Behavioral Neuroscience Exam 2

What is Methylation?

A chemical modification of the DNA without changing the nucleotide sequence. It blocks the regular expression of the gene, affecting gene expression and regulation.

Dendric growth in the cortical tissue in development

Occurs mainly after birth, seeing more neural connections at 2 years of age

How many layers does the cerebral cortex has?

Six layers

Synapse rearrangement

Neurons compete for synaptic connections and neurotrophic factors (Without these neurotrophic factors, neurons would not survive [apoptosis]

In synaptic rearrangement, what is the collateral sporting? 

The process where axonal branches form new synapses with target neurons.

what part of the brain declines in volume when getting old?

the human brain volume declines steadily by 5% at around age 40.

what part of the brain does not decline in volume as other parts when getting old?

The hippocampus (the hippocampus is also made by white matter) is relatively preserved in volume compared to other regions, although it may still experience some age-related changes around the age of 60

What is cell differentiation?

It’s the third stage of the brain development stage; Cells express particular genes and become distinctive types of neurons or glial cells through cell-cell interactions

The layer of the gray matter on the surface of the cortex gets thinner throughout development as synapses are retracted

The prefrontal cortex is involved in higher-level cognitive functions and undergoes significant changes, and it does not finish maturation until adolescence.

James-Lange theory of emotion

The James-Lange theory of emotion posits that physiological arousal precedes the emotional experience. According to this theory, the perception of bodily changes leads to the emotional experience, implying that emotions are the result of our interpretations of physical reactions.

In the James- Lange theory what system is involved in this action?

The autonomic arousal (which is part of the sympathetic nervous system) Heart rate goes up

Schachter-singer experiment

demonstrated that emotion is based on physiological arousal and cognitive labeling. Participants were injected with adrenaline and their emotional reactions varied based on their environmental context.

What is the cognitive attribution theory based on Schachter’s theory

Cognitive attribution theory suggests that individuals interpret their physiological arousal based on contextual cues to identify their emotional experience. This theory expands on Schachter’s findings by emphasizing the role of cognitive evaluation in labeling emotions.

Paul Ekman theory

proposes that emotions are universal and expressed similarly across cultures, based on specific facial expressions. Anger, Sadness, Happiness, Fear, Disgust, Surprise, Contempt, and embraeeasment

What is the facial feedback hypothesis?

The facial feedback hypothesis suggests that facial expressions can influence emotional experiences, implying that smiling can enhance feelings of happiness while frowning can intensify feelings of sadness.

What parts are involved in the facial expression?

Facial nerves innervate the superficial muscles that contribute to the emotional expression

Temporal

Zygomatic

Buccal 

Mandibular

In romantic love, what areas of the brain are active?

Regions like the insula and anterior cingulate cortex and reduced activity in the posterior cingulate and prefrontal cortices. Also lower activity in the amygdala.

What is the pathway for the high road?

The high road pathway involves sensory information traveling to the thalamus, then to the sensory cortex and hippocampus for processing before reaching the amygdala, allowing for a more detailed analysis of emotional stimuli.

What is the pathway for the low road?

The low road pathway involves sensory information traveling directly from the thalamus to the amygdala, enabling a faster emotional response without detailed processing.

The HPA Axis, what is the outcome if it produces negative feedback?

Negative feedback helps to decrease hormone production and restore homeostasis. Reduces the production of cortisol.

Promotes energy use (for quick escape or defense)

Prolonged stress symptoms, if presented

Increased cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary tone

Hypertension (high blood pressure)

Components of the stress response

Mobilization of energy at the cost of storage

pathological consequences of prologued stress

Fatigue, muscle wasting, diabetes

Components of the stress response

Suppression of digestion

pathological consequences of prologued stress

Ulcers

Heritability of schizophrenia, what is the concordance rate in monozygotic twins?

50%

Heritability of schizophrenia, what is the concordance rate in fraternal twins?

17%

What is the heritability of schizophrenia?

Based on the chart, if one of the monozygotic twins has schizophrenia, there’s a 50% probability of the other twin developing schizophrenia as well. Even if they are only sibling

What is Tardive dyskinesia?

A disorder associated with first-generation antipsychotic use and characterized by involuntary movements, especially of the face and mouth.

What are the effects of phencyclidine (PCP) on schizophrenia?

Phencyclidine (PCP) induces schizophrenia-like symptoms, including hallucinations, delusions, and cognitive dysfunction. It acts primarily as an NMDA receptor antagonist, affecting dopamine pathways.

-Prevents glutamate from acting normally

-Noncompetitive antagonist

what areas of the brain increase their activity with depression

prefrontal cortex, during cognitively demanding tasks

Amygdala during emotional process

what areas of the brain decrease their activity with depression

Hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex, associated with memory and emotional regulation.

What types of treatments are better for depression?

Effective treatments for depression include psychotherapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and pharmacotherapy with antidepressants like SSRIs. Lifestyle changes and exercise can also improve symptoms.

what are tricyclics?

Tricyclics are a class of antidepressants that work by inhibiting the reuptake of neurotransmitters like norepinephrine (SSRIs targets serotonin and norepinephrine) and serotonin in the brain, increasing their availability and helping to alleviate symptoms of depression.

What is the prevalence of mental illness in women?

the prevalence of mental illness in women is higher. Especially, postpartum depression.

1 in 7 women show symptoms of depression.

What is the prevalence of mental health among college students?

Women are more likely to seek mental health

Anxiolytic drugs

What is the effect of benzodiazepines in the Gaba receptors?

Anxiolytic drugs are medications used to reduce anxiety. Benzodiazepines enhance the effect of the neurotransmitter GABA at GABA-A receptors, leading to increased inhibitory neurotransmission and a calming effect. The GABA channels open up and allow more chloride ions to flow into the neuron, which decreases neuron excitability.

PTSD exposure, exhibit a long-term reduction of what hormone?

cortisol levels in the body (stress hormone)

which they become sensitive to

What areas of the brain are activated when the original trauma is activated?

The amygdala and hippocampus are primarily activated, as they are involved in processing emotions and memory related to trauma.

Prevalence of mental illness among college students

Aprox 32% of college students report having mental illness, mainly female

What areas of the brain are mainly affected in schizophrenia?

Reduced metabolic activity in frontal and temporal lobes.

What areas of the brain are affected in patients with schizophrenia?

hypo frontality hypothesis- Frontal lobes are underactive

-Decreased blood flow in frontal and temporal lobes

• Neurons have reduced density of dendric spines

• Effective medications increase frontal lobe activity

Dopamine hypothesis

Traditional antipsychotic drugs block dopamine D₂ receptors in the brain, suggesting that overactivity of dopamine transmission plays a key role in the development of schizophrenia symptoms.

High doses of psychostimulants also produce excess dopamine & psychosis

What is the Major Depression Prevalence in young adults?

MDE reported by ~19% of young adults

suicidality ~13 %

What is the declarative memory?

Declarative memory is a type of explicit memory involving the conscious recall of facts and events, including episodic and semantic information.

What is nondeclarative memory?

Nondeclarative memory is a type of implicit memory that enables individuals to perform tasks without conscious awareness, including skills, habits, and conditioned responses.

What is the declarative memory: delayed non-matching-to-sample task?

A test in which the individual must respond to the unfamiliar stimulus in a pair of stimuli.

Damage to the _______ similar to H.M. are severely impaired in this non-matching to sample task

Medial temporal lobe

What areas of the brain did patient K.C. were damaged?

Patient K.C. had damage in the left frontoparietal and the right parieto-occipital cerebral cortex, as well as severe shrinkage of both right and left hippocampus and nearby cortex

What type of amnesia did patient K.C had?

consequence of injuries to frontal and parietal cortex - he suffered retrograde amnesia; he could not remember anything about his past or who he was

What is the episodic memory?

A type of declarative memory that involves the recollection of specific events, situations, and experiences, often linked to contextual details such as time and place.

What is semantic memory?

A type of declarative memory that involves the recall of general facts, concepts, and knowledge about the world, independent of personal experience.

examples of semantic memory

include knowing the capital of France, understanding mathematical concepts, and recognizing historical dates.

examples of episodic memory

include recalling a birthday party, remembering a family vacation, and reliving a significant life event.

what is priming?

Priming is a type of nondeclarative memory that influences an individual’s response to a stimulus based on prior exposure to related stimuli.

Damage to the _________ can interfere with the ability to perform a challenging task through repetition involving the sensorimotor, perceptual and cognitive skills. Example, building the ____ __ ______

basal ganglia; Tower of Hanoi

What is the reinforcement of operant conditioning?

Reinforcement of operant conditioning refers to any consequence that increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. It can be positive, involving the addition of a rewarding stimulus, or negative, involving the removal of an aversive stimulus.

What is the punishment of operant conditioning?

Punishment in operant conditioning refers to any consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. It can be positive, involving the addition of an aversive stimulus, or negative, involving the removal of a rewarding stimulus.

What is positive reinforcement in operant conditioning?

Positive reinforcement in operant conditioning is the process of increasing the likelihood of a behavior by presenting a rewarding stimulus following the behavior. This encourages the repetition of the desired behavior.

What is the negative reinforcement in operant conditioning?

Negative reinforcement in operant conditioning is the process of increasing the likelihood of a behavior by removing an aversive stimulus following that behavior. This encourages the repetition of the desired behavior by relieving an unpleasant condition.

What is the positive punishment in operant conditioning?

Positive punishment in operant conditioning refers to the introduction of an aversive stimulus following a behavior, which decreases the likelihood of that behavior being repeated. It aims to discourage unwanted behaviors by applying an unpleasant consequence.

What is the negative punishment in operant conditioning?

Negative punishment in operant conditioning refers to the removal of a rewarding stimulus following a behavior, which decreases the likelihood of that behavior being repeated. It aims to discourage unwanted behaviors by taking away something desirable.

What are the three stages of memory?

The three stages of memory are encoding, storage, and retrieval. Encoding involves transforming information into a format that can be stored, storage maintains the information over time, and retrieval is the process of accessing the stored information when needed.

How is the Long-term memory (LTM) encoded?

Long-term memory (LTM) is encoded through processes such as elaborative rehearsal and semantic encoding, which involve associating new information with existing knowledge and understanding its meaning, thereby facilitating its storage for extended periods.

Encoding information

First stage of memory. Sensory information, then is consolidated

Consolidation

Second stage of memory

that transforms short-term memories into long-term ones, stabilizing them for future retrieval.

Retrival

The process of accessing and bringing to consciousness memories stored in long-term memory. (Third stage of LTM)

What are Place cells and where are they located?

Specialized neurons in the hippocampus that become active when an animal is in or thinking about a specific location.

What are grid cells and where are they located?

Grid cells are specialized neurons located in the entorhinal cortex that activate in a spatial pattern, forming a geometric grid in relation to an animal's environment.

What are boundary cells and where are they located?

Boundary cells are specialized neurons also found in the entorhinal cortex that respond to the edges or boundaries of an environment, helping to define spatial navigational contexts.

What are head direction cells and where are they located?

Head direction cells are specialized neurons located in the presubiculum that become active based on the direction an animal's head is facing, contributing to spatial orientation.

What neurotransmitter is associated with the AMPA receptors in LTP

Glutamate is the neurotransmitter associated with AMPA receptors in long-term potentiation (LTP), playing a crucial role in synaptic strengthening.

What binds to the AMPA receptors in LTP to activate it?

Glutamate