History of Neuroscience and Behavioral Neuroscience - Key Concepts Flashcards

Question-and-answer flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture notes on history, theories, methods, imaging, and ethics in behavioral neuroscience.

What is neuroscience?

The scientific study of the nervous system in health and disease, using approaches from molecular genetics to social behavior and involving disciplines such as anatomy, biology, chemistry, physiology, biophysics, psychology, development, medicine, and mathematics.

Which fields are incorporated in neuroscience?

Anatomy, Biology, Chemistry, Physiology, Biophysics, Psychology, Development, Medicine, and Mathematics.

Which classes are recommended for a neuroscience career?

Psychology, Biology, Biochemistry, Computer Sciences, Physics, and Engineering.

Behavioral Neuroscience is also known as which terms?

Psychobiology, Biopsychology, Biological Psychology, Physiological Psychology, and Physiology of Behavior.

What is the primary goal of Behavioral Neuroscience?

To understand the role of the nervous system, interacting with the body, in controlling behavior.

What does Behavioral Neuroscience study?

The physiology of behavioral phenomena in animals and humans, from the molecular to social levels.

What degree and training are typical for Behavioral Neuroscientists?

A Ph.D. plus at least 2 years of postdoctoral training.

With which professionals does Behavioral Neuroscience overlap?

Neurologists and Neuropsychologists (Cognitive Neuroscientists).

How is consciousness defined?

Self-awareness and the ability to communicate thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and memories.

How does consciousness vary?

It varies across the day-night cycle (sleep vs wakefulness) and can be altered by drugs or brain injury.

What is the primary function of the brain?

Control of movements.

Define generalization in scientific explanations.

A broad conclusion based on many observations of similar phenomena.

Define reduction in scientific explanations.

Describing a phenomenon in terms of more elementary underlying processes.

What is Dualism in the mind-body problem?

Mind and body are separate; the body is physical, but the mind is non-physical.

What is Monism in the mind-body problem?

Everything is matter and energy; the mind is a product of nervous system processes.

What is Phrenology?

An 18th-century theory by Gall & Spurzheim that character and emotions are localized in different brain regions.

What is the Doctrine of Specific Nerve Energies?

Different nerves carry different messages; sensory information is specified by which nerves are active; implies functional brain division.

What is experimental ablation?

Inferring the function of a brain region by observing what an animal can no longer do after damaging that area.

What is Broca's area and who identified it?

Left-hemisphere region involved in speech production; identified by Paul Broca.

What did Fritsch & Hitzig discover?

The primary motor cortex via electrical stimulation of the brain.

What did Helmholtz contribute to neuroscience?

Conservation of energy, insights into color vision and color blindness, the ophthalmoscope, and measurements of nerve conduction speed.

What was Charles Darwin's contribution to neuroscience?

Evolution by natural selection shaping nervous system structure and function.

What did Ramon y Cajal demonstrate?

Using Golgi staining, that the nervous system comprises billions of discrete neurons; Nobel Prize 1906.

What is functionalism in evolution?

Understanding a biological phenomenon by its useful functions for the organism.

What is natural selection?

Inherited traits that confer a selective advantage increase in frequency over generations; maladaptive traits decline.

Why is neuron number important for intelligence?

The number of neurons available for learning, memory, and planning is more critical than sheer brain size.

Name some human characteristics that rely on a large brain.

Tool use, color vision, fire use, upright posture, language.

What imaging modalities are used in Behavioral Neuroscience?

Angiography, CT, PET, MRI, fMRI, and DTI.

What is an advantage of imaging over autopsy?

It allows observing the living brain in action as it behaves.

What is angiography (in brief)?

Injecting a contrast dye into the vascular system and taking timed X-rays to visualize blood vessels.

What does a CT scan show?

Anatomical structure; radiodensity differences; bone vs tissue; rapid imaging; often used in trauma.

What does PET imaging measure?

Metabolic processes and physiological activity using radiotracers; shows brain activity patterns.

How does MRI work?

Protons align in a magnetic field, radio waves perturb them, signals are measured to construct images; mainly uses hydrogen in water.

What is the BOLD signal in fMRI?

Blood Oxygen Level Dependent signal reflecting changes in blood flow and oxygenation linked to neural activity.

What is EEG used for?

Measuring global postsynaptic potentials across cortex with high temporal but low spatial resolution.

What are ERPs?

Event-Related Potentials; averaged EEG responses to stimuli to map processing.

What is MEG?

Magnetoencephalography; maps brain activity by recording magnetic fields from neural currents.

What are common brain stimulation methods?

Surface electrodes during surgery, implanted electrodes, rTMS, and optogenetics.

What is deep brain stimulation used for?

Exploring function and treating conditions like Parkinson’s disease and sometimes major depressive disorder.

What is rTMS?

Repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation; modulates cortical activity and has potential therapeutic uses.

What is optogenetics?

Using light-sensitive ion channels (e.g., Channelrhodopsin, Halorhodopsin) to control specific neurons with light.

What is a lesion in neuroscience?

Injury to neural tissue; can be natural or deliberate; used to infer function via ablation.

What are the 3 Rs in animal research ethics?

Reduce, Replace, Refine.

What organizations oversee ethics in research with humans and animals?

IRB for human participants and IACUC for animal care and use; guidance from APA and SfN.

What are key requirements for protecting human participants in research?

No coercion; informed consent; right to withdraw; adequate information; confidentiality; contact information.

What are key principles for animal research ethics?

Humane care; clear scientific purpose; minimize pain and distress; institutional approval.