Behavioral Neuroscience Mid-Term

induced movement therapy

if a person can’t use part of their body, immobilize the opposite side to gain strength and coordination in the part they can’t use

generalize

find specific examples and work backwards; leads to theories

Dualism

(Mind-Body Question) Mind and Body are separate

Monism

(Mind-Body Question) mind is produced by workings of nervous system

Reflexes

automatic and involuntary movements

Doctrine of specific nerve energies

(Johannes Muller) All nerves carry the same basic message, but we perceive the messages of different nerves in different ways. Messages occur in different nerve channels; Brain is functionally divided. Different parts of the brain do different things

ablation

removing part of the cortex

Santiago Ramon y Cajal

(19th Century) proposed that the nervous system consisted of billions of discrete, individual neurons

Broca’s Area

(frontal lobe) Left side of the brain that manages the person’s ability to speak

Charles Darwin

Evolution; Natural Selection; Mutations all of an organism’s characteristics have functional significance; species acquire adaptive characteristics

Functionalism

A belief that characteristics of living organisms perform useful functions

Natural Selection

Cornerstone of evolution; members of a species are not all identical; offspring will inherit favorable characteristics from parents and will produce more offspring and so on

Mutations

accidental changes in chromosomes of sperm of eggs that join together and develop into new organisms; small percentage are beneficial and confer selective advantages to the organism; only physical traits altered but effects are seen in behavior; after thousands of mutations, variety becomes an advantage

Neoteny

Prolong of maturation; evolution of the human brain has led to a slowing of the brain development process

Neuroethics

studies the implications of ethics for neuroscience research

Neurology

diagnosis and treatment of nervous system diseases; study behavior of people whose brains have been damaged by natural causes

Enzymes

Proteins that break up and deactivate molecules and turn them into something else

Neurogenesis

The process of new neurons being generated (specifically, hippocampus); lose ~3% of neurons as we age. Majority are from birth

Neurons

nerve cells; sensory (PNS), motor (both); acts like a gun, fires or doesn’t fire (all or none law)

Central Nervous System

Brain and Spinal Cord; encased by bones of skull and spinal column; communicates via nerves

Peripheral Nervous System

Nerves, sensory organs

interneurons

neurons that are entirely within the Central Nervous System; local form circuits with nearby neurons; relay connects circuits of local interneurons to other parts of the brain; releases an inhibitory neurotransmitter

axoplasmic transport

a process that propels substances along the axon

anterograde axoplasmic transport

movement from the soma to the terminal buttons

Kinesin

allows anterograde axoplasmic transport; attach to item being transported down axon then walks down microtubule carrying cargo to destination

Blood-Brain Barrier

regulates composition of extracellular fluid; area postrema is region where barrier is weak (ex: induce vomiting)

membrane potential

most neurons are negatively charged inside axon; difference in charge between outside and inside

resting potential

When a neuron is at rest and not involved in communicating (-70v)

hyperpolarize

inside of axon is more negative than outside; increase in membrane potential

depolarization

when inside of an axon becomes more positive; reduction of membrane potential

threshold of excitation

a threshold for depolarization to trigger the action potential; causes sodium to flood in; at peak, Potassium channels open and leave cell while Sodium closes

Action Potential

burst of rapid depolarization followed by hyperpolarization; caused by brief increase in permeability of Potassium; results from opening and closing of ion channels and remains consistent in size

diffusion

movement of molecules from high concentration to low concentration; distributes evenly to reach equilibrium

electrolytes

a substance when dissolved, splits into two parts with each being an opposite charge

ions

charged particles; cation +; anions -

organic anions

A-, cannot leave the cell

Astrocytes

(glial) engulf and digest debris in process of phagocytosis; cleanup, homeostasis, skeleton

Oligodendrocytes

produce support to axons and produce myelin sheath

node of ranvier

(Oligodendrocytes; myelin sheath) gaps in cell that allow electrical electrical signals to travel rapidly through nervous system

Microglia

acts as phagocytes and acts like brain immune system; make inflammation

Sodium-Potassium Pump

made of protein; continuously pushes sodium ions out of axon; uses 40% of neurons metabolic resources; ion channels can open or close to let certain ions through and are voltage dependent (positive pushes Sodium out); for every 3 sodium ions pumped out, 2 potassium ions pumped in

Schwann Cells

do the same job the Oligodendrocytes, except in the PNS

reuptake

removal of neurotransmitter from synaptic cleft by terminal button

Excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP)

Depolarization; more (positive) means it fires

Inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP)

Hyperpolarization

neuromodulators

chemicals released by neurons that travel farther and dispersed more widely than neurotransmitters; most are peptides

Hormones

secreted by endocrine glands or cells which are distributed through bloodstream; target cells contain receptors for particular hormones

Enzymatic deactivation

accomplished by enzyme that destroys molecules of neurotransmitters

Acetylcholinesterase (AchE)

deactivates acetylcholine

Autoreceptors

receptor on the neuron; cell stimulating itself; help communicate how much neurotransmitters were dumped out

axoaxonic synapses

alter amount of neurotransmitter released by terminal buttons; can produce presynaptic modulation (inhibition and facilitation)

Vesicles

filled w/ neurotransmitters by transport proteins (kiss and run - release-ready [<1%]; recycling pool - merge and recycle [about 10%]; bulk endocytosis - reserve pool and acts as if saving account [90%])

ligand

chemical that attaches to a binding site

synaptic cleft

where the presynaptic and postsynaptic membrane face each other

saltatory conduction

the movement of a message hopping from node to node (node of Ranvier)

Cerebrospinal fluid

The pool of fluid the brain is floating in

neuraxis

an imaginary line drawn through CNS ; bottom of spinal cord to front of forebrain

rostral

towards the nose and mouth

caudal

towards the tail

dorsal

the top of the head and back

ventral

front surface that faces the ground (bottom of brain)

lateral

towards the side

medial

towards the middle

Ipsilateral

structures on the same side of the body

Contralateral

structures on the opposite sides of the body

midsagittal plane

divides the brain into two symmetrical right and left halves; middle

cross sections

(frontal sections); divides the brain into front and back halves vertically

meninges

(CNS) the protective sheaths around the brain and spinal cord

dura mater

outer layer of the meninx; durable, thick, tough, and flexible

arachnoid membrane

middle layer of meninges; soft and spongy, lying beath dura matter; only covers brain and spinal cord

pia mater

smaller surface blood vessels of brain and spinal cord are contained within this layer; follows every surface convolution; along with dura mater, fuse and forms a sheath that covers spinal and cranial nerves and peripheral ganglia

subarachnoid space

the space between the pia mater and arachnoid membrane

ventricles

hollow, interconnected chambers that are filled with and produce cerebral spinal fluid

lateral ventricles

largest chambers which are connected to the third ventricle

third ventricle

located at midline of brain, walls divide surrounding part of brain into symmetrical halves

massa intermedia

crosses through the middle of the third ventricle and serves as a reference point

cerebral aqueduct

large tube that connects third ventricle to the 4th ventricle

choroid plexus

manufactures cerebral spinal fluid; protrudes into all 4 ventricles; flows into third ventricle

arachnoid granulations

the space where cerebral spinal fluid is reabsorbed into the blood supply; protrudes into the superior sagittal sinus

superior sagittal sinus

connected to arachnoid granulations, blood vessel that drains into the veins serving hte brain

obstructive hydrocephalus

when cerebral spinal fluid is interrupted, greatly increased pressure within the ventricles occur leading to the expansion of ventricles

neural tube

the plate in embryos that form around 21st day where ridges touch and fuse together; gives rise to brain and spinal cord

cerebral cortex

surrounds the cerebral hemispheres; develops from inside out

progenitor cells

stem cells that allow the creation of brain cells

symmetrical division

when the division of a progenitor cell produces two new progenitor cells

radial glia

first brain cells produced through asymmetrical division; as cortex becomes thicker, fibers grow longer and maintain connections with pia mater

apoptosis

end of cortical development when progenitor cells receive a chemical signal that causes them to die or “fall away”; leads to transformation of astrocytes

telencephalon

One subdivision of forebrain; includes most of cerebral hemispheres that make up cerebrum

subcortical regions

regions of the brain located beneath the cerebral cortex

sulci

small grooves in cerebral cortex

fissures

large grooves in cerebral cortex

gyri

bulges between adjacent sulci or fissures within the cerebral cortex

gray matter

the appearance of the cerebral cortex caused by cell bodies predominating

frontal lobe

lobe that includes everything in front of the central sulcus

parietal lobe

(wall) lobe on the side of cerebral hemisphere, just behind central sulcus; area where people start balding

temporal lobe

located from the base of the brain ventral to the frontal and parietal lobes

striate cortex

(primary visual cortex) receives visual information for cerebral cortex; located in occipital lobe

primary somatosensory cortex

caudal to the central sulcus; receives information from body senses

sensory association cortex

(telencephalon) receives information from primary sensory area, analyze received information; perception and memory

autotopagnosia

poor knowledge of one’s own topography or body regions