PSY 330 (Foundations of Behavioral Neuroscience) Final Exam/Exam #4

GVSU Final Exam Study Guide

Particles that allow us to sense balance

-Calcium Carbonate Particles

-Otoliths

The 2 types of thirst and their causes

-Osmotic: too much salt

-Hypovelemic: low blood volume

All-or-none Principle

Neuron fires if the threshold is reached (-55mv from -70mv), if the threshold isn’t met it wont fire.

Brain area that helps with speech production

Broca’s Area

What is the difference between the organizing and activating effects of hormones?

-Organizing: long term effect

-Activating: short term effect

Hyperpolarization (IPSP)

Decreases likelyhood that neuron will fire (further from threshold)

Depolarization (EPSP)

Increases likelyhood that neuron will fire (closer to threshold)

Brain area responsible for habit formation

Basal Ganglia

Cellular pathway from light hitting the eye to the optic nerve

1. Photoreceptors

2. Horizontal cells

3. Bipolar cells

4. Ganglion cells

Neurotransmission steps

1. Neurotransmitter binds to receptors

2. Ion channels open or close

3. If enough ESPSs occur, an action potential happens

4. Action potential’s Na voltage-gated channels opening (depolarization)

5. This action is followed by K voltage-gated channels opening (hyperpolarization)

6. An action potential travels down the axon and goes to the axon terminals

7. Depolarization of the terminal causes the opening of voltage-gated calcium channels

8. Calcium ions flood through the channels

9. The influx of calcium causes vesicles to fuse with the presynaptic membrane

10. A neurotransmitter is released into the synaptic cleft

11. Neurotransmitter binds to receptors

Gene found in almost all animals that is linked to language/communication

FOXP2

Biological alteration in a disorder relating to its effects on the cognitive symptoms

-ADHD: a dysfunction in basal ganglia causing to improper habit formation.

-Schizophrenia: dopamine pathways altered causing hallucinations.

-Depression: circadian rhythm dysfunction causing too little REM sleep.

Term for the danger a drug poses based on the ratio of overdose likelihood.

Theraputic Index (Theraputic:Overdose)

Lateral Ino Poculus (LIP) and the role of the red nucleus in learning

-LIP: Responsible for learning

-Red Nucleus: Responsible for responding

Major lobes and their function

-Frontal: Decision making

-Parietal: Sensations

-Occipatal: Vision

-Temporal: Hearing

5 types of taste, and which are Ionotropic and which are Metabotropic

-Salty(Ionotropic): Sodium

-Sour(Ionotropic): Hydrogen

-Sweet(Metabotropic): Glucose, Sucrose

-Umami(Metabotropic): Glutamate

-Bitter (Metabotropic): Quinine

-Fat (Metabotropic): Fatty Acids

Relationship between the brain areas in the HPA axis and the relevant neurotransmitters/hormones

-Hypothalamus: CRF

-Pituitary: ACTH

-Adrenal: Coritsol

Suprachiasmatic nucleus

Zeitgebers

4 stages of sleep

-Stage 1 (hypnic jerks and falling asleep) Alpha to Theta waves

-Stage 2 (most time spent in and sleep spindles) Theta waves

-Stage 3 (deep sleep)

-REM (most dreams and highest brain activity)

Sexual differentiation

1. Undifferentiated Gonad

   1. XX or XY

      1. XX = Ovary

         1. Estrogen

         2. Müllerian Duct

            1. External Female Genitalia

      2. XY = Testis

         1. AMH (Anti-Müllerian Hormone)

            1. Active Müllerian Duct Regression

         2. Testosternone

            1. SRY gene

            2. Wolffian Duct

               1. External Male Genitalia

3 things the Hippocampus is involved in with learning

-Episodic memory

-Semantic memory

-Spacial memory

2 types of touch receptors that sense vibration

-Meissner’s corpuscles

-Pacinian corpuscles

Major parts of a neuron and their functions

-Dendrites: Receive the signals from other neurons

-Soma/Nucleus: Holds neurons’ genetic material/DNA

-Axon Hillock: Where the action potential is initiated

-Axon: Carries electrical impulses away from the cell body to other locations.

-Terminal Buttons: Specifically refer to the actual bulb-like structures that contain the synaptic vesicles and are involved in neurotransmitter release.

-Myelin Sheath: Acts as an insulator, allowing electrical signals to travel much faster down the axon.

-Vesicles: Hold neurotransmitters in the axon terminal, Fuse with the presynaptic membrane to release neurotransmitters into the synapse, Neurotransmitters bind to receptors on the postsynaptic neuron, continuing the signal. Vesicles are reused after releasing neurotransmitters to prepare for the next round of transmission.

Ions type

-Potassium(K): Positive, Inside

-Chloride: Negative, Outside

-Sodium: Positive, Outside

-Calcium: Positive Outside

The rule that someone must know right from wrong, otherwise they won’t be guilty on the grounds of insanity.

M’Naghten’s Rule

Process of Hearing

1. Sound waves enter the outer ear and travel through the ear canal to the eardrum

2. The eardrum vibrates with the incoming sound and sends the vibrations to three tiny bones in the middle ear

3. The bones in the middle ear amplify the sound vibrations and send them to the inner ear or cochlea

4. The sound vibrations activate tiny hair cells, releasing neurochemical signals

5. The auditory nerve carries the electrical signal to the brain, which is then translated into the experience of hearing

Which part of the brain would be most likely to make music less rewarding if you destroyed it?

Periaqueductal grey

Which term best describes the process of adding information from one neuron firing over time?

Temporal summation

I poisoned a patient with a grug that decreased this neurotransmitter, leading to paralysis. Which type of neurotransmitter would my drug most likely work on?

Acetylcholine

If I opened an ion channel for sodium, based on its concentration gradient, what would result? Potassium flowing _______ the neuron, causing _________.

Into; the neuron to be more likely to fire.

If I opened an ion channel for potassium, based on its concentration gradient, what would result? Potassium flowing _______ the neuron, causing _________.

Out of; IPSP

An increase in time spent along the borders of the open-field test suggests a(n) _______ in _______.

Increase; anxiety

Which of the following is an example of an amino acid?

Glutamate

When a neuron’s membrane is at rest, the concentration gradient tends to move chloride ____ the cell and the electrical gradient tend to move it ____ the cell.

Into; out of

Which part of the neuron is most closely linked to voltage-gated calcium channels?

Axon terminals

A ______ section of the brain is the only one that would not allow you to see both the left & right hemispheres of the brain.

Sagittal

Disruption of this area would affect your ability to recognize someone:

Fusiform gyrus

(Match Question) Grabbing extra neurotransmitters from the synapse

Microglia

(Match Question) Making up the blood-brain barrier

Astrocytes

(Match Question) Creating myelin in the CNS

Schwann cells

(Match Question) Creating myelin in the PNS

Oligodendroglia

Which lobe of the brain would likely light up during visual hallucinations?

Opcipital

If you increased activity in this area, it would likely lead to a decrease in the feeling of pain.

Periaqueductal grey

The Na+/K+ pump moves _________ ions out of the cell and ________ ions into the cell.

3Na+; 2K+

The hypothalamus is ________ to the thalamus.

Inferior

An action potential is caused by voltage-gated channels opening and closing. ________ causes the neuron to hyperpolarize and _______ causes the neuron to I depolarize.

K; Na

What would happen if a) the amount of EPSPs you had did not reach -55mV b) the amount of EPSPs you had went way over -55mV to -40mV?

a) The neuron will not reach an action potential, thus it won’t fire.

b) The neuron will reach an action potential and fire with a strong stimulus.

Explain the two types of receptors & how they differ from one another.

-Ionotropic: Ligand-gated Ion channel

-Metabotropic: G-Protein-Coupled receptors that don’t directly open Ion channel(s)

Explain the outcome if something went awry with any step of neurotransmission.

If reuptake of serotonin happens too fast it leads to mood disorders.

What are dendritic spines, & what would be the symptoms of having too many OR too few?

Dendritic spines are tiny ‘feelers’ on the end of a dendrite that work to recieve signals. If there aren’t enough dendritic spines it can lead to mental disorders like schizophrenia.

Explain the pros & cons of two different types of brain scans.

• CT

  • Pros:

    • Fast & accessable

    • Good at detecting different issues (such as internal bleeding, bone breakage, etc.)

    • Cheaper and more widely used than MRI’s

  • Cons:

    • Utilizes radiation exposure (thus can’t be done repeatedly)

    • Makes lower detail images compared to some other scans

    • Can only show brain structure, not function

• fMRI

  • Pros:

    • Can show the specific brain areas’ activity

    • Considered safe and non-invasive

    • considered good for studying mental processes

  • Cons:

    • Takes a while to see changes

    • requires participants to be still for long periods

    • struggles with certain implants in participants (like a metal plate in someone’s head)

What are four ways that neurons regulate the number of neurotransmitters in the synapse? (Be sure to explain how)

-Autoreceptors: Tell neurotransmitters to stop coming out

-Reuptake: When the neuron recycles neurotransmitters

-Diffusion: When the neurotransmitters are left to die

-Degradation: Breaks down neurotransmitters into components

Describe what would happen if you destroyed a specific brain area in the a) hindbrain, b) midbrain, and c) forebrain (pick whichever brain areas you would like. Make sure you have one brain area for each section to make a total of three brain areas)

• Forebrain

  • Hippocampus: memory loss

• Midbrain

  • Substania Nigra: dopamine loss (causing mood disorders)

• Hindbrain

  • Medulla Oblingata: instant death

Explain which types of neurons are firing right now (can include special types), listing at least 4 types describing why they are firing during this activity.

-Mirror Neurons: Firing to help me find relatable examples for my answer, via seeing which ones I relate to best.

-Pyramidial Neurons: They’re firing to come up with the idea to answer this question in my mind.

-Place Neurons: These are firing as I am in the classroom and thinking about this class and this test.

-Motor Neurons: Firing as I write out my answer to this question of the test.

Describe the process of neurotransmission, from when a neurotransmitter reaches the dendrites of one neuron to when it is released from the next.

-Neurotransmitter binds to receptors on the dendrites

-Ions created by neurotransmitter are summed up by the axon hillock into either IPSP or EPSP

-If this summation reaches the -55mV threshold then action potential occurs

-During summation on action potential Ion channels for both sodium & potassium are opened, with both rushing in to either cause depolarization or hyperpolorization

-Action potential reaches the axon terminal and causes the Ion channel of calcium to open.

-Vesicles in the axon terminal react to the calcium by binding to the cell wall, opening up, and reaching their neurotransmitters

Which of the following would be the fastest to occur based on type of receptor?

Taste of salty fries

__________ is most closely related to when you last ate while _________ is most closely related to how much you last ate.

OEA; CCK

The afterimage effect of seeing the blue after staring at a yellow image for a while is linked to which theory?

Opponent-process

Which is not part of the olfactory pathway?

Lateral geniculate nucleus

When light strikes a photoreceptor, the effect is to ______ the bipolar and _____ the horizontal cells. The horizontal cells _______ the bipolar cells.

Excite; excite; inhibit

In foveal vision, ______________.

Each ganglion cell is excited by a single bipolar cell

Someone has a genetic defect that prevents the formation of horizontal cells in the retina. Which visual phenomenon is most likely to be imparied?

Lateral inhibition

Where does hearing actually transfer into the brain?

On the basilar membrane

The calcium carbonate particles in your inner ear that help you porcess your vestibular sense are called __________.

Otothlia

Intensity is also called ______ and is measured in ________. Frequency is also called ________ and is measured in ______.

Amplitude; Hertz; Pitch; Decibles

Our ability to percieve umami is due to being able to sense __________ while our ability to sense sour comes about because of ________ ions.

Glutamate; Hydrogen

What neurotransmitter is associated with the feeling of pain?

Substance P

Give an example of a mechanical sense: ________.

Touching sandpaper

What are types of nociception, give specific examples for each.

-Mechanical Pain: slamming your hand in a car door.

-Thermal Pain: burning your hand on the stove.

-Chemical Pain: suffering an acid burn.

Light enters the eye and hits the retina. Explain the sequence of cells that the information goes through, including ALL types of cells, starting with what light hits and ending in the optic nerve.

Light is filtered by the pupil and the lens constricts to get the visual stimuli in focus. this then goes through the fovea with a 1-to-1-to-1 correspondence of the photoreceptors, horizontal cells, bipolar cells, and ganglion cells. The ganglion cells then send a signal to the Primary Visual cortex after lateral inhibition.

(Match Question) The rumble of thunder (low freq)

Meissner’s corpuscles

(Match Question) Your iPhone vibrating in your pocket (high freq)

Pacinian corpuscles

(Match Question) The feeling of your watch on your wrist

Merkel disks

(Match Question) Your elbow moving while playing tennis

Ruffini endings

Put the following steps in the correct order:

1. Sensation of low blood volume

2. Production of renin

3. Production of Angiostein I

4. Sythesis of Angiostein II

5. Constriction of blood vessels

(Match Question) Which area would be damaged if you could not see your feet moving?

V6

(Match Question) Which area would be damaged if you were to say you’re blind when you aren’t?

V1

(Match Question) Which area would be damaged if you would not be able to see a bike coming towards you?

V5

(Match Question) Which area would be damaged if you did not remember the color of the book you were reading?

V2

Taste aversions are different from almost all other types of learning. Explain three ways in which taste aversion doesn’t fall with normal learning.

-They occur immediately after 1 experience as opposed to multiple experiences.

-They can last a LONG period without any repetition

-They are strictly gustatory

Describe two specific situations in which the reflex provided by the muscles in between the hammer, anvil, & stirrup can benefit you.

-When listening to concert music

-When talking to someone, and wanting to make sure your speaking quality is good.

Explain the two types of thirst, including a situation in which each is likely to occur.

-Hypovelemic: Due to loss of fluids (diarhhea)

-Osmotic: Due to too much salt (eating too many salty chips)

What is the evidence for AND against the existence of pheromones in humans? Give an example of one specific study discussed in class that provides evidence for OR against.

• For: Fertility study, sexual orientation study, fear study

  • A study was done on strippers’ tip amounts to their fertility and found that more tips were given during ovulation (fertility pheromones)

• Against: Vomodial organ seems unnecessary and is disconnected from the brain.

Explain how we would be able to sense that we are upside-down during a cartwheel using terminology from class.

Our vestibular sense’s fluid would tell us we are upside-down, along with proprioception giving us the physical sensation of gravity pulling us (our skin, limbs, etc) towards the ground.

Describe how you hear, from when it hits your ear to how it’s converted to sound in your brain.

Sound reaches the pinna, which leads to it going down the ear canal and to the eardrum. This sends vibrations from the eardrum to 3 little bones called the hammer, anvil, and stirrup, the oval window is pushed, causing vibrations of fluid in the clia, which moves around the basilar membrane and causes the tip links to send a signal to the brain, perceived as hearing.

Someone wants to gain weight and you, as a mad scientist, have access to a machine to mess with their brain. How would you do this by each of the following methods: turning on a brain area, turning off a brain are, decreasing a hormone, and increasing a hormone.

I would first turn on the Lateral Hypothalamus, turn off the ventromedial hypothalamus, increase Ghrelin, and finally decrease Leptin.

If I asked you to explain what oxytocin does, what would be the best example?

Increases attention to important social cues

Why wouldn’t it be accurate to say that there is a happiness center in the brain?

There is no single brain region most associated with emotions

Whcih of the following is true of the insanity defense?

The insanity Defense Reform Act was enacted because of a crime involving Ronald Regan

Which is true of androgens and estrogens?

Both males and females both have androgens and estrogens in different amounts

Which of the following is true related to autonomic arousal and the trolley dilemma?

Those with heighted levels of heart rate and breathing when listening to the question were least likely to choose the logical decision

According to the Lovheim cube theory, what would I use to determine if someone was happy or sad?

Action of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine

The ___________ effect could be used (incorrectly) to justify the buzzy idea that males “have to” cheat as that is their genetic predisposition.

Coolidge

When people were forced to smile by clenching a pen between their teeth, how did they rate a cartoon they were reading?

Funnier than if they weren’t clenching a pen

Which of the following is a type of ambient stressor?

High levels of constant air pollution in your area

When asked to draw pictures expressing different emotions, which emotion will cause the most difficulty for a person with a tumor affecting the insular cortex?

Disgust

Higher levels of the hormone __________ are linked to fathers taking care of their offspring, while the hormone _________ rises more in mothers.

Vassopresin; Oxytocin

Dutton and Aron’s bridge study suggests that this neurotransmitter can significantly alter perceptions of attraction______________.

Dopamine

Alcohol’s dose that can kill you is 10 times the dose that produces an effect. This is known as alcohol’s ________________.

Theraputic Index

(Match Question) Commonly taken drugs decrease this, which leads to drowsiness:

Histamine