Psc 101 Midterm 2

Front 1

Generally speaking, behavior is cause by the action of_____

Back 1

proteins
-Nerve cells
-Enzymes that produce neurotransmitters or hormones
-Receptors

Front 2

What is narcolepsy and what are the symptoms?

Back 2

Excessive daytime sleepiness

Symptoms:
Abnormal REM sleep
--can inculde sleep paralysis, a condition in which it is not possible to move despite being awake

Cataplexy
--Muscle weakness triggered by emotions

Hypnagogic hallucinations
--Dream-like auditory or visual hallucinations while dozing or falling asleep

Front 3

How many people does narcolepsy affect? How is it treated? What are some side effects of the treatment?

Back 3

1 in 1000 in US, Japan and Europe

amphetamines
--can cause headache, nausea, nervousness and anxiety

Front 4

By using genetic mapping, it was found that a single mutation was associated with narcolepsy like symptoms in dobermans. Where was the mutation?

Back 4

In the hypocretin receptor (neuropeptide made in hypothalamus that regulates arousal)

However this is not the same mutation as found in humans.

Front 5

What is found to be the most probable cause of narcolepsy in humans?

Back 5

a low level of hypocretin in postmortem cerebral cortex and pons samples was found

Lead to new drugs targeting hypocretin pathway

Front 6

Hypocretin and the CSF. What is the theory for how hypocretin is lost? Why is it hard to treat?

Back 6

about 90% of patients have no hypocretin in the CSF

Theory is that it is destroyed by autoimmune disease

Hypocretin is a neuropeptide that does not cross the blood brain barrier
--testing intranasal administration

Front 7

What characterizes a quantitative trait?

Back 7

Influenced by many genes

variation is quantitative

Offspring van have intermediate phenotype relative to parents

Front 8

What is complex inheritance? In what way are most behaviors affected?

The more genes that influence a behavioral trait, the more____ possible

Back 8

Most behaviors affected by multiple genes (polygenic trait)

Combinations

Front 9

Who was Dmitry Belyaev? What did he do? How many generations didi it take to get observable behavioral changes?

Back 9

Russian interesed in how Mendelian genetics influenced behavior.

He selectively bred silver foxes for reduced aggression and fear toward humans

Just 8!

Front 10

What did the fox studies indicate about temperament? What is a limitation?

Back 10

there is a genetic component to temperament (tameness)

Doesn't indicate which genes are involved

Front 11

What is a promoter region? What is a promoter region like?

Back 11

A region of DNA that regulates gene expression

Like a volume knob that controls how much a gene is expressed

Front 12

What is a Coding region? What is a coding region like?

Back 12

A sequence that codes for a protein

Like a blueprint that contains instruction on how to build a protein

Front 13

How does the process of transcription work?

Back 13

Transcription factors bind to promoter region

Transcription factors allow RNA polymerase to bind to promoter region

RNA polymerase begins to move down the strand of DNA and transcribe it into RNA. It unwinds the DNA as it moves down the strand.

Front 14

Is there a lot of individual variation in coding regions of genes? Do promoters show much variability?

Back 14

NO!!!

Promoters show much more variability because they determine how much a gene is transcribed (turned on)

Front 15

What region do knockout mice typically attempt to target?

Back 15

the coding region; although, it is possible to manipulate the promoter region too

Front 16

How are genes knocked-out?

Back 16

a specific gene is knocked-out by deleting some, or all of the coding region

Front 17

What are the effects of genes during development vs. in the adult?

Back 17

The genes may have different functions

Sometimes the behavior of a mouse will be more heavily influenced by what the gene does during development

Front 18

What happens to mice, in terms of the elevated plus maze, when you knock out serotonin transporter gene?

Back 18

Mice spend less time exploring open arms when completely knocked out

Knockouts have increased "anxiety-like behavior"

Front 19

Why is it that 5HTT knockout mice have increased anxiety?

Back 19

They have fewer serotonin neurons than wild types

Front 20

Why should you care about the implications of SSRI on fetuses?

Back 20

Fetus can be exposed to medication used by mom because they cross the placenta

Front 21

What happened to rats that were artificially selected for either a strong ability or weak ability to run mazes when they were put into different environmental conditions? What is the effect referred to as?

Back 21

Genetic differences in lines of rats could be masked by raising them in different environments

THe effect of a specific genotype depends on the environment

Referred to as "norm of reaction" in evolutionary biology and genetics

Front 22

What is conduct disorder? what are the symptoms?

Back 22

A "catch-all" category used to describe a group of behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents

Symptoms:
-Aggression to people and animals
-Destruction of property
-Deceitfulness, lying or stealing
-"Serious" violation of rules (e.g., truancy)

Front 23

What other problems do children showing characteristics of conduct disorder frequently display?

Back 23

Mood disorders, substance abuse, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder

Front 24

Implication of MAOA activity and childhood maltreatment

Back 24

CHildren that were known to be severely maltreated and carried promoters for low MAOA activity were more likely to be diagnosed with conduct disorder and convicted for a violent offense as an adult

CHildren with higher MAOA activity appeared resistant to negative effects of poor environments

Front 25

What is methylation? Why is it important to unwrap the DNA from histones?

Back 25

A specific kind of chemical change that can affect how easily DNA is unpacked from the histone
--methylation prevents a gene from being expressed
--it is much harder to get into Methylated DNA than non-methylated DNA

Because it allows genes to be expressed and translated into proteins

Front 26

What is an important concept regarding methylation in different parts of the brain? (heat map slide)

Back 26

Different genes are turned on in different parts of the brain

Some patterns of methylation are similar across individuals

Front 27

What is maternal care of rat pups dependent upon? What does the estrogen receptor do for this behavior?

Back 27

early experience; some rat moms show high levels of care, others low

Estrogen receptor expression promotes parental behavior

Front 28

How does maternal care affect estrogen receptor expression?

Back 28

pups born to low maternal care mothers, and raised by high maternal care mothers have high estrogen receptor expression

Front 29

How does maternal care affect parental behavior?

Back 29

pups born to low maternal care mothers, and raised by high maternal care mothers show high levels of maternal care when raising their own pups

Front 30

How does methylation effect estrogen receptor expression

Back 30

Estrogen receptor expression in low maternal care rats is reduced because the estrogen receptor gene is methylated(and therefore silenced)

This transfers to subsequent generations and may be considered a mechanism of "inheritance of acquired characteristics"

Front 31

What are Hertz (Hz)?

Back 31

Cycles per second of sound wave, perceived as pitch

Front 32

What is frequency?

Back 32

Number of pulses per second

Front 33

What is amplitude (intensity)?

Back 33

perceived as loudness

Front 34

What is Pure Tone?

Back 34

A tone with a single frequency- number of cycles- of vibration

Most sounds in the real world are not pure tones, they consist of multiple frequencies

Front 35

What is the Stapedial reflex?

Back 35

muscles contract and reduce sound's effect (like after a concert)

Front 36

What does the middle ear do?

Back 36

concentrates sound energies

Front 37

What does the inner ear do? What are some components?

Back 37

the structures convert sound into neural activity

Mammals have a fluid-filled cochlea, a spiral structure with a base and an apex

The base is nearest the oval-window membrane

Front 38

How is the Basilar Membrane's movement affected by different frequencies?

Back 38

Sound waves cause the basilar membrane to vibrate

Different parts respond to different frequencies:
Higher frequency excites the narrow base of the basilar membrane

Low frequency travels further- toward wider apex

Front 39

How does sound progress in the inner ear?

Back 39

The organ of Corti contains hair cells that bend when the basilar membrane vibrates

When hair cells detect a vibration, they stimulate the vestibulocochlear nerve which sends a signal to the brain

Front 40

How does sound progress from the auditory nerve to the auditory cortex?

Back 40

Auditory nerve, Brainstem nuclei, inferior Colliculus (midbrain), Medial Geniculate Nucleus of the Thalamus, Auditory Cortex

Front 41

How are neurons within the brain organized?

Back 41

Tonotopically
--they are arranged in a map according to the frequencies they respond to. (main activation is in the primary auditory cortex of the temporal lobe)

Front 42

What are the 2 general ways in which the brain localizes sounds?

Back 42

Intensity differences
--differences in loudness at the two ears

Latency differences
--different arrival times for sounds at the ears

Front 43

What are the two kinds of latency differences?

Back 43

Onset disparity
--difference in hearing at the beginning of a sound

Ongoing phase disparity
--continuous difference between ears in arrival of parts of a sound wave

SEE SLIDE 23

Front 44

What is the duplex theory? What happens at low frequencies?

Back 44

sound localization requires processing both intensity and latency differences

At very low frequencies, there is no intensity difference- the only cue comes from the time of arrival

Front 45

What is Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) caused by? What is the mechanism?

Back 45

Cause:
Impluse sound (explosion)
Continuous loud sounds (music, machinery)

Mechanism:
Hair cells die
--Mechanical damage, oxidative stress, excitotoxicity

Hearing loss is irreversible and cumulative

Front 46

What is Presbycusis? Causes?

Back 46

The most common form of hearing loss in adults between 65-75 y/o

Hearing loss is greater for high-pitched sounds (can hear a freight train but not the phone)

Caused by:
hair cell loss
loss of blood supply to ear
damage to middle ear

Front 47

How is deafness treated?

Back 47

Cochlear implants
--electrical currents stimulate the auditory nerve

Auditory brainstem implants (ABI's)
--bypasses the ear altogether and stimulates the brainstem

Front 48

How can stem cells be used to treat deafness?

Back 48

Stem cells are pluripotent

using growth factors it is possible to direct stem cells to differntiat into "hair-cell-like" cells and auditory neurons

Front 49

What are the parts of the Vestibular system?

Back 49

Semicircular canals
--three fluid-filled tubes in different planes

Utricle and saccule
--fluid-filled sacs that respond to linear acceleration (falling, driving in a car, landing on an airplane)

Front 50

What are yaw, pitch and roll?

Back 50

Yaw: rotation around z axis

Pitch: rotation around y axis (backflip)

roll: rotation around x axis (barrel roll)

Front 51

How do the semicircular canals work?

Back 51

When the head turns, fluid in the semicircular canal sloshes against hair cells

The hari cells are excited if pushed one direction, and inhibited if pushed the other direction

Front 52

How does dizziness happen?

Back 52

When spinning, fluid in the semicircular canals moves in the opposite direction you are spinning

can also be caused by problems with vision, sensory nerves, or migraines

Nausea occurs because nerves from the vestibular system interact directly with the autonomic nervous system

can occur with no gravity, but eventually adapts

Front 53

What are the 5 basic tastes? How are the perceived?

Back 53

Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami

perceived through a combination of tastes and smell

Front 54

What is ion based detection?

Back 54

Salty- Na+ ions are transported across taste cell membranes

Sour- All acids taste sour because they release hydrogen ions (H+)

Front 55

What are G-Protein receptors?

Back 55

Detect sweet, bitter and Umami tastes

Receptors are located on the cell membrane and bind to a specific ligand (like sucrose)

Front 56

What is an example of how there are individual differences in taste?

Back 56

Individual variation in genes for T2R receptors are correlated with individual differences in perception to bitter

Front 57

Why do spicy foods taste hot?

Back 57

activates pain receptors

Peppers contain capsaicin, the chemical responsible for the burning sensation
--target receptors that are also sensitive to heat

Front 58

What is the labeled line system of taste?

Back 58

taste perception is determined by specific neurons that are active, not the pattern of activity across the different receptors

Front 59

How are odors detected?

Back 59

Olfactory epithelium
--receptor neurons in the nose

Olfactory receptor neurons communicate directly with neurons in the olfactory bulb

Front 60

What is the path taken to detect smells?

Back 60

Olfactory bub sensds message to both the olfactory cortex and the amygdala which then relay information the the hypothalamus, or the olfactory bulb directly communicates with the hypothalamus

Front 61

What do olfactory receptor cells possess? How many odor receptor types?

Back 61

only one type of odorant receptor

about 400 different odor receptor types allow humans to recognize and remember about 10,000 different odors
--each odor receptor is activated by a number of similar odors

Front 62

WHat do individual differences in odor receptor genes do?

Back 62

different preferences for smell

E.g., androstenone can smell good to some and like piss to others

Front 63

Why do dogs smell so good?

Back 63

Canine olfactory epithelium is about 20x larger than humans

Dogs are about 100x more sensitive to certain odors than humans

about 1100 genes for olfactory receptors (about twice as many as humans)

Front 64

What is taste aversion learning: One trial learning?

Back 64

One trial learning
--many animals learn to avoid tastes that make them sick

Children advised to avoid favorite food when on chemotherapy

Front 65

What is the circuit involving taste aversion?

Back 65

Central nucleus of the amygdala appears important for integrating aversive experience

Basolateral nucleus of the amygdala appears important for linking aversive experience with taste

Front 66

Is the human eye irreducibly complex?

Back 66

SOme argue that the human eye is, and that removal of one component renders the eye useless

Careful analyses of mollusk eyes show that intermediate forms of the vertebrate eye are quite functional though

Front 67

Why is there distortion in the eye? Where is distortion reduced?

Back 67

Incoming light passes through the other ayers of retina before hitting photoreceptors
--distorted by fibers, ganglion cells, and bipolar cells

Also there is a blind spot

It is reduced in the fovea

Front 68

What are "patches" for these distortion problems?

Back 68

Fovea:
--thinnest part of the retina and is used for high acuity vision

Blind spot:
--the visual system fills in the gaps, a "software" patch

Front 69

What is the trichromatic hypothesis of color perception?

Back 69

There are 3 different types of cones, each responding to a different part of the spectrum

Each has a separate pathway to the brain

Front 70

What is the opponent-process hypothesis of color perception?

Back 70

There are four unique hues and three oppsoed pairs of colors:
--Blue vs. yellow
--Red vs. green
--Black vs. white

Three systems that produce opposite responses to different wavelengths

Front 71

Different types of color blindness

Back 71

Protanopia: lacking L cones (no red)
Deutanopia: Lacking M cones (no green)

Front 72

What are the peak sensitivities for the different pigments?

Back 72

S- peak at 420 nm
M- peak at 530 nm
L- peak at 560 nm

Other species have different spectral sensitivities in cones

Front 73

What is a receptive field?

Back 73

The stimulus region and features that cause the maximal response of a cell in a sensory system

The receptive field of a retinal ganglion cell includes any place on the retina where light excites the cell and any place where light inhibits the cell

Can vary in many dimensions

Front 74

What is an important feature of the retina? Is it like a video camera?

Back 74

It detects contrast: differences in light intensity between points in the retina
--this is why a well-placed spot of light or an edge is more easily detected than uniform illumination

Front 75

How does sensory info travel to and from the LGN

Back 75

sensory info from retina travels via optic nerve to LG (part of thalamus)

LGN cells have similar on-center and off-center receptive fields

Visual information from LGN is sent to visual cortex

Front 76

Cortical cell sensitivity

Back 76

cortical cells are sensitive to both orientation and motion

the further back in the visual system, the more complex feature detection is

Front 77

What does the primary visual cortex (V1) do?

Back 77

appears to be involved in the formation of mental images

Even imagining small letters, brain imaging studies show increased brain activity in V1

About 25% of visual cortex is devoted to analysis of information from the fovea

Front 78

What about V2

Back 78

Adjacent to V1 and has similar properties, but V2 can respond to illusory boundaries, and perceive complex relations among parts of the receptive fields

Front 79

What are retinal implants? Experiment/results?

Back 79

retinal prostheis that is implanted in the eye of 3 individuals who had previous visual experience as an adult

It received visual information wirelessly from a camera

Results:
patients improved in their ability to locate and count objects, determine orientation of capital L, and differentiate four directions of a moving object

Front 80

What is Lazy Eye (AMblyopia)? how is it treated?

Back 80

Often due to a misaligned eye

Treated by surgery or "training" the misaligned eye by covering the good eye, or blurring it temporarily with a drug

Front 81

How do 3D movies work?

Back 81

2 images projected at once

Polarizing lenses cause brain to create an illusion of 3 dimensions because each eye can only see one image

Front 82

What is the appetitive phase of male reproduction? Consummatory Phase?

Back 82

Includes all behaviors that will gain access to mates
--sexual motivation
--libido
--courtship

When copulation occurs
--sexual performance
--potency

Front 83

What is the purpose of appetitive behaviors?

Back 83

to establish, maintain, or promote sexual interaction

Varies widely across species

Front 84

What are some types of male appetitive behaviors?

Back 84

Vocal displays

Physical displays

Grooming

Front 85

WHat is female appetitive behavior often called? examples in rats and primates

Back 85

Often called proceptive

Rats
--wiggling their ears

Primates
--vocalizations, approach/withdrawal

Front 86

Do most female pregnancies occur in paced or nonpaced environments?

Back 86

Paced

Front 87

What is a pheromone?

Back 87

A chemical signal is released outside the body of an animal and affects other members of the same species
--usually non-volatile, you have to get up close to detect them (Flehmen resonse)

Front 88

What is prostaglandin F? How do mammals detect pheromones?

Back 88

a pheremone that stimulates ovulation in female goldfish and is detected by males

detect them by with the vomeronasal organ (humans don't have)

Front 89

Is there much variation in consummatory behavior between species?

Back 89

No, there are only so many ways it can be done so there is less variation than in appetitive behavior

Front 90

What is an example demonstrating how hormones are important in mating behavior? How can this be reversed? What is it called?

Back 90

A castrated male rat loses interest in mating as testosterone is no longer produced; however, behavior is restored with hormone treatment- the activational effect - hormones briefly activate behavior

Front 91

How can estrogens be used as male hormones?

Back 91

testosterone can be converted to estradiol in the brain

Androgens are usually required of sexual function outside of the brain.

Androgens converted to estrogens by aromatase, which then binds to an estrogen receptor; a behavior is then initiated

Front 92

When are females most likely to initiate sexual behavior? Least likely?

Back 92

during the ovulatory cycle (because estrogens are produced)

during the midluteal or premenstrual cycle

Front 93

How might a female without ovaries engage in proprioceptive behaviors?

Back 93

with a combination of estrogen and progesterone treatments

Front 94

What is behavioral estrus?

Back 94

when estrogens and progesterone are at a peak and ovulation occurs

Front 95

What is the neural circuit for females? How is lordosis evoked?

Back 95

Ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) is crucial to the lordosis response through steroid actions

Estrogen also stimulates progesterone receptors, which in turn contribute to lordosis through protein production

The VMH sends axons to the periaqueductal gray in the midbrain
--as the male mounts, sensory information via the spinal cord evokes lordosis

Front 96

What is the neural circuit for males?

Back 96

The medial preoptic area (mPOA) coordinates male copulatory behavior

The mPOA sends axons to the ventral midbrain

The vomeronasal organ (VMO) detects pheromones, which activate arousal

VMO information is sent to the medial amygdala and in turn to the mPOA

Front 97

Maternal behavior in rats produces four behaviors, what are they? How are theses displayed?

Back 97

Nest building, crouching over pups, retrieving pups, and nursing.

During pregnancy, exposure to hormones will prepare her brain to display these maternal behaviors immediately after giving birth

Front 98

What do estrogens do for maternal behavior?

Back 98

they promote the onset in the medial preoptic area

Front 99

How do hormones change in male biparental mammals?

Back 99

prolactin dereases then increases

testosterone increases during gestation and decreases during the beginning of lactation after offspring is born

Front 100

What does a manipulation of testosterone do for male parental behavior? Prolactin?

Back 100

Testosterone can increase, decrease, or have no effect on parental behavior.

Prolactin generally has no effect