neuro230 discussion quiz

ovulation and attractiveness

women who are ovulating are perceived as more attractive

E. O. Wilson

wrote Sociobiology, argued that we should analyze social behaviors through an evolutionary lens

age range of onset of schizophrenia symptoms

late teens to early thirties

What does a progressive ratio schedule assess?

motivation for drug

allostasis model

posits that people take drugs to avoid negative consequence of withdrawal

critiques of allostasis model

relapse

moral model of addiction

individuals with addiction are people who choose drugs over work, family, and society due to personal morals and weaknesses; claims addiction is not a brain disease

medical model of addiction

an individual with addiction suffers from a chronic brain disease, which can lead to difficulty in stopping drug use

What does a fixed ratio schedule assess?

desire for the drug

sociobiology

scientific study of the factors driving the evolution of social behavior (biological basis for behavior)

Cinderella effect

• evolution favors ensuring survival and reproduction of genetically-related offspring

• phenomenon of favoritism for genetically-related children and a higher incidence of mistreatment by stepparents compared to biological parents

schizophrenia positive symptoms

deviant symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech

schizophrenia negative symptoms

deficit symptoms such as “flat effect”, reduced feelings of pleasure, difficulty beginning or sustaining activities, reduced speaking

schizophrenia cognitive symptoms

working memory deficits, trouble focusing, poor executive function, bizarre behavior

According to the DSM5, what would be considered schizophrenia?

at least 1 positive symptom and two total symptoms for a significant amount of time in a 1-month period

What are 3 neural features of schizophrenia?

1. disorganized hippocampal formation

2. enlarged ventricles

3. higher rate of gray matter loss → decreased frontal lobe activation

What neurotransmitter do first-gen antipsychotics act on?

dopamine (specifically D2/“stop” receptors)

What neurotransmitters do second-gen/atypical antipsychotics act on?

serotonin

model of aberrant salience

proposes that psychotic symptoms first emerge when chaotic brain dopamine transmission leads to a shift in stimuli significance

Individuals at high risk for schizophrenia show ____ aberrant salience but ____ adaptive salience.

more, normal

3 major functions of cerebrospinal fluid

1. protects brain

2. nourishes the brain (exchanges nutrients for cell survival)

3. removes waste

Where is CSF located?

arachnoid space of the meninges outside of the brain, ventricles, central canal of spinal cord

Which two structures are visible in both midsagittal and coronal view?

lateral ventricle and corpus callosum

What two lines are separated by the central sulcus?

frontal and parietal

evolutionary psychology

attempts to identify evolved, underlying psychological mechanisms that influence behavior (some evolved behaviors can be maladaptive); humans have emotional, motivational, and cognitive adaptations that generally increased fitness in the past

Wason Task significance

better performance on the second version (same puzzle is worded in a social manner) of the task may be due to human possession of specialized cheater detection module

naturalistic fallacy

assumes that because a trait/behavior evolved, it must be advantageous

biological determinism

assumes behaviors are innate and due to genetics, brain size, or other biological attributes (minimizes sociocultural forces)

tenants of human sociobiology research

1. human mind and human behavior are/were shaped by natural selection

2. human mind uses heuristics to increase the likelihood of solving problems our ancestors routinely faced

3. there is a shared, and more or less universal, core human nature

mate age preference

consistent across cultures → suggests common, evolved human trait

psychopathology

behaviors and experiences that may indicate mental illness or psychological impairment

stimulants

adderall (amphetamine), cocaine

depressants

alcohol, tranquilizers

opioids

morphine, heroine

hallucinogens

LSD, weed, shrooms

What is drug abuse marked by?

recurrent signature social, occupational, legal, or interpersonal adverse consequences such as repeated absence from work or school

conditioned place preference

box with two different chambers, 1 has visual stimuli and the other has nothing (but is the location of drug), when wall is removed → rat goes to cocaine room

rats and social environments

do not act in drug-favoring ways when rats are in social interactions

What drug features can be modeled?

drug taking, drug seeking, resistance to punishment

criticism of allostasis model

relapse probability not lower after withdrawal, drug cues increase DA

anhedonia theory (Roy Weiss)

• predicts that dopamine generates pleasure in the brain

• drugs are addictive because they stimulate dopamine

• dopamine release is increased by nearly all drugs of abuse

incentive sensitization theory

sensitized “wanting”/DA system, cue-drug associations are learned and powerful, uncontrollable “wanting” for drugs is not necessarily “liking”

criticisms of anhedonia theory

• dopamine is released before a drug is administered

• dopamine involved in aversive motivation

• disrupting DA doesn’t block euphoria

• dopamine signaling doesn’t alter hedonic reactions

Altering DA signaling in the brain ______ affect hedonic reactions.

doesn’t

What type of effects do animal models study?

causal

function of thalamus

information relay

function of hypothalamus

motivation, 4 Fs (feeding, fleeing, fighting, fornicating)

function of pons

balance, sleep

function of cerebellum

motor learning, balance

What aspect of schizophrenia is dopamine correlated with?

delusions

relationship between addiction, dopamine, and VTA

dopamine signaling from ventral tegmental area (VTA) to nucleus accumbens implicated in rewarding effects of drugs

sensitization

increasingly greater effects of a drug after repeated exposure or access

function of striatum

voluntary movement, posture/balance

the caudate nucleus is more _____ and _____ than the putamen

dorsal, medial

Which sensory modality does not project to the thalamus?

olfactory

The amygdala is located ______ and ______ to the body of the fornix.

posterior, lateral

pineal gland function

serotonin, endocrine hormones

The pineal gland is located _______ to the hippocampus.

posterior

function of superior colliculus

visual processing

function of the inferior colliculus

auditory processing

The superior colliculus is ______ to the inferior colliculus.

dorsal