Psych Test 2

Glial Cell

• Provide functional/structural support for more powerful cells (neurons)

Blood brain barrier

• Cushions brain against injury, protect brain from toxins 

• Some medicines have to build up before any effect can occur 

  • Explains why some drugs have to be taken for a certain period of time before any effect shows

Neuroplasticity

The brain’s ability to change / the brain's ability to reorganize its structure, function or connection in response to experience

Neuropeptides

Brain chemicals that help regulate our neurons

Neurogenesis

Production of new brain cells / process of generating new neurons

Neurons

• Cells that communicate with each other and other parts of the body for information processing tasks

• Transmit information through the nervous system

Dendrites

• Part of the neuron (looks like branches/fingers)

• Reach out to gather information from other neurons

  • Then sends information to the cell body/soma

• Receive incoming signals from other neurons 

Cell body/soma

• Takes info from dendrites -> Decides what to do next with the information

  • Stop there or send information on?

• Integrates signals, decides whether to fire an action potential

• If the information is important -> send to axon

Axon

• Largest part of the neuron

• If cell body decides to send information on -> travels down axon

• “Hallway for information”

Myelin sheath

• Grey area along axon

• Speeds up travel of information along axon

• Insulates axon / speeds up signal transmission

Terminal buttons

• Last part of the neuron 

• Sends info to another neuron

• Release neurotransmitters to the next neuron’s dendrites

Synapse

• Where the terminal buttons send info

• Tiny space between neurons 

• Neurons should NOT be touching

Synaptic pruning

• Remove synaptic connections as we better understand the info we are processing

• Make brain more efficient

Sensory Neurons

type of neurons, take info from sense organs into brain

Afferent

take info TO the brain

motor neurons

 type of neurons, takes directions/instructions from brain to muscles

Efferent

take info AWAY from brain

Mirror neurons

Type of neurons that allow us to process what others are feeling and doing

Inter neurons 

• Majority of neurons 

• Neurons that connect to other neurons

• Just send info onElec

Electrical Information Transmission

within a neuron (axon)

Chemical Information Transmission

 between neurons

action potential

the impulse of positive charge that runs down an axon

-70mV → +40mV

ions in action potential

Allow change from negative to positive to occur in an action potential

refractory period

 (below -70 mV), after action potential / brief interval after an action potential which a neuron's ability to fire is reduced

absolute refractory period

• Neuron will not fire again no matter how strong the stimulus 

• Cannot fire / membrane fully inactivated 

relative refractory period 

• After absolute 

• Neuron can send info but requires stronger stimulus 

• “Neuron is tired, has to be worth it”

• Can fire only with a stronger stimulus 

Agonist

• Enhances 

• Medicine that makes neurotransmitters more effective 

Antagonist

• Blocks

• Medicine that makes neurotransmitters less effective

Dopamine

• “pleasure/reward neurotransmitter”

• Also important for voluntary movement 

Dysfunction of Dopamine

Too much -> associated with schizophrenia -> need antagonist

Dysfunction of Dopamine

• Too little -> associated with Parkingson’s disease (inability of controlling movement) -> need agonist

Serotonin

• Important for controlling negative emotions

• Important for sleep, paying attention

Dysfunction of Serotonin

•  too little -> associated with depression, anxiety, OCD -> need agonist

Epinephrine

• Energized mental state

• “High risk situations”

Norepinephrine

• Focuses on mental and physical alertness

• Paying attention 

Dysfunction of Norepinephrine

• lack of -> associated with depression 

cocaine

agonist for Norepinephrine, produces burst of energy

Endorphins

• “Body’s pain killer”

• Often released when exercising 

  • Positive emotional state “runner’s high”

• Important for regulation of eating

• Pain relief + positive emotional state + eating regulation

GABA

• Primary inhibitory neurotransmitter 

• STOP sign

  • Tells next neuron to stop

  • Very common

• Signals downstream neurons to stop firing

Dysfunction of GABA

not enough -> epilepsy

Glutamate

• Primary excitatory neurotransmitter

• GO sign

Dysfunction of Glutamate

• Too much -> seizures

  • Brain overwhelmed with too many signals 

Acetylcholine

• 1st neurotransmitter to be discovered 

• Seems to be important for

  • Voluntary muscle movements

  • (primary function) memory and learning 

    • Important for healthy functioning memory

Dysfunction of Acetylcholine

Alzheimer’s -> associated _____ __ ____

Information Transmission

with regard to communication between neurons as terminal buttons release into synapse 

Enzymatic degradation

• Enzymes go into synapse and “eat up” leftover neurotransmitters

Reuptake

• Where terminal buttons “suck up” some of the neurotransmitters it releases

• Reabsorbs neurotransmitters for future use

Intelligence correlation

• People originally thought a larger brain = more intelligence

• In reality, more surface area = more intelligence

  • Hence wrinkly brains 

Contralateral control 

• Brain concerned with opposite side of body

  • Generally left hemisphere of the brain is focused on the right side of the body

  • Generally right hemisphere of the brain is focused on the left side of the body

Association area

• Area not involved with motor or sensory

  • Involved with higher order thinking in humans 

    • Logic, reasoning, decision making, etc

      • These are disturbed across both hemispheres

• Regions not devoted to pure motor/sensory jobs

HIndbrain

• Oldest evolutionary and in fetal development

• Located at the bottom of the brain

• Develops 1st, keeps body alive

Midbrain

• On top of hindbrain

• (not talked about much in this class)

•  focused on movement component, process environment info, coordinate physical response to sensory input, produces dopamine 

Forebrain

• Last to develop evolutionary and in humans (into 20s)

  • Differs most across species, especially in humans 

• More complex thinking/ most complex functions 

Conduction

• Elements have to go through the hindbrain both ways

• Important for connecting the brain to the rest of the body

Medulla

• At the very bottom 

• Critical for heart rate, circulation, respiration, and reflexes

  • If damaged -> almost certainly going to die

reticular formation

• Important for sleep, mood, attention 

• Some neurotransmitters are very connected 

  • Serotonin

  • Norepinephrine 

• Damage -> profound arousal and mood deficits 

pons

• Also important in sleep, attention 

• Important for facial expressions

  • In terms of you making them and processing those of others

• Way station for the cerebellum 

• Damage -> disrupted sleep and social cue reading 

Cerebellum

• Big wrinkly part at the back

• “Little brain”

• The densest area of neurons in the brain (more than 50% of neurons are here)

• Important for fine motor movement (includes speech, more in humans than other animals), balance and gracefulness

• Looks more different in humans than other animals

Tectum

• Back of the midbrain

• Receives sense info about environment

• Helps move (physically respond) in response to that sense info

• Helps physically respond to sensory input

Tegmentum

• Front of the midbrain

• Helps determine where to focus attention to get more information

• Processes new environmental info during movement 

Cerebral cortex

• exterior of forebrain, wrinkly surface people think about when they think of the brain

men

tend to have lots of connection within a hemisphere

women

tend to have more connections across/between hemispheres

Corpus callosum

• Band of fibers below the cerebral cortex that allow the hemispheres to connect