, Ca2+ enters cell --> protein synthesis --> increased synaptic effectiveness (increased transmitter release, number of receptors)
memory in aging
impairments in declarative memory that require organizational effort
potential causes: impaired representation of information by neural circuits, loss of neurons/neural connections, impaired cholinergic system
Ivan Pavlov
classical conditioning: dogs trained to salivate at sound of bell
EL Thorndike
law of effect, instrumental learning
BF Skinner
radical behaviorism: all behavior is result of stimulus-response relationship, instrumental learning
Patient HM
anterograde amnesia, long-term memory disability, declarative memory disability following surgical damage to hippocampus, amygdala, medial lobe tissue
- evidence that short-term memory is different from long-term memory
Mortimer Mishkin
DMNS test to test declarative memory in animals; importance of MTL, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex in memory functions
Donald Hebb
Hebbian synapses: synapses must be active and effective to be strengthened, grow weaker if they are not effective (strengthen synapse to encode memory); Hebbian plasticity
Eric Kandel
Aplysia research
classical conditioning
stimulus acquires significance through repetition
operant/instrumental conditionin
behavior is increased due to effect it has on the environment
habituation
decreased response resulting from repetition
sensitization
increased sensitivity to stimulation
amnesia: retrograde, anterograde
retrograde: difficulty retrieving memories formed before onset

anterograde; difficulty forming new memories after onset
Korsakoff's syndrome
severe anterograde amnesia, confabulation (create false stories to fill in gaps in memory), denial of disorder
- damage to dorsomedial thalamus, basal forebrain; cause by thiamine deficiency characteristic of alcoholism
episodic vs. semantic memory
episodic: "experience" - autobiographical information, life history, personal events
- localized

semantic: "words" - general knowledge, facts, verbal information; no personal information attached
- distributed throughout brain by type
Hebbian plasticity
"cells that fire together, wire together; cells that fail to sync, lose their link"
Aplysia
sea slug
used to study habituation and sensitization - gill-withdrawal reflex: stimulate siphon, organism withdraws siphon/gill; repeated stimulation --> withdrawal ceases (habituation); strong stimulus to siphon --> heightened sensitivity, increases withdrawal (sensitization)
LTP
long-term potentiation
alters strength of synapses, increases EPSPs
- occurs in hippocampus, depends on NMDA receptors
NMDA receptor
ligand- and voltage- gated, blocked by Mg2+
Morris Water Maze
behavioral assay that allows for memory testing in animals
- mouse must find platform, learns over repeated trials to go to it
Alzheimer's disease
progressive process: premature aging of brain, memory loss of recent events
- appears in older people
- cortical shrinkage, degeneration of cholinergic neurotransmitter system
DNMS test
test of declarative memory (especially ITM)
- animals exposed to one object, must choose the different one following variable delay (trial and error, reward)
set point
set zone
set point: point of reference in a negative feedback system

set zone: range of a variable that a feedback system tries to maintain
negative feedback
output of hormone feeds back to inhibit drive for more of that hormone; can be compared to a thermostat
thermoregulation: behavioral, physiological
behavioral: locomotion, heat seeking/avoidance

physiological: receptors in skin provide information to CNS, intiates action in anticipation of a change in core temperature
- pre-optic area warms body
- anterior hypothalamus cools body
endocrine system: mode of communication
1. glands secrete hormones
2. hormones circulate in bloodstream, influence remote target tissues that have specific receptors for specific proteins
function of anterior, posterior pituitary glands
anterior: receives releasing hormones (deposited by neurosecretory cells, travel through veins to anterior pituitary), releases tropic hormones that travel through system to target endocrine gland

posterior: bloodstream through pituitary receives hormones oxytocin, vasopressin directly from hypothalamus
regulation of hydration: hypovolemic thirst, osmotic thirst
hypovolemic thirst: baroreceptors detect drop in extracellular volume
- thirst and salt hunger both stimulated (prevents hypotonic extracellular fluid - would occur if only thirst was triggered); vasopressin released

osmotic: triggered by change in concentration in extracellular fluid (often a result of obligatory water loss)
osmosensory neurons respond to changes in osmotic pressure, cause us to seek water to return extracellular fluid to isotonic state
regulation of food intake
energy and nutrients obtained through metabolism, breaking down complex molecules in food

hypothalamus involved in regulation of feeding behavior (VMH, LH)
dual-center theory of feeding control
ventromedial hypothalamus as "satiety" center, stimulation stops eating
lateral hypothalamus as "hunger" center, stimulation induces eating
circadian, seasonal rhythms
circadian rhythm: pattern of behavioral, biochemical, physiological fluctuation with a period of 24 hours
- measured by activity levels
- generated by endogenous clock

seasonal rhythms: breeding, body weight dependent upon seasons; involve a separate mechanism from circadian rhythms
stages of sleep and waking
slow-wave sleep (4 stages), REM
progression of sleep stages varies with time (sleep cycles)
function of sleep
energy conservation
body restoration
protein synthesis
predator avoidance
memory consolidation
regulation of sleep by brain
forebrain: SWS generator, releases GABA in posterior hypothalamus
reticular formation: wakes up forebrain
pons: triggers REM, GABA inhibits motoneurons to produce muscle tone loss characteristic of REM
hypothalamus coordinates all this control
hormones involved: 5HT, NE, ACh
endotherm
ectotherm
endotherm: generates and regulates body heat internally, automatically
ectotherm: actively obtains heat from environment, behavioral regulation
hormones:
steriod, protein
hormones: chemicals secreted by one group of cells, carried through bloodstream to other parts of the body, where they act on specific target tissues to produce specific physiological effects

steroid hormones: bind to specific receptor proteins inside cell, control specific gene expression
- slow-acting but produce long-lasting effects

protein hormones: use second messengers to transfer information
- act rapidly
neurosecretory cell
neuron that releases hormones into blood vessels, rather than into other cells
releasing hormone
hormones that control pituitary release of tropic hormones
- produced in hypothalamus
oxytocin
hormone responsible for reproductive/parental behaviors: childbirth contractions, milk-letdown

in voles, increase female bonding;
in humans, low levels of oxytocin result in weak social attachment, low trust
vasopressin
hormone responsible for thirst/water regulation, salt retention; constriction of blood vessels to increase blood pressure

in voles: increases male bonding (fewer vasopressin receptors --> promiscuity)
osmotic thirst
thirst created by too much salt in extracellular fluid, triggered by obligatory water loss (respiration, perspiration, urination)

osmosensory neurons respond to changes in osmotic pressure
hypovolemic thirst
thirst created by reduction in fluid volume; stimulates release of vasopressin
basal metabolism
rate of metabolism set by body in an attempt to regulate body at "ideal" weight
protects energy reserves, opposes weight loss with reduction in food intake
glucose
principal sugar used by body for energy
converted to glycogen by insulin for long-term storage, glucagon reconverts glycogen to glucose as needed
leptin
hormone produced by fat cells, signals amount of energy reserve in fat cells
transgenic mice with defective gene for leptin do not produce leptin, become obese
diabetes mellitus
results from cessation of insulin production by pancreas, requires exogenous insulin to make use of glucose
obesity
a condition of extreme overweight
body mass index
measurement that relates weight to height
entrainment
process of synchronizing a biological rhythm to an environmental stimulus (light-dark cycle)
endogenous clock
normally set by light, generates circadian rhythms
- located in suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
retinohypothalamic tract
retinal ganglion cells separate from main visual system, synapse within SCN
implications in circadian rhythms
photosensitive ganglion cells
cells in retinohypothalamic tract that contain melanopsin, a photopigment that makes them sensitive to light
- release glutamate
slow wave sleep
4 stages
stage 1: heart rate and muscle tension decrease
45-50% of sleep is stage 2 sleep
REM
stage 5 sleep
"paradoxical" sleep: EEG is like the awake state
loss of muscle tone, dreaming, nightmares
REM behavior disorder
person physically acts out a dream
narcolepsy
frequent, intense episodes of sleep at any time during waking hours
often enter REM immediately
hypocretin
neuropeptide that keeps sleep at bay, prevents REM --> awake immediately
mutations cause narcolepsy
sleep apnea
unreliable respiration during sleep
- may result from over-relaxation fo throat, diaphragm, abnormality of brainstem respiratory control
insulin
hormone that enables body to make glucose
interaction of brain, PNS, endocrine system, immune system
autonomic nerve fibers connected to immune system organs allow brain to affect immune system

brain monitors immune response to make sure it isn't too intense
- ACh release prevents overstimulation of immune cells
James-Lange theory
emotional experience result of physiological arousal
Schachter and Singer
inject epinephrine, group told "no effect" experienced no emotion, group told "heart will race" experienced emotion - emotional labels depend upon interpretation of situation
experience vs. genetic determinants of emotion
emotion develops during first 9 months after birth

Jerome Kagan: exposed infants to alcohol swab, high reactivity in infancy predicts later anxiety, insecurity
neural reward network
medial forebrain bundle: axons that yield strong self-stimulation behavior (self-stimulation: animals will work to produce electrical stimulation)
organization of the limbic system
MacLean
amygdala, hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus
amygdala:
organization, effects on behavior
organization; receives input from all sensory systems via thalamus; also receives input from sensory cortex, hippocampus

effects on behavior: closely associated with negative emotions (fear, anxiety, aggression, rage); electrical stimulation of amygdala provokes fear, aggression
role of frontal cortex on emotional expression
Phineas Gage
sham rage
role of neural networks, neuromodulatory systems in cyclic disorders (OCD, Tourette's, Bipolar disorder, Major depression)
OCD: increased activity in orbitofrontal and cingulate cortex, caudate nuclei; loop between frontal, parietal, thalamic, and basal ganglia structures; may be a serotonin system disorder

Tourette's: associated with basal ganglia, dopamine system

Bipolar disorder: treatments aim to affect ionic balance across neural membrance

Major depression: increased activity in orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala; decreased activity in parietal, anterior cingulate, posterior temporal cortex
Charles Darwin
nature of emotions similar across animals

emotional expression as a form of communication
William James
emotions are perceptions of bodily changes, emotions generated by physiological responses

problem: physiological responses similar across many emotions, too slow to be primary
Paul Ekman
classification of emotion: 8 facial expressions with universal interpretation
James Papez
neural circuit for mechanisms of emotion
Joseph LeDoux
amygdala model with 3 output pathways: emotional behavior, autonomic response, hormonal response
sham rage
animals lacking cerebral cortex respond to random stimuli with sudden, intense rage
Kluver-Bucy syndrome
damage to large areas of temporal lobes results in tame, submissive behavior; lack of emotion or affect
Papez neural circuit
thalamus --> sensory cortex --> cingulate cortex --> hippocampus --> hypothalamus; excludes amygdala

allows for interaction between thoughts and feelings
MacLean's model of emotional control
modified Papez's circuit to include amygdala; "limbic system"

three levels of behavioral control:
- brainstem; primitive, reflexive, stereotyped, survival-related
- limbic: regulatory, reproductive, emotional, survival
- cerebral: self-control, rational thought, modulation of limbic system
amygdala
links emotional expression and memory
lesions --> loss of fear

5HT, DA, NE, ACh released in response to amygdala activation
fear conditioning
classical conditioning example
LTP in amygdala: neurons in amygdala encode association of stimuli and shock
post-traumatic stress disorder
intrusive recurrence of emotional arousal associated with a traumatic event

memory abnormalities (retrograde amnesia), flashbacks, heightened sensitivity to certain sensory stimuli

may result from abnormal endocrine function (imbalance in stress hormones)
extinction
breaks stimulus-response relationship in emotional learning, but amygdala retains "memory"
stress
stress stimuli + cognitive assessment of stimuli + stress responses
panic attack
recurrent transient episodes of intense fear, anxiety
- increased release of NE; associated with temporal lobe, anterior cingulate gyrus, frontal cortex abnormalities
benzodiazepines
bind to endogenous receptor sites on GABA receptors, enhance action of GABA in brain
- GABA is an inhibitory ion channel --> hyperpolarizes cell, making it harder to excite
orphan receptor
receptor for which no endogenous ligand has been discovered
phobia
intense, irrational fear; nonspecific arousal associated with a specific object, activity, or situation
- may be learned or conditioned fear
OCD
recurrent thoughts, actions repeated many times

may be a serotonin system disorder
Tourette's syndrome
repetitive motor behaviors, tics

strong genetic component; more common in males

childhood onset
Bipolar disorder
alternating bouts of mania and depression

teenage onset; affects men and women equally

treatable with lithium and anti-convulsants
Major depression
chronic, profound unhappiness, hopelessness, universal pessimism; lost of energy, interests, appetite; suicidal tendencies

genetic component; affects women more than men

adult onset typical
monozygotic twins vs. dizygotic twins
monozygotic twins: derived from a single fertilized egg (identical twins; same genotype)

dizygotic twins: derived from separate eggs (fraternal twins)
SSRI
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
blocks serotonin reuptake, flooding the system with serotonin, which is negatively correlated with aggression
frontal cortex modulation of limbic system
decreased activity in prefrontal cortex leads to hyperactivity in mesolimbic pathway
theories of schizophrenia:
neurodevelopmental, dopamine
neurodevelopmental: abnormalities in structure and function set in motion by genetic or environmental insult in utero

dopamine: specific disorder of mesolimbic-cortical dopamine pathway; hyperactivity resembles psychosis
drugs affect all stages of neural transmission
presynaptic: drugs prevent key compounds from being replaced in axon terminals, preventing production of transmitter molecules/vesicles and causing the failure of synaptic transmission

postsynaptic: receptors are blocked/activated by drugs
drug abuse
drug dependence
abuse: difficult to determine which mechanisms are most important in producing dependence because, like other drugs, addictive substances produce multiple effects
- people differ in vulnerability: men more likely to abuse than women; genetic predisposition; depends upon personal characteristics, family situation, environment

dependence: aka addiction; defined as continued use of substance despite clear evidence of its detrimental effects
- has psychological, behavioral, physiological components
addiction and the neural reward network
mesolimbic-cortical reward network active in development of drug dependence

increased release of dopamine in nucleus accumbens accompanies cocained delivery
schizophrenia
thought disorder - impairment in logical structure of thought

develops in adolescence

ventricular enlargement, shrunken and disordered hippocampus (degree of disorganization correlated to severity of schizophrenia); under-activity in frontal cortex
positive symptoms
negative symptoms
positive symptoms: abnormal behaviors are gained

negative symptoms: loss of normal function
concordance
referring to any trait that is seen in both individuals of a pair of twins

higher concordance among monozygotic twins for schizophrenia
drug affinity
degree of chemical attraction between ligand and receptor
drug induced psychosis
PCP inactivates NMDA receptors, preventing glutamate from acting on cell

similar process seen in amphetamine use
non-competitive antagonist
does not block site of glutamate binding - renders receptor ineffective at another location along receptor
psychopathy
extreme disruption of normal social regulation of behavior, impulsive, severe emotional detachment, blunted response to "violence" symbols

reduced prefrontal cortex activity, shrunken prefrontal cortex
drug tolerance
successive treatments/doses have decreasing effect
up-regulation
down-regulation
up-regulation: increases number of receptors available to receptor's antagonist

down-regulation: decreases number of receptors available

both are types of functional tolerance: body attempting to counter drug's effect
dose-response relationship
size of dose vs. effect of drug
reflection of potency/safety of drug
withdrawal symptoms
unpleasant sensations associated with sudden removal of chronically used drug
what does patient HM tell us about how memory works? about how our personal history shapes who we are?
short-term, long-term memory are different

despite anterograde amnesia, was still a functioning member of society. skills learned, experiences from past was all he was able to base his life off of
how does plasticity in the form of LTP relate to developmental plasticity?
hebbian synapses: strengthening relies on us
in the same way, enriched environments lead to strengthening of skills during periods of plasticity
the hypothalamus is critically placed and connected to regulate virtually all vital functions for the organism. how would we survive if the hypothalamus was damaged?
we would be incapable of regulatory function, so we would have to rely on our environments to the extent that we would have little freedom
how do studies of emotion, anxiety disorders, and mental illness illustrate the importance of frontal cortex for human behavior?
phineas gage
major depression, ocd result from orbitofrontal dysfunction
schizophrenia: under-activity in frontal cortex
why might two genetically identical individuals raised in the same environment have a different susceptibility for addiction or mental illness?
influence of oxytocin, vasopressin
given the high degree of interaction among the many systems of the body (nervous, endocrine, immune, skeletal), what does it mean to call the CNS the "master controller"?
all information goes through CNS in some form or another
brain monitors endocrine and immune systems
spinal cord directly manages skeletal system
how important is the synapse to the functioning of and ultimate behavior of organisms? what would we be like if golgi had been right?
golgi proposed continuity among cells, no synapses
as mechanisms of communication, synapses are crucial. there would be fewer disorders, since disorders are often the result of miscommunication among synapses, but drugs would not work
what do cases like phineas gage tell us about the importance of frontal cortex for determining who we are?
complete change in personality following injury to frontal cortex shows the implications of the frontal cortex in personality
OCD, depression also affected by frontal cortex
what is the relationship between the "old brain" and the neocortex? From a comparative perspective, how does the amount and distribution of neocortex relate to the behavior of the organism?
"old brain": reflex, homeostatic regulatory mechanisms
neocortex: memory, storage

encephalization factor: neocortex in proportion to entire brain. humans have the highest, are the most complex creatures in terms of thinking, memory, learning
rene descartes likened the human body and human behavior to a machine. humans were capable of responding in a variety of stereotypical ways to environmental input. further, human behavior was modulated by a non-material soul. if descartes were alive today, how might he characterize human behavior?
human behavior is modulated not by a non-material entity but by complex systems that interact with one another; in this way, humans are, in a sense, machines, but not in the way descartes believed. there are some general, universal responses, but descartes presented a very oversimplified version of the human body.
what mechanisms limit the range of environmental information to which we are sensitive? what does the brain do with that information to generate our knowledge of the world? how is the process different if we are to act on or store the information?
adaptation, habituation decrease responses to some parts of the environment. from an evolutionary standpoint, this is because these stimuli are not seen as threats, so body focuses on other aspects of environment
we cannot remember everything; information goes through different processes depending on if it is to be stored long-term or just referenced briefly
how much of what we know about how the brain works is limited by the technology we have available to ask the question?
although we have advanced greatly in terms of technology, beginning with the microscope, we are still very limited in terms of what we can see and understand about the brain's activity. imaging techniques are helpful but still fall short; use of animals is controversial and does not always provide conclusions that correlate to the human systems
how does information about disorders of the nervous system and their treatment help us to understand how the brain works?
by studying when things go wrong, we can discern mechanisms for certain behaviors and learn from these abnormalities