Behavioral Neuroscience Exam 1

- Know the 4 structures and zones of the neuron

Input zone

Integration zone

Conduction zone

Output zone

Input zone:

Dendrites

- Incoming signals enter the neuron

Integration zone:

Cell Body/Soma

- Takes in signals and makes a decision on whether or not an action potential will fire

Conduction zone:

Axon

- transmit electrical and chemical signals away from the neuron's cell body toward other neurons, muscles, or glands

Output zone:

Axon terminals

- Point in the neurone from which signals are sent out

- Know different types of glial cells and what their functions are

- Astrocytes

- Microglia

- Oligodendrocytes

- Schwann cells

Glial cells:

respond to injury by edema

Edema:

swelling of the glial cells

Astrocytes

regulate blood flow and form new synapses

Microglia

small cells that remove debris from injured cells

Oligodendrocytes

form myelin sheath in the brain and spinal cord

Schwann cells

provide myelin to cells outside the brain and spinal cord

Know the 3 components of the synapse and the direction of flow of information across the synapse

- Presynaptic membrane

- Synaptic cleft

- Postsynaptic membrane

Presynaptic membrane

on the axon terminal of the presynaptic neuron

Synaptic cleft

a gap that separates the membranes

Postsynaptic membrane

on the dendrite or cell body of the postsynaptic neuron

Myelination:

glial cells wrap axons with a fatty sheath, myelin, to insulate and speed conduction.

Myelin is important because

it is the "insulation" for our cells and speeds the conduction of action potentials.

People with alzheimers and multiple sclerosis suffer from

demyelination

Nodes of Ranvier

- gaps between sections of myelin where the axon is exposed

- an area where electrical signals that pass down the axon are regenerated

What are the divisions of the autonomic nervous system

- Sympathetic nervous system

- parasympathetic nervous system

- enteric nervous system

Sympathetic nervous system

Responsible for Fight or flight

- Sympathetic activation prepares the body for action.

Sympathetic nervous system neurotransmitter is:

norepinephrine

Parasympathetic nervous system

Responsible Feeding and sex

- The PNS tends to calm things down in the body

- Activation is often in opposition to sympathetic activity.

Parasympathetic nervous system neurotransmitter is:

acetylcholine (Ach)

Enteric nervous system

Nerve signals to the gut

- Know the general specializations of the lobes of the brain

- frontal

- parietal

- occipital

- temporal

Frontal

- most anterior region

- decision making, impulse control, higher order cognitive abilities, language and movement

Parietal

- lies between the frontal and occipital lobes

- sensation and perception

Occipital

- posterior region, visual processing

- processes binocular vision, color vision, shapes, etc.

Temporal

- lateral region, auditory processing

- hearing, some aspects of language, memory and emotion

The basal ganglia is important in...

motor control

The basal ganglia include 4 nuclei which are...

- caudate nucleus

- the putamen

- globus pallidus

- substantia nigra

The caudate nucleus and putamen make up a structure called the _____

striatum

The caudate nucleus, the putamen, and the globus pallidus. help _______

decide whether motion will or will not occur.

The substantia nigra is a major souce of ______

of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

- Loss of these dopamine neurons leads to Parkinson's disease

The limbic system does:

learning and memory

The limbic system includes:

- Amygdala

- Hippocampus and Fornix

- Thalamus

- Hypothalamus

- Cingulate gyrus

- olfactory bulb

Amygdala:

- emotional regulation and perception of odor

- Important for processing fear as well as pheromone cues

Hippocampus:

- learning

- memory

Fornix:

- learning

- processing emotions

Cingulate gyrus:

attention

Olfactory Bulb:

- sense of smell

Thalamus:

- a cluster of nuclei that relays sensory information

- All sensory information coming into the brain, with the exception of smell, is processed by the thalamus before going on to other areas of the brain, including the cortex.

Hypothalamus:

- contains nuclei with many functions - also controls the pituitary

- Regulates LOTS of functions, including hunger, thirst, temperature, parenting behavior, and reproduction.

What are the 3 meninges:

- Dura mater

- Arachnoid membrane

- Pia mater

Dura mater:

- tough outermost sheet

Pia mater:

- delicate innermost layer

- lays directly over the surface of the cortex. It's very hard to dissect it off of the surface of the brain!

Arachnoid membrane:

- lies between the other two, is filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

- gets it name from its spiderweb appearance

CSF has two main functions:

- Acts as a shock absorber

- Provides an exchange medium between blood and brain

How does CSF flow through the ventricular system?

1.) Choroid plexus is a delicate layer that like the arachnoid membrane produces CSF

2.) The direction of flow of CSF begins with the lateral ventricle then on to the 3rd to the 4th ventricle

3.) CSF absorbed back into the circulatory system thru veins beneath the top of skull

List the ventricles of the brain.

- Right and left lateral ventricles (2)

- 3rd ventricle

- 4th ventricle

CT Scan can help visualize what?

- damaged tissue that results in memory speech and cognitive dysfunction.

Positron emission tomography (PET)

- gives images of brain activity of:

- Uses radioactive chemicals injected into the bloodstream

- areas that are the most active, giving off gamma rays

Functional MRI (fMRI)

- detects small changes in brain metabolism, like oxygen use, in active brain areas.

- fMRI can show how networks of brain structures collaborate.

The amount of oxygen available is measured indirectly, on the basis of blood flow or the state of hemoglobin in blood called the:

BOLD signal: blood-oxygen-level-dependent

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS):

helps map out localization of function when areas are activated and behavior changes

Magnetoencephalography (MEG):

measures the tiny magnetic fields given off by active neurons.

- Know the 5 perspectives used to explore the biology of behavior

1.) Description

2.) Evolution

3.) Development

4.) Mechanisms

5.) Application

What are the 3 approaches used to relate the brain to behavior?

Somatic Intervention

Behavioral Intervention

Correlation

Somatic Intervention

change of a structure or function to see how behavior is changed

Behavioral Intervention

change in a behavior to see how structure or function is altered (opposite of somatic)

Correlation

A behavior is somehow linked to a structure, but we don't know the direction of that link.

Reductionism

breaks a system down into its smaller parts, in order to understand it.

levels of analysis that are used in biopsych

Cellular Level

Synaptic Level

Molecular Level

Social Level

Organ Level

Neural systems level

Brain region level

Circuit level

Most prevalent neurological disorder?

Alzheimers

3,000,000

Most prevalent psychiatric disorder?

Anxiety

16,000,000