Neuroscience and Brain Theory Review

Flashcards covering foundational brain theories, historic neuroscientists, localization of function, aphasias, cellular neuroscience, and Luria's functional units based on lecture transcript notes.

Brain theory

The concept that the brain is the source of behavior.

Neuron theory

The concept that the unit of brain structure and function is the neuron or nerve cell.

Neural tube

The basic plan of the brain, consisting of a tube of tissue.

Cerebrospinal fluid

Fluid that cushions the brain and assists in removing metabolic waste.

Neocortex

The outer layer of the brain.

Gyri

Folds or bumps on the brain's surface.

Sulci

Creases or shallow grooves on the brain's surface.

Fissures

Larger, deeper sulci on the brain's surface.

Longitudinal fissure

The large fissure dividing the two cerebral hemispheres when viewed from the front.

Lateral fissure

The fissure dividing each cerebral hemisphere into halves.

Commissures

Structures, such as the corpus callosum, that connect the brain's two hemispheres.

Mentalism

The philosophical position, originated by Aristotle, that a person's nonmaterial mind (psyche) is responsible for behavior.

Aristotle

Philosopher who proposed mentalism, asserting the nonmaterial psyche produces action through the heart, and anticipated the concept of tabula rasa.

Dualism

The position proposed by Descartes that the body is like a machine, while the nonmaterial mind decides movements, and the two interact.

René Descartes

Philosopher who proposed dualism, claimed mind-body interaction occurs at the pineal body, described nerves as hollow tubes, and posited animals lack minds.

Pineal body

A small structure on the brainstem selected by Descartes as the site of mind-body interaction because it is not bilaterally symmetrical and lies near the ventricles.

Materialism

The idea that rational behavior can be fully explained by the workings of the nervous system, as proposed by Darwin.

Charles Darwin

Naturalist who proposed materialism, stating all animals evolved from a common ancestor due to similarities in nervous system structure.

Epigenetics

The study of how the environment influences behavior and gene expression.

Neuroplasticity

The capacity of the brain to physically and chemically change its structure and function.

Localization of function

The theory that different specific areas of the brain control specific behaviors.

Franz Gall and Johann Gaspar Spurzheim

Researchers who proposed functional cortex localization, studied the corticospinal tract, discovered corpus callosum connections, and founded phrenology.

Corticospinal tract

The main motor pathway leading from the cortex of each hemisphere to the spinal cord on the opposite side of the body.

Phrenology

The theory that bumps on the skull represent well-developed underlying cortical gyri and correspond to specific personality traits or faculties.

Cranioscopy

The practice of using a device to measure bumps on the human skull to determine mental faculties.

Lateralization of function

The localization of a specific function primarily on one side of the brain.

Jean Baptiste Bouillaud

Physician who proposed that certain right-hand motor functions are localized to the left hemisphere.

Marc Dax

Physician who demonstrated that speech disorders were consistently associated with lesions in the left hemisphere.

Paul Broca

Physician who localized speech to the third frontal gyrus of the left hemisphere.

Broca's area

The anterior speech region located in the third convolution (gyrus) of the left hemisphere.

Broca aphasia

A condition caused by damage to Broca's area, characterized by the inability to speak, often accompanied by paralysis of the right arm and leg.

Carl Wernicke

Neurologist who developed the first model of language production and identified temporal lobe aphasia.

Wernicke's area

A region of the temporal lobe critical for language comprehension.

Wernicke aphasia

A speech disorder caused by damage to Wernicke's area, characterized by fluent but meaningless speech (fluent aphasia).

Conduction aphasia

A language disorder where speech sounds and movement are retained, but speech transmission between comprehension and speech production regions is impaired due to severed arcuate fibers.

Arcuate fasciculus

A major white matter tract in the brain that connects Wernicke's area to Broca's area.

Pierre Flourens

Physiologist who challenged localization by removing brain tissue in animals and demonstrating functional recovery, asserting the brain acts as a single whole.

Hierarchical organization

A principle where each higher level of the nervous system controls progressively more complex aspects of behavior via lower levels.

John Hughlings-Jackson

Neurologist who divided the nervous system into three hierarchical levels (spinal cord, brainstem, forebrain) and introduced the concept of dissolution.

Dissolution

The process where damage to higher levels of the nervous system hierarchy results in simpler, less complex behavior.

William B. Scoville

Neurosurgeon who performed bilateral temporal lobe resection on patient H.M., resulting in severe amnesia while preserving motor skill learning.

Binding problem

The question of how the brain integrates separate sensory and motor processes into a single unified perception or action.

Joseph Bogen and Philip Vogel

Neurosurgeons who performed callosomies to prevent the spread of severe epileptic seizures.

Ventral stream

The visual processing pathway running from the visual cortex to the temporal lobe responsible for object identification.

Dorsal stream

The visual processing pathway running from the visual cortex to the parietal cortex responsible for guiding action relative to objects.

Visual agnosia

An inability to visually recognize objects resulting from lesions along the ventral stream.

Optic ataxia

An inability to accurately reach for objects resulting from lesions along the dorsal stream, despite intact visual object description.

Glial cells

Supportive cells in the nervous system that bind neurons together, deliver nutrients, and remove waste products.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Microscopist who examined nerves with an early microscope and recognized cells as basic structural units.

Camillo Golgi

Neuroscientist who identified dendrites, axons, and cell bodies, and proposed reticular theory (that neurons form an interconnected net).

Santiago Ramón y Cajal

Neuroscientist who demonstrated that neurons develop from single cells and are discrete autonomous units, establishing neuron theory.

Luigi Galvani

Anatomist who discovered that electrical stimulation of frog nerves causes muscle contraction, asserting electricity was intrinsic to tissue.

Gustav Theodor Fritsch and Eduard Hitzig

Researchers who showed that electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex produces motor movements.

Topographic organization

A neural-spatial representation of the body or sensory world within a brain area.

Robert Bartholow

Physician who demonstrated electrical stimulation of the brain on a conscious human patient.

Charles Sherrington

Physiologist who introduced the term synapse to describe the non-continuous functional gap between nerves and muscles.

Otto Loewi

Pharmacologist who proved chemical messengers cross the synaptic gap to transmit neural signals.

Donald Hebb

Psychologist who proposed that learning occurs when co-activated neurons strengthen their synaptic connections.

Herophilus

Greek physician (ca. 270 BC) who performed early human dissections and designated the ventricles as the seat of the soul.

Galen

Roman physician (ca. 129-199 AD) who linked mind to brain function and proposed four bodily temperaments (sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, melancholic).

Stephen Gray

Scientist who demonstrated around 1729 that electricity can be transmitted from one object to another.

Alessandro Volta

Inventor who created the battery and disputed Galvani by demonstrating electricity could be generated externally.

Luigi Rolando

Physician who used galvanic current to stimulate animal brain tissue and proposed the cerebellum functions as a voltaic pile for movement.

Unit I (Luria)

A. R. Luria's functional cortical unit located in the reticular activating system responsible for tone, arousal, sleep/wake, and breathing.

Unit II (Luria)

A. R. Luria's sensory unit responsible for the reception, analysis, and storage of sensory information.

Unit III (Luria)

A. R. Luria's motor unit responsible for programming, regulating, and verifying conscious executive activity.

Luria's Unit II and Unit III Cortical Processing Flow

Diagram contrasting Unit II sensory processing (flowing from Primary to Secondary to Tertiary levels) with Unit III motor processing (flowing from Tertiary to Secondary to Primary levels).

Split-Brain Olfactory Identification Process

An experiment showing that when perfume is sensed via the right nostril, olfactory signals reach the right hemisphere (allowing left-hand object selection) while the left hemisphere controls speech and denies smelling anything.