Biopsych Chapter 5

Front 1

experimental ablation

Back 1

the removal or destruction of a portion of the brain of a laboratory animal; presumably, the functions that can no longer be perfromed are the ones the region previously controlled.
synonym: lesion study

Front 2

excitotoxic lesion

Back 2

a brain lesion produced by intracerebral injection of an excitatory amino acid, such as kainic acid

Front 3

sham lesion

Back 3

A "placebo" procedure that duplicates all the steps of producing a brain lesion except for the one that actually causes the brain damage

Front 4

bregma

Back 4

the junction of the sagittal and coronal sutures of the skull; often used as a reference point or stereotaxic brain surgery

Front 5

sterotaxic atlas

Back 5

a collection of drawings of sections of the brain of a particular animal with measurements that provide corredinates for stereotaxic surgery

Front 6

stereotaxic apparatus

Back 6

A device that permits a surgeon to position an electrode or cannula into a specific part of the brain

Front 7

fixative

Back 7

a chemical such as formalin; used to prepare and preserve body tissue

Front 8

microtome

Back 8

an instrument that produces very thin slices of body tissues

Front 9

scanning electron microscope

Back 9

a microscope that provides three-dimensional information about the shape of the surface of a small object

Front 10

anterograde labeling method

Back 10

a histological method that labels the axos and terminal buttons of neurons whose cell bodies are located in a particular region

Front 11

PHA-L

Back 11

Phaseolus vulgaris leukoaglutinin; a protein derived from kidney beans and used as an antero-grade tracer; taken up by dendrites and cell bodies and carried to the ends of axons

Front 12

immunocytochemical method

Back 12

a histological method that uses radioactive antibodies or antibodies bound with a dye molecule to indicate the presence of particular proteins or peptides

Front 13

retrograde labeling method

Back 13

a histological method that labels cell bodies that give rise to the terminal buttons that form synapses with cells in a particular region

Front 14

fluorogold

Back 14

a dye that serves as a retrograde label, taken up by terminal buttons and carried back to cell bodies

Front 15

transneuronal tracing method

Back 15

a tracing method that identifies a series of neurons that form serial synaptic connections with each other, either in an anterograde or retrograde direction; involves infection of specific neurons with weakened forms of rabies or herpes viruses

Front 16

computerized tomography (CT)

Back 16

The use of a device that empoys a computer to analyze data obtained by a scanning beam of X-rays to produce a two-dimensional picture of a "slice" through the body

Front 17

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Back 17

a technique whereby the interior of the body can be accurately imgaed; involves the interaction between radio waves and a strong magnetic field

Front 18

diffustion tensor imaging (DTI)

Back 18

an imaging method that uses a modified MRI scanner to reveal bundles of myelinated axons in the living human brain

Front 19

microelectrode

Back 19

a very fine electrode, generally used to record activity of individual neruons

Front 20

single-unit recording

Back 20

recording of the electrical activity of a single neuron

Front 21

macroelectrode

Back 21

an electrode used to record the electrical activity of large numbers of neurons in a particular region of the brain

Front 22

electroencephalogram (EEG)

Back 22

An electrical brain potential recorded by placing electrodes on the scalp

Front 23

magnetoencephalography

Back 23

a procedure that detects groups of synchronously activated neurons by means of the magnetic field induced by their electrical activity ; uses an array of superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDS)

Front 24

2-deoxyglucose (2-DG)

Back 24

a sugar that enters cells along with glucose but is not metabolized

Front 25

autoradiography

Back 25

a procedure that locates radioactive substances in a slice of tissue; the radiation exposes a photographic emulsion or a piece of film that covers the tissue

Front 26

Fos

Back 26

A protein produced in the nucleus of a neuron in response to synaptic stimulation

Front 27

functional imaging

Back 27

a computerized method of detecting metabolic or chemical changes in particular regions of the brain

Front 28

positron emission tomography (PET)

Back 28

A functional imaging method that reveals the localization of a radioactive tracer in a living brian

Front 29

functional MRI (fMRI)

Back 29

A functional imaging method; a modification of the MRI procedure that permits the measurement of regional metabolism in the brain

Front 30

transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Back 30

Stimulation of the cerebral cortex by means of magnetic fields produed by passing pulses of electricity through a coil of wire placed next tothe skull; interferes with the functions of the brain region that is stimulated

Front 31

microdialysis

Back 31

a procedure for analyzing chemicals present in the interstitial fluid through a small piece of tubing made of a semipermeable membrane that is implanted in the brain

Front 32

targeted mutation

Back 32

a mutated gene produced in the laboratory and inserted into the chromosomes of mice; fails to produced a functional protein

Front 33

antisense oligonucleotide

Back 33

a modified strand of RNA or DNA that binds with a specific molecule of messenger RNA and prevents it from prodcing its particular protein