BIO PSYCH

A researcher conducts an EEG study of psychology students looking at brain activity in response to tone variation in sentences heard. Which subfield of biopsychology is this researcher primarily concerned with?

Psychophysiology

Which subdiscipline uses assessments or case studies to examine potential brain damage and its effects?

Neuropsychology

When approaching research which of the following are advantages to using human subjects.

Can report subjective experiences

True or False: The Institutional Review Board (IRB) would allow marketing material to include that the drug under study will cure depression for participants.

False; Treatment claims are not allowed on marketing material.

Which type of imaging is useful for identifying blood clots, aneurysms, and narrow arteries through pictures of blood vessels in the brain?

Angiogram

Which kind of imaging device is most useful for measuring the size of a tumor in brain tissue?

MRI

Which of the following statements is true:

The strength of the graded potentials are directly proportional to the strength of the stimulus.

At action potential threshold, ______________ channels open, causing the influx of _______ ions, which then causes depolarization.

voltage-gated; Na+

During ________________, some Na+ channels can open, but some are still in the inactivated state, this is why we are able to generate an action potential if it's strong enough to overcome ______ efflux.

Relative refractory period; K+

_______ summation is when there are two GP's arriving from the same source at different times, while ____________is when there are two GP's arriving at the same time from different places.

Temporal; Spatial

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

Pre-synaptic modulation will always affect all postsynaptic cells

When the axon terminal of one neuron synapses onto the soma of

another neuron to modulate neurotransmitter release this is called

______________________________.

When a neuron synapses onto the dendrite of another neuron, this

is known as ______________________________.

When an inhibitory neuron reduces the likelihood that the

postsynaptic neuron will fire an action potential by generating an

IPSP through mechanisms such as Cl- influx or K+ efflux, this

process is referred to as ______________________________.

Axosomatic Modulation; Axodendritic Modulation; Post-Synaptic Inhibition

This research study investigates how stroke affects emotion control in humans

Neuropsychology

Examining how hippocampal neurons fire during memory encoding using single-cell recordings in rats

Physiological psychology

Monitoring heart rate and blood pressure of human volunteers in response to an emotional stimuli

Psychophysiology

Which of the following definitions describes the field of physiological psychology? It is the study of the

neural mechanisms of behavior - physiological psychology

Under what circumstance would you use animal subjects for research?

To evaluate the effect of a novel drug on alertness?

True or False?

Afferent neurons carry information from Central Nervous System (CNS) to the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

False: Efferent neurons take information from the CNS to the PNS AND Afferent pathways carry information from the PNS to the CNS

Which of the following statements is true?

The action potential is generated at the initial segment of the axon

True or False

Graded potentials are proportional to the strength of the signal?

True

True or False

Graded potentials always generate Action Potentials

False: The potential must be strong enough to get to above -55mV

(threshold) at the trigger zone to generate an AP

True or False

If Na+ enters the cell, the cell will hyperpolarize

False: Hyperpolarize means to become more negative than the RMP

If a positive ion enters the cell, it will _________ the cell

depolarize

True or False

When the AP reaches the axon terminal, it causes voltage-gated Na+ channels to open

False. The AP opens Ca2+ gates at the axon terminal, allowing tCa2+ to enter the cell and the neurotransmitter to be exocytosed

True or False

Voltage-gated Na+ channels are found at the trigger zone/initial segment (near the axon hillock)

True

Identify the following on the graph:

The Resting Membrane Potential (RMP)

1 and 9

Identify the following on the graph:

Generation of a GP

2

Identify the following on the graph:

During which points on the graph is depolarization happening?

2-3 (Graded Potential) and 3-5 (Action Potential)

Identify the following on the graph:

What does #6 (and #8) represent

Repolarization ( at #6, K+ is leaving the cell; at #8, K+ is re-entering the cell

Identify the following on the graph:

When does hyperpolarization begin?

At #7. K+ gates are slow to close and so K+ continues to leave the cell

True or False?

The Absolute Refractory period happens when the Na+ activation gate

is closed and the inactivation gate is open

False: We can generate an AP when the gates are in these positions

- closed but capable of opening

True or False?

Absolute refractory periods prevent the AP from moving down the axon toward the axon terminal

False: Absolute refractory periods prevent the AP from moving backwards along the axon toward the cell body

True or False?

When the AP reaches the axon terminal it opens Na+ channels and the flow of Na+ into the cell allows the neurotransmitter to be released

False. It is the opening of Ca2+ channels that allows this to happen

True or False?

Myelinated axons transmit voltage signals faster than unmyelinated axons

True

True or False?

If a GP on a postsynaptic cell causes depolarization in the cell body we call this an excitatory post synaptic potential (EPSP)

True

True or False?

An inhibitory postsynaptic potential makes that cell likely to fire an action potential

False: An IPSP is caused by a negatively charged ion moving into the cell and hyperpolarizing it. When the cell is hyperpolarized, it is further from threshold, making it harder to fire an AP

What field studies the relationship between physiological activity and psychological processes in human volunteers.

Psychophysiology

Which of the following is NOT an ethical principle outlined by the Belmont Report?

Nonmaleficence

Which imaging techniques would be safe for participanta with metal in their bodies?

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computed Tomography (CT)

Which of the following statements is false?

Action potentials are NOT generated in the initial segment.

What is it called when stimulus energy is converted into electrical signaling?

Transduction

True or False?

Graded potentials can be summed to generate an action potential.

True

During the relative refractory period

Na+ channels active, K+ channels active, action potential CAN occur

Which is an example of temporal summation?

One neuron fires rapidly so its EPSPs overlap in time

Which of the following best describes postsynaptic modulation?

Affects all postsynaptic cells because the action happens after the synapse

True or False?

In postsynaptic inhibition, excitatory and inhibitory inputs add together, preventing an action potential.

True

Which glial cells myelinate neurons in the central nervous system?

Oligodendrocytes

True or false?

Presynaptic modulation affects all post-synaptic cells.

False

Explain and describe the purpose of Biological Psychology.

To study the effects of biological structures within the human brain on human behavior and connections.

physiological psychology

the study of the neural mechanisms or behaviors (non-human)

psychopharmacology

the study effects of drugs on brain and behavior

neuropsychology

psychological effects of brain dysfunctions/damage in patients

psychophysiology

the relationship between physical activity and psychological processes

cognitive neuroscience

study of neural mechanisms of human cognition

comparative psychology

investigates the evolution, genetics, and adaptiveness of behavior, largely using the comparative method

advantages of using human subjects for research

human brain, informed consent, able to follow directions, able to report subjective experiences

disadvantages of using human subjects for research

don’t always follow directions, don't always report their experiences, complex and can be hard to account for all factors

advantages of using non-human subjects for research

simpler nervous system, comparative approach, fewer ethical constraints, easier to control

disadvantages of using non-human subjects for research

not human brain, moral/ethical dilemmas

What are the steps involved in the research process?

1. Hypothesis - what do you wanna solve?

2. study design - the plan for how you wanna test your hypothesis?

3. funding and institutional approvals

4. research study - running the research study/ data collection phase

5. data analysis - analyzing data from the study

What is the role of the Institutional Review Board (IRB)?

A university wide standing committee whose primary mission is to insure the rights and welfare of all human participants in UTD affiliated research

3 principles of the Belmont report.

respect for persons, beneficence, and justice

beneficence

doe the benefit outweigh the damage

What are the Do’s of Marketing the research study?

include the word research, include the name of the institution, make sure it has the principal investigators name, list the primary contact info, list eligibility criteria, include compensation info, and list purpose, location, and time commitment to the study

What are the Don’ts of Marketing the research study?

use coercive/misleading language, use exculpatory language (waiving of rights), treatment claims, overemphasize payment, promise free treatment, include claims including FDA labeling

Describe the overall summary of the recruitment process

1. define participant profile

2. develop recruitment strategy

3. create marketing materials'

4. distribute materials to target audience

5. track and evaluate recruitment strategies

Cerebral angiogram

Inject a radio/opaic dye into ephemeral artery, provides detail pictures of the blood vessels in the brain. Useful for identifying narrowing arteries, blood clots, and aneurysms

CT scan

Looking at cross-sectional x-ray images. Uses x-ray to create brain scan. Useful for detecting injuries, diagnosing cancers, guiding medical procedures, and monitoring progress of treatment (downside: radiation)

PET scans

highlights brain activity, uses injection radio labeled at 2-deoxyglucose, active neurons take up the tracer, useful for detecting metabolic activity

MRIs - Functional

based on the fact that active areas of the brain used more oxygen then inactive areas. oxygenated blood, has different magnetic properties, deoxygenated blood, this alters the radio frequency waves omitted by Hydrogen ions (H+), signals are BOLD signals - Blood Oxygen Level Dependent, no radio activity, too slow to catch some neural activity

MRIs - Diffusion Tensor

images axonal tracts, useful for tracking neurodegenerative diseases, based on rapid diffusion of water molecules, allows viewing of neuronal interconnectivity, often performed with fMRI and Diffusion Tensor MRI together.

Afferent (sensory)

transmitting information from Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) to the Central Nervous System (CNS)

Efferent (motor)

transmitting information from CNS to PNS

Interneurons

lie entirely within CNS

• Function as integrators of signals

• Make up the majority of neurons (99%)

Neurons

soma and long appendages (dendrites and axons, collaterals).

Dendrites:

receive input. Contain mechanical/chemical gates

Axon Hillock:

specialized for integration of incoming electrical signals

Initial Segment:

Where axon potentials are generated and has voltage gates

Axons (fibers):

carry electrical signals to presynaptic (axon) terminals

Presynaptic (axon) terminals contain

neurotransmittors

Collaterals:

branches of an axon

Polarized

there is unequal charge across the cell membrane;

the inside of the membrane (intracellular environment)

is more negative than the outside (extracellular environment)

Depolarization:

is when the cell becomes less negatively charged than RMP,

= more positive than the RMP

Hyperpolarization

is when the cell becomes more negatively charged

than the RMP

(= less positively charged)

repolarization

which means that the cell RETURNS to RMP

Define “graded potential” (GP)

electrical signaling. the strength of the GP is directly proportional to the strength of the stimulus.