Studied by 35 people
Definitions of terms + critical historical figures
Aristotle’s view
father of science
argued that the brain’s purpose was to cool the blood and that the psyche resided in the heart
Hippocrates’ view
father of medicine
argued for major role of the brain in behavior and for the role of humors
humors
internal fluids
Galen’s view
physician
argued for major role of the brain in behavior and that ventricles were critical
who provided the first brain drawings?
Willis and Wren
Gall’s view
argued for localized brain function and experience dependent neuroplasticity
localized brain function
different brain regions have different functions
experience dependent neuroplasticity
brain areas develop with use
suggested by Descartes Spurzheim
how is Descartes’ fluid model consistent with dualism?
because he argues that the brain and mind are separate
the brain is for simple functions while the mind is for complex functions
Descartes’ view
argued that the pineal gland was the site of interaction between the brain and the mind
Holistic view
every part of the brain participates in every function
Ramon Y Gajal
father of modern neuroscience
advanced staining procedures used by Golgi to visualize nervous system
argued that nervous system was made of discrete individual cells rather than being a single continuous network
neuron doctrine
nervous system is made of discrete individual cells
reticular theory
nervous system is a single continuous network
Sherrington
argued that the synapse was the functional connection between neurons
Who confirmed Sherrington’s theory?
Palay
Brodmann Map
The 52 Brodmann areas of the brain have assigned functions like motor function and cognitions
Brodmann areas
the 52 distinct brain areas making up the brain
Cellular connectionist theory
independent cells exist and form groups connecting with each other to mediate behaviors
what is the intermediate perspective between the localized function view and the holistic view?
the cellular connectionist view
Compensation in the context of injury
if one area in the cell network is damaged another might adjust to takeover its function
Otto Loewi
pharmacologist who was the first to identify a neurotransmitter
what was the first identified neurotransmitter?
acetylcholine
Who described the characteristics of action potential?
Eccles, Hodgkin and Huxley
Ethical perspective on animal models
in order to infer causal relationships for experimental designs
Reductionist/Logistic perspective on animal models
they have a simple nervous system so they are more convenient to study
Evolutionary perspective
similarities in the nervous system of species explain behavioral similarities
Comparative perspective
nervous system differences between species explain behavioral differences
Limitations of animal models
expensive
not the most accurate representation of human behavior (animals can’t speak)
not always generalizable
what are the symptoms of depression?
anhedonia
fatigue
low self worth/feelings of guilt
disturbances in sleep, appetite and activity
concentration difficulties
suicidal ideations
anhedonia
absence of pleasure-seeking, loss of interest in activities normally enjoyed
behavioral despair
used to model depression in animals by demonstrating how they stop struggling in an inescapable situation
Forced Swim Test
seeing how long an animal tries to escape the water before giving up
models behavioral despair
Tail Suspension Test
suspending mice by the tail
used to screen antidepressants
model for behavioral despair
Sucrose Preference Test
Sees whether the mice prefer the water with sugar vs without and they preference for plain water indicates anhedonia
model for anhedonia
What animal has a comparable brain structure to humans?
Chimpanzees
How did Becky the Chimpanzee’s behavior change after lesion to the prefrontal cortex?
She was no longer upset when making errors in behavioral tasks
Moniz
developed a treatment called frontal leukotomy that initially had positive results leading to widespread application of the procedure but inevitably caused permanent damage to the PFC because the experimental method was not used
What was Moniz’s theory of PFC damage?
he argued that prefrontal cortex damage could help treat mental illness
What were the key mistakes of Moniz’s procedure?
experimental method was not used
case study so not generalizable
species differences was ignored
limited follow up
ignored individual rights
gene
unit of heredity transferred from parent to offspring
50% genetic material from father and 50% from mother
DNA
makes up a gene
nucleotides
arranged in a string to make up DNA
nucleotide sequence
base pair sequence/code of the gene
determines where it is going
regulatory sequences
regulates the expression of the gene
coding sequences
determine the structure of the gene’s product
what are the key proteins in the nervous system?
enzymes
receptors
cytoskeletal parts
transporters
polygenic traits
characteristics influenced by 2 or more genes
monogenic traits
trait produced by the effect of a gene or an allele
tendency to be disordered
heritability estimate
proportion of variability in a trait that is explained by genetics
h2= Vg/Vp ( variability due to genetics / the variability of the phenotype
higher h2, more likely that the trait is driven by genetic factors
variability of the phenotype
the sum of the variability due to genetics and the variability due to the environment
what diseases in the nervous system are linked to a single gene of very strong effect?
Huntington's disease (dementia)
Phenylketonuria (mental retardation)
Tay-Sachs Disease
Charcot-Marie-Tooth Syndrome
pleiotropy
one gene can serve many functions
Epigenetics
study of meiotically or mitotically heritable changes in gene expression/function that cannot be explained by changes in DNA sequence
why monozygotic twins are different
alcohol tolerance with drinking
Note
Flashcard