MCAT-Behavioral Science

Franz Gall

Phrenology: measuring bumps and indentations of one's skull determines the personal and mental traits of that person.

Pierre Flourens

Extirpation/Ablation: Removing certain brain areas in animals (rabbits and pigeons) to show that certain region is associated with certain functions.

William James

Functionalism: How mind helps us to adapt to different environments.

John Dewey

Emphasize the study of an organism as a whole rather than breaking down a reaction of a stimulus into discrete parts.

Paul Broca

Broca's Area: The left side of the brain is associated with speech. Shows that a lesion of a certain part of the brain is linked to a loss of a certain function.

Hermann von Helmholtz

Measure the speed of the nerve impulse and link it to reaction speed. Making psychology a quantifiable science.

Sir Charles Sherrington

Discovery of the Synapsis, although he thought the signal transmission is an electric process but it is a chemical process.

Sensory neurons (Afferent neurons)

Transmit SENSORY signals from receptors to the spinal cord and brain.

Motor neurons (Efferent neurons)

Transmit MOTOR information from the brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands.

Interneurons

Found between other neurons and is the most numerous type of neuron.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Brain and Spinal Cord

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

nerve tissues outside of the brain and spinal cord

Spinal Nerves

31 pairs of nerves emanating from the spinal cord

Cranial Nerves

12 pairs of nerves emanating directly from the brain

Somatic Nervous System

Sensory and Motor Neurons in the skin, joints, and muscles.

Autonomic Nervous System

regulates the involuntary muscles associated with internal organs and glands.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Rest-and-digest: decelerate heart rate and increase digestion

Which neurotransmitter is associated with the Parasympathetic Nervous System?

Acetylcholine

Sympathetic Nervous System

Fight-or-Flight: accelerate heart rate and inhibit digestion

Which neurotransmitter is associated with the Sympathetic Nervous System?

Norepinephrine (Noradrenaline) and Epinephrine (Adrenaline)

What are the three layers of the meninges?

dura mater, arachnoid mater, and pia mater.

Which two brain structures formed the brainstem?

Hindbrain and Midbrain

What does the limbic system associate with?

Memory and Emotion

What are the functions of the cerebral cortex?

Complex perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral processes

Which function does the hindbrain manage?

Vital functions necessary for survival

What does medulla oblongata regulate?

Breathing, heart rate, and digestion

What does pons regulate?

Contains sensory and motor pathways between the cortex and the medulla

What does cerebellum regulate?

maintain posture and balance as well as body movements

Name each structure

1) Pons 2) Medulla Oblongata 3) Spinal Cord 4) Cerebellum

What does the midbrain associate with?

Involuntary response to the visual or auditory stimuli

Superior colliculi

receive visual sensory input

Inferior colliculi

receive auditory information

What is the forebrain associated with?

Complex perceptual, cognitive, behavioral processes, emotion, and memory.

What are some methods used for brain mapping?

EEG, rCBF, CT Scan, PET, MRI, fMRI

The thalamus receives all sensory information except __.

smell

Lateral Hypothalamus (LH)

the hunger center: triggers the signal for eating

Ventromedial Hypothalamus

the satiety center: provides signal to stop eating

Anterior Hypothalamus

controls sexual behaviour