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111 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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Neuron
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-Nerve cell
-Building blocks of the mind/nervous system |
-Most are in the brain but there are motor and sensory neurons through out the body
-Transmit messages when stimulated by signals from our senses or when triggered by chemical signals from neighboring neurons |
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Neurotransmitter
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-How neurons communicate
and send signals/messages -The chemicals used to send a signal across the synaptic gap |
Are released from the sending neuron and stimulate receptor sites on the receiving neuron. These are the signals telling the receiving cell whether or not to fire the next action potential.
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Nervous systems
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Systems that build the mind: functions of the parts of the nervous system
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Endocrine system
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Supporting player: the slower-communicating. (hormones)
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The brain
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Star of the show: the brain and its structures
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Lesson to bring out here: the brain is not a computer, or a mind, or identity which is separate from the rest of the body; it is all interconnected, as we soon shall see.
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Phrenology
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The study of bumps on the skull and their relationship to mental abilities and character traits
(developed by Franz Gall in the early 1800’s): |
Phrenology yielded one big idea--that the brain might have different areas that do different things (localization of function).
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Biological psychology includes
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neuroscience, behavior genetics, neuropsychology, and evolutionary psychology
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Cell Body
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Cells life support center
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Dendrite
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A neurons bushy, branching extensions that receive messages from other cells and conduct impulses toward the cell body
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Dendrites listen
Are short |
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Axon
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The neuron extension that passes messages through its terminal branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands
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Axons speak
Are long (several feet) |
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Myelin Sheath
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Fatty tissue layer, it covers the axons in segments and helps increase speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next
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Action Potential/neural impulse
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-Neural impulse; brief electrical charge that travels down the axon
-The area that is briefly charged by the net intake of positive ions, then the ions are more slowly pumped out again |
Visual: like a wave in a stadium
- A wave moves down an axon although it is only made up of ion exchanges moving in and out. No physical object is moving only the electrical charge Direction: toward axon terminals |
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When does a cell send the action potential? When it reaches a threshold. Explain
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The neuron recieves signals from other neuron; some are telling it to fire and some are telling it not to fire. When the threshold is reached, the action potential starts moving. Like a gun it either fires or doesn't. AKA All or nothing response
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The action potential then travels down the axon from the cell body to the terminal branches. The signal is transmitted to another cell. The cell must find away across the gap between cells (synapse)
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Threshold
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Level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
-More stimulation does nothing |
Threshold is reached when the excitatory "fire" signals outweigh the inhibitory "don't fire" signals by a certain amount
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If signals only have one level of intensity, then why does a punch hurt more than a tap?
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Because in the case of the punch, more neurons are firing.
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Synapse (AKA synaptic junction/gap)
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Gap between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite cell body receiving the neuron
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Reuptake
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Ends the transmission of the signal
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After the neurotransmitters stimulate the receptors on the receiving neuron, the chemicals are taken back up to the sending neuron to be used again
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Label parts of the neuron
Explain the neural communication process |
(see pg. 50)
(see pg. 52) |
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Name some neurotransmitters (6)
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Secrotonin
Dopamine Acetylcholine (ACh) Norepinephrine GABA (gammaaminobutyric acid) Glutamine |
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Secrotonin
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Function: Affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal
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Problems from imbalances: Under supply linked to depression; some antidepressant drugs raise serotonin levels
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Dopamine
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Function: Influences movement, learning, attention and emotion
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Problems from imbalances:
Oversupply linked to schizophrenia; under supply linked to tremors and decreased mobility in Parkinson's desiese and ADHD |
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Acetylcholine (ACh)
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Function: Enables muscle action, learning, and memory
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Problems from imbalances:
ACh-producing neurons deteriorate as Alzheimer's disease progresses |
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Norepinephrine
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Function: Helps control alertness and arousal
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Problems from imbalances:
Undersupply can depress mood and cause ADHD-like attention problems |
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GABA (gammaaminobutyric acid)
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Function: A major inhibitory neurotransmitter
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Problems from imbalances:
Undersupply linked to seizures, tremors and insomnia |
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Glutamine
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Function: A major excitatory neurotransmitter involved in memory
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Problems from imbalances:
Oversupply can overstimulate the brain, producing migraines or seizures; this is why some people avoid MSG |
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Endorphins
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Natural, opiate like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure
"morphine within" |
Help explain good feelings like a runners high, painkilling effects of acupuncture and the indifference to pain in some severely injured people
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How neurotransmitters activate receptors
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Neurotransmitter molecules have a molecular structure that precisely fits the receptor site on the receiving neuron.
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Like a key fits a lock
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Agonist Molecule
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Fills the receptor site and activates it, *acting* like the neurotransmitter
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Opiate drugs stimulate the opiate receptors that are otherwise stimulated by endorphins to reduce pain. These drugs are opiate ______ (agonists).
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Antagonist Molecule
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Fills the lock so that the neurotransmitter *cannot get in* and activate the receptor site
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Curare causes paralysis by blocking the acetlycholine (ACh) receptors on motor neurons; curare is an ACh _______ (antagonist).
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Central Nervous system (CNS)
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Consists of the brain and spinal cord
Makes decisions for the body |
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Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
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Consists of "the rest" of the nervous system
Gathers and sends information to and from the rest of the body |
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Types of neurons (3)
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Sensory neurons
Motor neurons Interneurons |
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Sensory neurons
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Carry messages IN from the body's tissues and sensory receptors to the CNS for processing
-It senses -Millions |
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Motor neurons
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Carry instructions OUT from the CNS out to the body's tissues
-Moves -Millions |
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Interneurons
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(in the brain and spinal cord)
Process information between the sensory input and motor output, they communicate internally -There are billions in your body |
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Nerves (not same as neurons)
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Consist of neural cables containing many axons (bundles)
Are part of the PNS and connect muscles, glands, and sense organs to the CNS |
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Parts of the PNS
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*Automatic
Somatic **Sympathetic **Parasympathetic |
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Automatic nervous system (ANS)
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Controls self-regulated actions of internal organs and glands. Is there to function, automatically in your body
-Has 2 divisions; sympathetic, parasympathetic |
e.g. Breathing
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Somatic nervous system (SNS)
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Controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles
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The sympathetic and parasympathetic go together but work independently
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Sympathetic nervous system
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A division of the ANS, that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations
e.g. crazy ax murderer! -Arousing (fight or flight) |
Signs - Dilated pupils, accelerated heart beat, inhibits digestion, stimulates glucose release by liver, stimulates secretion of epinephrine and norepinephrine and in males stimulates ejaculations
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Parasympathetic nervous system
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A division of the ANS, that converses energy. Balances you from arousal back to normal
-Calming (Digest and rest) |
Signs - Contracts pupils, slows heartbeat, stimulates digestion, gallbladder, contracts bladder, allows blood flow to sex organs
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Why not just stay aroused all the time?
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To allow the body to repair itself and regain energy from food.
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CNS (2)
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Brain - a web or neural networks
Spinal cord - full of interneurons that sometimes have " a mind of their own" |
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Neural networks
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Form with experience, they are interconnected with one another
-"neurons that fire together, wire together" |
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Reflex
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A simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as a knee jerk response
E.g. burning yourself The spine's interneurons trigger a hand to pull away from a fire before you can say "ouch" |
Because before the brain gets the pain message, the interneurons in the spinal cord are already sending a message back through motor neurons saying "pull your hand away"
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The Endocrine System (7)
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Hypothalamus
Pituitary gland Thyroid gland Parathyroids Adrenal glands Pancreas Testis/Ovary |
Is the body's "slow" chemical communication system
-Refers to a set of glands that produce chemical messengers called hormones |
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How does the Endocrine system send messages?
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Through the bloodstream using molecules (hormones) just like the nervous system
(nervous system sends them across the synapses) |
The nervous system and the endocrine systems are connected and influence each other. Endocrine system messages travel more slowly but also last longer
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Hormones
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Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands around the body, travel through the blood steam, and to other tissues
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“Slow but sure” endocrine system messages take longer to get to their location, but then the molecules hang around for a bit, so the effect of the “message” lasts longer. In neural communication, reuptake of the neurotransmitters sometimes prevents effective communication. (This is the real “chemical imbalance” treated by some medication: slowing reuptake.)
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Hypothalamus
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Brain region controlling the pituitary gland
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Pituitary gland
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The endocrin system's most influential glad.
-Is controlled through the nervous system by the brain area - the hypothalamus, it regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands |
-Secrets many hormones that regulate other glands such as the thyroid
-Produces growth hormone (during sleep) and oxytocin (bonding hormone) |
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Thyroid gland
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affects metabolism, among other things
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Parathyroids
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Helps regulate the level of calcium in the blood
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Adrenal glands
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Inner part helps trigger the sympathetic "flight or fight" response
-Responds to stress by sending a message to the adrenal glands to release hormones |
Produce hormones such asadrenaline/epinephrine, noradrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol
Effect: increased heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar. These provide energy for the fight or flight! |
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Pancreas
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Regulates the level of sugar in the blood
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Testis/Ovary
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Secretes male or female sex hormones
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How did we move beyond phrenology?
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by finding what happens when part of the brain is damaged or otherwise unable to work properly
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How did we get inside the skull and under the “bumps”?
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by looking at the structure and activity of the brain: CAT, MRI, fMRI, and PET scans
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What are strategies for finding out what is different about the mind when part of the brain isn’t working normally?
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-case studies of accidents (e.g. Phineas Gage)
-case studies of split-brain patients (corpus callosum cut to stop seizures) -lesioning brain parts in animals to find out what happens -chemically numbing, magnetically deactivating, or electrically stimulating parts of the brain |
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Phineas Gage
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patient with brain damage to the frontal lobe, Broca’s area, and Wernicke’s area.
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Lesions (surgical destruction of brain tissue)
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performed on animals
has yielded some insights, especially about less complex brain structures no longer necessary, as we now can chemically or magnetically deactivate brain areas to get similar information |
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Split-Brain Patients
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“Split” = surgery in which the connection between the brain hemispheres is cut in order to end severe full-brain seizures
Study of split-brain patients has yielded insights discussed at the end of the chapter |
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We can stimulate parts of the brain to see what happens
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Parts of the brain, and even neurons, can be stimulated electrically, chemically, or magnetically.
This can result in behaviors such as giggling, head turning, or simulated vivid recall. Researchers can see which neurons or neural networks fire in conjunction with certain mental experiences, and even specific concepts. |
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What are Tools to read/monitor electrical, metabolic, and magnetic activity in the brain?
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-EEG: electroencephalogram
-PET: positron emission tomography -MRI: magnetic resonance imaging -fMRI: functional MRI |
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EEG: electroencephalogram
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-An EEG (electroencephalogram) is a recording of the electrical waves sweeping across the brain’s surface.
-An EEG is useful in studying seizures and sleep. |
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PET: positron emission tomography
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The PET scan allows us to see what part of the brain is active by tracing where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task.
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MRI: magnetic resonance imaging
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-MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) makes images from signals produced by brain tissue after magnets align the spin of atoms.
-The arrows below show ventricular enlargement in a schizophrenic patient (right). |
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fMRI: functional MRI
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-Functional MRI reveals brain activity and function rather than structures.
-Functional MRI compares successive MRI images taken a split second apart, and shows changes in the level of oxygen in bloodflow in the brain. |
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Areas of the brain and their functions
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-The brainstem and cerebellum: coordinates the body
-The limbic (border) system: manages emotions, and connects thought to body -The cortex (the outer covering): integrates information |
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The Brain: Less Complex Brain Structures
These parts are found also in simpler animals; these parts generally deal with less complex functions: |
Brainstem (Pons and Medulla)
Thalamus Reticular Formation Cerebellum Limbic System |
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Brainstem (Medulla)
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-The medulla controls the most basic functions such as heartbeat and breathing
-Someone with total brain damage above the medulla could still breathe independently, but someone with damage in this area could not. |
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Brainstem (Pons)
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-helps coordinate automatic and unconscious movements.
-The pons supports communication across the hemispheres and also communication from the frontal lobes to the cerebellum. |
Examples of what the pons controls: movements such as swallowing, posture, facial expression, and eye movement. The pons also has a role in suppressing body movement during REM sleep.
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Thalamus (Inner chamber)
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-Is the “sensory switchboard” or “router.”
-All sensory messages, except smell, are routed through the thalamus on the way to the cortex (higher, outer brain). -The thalamus also sends messages from the cortex to the medulla and cerebellum. |
-Damage to the thalamus can cause blindness and other loss of the senses, even if the sensory organ is fine.
-However, damage to the thalamus could not hurt your sense of smell, which bypasses the thalamus and goes straight to the olfactory bulb in the brain. |
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Reticular (Netlike) Formation
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-The reticular formation is a nerve network in the brainstem.
-It enables alertness, (arousal) from coma to wide awake (as demonstrated in the cat experiments). -It also filters incoming sensory information. |
The structure of the reticular formation: this network of neurons branches from the spinal cord up into the thalamus. How do we know about arousal? In the cat experiments, researchers stimulated the reticular formation in order to make a sleeping cat pop awake. Similarly, cutting the reticular formation made a cat lapse into a permanent coma.
About the filtering: it could be said that the reticular formation controls selective awareness; it ‘selects’ which incoming information to send to other brain areas. This enables us to follow a conversation in a crowd, i.e. to select a “signal” out of sensory “noise.” |
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Cerebellum "little brain"
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-helps coordinate voluntary movement such as playing a sport.
-The cerebellum has many other functions, including enabling nonverbal learning and memory. |
-The cerebellum is located in two parts, behind the pons and below the back of the brain.
-The cerebellum also is the area where implicit memories and conditioning are stored. It also helps us judge time, modulate emotions, and integrate multiple sources of sensory input. |
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Limbic (border) system
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Coordinates:
-emotions such as fear and aggression. -basic drives such as hunger and sex. -the formation of episodic memories. *Involves the Hypothalamus, Amygdala and Hippocampus |
The limbic system is located on the “border”/limbus between the brainstem and cortex; it is between the least complex and most advanced brain structures and between the cerebral hemispheres.
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Hippocampus (seahorse)
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-processes conscious, episodic memories.
-works with the amygdala to form emotionally charged memories. |
The hippocampus is one of the few places in the brain in which neurogenesis is known to take place.
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Amygdala (almond)
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-consists of two lima bean- sized neural clusters.
-helps process emotions, especially fear and aggression. |
Stimulating different parts of the amygdala triggers different versions of the defensive, self-protective emotions; one part increases aggressive reactions, while another increases fearful withdrawal. Destruction of part of the amygdala can apparently eliminate both emotions.
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The Amygdala e.g.
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-Electrical stimulation of a cat’s amygdala provokes aggressive reactions.
-If you move the electrode very slightly and cage the cat with a mouse, the cat will cower in terror. |
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Hypothalamus
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-regulates body temperature and ensures adequate food and water intake (homeostasis), and is involved in sex drive.
-directs the endocrine system via messages to the pituitary gland. |
Rat e.g. If you lesion one part of the hypothalamus of a rat, it stops eating; lesion another part and it hardly stops eating.
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Hypothalamus e.g. RL
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There are other reward centers, including an area near the hypothalamus, the nucleus accumbens.
Many of these areas rely on dopamine, which may be why people with low dopamine (ADHD) don’t learn well from rewards, and why people who crave dopamine (ADHD, addicts, young teens, and those with reward deficiency syndrome) are reckless in their search for it, maybe even crossing an electrified grid like the rat in the illustration. |
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Spinal cord
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Pathway for neural fibers traveling to and from brain; controls simple reflexes
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Cerebellum
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Coordinates voluntary movement and balance and supports memories of such
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Corpus collosum
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Axon fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres
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The Cerebral Cortex The lobes consist of:
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-outer grey “bark” structure that is wrinkled in order to create more surface area for 20+ billion neurons.
-inner white stuff—axons linking parts of the brain. -180+ billion glial cells, which feed and protect neurons and assist neural transmission. |
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The Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex:
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Frontal Lobes
Parietal Lobes Occipital Lobes Temporal Lobes |
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Frontal Lobes
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involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments
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Parietal Lobes
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include the sensory cortex
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Occipital Lobes
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include the visual areas; they receive visual information from the opposite visual field
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Temporal Lobes
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include the auditory processing areas
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Functions of the Brain: The Motor and Sensory Strips
(These “strips” are located at the border of the frontal lobe and the parietal lobe.) |
Output: Motor cortex (Left hemisphere section controls the body’s right side)
- Axons receiving motor signals FROM the cortex Input: Sensory cortex (Left hemisphere section receives input from the body’s right side) -Axons sending sensory information TO the cortex |
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Sensory Functions of the Cortex
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The sensory strip deals with information from touch stimuli.
The occipital lobe deals with visual information. Auditory information is sent to the temporal lobe. |
E.g. fMRI shows increased activity in the visual cortex when a person looks at a photograph
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Association function of the cortex
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More complex animals have more cortical space devoted to integrating/associating information
e.g. rat/cat/chimp/person |
The relative proportion of the cortex devoted to taking in sensory information and sending out motor commands is smaller as the association areas are larger (a negative correlation).
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Association Areas: Frontal Lobes
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-The frontal lobes are active in “executive functions” such as judgment, planning, and inhibition of impulses.
-The frontal lobes are also active in the use of working memory and the processing of new memories. |
There is a large set of association areas in front of the motor strip and behind the forehead.
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Case study: Phineas Gage (1823-1860)
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In a work accident, a metal rod shot up through Phineas Gage’s skull, destroying his eye and part of his frontal lobes.
After healing, he was able to function in many ways, but his personality changed; he was rude, odd, irritable, and unpredictable. |
Possible explanation:
Damage to the frontal lobes could result in loss of the ability to suppress impulses and to modulate emotions. |
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Parietal Lobe Association Areas
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This part of the brain has many functions in the association areas behind the sensory strip:
-managing input from multiple senses -performing spatial and mathematical reasoning -monitoring the sensation of movement |
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Temporal Lobe Association Areas
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Some abilities managed by association areas in this “by the temples” lobe:
-recognizing specific faces -managing sensory input related to sound, which helps the understanding of spoken words |
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Whole-brain Association Activity
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Whole-brain association activity involves complex activities which require communication among association areas across the brain such as:
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memory
language attention meditation and spirituality consciousness |
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Specialization and Integration Five steps in reading a word aloud:
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Visual cortex
Angular gyrus Wernicke's area Motor cortex Broca's area |
If any of these processes are not working properly (e.g because of damage to one of these brain areas in the left hemisphere), aphasia can result. Aphasia refers to the impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (speech impairment) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding or causing the inability to produce meaningful words).
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Visual cortex
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Receives written words as visual stimulation
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Angular gyrus
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Transforms visual representations into an auditory code
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Wernicke's area
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Interprets auditory code
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Motor cortex
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Word is pronouced
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Broca's area
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Controls speech muscles via motor cortex
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Plasticity: The Brain is Flexible
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If the brain is damaged, especially in the general association areas of the cortex:
-the brain does not repair damaged neurons, BUT it can restore some functions -it can form new connections, reassign existing networks, and insert new neurons, some grown from stem cells |
This 6-year-old had a hemispherectomy to end life-threatening seizures; her remaining hemisphere compensated for the damage.
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Lateralization (going to one side)
How do we know about these differences? |
-The two hemispheres serve some different functions.
-Brain damage studies revealed many functions of the left hemisphere. -Brain scans and split brain studies show more about the functions of the two hemispheres, and how they coordinate with each other. |
Click to reveal bullets.
Brain scan studies show normal individuals engage their right brain when completing a perceptual task and their left brain when carrying out a linguistic task. However, many functions of the two hemispheres overlap. |
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The intact but lateralized brain
Right-Left Hemisphere Differences |
Left Hemisphere:
Thoughts and logic Details such as “trees” Language: words and definitions Linear and literal Calculation Pieces and details |
Right Hemisphere:
Feelings and intuition Big picture such as “forest” Language: tone, inflection, context Inferences and associations Perception Wholes, including the self |
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Split brain studies
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To end severe whole-brain seizures, some people have had surgery to cut the corpus callosum, a band of axons connecting the hemispheres.
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Researchers have studied the impact of this surgery on patients’ functioning.
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Separating the Hemispheres:
Factors to Keep in Mind |
-Each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body AND is aware of the visual field on that opposite side.
-Without the corpus callosum, the halves of the body and the halves of the visual field do not work together. -Only the left half of the brain has enough verbal ability to express its thoughts out loud. |
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Split visual field
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Each hemisphere does not perceive what each EYE sees. Instead, it perceives the half of the view in front of you that goes with the half of the body that is controlled by that hemisphere.
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Divided Awareness in the Split Brain Try to explain the following result:
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See. ppt 71 or picture for visual
*Person is looking at the word HE.ART* |
the left hemisphere is the one that does verbal language, and that hemisphere is processing the right visual field, so what it can verbally report is “Art.”
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The divided brain in action
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-Talent: people are able to follow two instructions and draw two different shapes simultaneously
-Drawback: people can be frustrated that the right and left sides do different things |
People with ‘divided brains’ may be more likely to report frustration with what the LEFT hand is doing
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