Brain and Behavior Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary terms related to the brain and behavior, including historical theories, neuroimaging techniques, brain regions, neuroplasticity, acquired brain injuries, neurological disorders and CTE.

Psychology

The scientific study of human mental states and behaviour.

Brain versus heart debate

A historical debate as to whether the heart or the brain is responsible for mental processes, such as thought, emotion, and behaviour.

Heart Hypothesis

The heart was believed to be the origin of personality, logic, and emotion and was carefully preserved during mummification.

Brain Hypothesis

The ancient Greek philosophers believed that the brain was solely responsible for mental functions, including personality and logic.

The mind-body problem

Complex philosophical question as to whether our mind is separate and distinguishable from our body or whether they are one integrated entity.

Dualism

The mind and body are separate entities because they are distinguishable by their functions and substance. The mind is non-physical whereas our body is made up of physical matter.

Monism

The mind and body are not separate entities.

Phrenology

The study of the shape and size of the human skull to determine personality and mental functioning.

Franz Gall

German physician who established the practice of phrenology in 1796.

Brain ablation

Involves the surgical removal, destruction, or cutting of a region of brain tissue.

Pierre Flourens

French physiologist; the first person to practice ablation in the 1820s as a way of studying the brain. He discovered the ‘mind’ was in the organ of the brain and not the heart

Brain lesioning

The practice of inducing and/or studying the effects of damage to an area of the brain.

Split-Brain Research

Separated by cutting the nervous tissue that connected them, known as the corpus callosum.

Cerebral Hemispheres

The symmetrical halves of the cerebrum in the brain.

Hemispheric Specialisation

The difference in functioning between the left and right hemispheres of the brain when performing a specific behaviour or task.

Neuroimaging Techniques

Refers to a range of techniques that are used to capture images of the brain’s structure, function, and activities.

Structural Neuroimaging

Neuroimaging that involves images of brain structures.

Functional Neuroimaging

Neuroimaging that involves images of the brain 'at work'.

Computerised Tomography (CT)

A structural neuroimaging technique that involves taking continuous two-dimensional x-ray images of the brain which are then stacked to create a comprehensive three-dimensional image of the brain.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

A structural neuroimaging technique that uses magnetic and radio fields to take detailed two-dimensional and three-dimensional images of the brain.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

A functional neuroimaging technique that uses a scanning device to take coloured images of the brain, showing its functional activity by tracing the levels of a radioactive substance in the brain.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

A functional neuroimaging technique that uses magnetic and radio fields to take two and three-dimensional images of the brain and record its activity levels by tracing oxygen levels in the brain.

Brain

A complex organ contained within the skull that coordinates mental processes and behaviour, and regulates bodily activity.

Brainstem

An extension of the spinal cord that is made up of the medulla, pons, and midbrain.

Hindbrain

A region at the base of the brain, located around and including some of the brainstem. It consists of the pons, medulla and cerebellum.

Cerebellum

A hindbrain structure that primarily functions to monitor and coordinate skeletal muscle movement and is involved in maintaining balance and posture.

Medulla

A hindbrain structure that is a mass of neurons that primarily functions to regulate autonomic processes, such as respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion and connects the brain to the spinal cord.

Pons

A hindbrain structure that functions to relay information between different brain areas and has an important role in regulating the respiratory system and controlling sleeping, dreaming, and waking.

Midbrain

A region at the centre of the brain, between the hindbrain and forebrain, and is part of the brainstem.

Reticular Formation

A network of neurons located predominantly in the midbrain, although it is not strictly confined to this brain region and extends along the brainstem. It functions to filter neural information and regulate sleep, wakefulness and arousal

Forebrain

A large and prominent brain region that is located at the top and front of the brain. It has an important role in sophisticated mental processes, including cognition, perception, learning, language, and memory.

Cerebrum

Has a crucial role in various mental processes and behaviours and coordinates sophisticated mental processes, including cognition, perception, judgement, language, and problem-solving.

Hypothalamus

Functions to maintain optimal biological functioning by regulating internal processes, including hormone levels, hunger, thirst, body temperature, and blood pressure.

Thalamus

Functions as a filtering system and relay centre for sensory information, excluding olfactory information.

Cerebral Cortex

The outer layer of the cerebrum that covers the brain and is involved in the initiation of voluntary motor movements, the processing of sensory information, and mental processes.

Motor Areas

Regions of the cerebral cortex that have functions related to initiating and executing motor movements and are made up of motor neurons.

Sensory Areas

Regions of the cerebral cortex that have functions related to receiving and processing information from the five senses and are made up of sensory neurons.

Association Areas

Regions of the cerebral cortex that integrate information from both motor areas and sensory areas to execute complex mental processes.

Frontal Lobe

The largest and frontmost lobe of the cerebral cortex that is composed of motor and association areas.

Prefrontal Cortex

The last region of your brain to develop, reaching maturity at around 25 years of age, and is responsible for complex cognitive processes and decision making.

Premotor Cortex

Also involved in voluntary motor movement. It processes planned movements into an organised sequence of motions and sends this sequence to the primary motor cortex.

Primary Motor Cortex

Has an important role in initiating voluntary motor movements. It receives the sequence of motions from the premotor cortex and signals to the cerebellum to relay this motor information to the skeletal muscles, which carry out this motor movement.

Broca's Area

Responsible for the production of speech.

Parietal Lobe

The lobe of the cerebral cortex, located behind the frontal lobe, and is composed of sensory and association areas.It consists of the primary somatosensory cortex.

Primary Somatosensory Cortex

Has an important role in receiving and processing sensory information, such as touch, temperature, pressure, pain, and other sensations.

Occipital Lobe

The rearmost lobe of the cerebral cortex, located behind the parietal lobe, and is composed of sensory and association areas. It has a distinct region, the primary visual cortex.

Primary Visual Cortex

Receives visual information from the visual field via the optic nerve, where it is then processed.

Temporal Lobe

The lowest lobe of the cerebral cortex, located beneath the parietal lobe, and is composed of sensory and association areas. It contains the primary auditory cortex and Wernicke's area.

Primary Auditory Cortex

Has an important role in receiving and processing auditory information.

Wernicke's Area

Responsible for the comprehension of speech, enabling the understanding of spoken language.

Neuron

A nerve cell that receives and transmits neural information.

Dendrites

Receive neuronal messages

Myelin

Insulates the neuron and prevents disturbance from other neurons

Axon Terminals

Sends neuronal messages to the next neuron.

Synapse

The region that includes the axon terminals of the presynaptic neuron, the synaptic gap, and the dendrites of the postsynaptic neuron.

Presynaptic Neuron

The neuron that fires the message into the synaptic gap.

Postsynaptic Neuron

The neuron that receives the message from the synapse.

Synaptic Gap

The space between neurons

Neuroplasticity

The ability of the brain to change in response to experience or environmental stimulation.

Developmental Plasticity

Changes in the brain that occur in response to ageing and maturation.

Adaptive Plasticity

The brain's ability to restore adequate neural functioning over time after sustaining injury (brain trauma and injury).

Brain Trauma

Brain trauma damage to the brain that is caused by an external force.

Synaptogenesis

The formation of synapses between neurons as axon terminals and dendrites grow.

Synaptic Pruning

The elimination of underused synapses.

Myelination

The formation and development of myelin around the axon of a neuron.

Sprouting

The ability of a neuron to develop new branches on the dendrites or axons.

Rerouting

A neuron's ability to form a new connection with another undamaged neuron.

Mental Stimulation

An activity that activates neuronal connections and involves the processing of information.

Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)

All types of brain injuries that occur after birth.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Damage to the brain caused by an external force.

Non-Traumatic Brain Injury

Damage to the brain caused by internal factors, such as a lack of oxygen or a tumour.

Neurological Disorders

Diseases characterised by any damage to or malfunctioning of the nervous system.

Parkinson's Disease

A progressive disease of the nervous system characterised by both motor and non-motor symptoms.

Neurodegenerative Disease

A disease characterised by the progressive loss of neurons in the brain.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter (brain chemical) that is responsible for the coordination of voluntary movement and the experience of pleasure and pain.

Epilepsy

A neurological disorder that is associated with abnormal electrical activity in the brain and is categorised by recurrent seizures.

Seizures

Brief episodes of uncontrolled and unrestricted electrical discharging of neurons in the brain.

Epileptogenesis

A process during which structural and functional changes occur in the brain that create an environment that is 'supportive' for seizures to occur.

Supervised Learning

Involves the use of labelled data to train algorithms on how to classify data or predict outcomes.

Unsupervised Learning

This process involves using an algorithm to identify patterns or trends within data (that are not labelled) that have not yet been discovered.

Gut

The long flexible tube from mouth to anus that is the passageway involved in digestion.

Gut-brain Axis

The bidirectional connection between the gut and the brain through multiple parts of the nervous system.

Gut Microbiota

All of the microorganisms that live in the gut.

Faecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT)

An intervention that involves the administration of faecal matter from a healthy donor into the intestinal tract of a recipient.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

Progressive and fatal brain disease associated with repeated head injuries and concussions.

Concussions

Mild traumatic brain injuries that temporarily disrupt brain function.

Post-mortem Examination

An assessment of a dead body that occurs to determine the cause of death.

Neurofibrillary Tangles

Insoluble tangles within neurons which then inhibit the transportation of essential substances and eventually kill the neuron entirely.