Intro to Brain Behaviors and Mental Processing - Exam 1

Neuroscience

The study of the nervous system and behaviors that draws from several other disciplines

The level of importance places on the heart and brain over history

Ancient Egypt and Aristotle valued heart over brain, Greeks, Galen, and modern neuroscience proved brain more important

Monism

the mind is a product of brain activity

Dualism

mind and body are separate

Trepanation/Trephination

the practice of drilling holes in the skull (lobotomy) to relieve pressure, drain infection, or release evil

Phrenology

pseudoscience claiming that skull size determined personality and intelligence

Transhumanism

the idea that humans will evolve beyond our current state with the help of genetic engineering, nanotechnology, computing, material science, and brain-computer connection

Neural Dust

a class of millimeter- to micrometer-sized wireless sensors designed to be implanted in the brain or nervous system

Central Nervous System (CNS)

brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

connects CNS to limbs + organs

Sensory neurons

info from body to CNS

Motor neurons

info from CNS to body

Dendrites

receive and transfer info towards cell body

Axon

sends signals away from cell body

Axon hillock

cell body connects to axon

Glial cells

hold neurons in place, supply nutrients (sugars) and oxygen, insulate neurons with myelin, remove dead neurons, remove neurotransmitters (chemical signals), and protect neurons from diseases

Coronal plane (brain)

cut middle front to back

Sagittal plane (brain)

cut middle dividing into 2 sections (left half, right half)

Horizontal plane (brain)

cut middle top to bottom

Contralateral

“the opposite side”

Ipsilateral

“the same side”

Branches of the autonomic nervous system

Parasympathetic division “rest and digest” sympathetic division “fight or flight” and enteric division “brain of the gut’

Gyri

bumps on the cerebral cortex

Sulci

small depressions of the cerebral cortex

Meninges

3 layer protective covering for CNS (dura mater, arachnoid, pia mater)

Ventricles

open spaces in the brain that are filled with cerebral spinal fluid

Frontal lobe

planning and organizing future behavior, motivation, problem-solving, and decision making

Temporal lobe

more complex visual perception

Parietal lobe

integrate information from different sensory systems also monitors stretching of muscles and tendons, thus contributing to knowing where our body is in space

Occipital lobe

visual processing

Cerebellum

balance, motor control, coordination, and associative learning

Resting potential of a neuron membrane

-70 mV

Voltage-gated ion channels

open when the membrane around them reaches a specific voltage

Chemical-gated ion channels

Open in response to a specific chemical messenger (ligand)

Saltatory conduction

the jumping of action potentials from node to node

Electric synapses

physically connected

Chemical synapses

neurons don’t physically touch

Understand how diffusion and electrostatic pressure influence ions

Electrochemical gradient, dictates how ions move across a cell membrane

Ligands

any chemical that binds to a receptor

Ionotropic receptors

opens ion channel directly

Metabotrophic receptors

Opens ion channel through second messenger system

Excitatory effects of neurotransmitters

increases the likelihood of an action potential

inhibitory effects of neurotransmitters

decreases the likelihood of an action potential

Agonist

chemicals that help a neurotransmitter do its job

Antagonist

chemicals that hinder a neurotransmitter from functioning

Lesions

a method of damaging or destroying specific areas of the brain to observe the resulting changes in behavior

Vivisection

a method for conducting surgery and research with live animals

Microtome

A device that cuts extremely thin tissue slices