Brain and Behavior exam 1

Ch 0-2

three major types of experiments are

-correlation
-somatic intervention
-behavioral intervention

correlation experiments

measures how much a behavioral measure varies with a biological measure

somatic intervention

manipulate the body and see how that affects behavior

behavioral intervention

affect behavior and measure resulting physiological change

level of analysis

A concept to describe what level you are reducing a problem to, from social to cellular or even molecular.

Give a brief description (one or two sentences) of a situation that might not strictly be a within or between subjects experiment. (Hint: Some variables can't be a within-subject experiment)

A correleational study that studies an individual's stress levels and their hours of sleep is neither a within or between subjects experiment.

The modern field of neuroscience using the scientific method and objective experimentation:

Started approximately a century ago.

Epigenetics is:

Changes in gene expression that do not involve changes to the genome.

What is ontogeny?

Change in an individual during it's life time.

within-subjects experiment

every subject experiences both the experimental and control conditions

Computer science advances have helped neuroscience by:

Allowing the simulation of various biological functions within the brain, from neurons to circuits and Providing the ability to process datasets too large for humans to do by hand.

The idea that different regions of the brain control different aspects of thought is

localization of function

what is behavioral neuroscience

study of the biological bases of psychological processes and behavior

modern era uses..

the scientific method and objective experimentation, only about 100 years old

interdisciplinary neuroscience

neuroscience involves many different sciences

epigenetics

studies factors that affect gene expression w/o altering the genes themselves

levels of analysis

scope of experimental approaches, from social interaction down to the molecular level

within subjects

control group is the same set of subjects tested before any alteration

between subjects

experimental group is compared to a separate control group that has been treated identically except for the manipulation

somatic intervention

alteration of a brain structure or function to see how behavior is altered

behavioral intervention

intervention in a behavior to see how brain structure or function is altered

correlation

measures how much a body measure varies w/a behavioral measure

neurons

the basic units of the nervous system

four zones of the neuron

input: dendrites
integration: the cell body(soma)
conduction: axon or nerve fiber
output: axon terminals

axon

conducts output info away from the cell body as an electrical impulse

dendrite

receives info from other cells

bipolar neurons

one axon, one dendrite; sensory receptors(vision, smell, hearing)

unipolar neurons

a single extension branches in two directions, forming an input zone and an output zone; touch from body to spinal cord

multipolar neurons

one axon, many dendrites; most common type; most common neuron

nissal stains

outline all cell bodies because the dyes are attracted to RNA distributed within the cell

golgi stains

fill the whole cell and includes details, only stain a small proportion of neurons

immunocytochemistry

an antibody binds to the protein and chemical treatments make the antibody statement

in situ hybridization

uses radioactively labeled lengths of RNA or DNA to identify neurons in which a gene is being expressed

tract tracers

reveal the axonal projections of neurons( anterograde and retrograde tracers)

the brainbow

visualized different types of neurons simultaneously using fluorescent proteins inserted into cell DNA

5 types of techniques to visualize cell

-nissal stains
-golgi stains
-immunochemistry
-tract tracers
-the brainbow

anatomy of the synapse

-pre-synaptic membrane
-post synaptic membrane
-synaptic cleft

pre-synaptic membrane

on the axon terminal of the presynaptic neuron

post synaptic membrane

on the dendrite or cell body of the post synaptic neuron

synaptic cleft

a gap 20-40 nanometers that separates the membranes

mechanism of synaptic release

1. action potential arrival

2. calcium influx

3. vesicle mobilization and docking

4. fusion and exocytosis

5. post-synaptic action and recycling

what is the first step of the mechanism of synaptic release

action potential arrival, causes cell membrane to depolarize

second step of synaptic release

calcium influx, depolarization opens voltage gated calcium channels, which causes ca2+ to rush into the cell

third step of mechanism of synaptic release

vesicle mobilization and docking, synaptic vesicles store the neurotransmitters

fourth step of mechanism of synaptic release

fusion and exocytosis; cell membranes merge causing exocytosis

5th step of mechanism of synaptic release

post-synaptic action and recycling, Neurotransmitters cross the cleft and bind to specific receptors on the next cell, creating a new electrical or chemical response

layers of the cortex

neocortex(6 layers), mesocortex(6 layers), aliocortex(5 layers), periallocortex

types of glia

-myelin cell(oligodendrocytes and schwann cells)
-astrocytes
-microglial cells

oligodendrocytes

form the myelin sheath in the brain and spinal cord(CNS)

schwann cells

provide myelin to cells outside the brain and spinal cord (PNS)

astrocytes

star shaped cells with many processes thar stretch around and between neurons and blood vessels

microglial cells(microglia)

small cells that remove debris from injured cells

what is myelination

process in which specialized glial cells wrap around a neuron’s axon to form a fatty insulation layer known as the myelin sheath

how does myelination affect the action potential

myelin acts as a fatty insulating layer along the axon as electrical impulses travel down toward the axon terminals and the nodes of ranvier interrupt this insulation at regular intervals, leaving specific gaps where the axon is directly exposed

cranial nerves

connected to the brain; innervate the head neck and visceral organs directly from the brain

cranial nerve 1

olfactory: smell

cranial nerve 2

optical: vision

cranial nerve 3

occulomotor: eye movement

cranial nerve 4

trochlear: eye movement

cranial nerve 5

trigeminal: facial sensation chewing muscles

cranial nerve 6

abducens: eye movement

cranial nerve 7

facial: taste sensation, facial muscles

cranial nerve 8

vestibulocochlear: hearing and balance

cranial nerve 9

glossopharyngeal: throat sensation, throat muscles

cranial nerve 10

vagus: innervates the heart, liver, and intestines

cranial nerve 11

spinal accessory:neck muscles

cranial nerve 12

hypoglossal: tongue

cranial nerve mnemonic

on old olympus’ towering top a friendly viking grew vines and hops

sympathetic chain

innervates the sympathetic chain and innervates the sympathetic nervous system(fight or flight)

spinal nerves : DAVE

dorsal = afferent, ventral = efferent

parasympathetic nervous system

rest and recovery

afferent

carries info into a region of interest( A for arrive)

efferent

carries info away from the CNS( E for exit)

four lobes of the brain

frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital

grey matter

contains more cell bodies and dendrites which lack myelin

white matter

consists mostly of axons w/ white myelin sheaths

limbic system

structures important for learning and memory

amygdala

emotional regulation and perception of odor

structures of the limbic system

amygdala, hippocampus and fornix, cingulate gyrus, olfactory bulb, thalamus and hypothalamus

hippocampus and fornix

learning

cingulate gyrus

attention

olfactory bulb

sense of smell

thalamus

cluster of nuclei that relay sensory info

hypothalamus

contains nuclei w/ many functions, also controls the pituitary gland

brain stem consists of:

medulla, pons, and midbrain

midbrain sensory systems consist of:

superior and inferior colliculi

superior colliculi

process visual info

inferior colliculi

process auditory info

basal ganglia includes:

striatum, caudate nucleus, putamen, and nucleus accumbens, globus pallidus, substantia nigra, and subthalamic nucleus

striatum

includes caudate nucleus, putamen, and nucleus

function of the basal ganglia

help coordinate voluntary movement, learning, habits, and emotions

Meninges

protective membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord: consists of 3 layers: dura mater, pia mater, arachnoid membrane

dura mater

tough most outermost layer of meninges

pia mater

delicate most innermost layer of meninges

arachnoid membrane

lies between the other two layers, filled w cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)

meningitis

acute infection of the meninges

meningiomas

tumors formed in the meninges

ventricular system

series of chambers filled with cerebral spinal fluid(CSF), contains lateral ventricle, choroid plexus, third ventricle, and fourth ventricle

lateral ventricle

in each hemisphere of the ventricular system, extend into all four lobes and is lined with the choroid plexus

choroid plexus

a membrane that produces CSF