Physiological Psychology Lecture Exam 1

Five viewpoints that explore the biology of behavior

1. Describing behavior

2. Studying the biological mechanisms of behavior

3. Observing development of behavior over lifespan

4. Studying evolution of behavior over many life-spans

5. Studying applications of neuroscience to disease, disfunction

Ontogeny

process by which an individual changes throughout its lifespan

components of evolution of brain and behavior

• continunity of behavior and biological processes because of common ancestry

• differences in behavior and biology that have evolved as adaptation to different environments

approaches relating brain and behavior

• somatic intervention

• behavioral intervention

• correlation

somatic intervention

alteration of a structure or function to see how behavior is altered

behavioral intervention

intervention in a behavior to see how body structure or function is altered

correlation

extent to which a given body measure varies with a given behavioral measure

neuroplasticity

the ability of the brain to be changed by environment and experience (a reciprocal relationship between brain and behavior)

levels of analysis

social level

organ level

neural systems level

brain region level

circuit level

cellular level

synaptic level

molecular level

reductionism

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

Greek and Egyptian scientists view of neuroscience

considered the heart to be the seat of mental capacities (eg. Aristotle, 350 BC)

Galen

2nd century, reported behavioral changes in brain-injured gladiators

Leonardo da Vinci

1400s-1500s, pioneered anatomical drawings, including the use of cross-sections

Descartes

1500s-1600s, proposed notions of spinal reflexes and their neural pathways, dualism, and that the pineal gland is the junction between mind and body

dualism

humans have a nonmaterial soul as well as a material body

Thomas Willis

1600s, systematically studied human brain structure and brain disorders

Paul Broca

1860s, showed that language ability is restricted to a small area, based on symptoms of a patient with damage in that region

Old phrenology

1800s, assigned separate functions to cortical areas based on bumps on skull

William James

Father of American Psychology, linked psychological ideas to the nervous system

Ebbinghaus, Thorndike, Pavlov

learning and memory, conditioning, perception, and motivation

Hebb

1949, described neuronal connections such as cell assemblies and Hebbian synapses

“Cells that fire together wire together”

Consciousness

the state of awareness of one’s own existence and experience

neurons

nerve cells; the basic anatomical units of the nervous system, 80-90B in adult humans

glial cells

provide support for information processing neurons; almost as many as neurons; not completely understood

neuron doctrine

created by Ramon y Cajal, says that the brain is composed of metabolically, structurally, and functionally independent cells

information is transmitted from cell to cell across synapses, or tiny gaps between the neurons

Camillo Golgi

created the Golgi stain, coined the reticular theory (which is incorrect)

dendrites

input zone; cellular extensions that receive information

cell body (soma)

integration zone; integrates information through the axon hillock

axons

conduction zone; carry information away from the cell body

axon terminals

output zone; signals are transmitted across synapses

principal forms of neurons

• multipolar

• bipolar

• unipolar

multipolar

one axon, many dendries— most common type

bipolar

one axon, one dendrite

unipolar (monopolar)

a single extension branches in two directions, forming a receptive pole and an output zone

motor neurons

stimulate muscles or glands

sensory neurons

respond to environmental stimuli, such as light, odor, or touch

interneurons

receive input from and send input to other neurons

types of histology

• Nissl stain

• Golgi stain

• IHS

• tract tracing

• brainbow

transmembrane proteins

• Channels

• Gated channels

• pumps

Myelin

fatty protein made by glial cells

• covers and insulates axons

• increases transmission and speed and improves energy efficiency of action potentials

conduction velocity

directly related to axon width and degree of myelination

axon hillock

cone-shaped area of the cell body that gives rise to the axon; site of integration

motor proteins

Kinesin (from soma to terminal; anterograde)

Dynein (from terminal to soma; retrograde)

presynaptic neuron

sending axon

postsynaptic neuron

receiving dendrites

synaptic cleft

gap that separates the pre- and post-synaptic membranes

axon terminals (synaptic boutons)

end points of an axon where the release of chemicals to communicate with other neurons occurs

synaptic vesicles

located in presynaptic axon terminals and contain chemical neurotransmitters

receptors

located in the postsynaptic membrane, specialized proteins that react when a neurotransmitter molecule binds to them

neural plasticity

configuration of synapses on dendrites and cell body is constantly changing in response to experience and environment

“Out of synch lose their link”

astrocytes

CNS, monitor neuronal activity and support synapses and tripartite gliotransmission

help form the blood-brain barrier

microglial cells

CNS, remove cellular debris and defend against injury

oligodendrocytes

CNS, form myelin sheath in the brain and spinal cord

ependymal cells

CNS, make cerebrospinal fluid

Schwann cells

PNS, form myelin sheath for neurons outside of the brain and spinal cord

myelination

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

nodes of ranvier

gaps between sections of myelin where the axon is exposed

Multiple sclerosis

a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system

gross neuroanatomy

features of the nervous system visible to the naked eye

central nervous system (CNS)

the brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

all parts of the nervous system found outside the skull and spinal column

somatic nervous system

consists of cranial nerves and spinal nerves, connect brain and major muscles and sensory systems

voluntary and conscious

motor nerves

transmit information from the CNS to muscles, organs, and glands

controlled by the cortex

efferent

sensory nerves

convey information from the body to the CNS

goes to cortex

afferent

12 Cranial Nerves

1. Olfactory (S)

2. Optic (S)

3. Occulomotor (M)

4. Trochlear (M)

5. Trigeminal (B)

6. Abducens (M)

7. Facial (B)

8. Vestibulocochlear (S)

9. Glossopharyngeal (B)

10. Vagus (B)

11. Spinal Accessory (M)

12. Hypoglossal (M)

ventral root

efferent, carries motor information from the spinal cord to the muscles

dorsal root

afferent, carries sensory information from the body to the spinal cord

spinal nerves

• cervical (8)

• thoracic (12)

• lumbar (5)

• sacral (5)

• coccyx (1)

autonomic nervous system

nerves that primarily control the viscera

not continuous or voluntary (mostly), but still controlled by the brain

divisions of the autonomic nervous system

• sympathetic nervous system

• parasympathetic nervous system

• enteric nervous system

sympathetic

activation prepares the body for action (fight/fight response)

neurotransmitter(s) for sympathetic nervous system

acetylcholine and norepinephrine

parasympathetic

activation is often in opposition to sympathetic activity (rest/digest response)

neurotransmitter(s) for parasympathetic nervous system

acetylcholine

enteric

local network of neurons that govern function of the gut

neurotransmitter(s) of the enteric nervous system

acetylcholine, but many others are used

preganglionic neurons

run from the CNS to the autonomic ganglia

autonomic ganglia

groups of neurons located outside the CNS

postganglionic neurons

run from the autonomic ganglia to targets in the body

characteristics of sympathetic NS

• ganglia organized in a chain near spinal cord

• everything activates together in sympathy

• ACh and norepinephrine (aka noradrenaline)

characteristics of parasympathetic NS

• ganglia near target organ

• targets activated independently of each other

• acetylcholine only

efferent

traveling away from the CNS (or from a soma)

afferent

traveling toward the CNS (or towards a neuron)

nerve

a group of fibers (axons) traveling together in the PNS

tract

a group of fibers (axons) traveling together in the CNS

nucleus

a collection of cell bodies int he CNS

ganglion

a collection of cell bodies in the PNS

gyri

ridges; bumps; convolution of the cortex of the cerebral hemispheres, separated by sulci or fissures

sulci

furrows; cracks; grooves in the surface of the cerebral hemisphere between gyri, smaller than a fissure

fissure

major groove in the surface; larger than a sulcus

neural tube

the beginning of the CNS during development

subdivisions of the head

1. forebrain (prosencephalon)

2. midbrain (mesencephalon)

3. hindbrain (rhombencephalon)

forebrain (prosencephalon)

• telencephalon (cerebral hemispheres with cortex and subcortical white matter, basal ganglia, basal forebrain nuclei)

• diencephalon (thalamus and hypothalamus)

midbrain (mesencephalon)

subcortical motor and sensory components

• cerebral peduncles

• midbrain tectum

• midbrain tegmentumc

hindbrain (rhombencephalon)

• metencephalon becomes the cerebellum and pons

• myelencephalon, also called the medulla oblongota

cerebral cortex

outermost layer; folds (gyri and sulci/fissures) increase amount of cortex

subcortical regions

within the brain, beneath the cortical surface

precentral gyrus

in the frontal lobe, important for motor control

postcentral gyrus

in the parietal lobe, important for touch

gray matter

cell bodies and dendrites (lack myelin)