Weeks 1-4 Behavioural Neuroscience

Behavioral Neuroscience

The study of the biological processes by which the body and brain generate and control behavior.

Neurons

Cells in the nervous system that are the building blocks of the brain and are responsible for transmitting information.

Psychopharmacology

The study of how drugs affect behavior and mental processes.

MRI and fMRI

Imaging techniques used to visualize brain activity by measuring changes in blood flow.

Comparative Cognition

Comparing cognitive processes across different species to understand human behavior.

Tinbergen’s Four Questions

Mechanism, Ontogeny, Phylogeny, and Functional explanations for behavior.

Natural Selection

The process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

Resting Potential

The electrical charge across the cell membrane of a neuron when it is not active.

Action Potential

A rapid change in electrical potential that travels along the membrane of a neuron.

Myelin

Fatty substance that covers axons and speeds up the transmission of electrical signals.

EPSPs and IPSPs

Excitatory and Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potentials, respectively, which influence the likelihood of a neuron firing.

Temporal summation

Multiple EPSPs arriving soon after each other, leading to cell depolarization.

Spatial summation

EPSPs arriving at the same time from different synapses, causing cell depolarization.

Action potential

Cell polarization high enough to open Na+ channels, leading to neuronal firing.

Synapse

Connection between neurons where chemical communication occurs.

Neurotransmitter

Chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, or GABA that modulate synaptic receptors.

Ionotropic receptors

Receptors that are ion channels and directly depolarize the postsynaptic cell.

Metabotropic receptors

G-protein coupled receptors that cause downstream effects inside the cell.

Reuptake

Process where neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by presynaptic cells to be recycled.

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter associated with reward and movement in the brain.

GABA receptors

Inhibitory receptors allowing Cl- ions to enter the postsynaptic cell when open.

Cortex

The outer layer of the brain responsible for higher brain functions.

Hemispheres

The two halves of the brain, each controlling the opposite side of the body.

Layers and columns

The organization of neurons in the cortex into vertical layers and horizontal columns.

Lobes

The four major subdivisions of the brain - frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes.

Somatosensory cortex

The part of the brain involved in processing sensory information from the body.

Plasticity

The brain's ability to reorganize and adapt, especially after injury or learning.

Proprioception

The sense of knowing where the parts of our body are in space.

Binding problem

The challenge of understanding how the brain integrates different sensory inputs into a coherent perception.

Executive function

The cognitive processes in the brain responsible for planning, decision-making, and self-control.

Prefrontal cortex

The part of the brain involved in executive functions and integrating information from different brain regions.