Neuro Final 3

Chapters 8, 9, 12, and 13

Frequency

The number of times sound waves repeat themselves/ compress within a second (closer = higher pitch)

Amplitude

How tall the soundwaves are from the baseline (taller = louder)

Pinna

Visible, outer part of the ear

Ear Canal

Passageway in the outer ear that funnels acoustic energy from the pinnacle to the tympanic membrane

Tympanic Membrane

The thin membrane that seperates the outer and middle ear and carries sound waves as vibrations to the chain of tiny bones in the middle ear

The Ossicles

A series of three bones that convey that vibrartional sound information

Oval Window

A thin membrane that is at the entrance to the main auditory structure of the inner ear, entry point for sound into the cochlea

Cochlea

A fluid-filled, snail shaped cavity in the inner ear that functions as the primart receptor for hearing

Cochlear Nerve

Branch of the vestibulocochlear nerve that sends sound data from the cochlea to the brain

Vestibular Nerve

Branch of the vestibulocochlear nerve that transmits spatial orientation and movement data from the inner ear for balance

Round Window

Allows the cochlear fluid to move by acting as a pressure release

Semicirular Canals

Structures that are responsible for detecting head rotation

Utricle and Saccule

Collectively, these structures are responsible for determining changes in inertia/gravity

A-beta fibers

Various receptors for pressure, vibration, and texture on the tongue

A-delta fibers

Nociceptors for cold and sharp pains (myelinated)

C-fibers

Nociceptors for warm and throbbing pains (unmyelinated) Ab

Olfaction

Ability to sense chemical molecules suspended in the air

Olfactory Bulb

Cranial nerve responsible for taking in smell sensation

Olfactory Epithelium

Mucus covered patch of tissue made up of olfactory neurons

Hyposmia

Reduced ability to smell

Anosmia

No ability to smell

Phantosmia

Smelling things that aren’t there

Gustation

Taste

Papillae

Strucutres that give the tongue’s characteristic rough surface, hosting hundreds of taste buds

Taste Bud

Detect chemicals in food to initiate the perception of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami tastes. (Must be in liquid form with the help of saliva to detect)

Aguesia

Inability to taste

NREM

initial sleep stages that transition the body from light to deep, restorative sleep

REM

High-frequency brain activity in the hippocampus (resembling wakefulness), vivid dreaming, rapid eye movements, and skeletal muscle paralysis

Recuperation Theory

sleep is an active process used to repair cellular components, replete energy stores, and clean waste products accumulated in the brain and body during the day

Evolutionary Adaptation Theory

Shaped by natural selection to conserve energy and reduce risk by keeping animals inactive during times when they are most vulnerable, such as darkness

Brain Plasticity Theory

Memories are encoded while awake, but actively stabilized, strengthened, and intergrated into long-term memory during sleep

Circadian Rythms

24-hour biological clock that regulates sleep-wake cycles, hormone release, body temperature, and metabolism in humans and most organisms

Ultradian Rythms

Biological cycle that occurs more than once within a 24-hour period, specifically the alternating pattern of NREM and REM

Infradian Rythms

Biological cycles that last longer than 24 hours, often extending over weeks, months, or even a year (menstrual cycles)

Melatonin

Hormone produced by the pineal gland in response to darkness, regulating the body’s circadian rhythms and sleep-wake cycle.

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

Located in the hypothalamus, and begins sending signals to the pineal gland when the sun begins going down (supporting evolutionary adaptation sleep theory)

Onset Insomnia

Difficulty initiating sleep process

Maitnence Insomnia

Difficulty staying asleep

Fatal Familial Insomnia

A rare genetic condition characterized bt a total lack of sleep, leading to death if left untreated

Obstuctive Sleep Apnea

“Mechanical” failure where the airway collapses despite brain signals

Central Sleep Apnea

“brain to body” communication failure, where the brain fails to signal breathing

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

Loss of normal muscle paralysis during REM sleep, causing people to physically act out vivid, often violent dreams

Restless Legs Syndrome

a neurological sensorimotor disorder characterized by an irresistible urge to move the legs

Sleep Paraylsis

occurs when the brain wakes from REM sleep, but muscle paralysis persists, resulting in awareness of being paralyzed

Self Organizational Theory

Proposes that dreams are part of the brain’s natural process of organizing and integrating information

Activation Synthesis Theory

Proposes that dreams are caused by the brain trying to make sense of random neural activity during sleep.

Continutity Theory

Proposes that dream content is largely continuous with a person’s waking thoughts, concerns, and emotional experiences of daily life

Episodic Memory

Vivid, autobiographical recollections of personal experiences

Semantic Memory

Structured, conceptual knowledge about the world

Priming

Neural pathways “getting ready” to respond to related concepts after an initial stimuli (e.g., seeing "yellow" helps you identify "banana" faster)

Conditioning

Associative learning

Procedural Memory

Memory responsible for knowing how to perform tasks, skills, and habits automatically (riding a bike/ playing guitar)

Non-Associative Learning

Learning that does not require linking or associating stimuli together (habituation and sensitization)

Classical Conditioning

Pairs two stimuli to elicit an involuntary, automatic response

Operant Conditioning

Pairs voluntary behaviors with consequences (reinforcement or punishment) to strengthen or weaken behavior

Encoding

The process of converting sensory input into mental memories

Long-Term Potentiation

Involves strengthening synapses through increased receptor sensitivity and efficiency, making it easier for a signal to be sent again later (Cellular mechanism of learning)

Long Term Depression (ch. 13)

Acts as a counterbalance to LTP, preventing synaptic saturation, helping to "reset" connections, and aiding in memory forgetting or updating (habituation effect)

Anterograde Amnesia

Damage to hippocampus causes an inability to form new episodic memories (recall is still possible)

Retrograde Amnesia

Damage or swelling in the cortex causes a memory gap from before the damage occured (lost information is not repressed and cannot come back)

Alzheimer’s Disease

Neurodegenerative disorder caused by abnormal protein buildups that destroy brain cells, leading to severe memory loss, cognitive decline, and behavioral changes that worsen over time.

Korsakoff’s Syndrome

Severe vitamin B1 deficiency stemming from chronic alcohol misuse, damaging the brain's memory centers (profound amnesia, severe memory gaps, and confabulation)

Serotonin

Promotes wakefullness, generally regulates the transition between REM and NREM sleep, produced in the brain stem

Noradrenaline

Inhibits REM sleep, directly linked to waking state arousal and “fight or flight” alertness, produced in the pons

Adenosine

Accumulation of this neurochemical heavily correlates with sleep drive (need for sleep feeling). Caffeine acts as an agonist, delaying sensation of sleepiness

Dopamine

Acts as a major wake-promoting neurotransmitter, keeping the brain alert and inhibiting sleep (“tired but wired” with sleep deprivation)

Histamine

Stability agent for wakefulness neurotransmitter, anti-histamines block these receptors and induce sleep

Orexin

Acts as a stabilizing switch, preventing abrupt, unintended transitions between waking and sleep. Low levels connected to narcolepst

Coup injury

Brain hittin impacted site of skull

Countercoup injury

Brain sloshing so hard it hits impacted side and the opposite side