Intro to Psychobiology and Cognition Exam 2 Flashcards

Two theories of wolf to dog evolution 

• Humans selectively bred wolves for characteristics they wanted 

• Human and wolf interactions increased and wolves with more amicable characteristics had better fitness 

Dmitry Belyaev experiment

suggested that behavioral selection drove domestication 

• focused on tameness –> social, unaggressive 

• Subject: silver foxes (related to dogs and never been domesticated) 

• Procedure: based on tameness/response to humans, only some were allowed to reproduce 

• Experiment ran for 30-35 generations 

• End population was very different from original foxes in temperament and behavior 

  • Less fear responses to scary stimuli 

  • actively sought out human contact

  • Physical changes – more white patches in coloring, floppier ears, curled tails, smaller features  

  • Physiological changes – lower stress, more serotonin, more offspring per liter, bred throughout the year (not seasonal) 

Tyron (1934) selective breeding 

Selectively bred rats for dull and bright rats at maze navigation 

dull rats made more errors

Cooper & Zubek (1958) 

• Raised maze dull and maze bright rats in enriched and impoverished environments 

• In enriched & impoverished environment, maze bright rats made fewer mistakes than maze dull rats 

• Difference between errors made by maze bright and maze dull rats was larger in impoverished environment  

• Enriched environment overcomes genetic predisposition 

Longitudinal hemisphere

gap in middle of the brain that divides into right & left cerebral hemisphere

Sulcus/sulci

ridges/grooves in the brain 

Gyrus/gyri

raised bump in the brain 

Cerebral cortex (what it is + function)

outermost layer of the brain  

Processing sensory information, movement and association areas (integrates thinking from other areas)

Frontal lobe parts

• Motor cortex:

• Prefrontal cortex

• Broca's area:

• Motor cortex:

• movement 

  • Primary motor cortex: cause movement in head and body 

• Prefrontal cortex:

• higher level cognitive functions 

  • Decision-making, planning, acting for long-term goals 

• Broca's area:

• language production 

Parietal lobe – location, purpose, and parts

separated from frontal lobe by central sulcus 
Language, spatial orientation, and attention 

• Primary somatosensory cortex:

• Wernicke's area

Primary somatosensory cortex:

processes sensory motion and location of body in space 

• Wernicke's area:

• language comprehension 

Temporal lobe: what it does and parts of it

higher order processing of visual memory, learning and memory and hearing 

• Primary auditory cortex:

• Hippocampus:

• Amygdala:

• Primary auditory cortex:

• ability to control sound 

• Hippocampus:

• turns short term memory into long term memory 

• Amygdala:

• processes fear and other emotions 

Occipital lobe: purpose and part

visual processing 

• Primary visual cortex:

• Primary visual cortex:

• main area for visual processing 

Cerebellum:

motor coordination and control, balance and posture, fine-tuning of voluntary movements 

Corpus collosum:

connects left and right cerebral hemispheres 

Brain stem: purpose and parts

connects brain to spinal cord 

• 
  Midbrain:

• Pons:

• Medulla (lowest):

Midbrain purpose

produces dopamine 

Pons:

carry information to and from cerebellum 

Medulla (lowest):

regulates vital functions (e.g. cardiovascular and respiratory), very important 

basal ganglia:

movement, habit formation, and reward processing

Thalamus:

relays sensory information heading to cerebral cortex 

Hypothalamus:

maintains homeostasis through regulating thirst, feeding, body temp, stress response 

Pituitary gland:

produces many important hormones  

Pineal gland:

secrets hormone melatonin 

Ventricles:

system of cavities throughout the brain that produce CSF to regulate the environment 

4 lobes

frontal, perietal, temporal, occipital

Function tools

CT and MRI and EEG 

Structure tools:

fMRI and PET 

CT:

takes images of soft tissues, bones, and organs 

• MRI:

• uses radio waves to create images of soft tissues 

• EEG:

• less detailed measure of electric waves from brain 

• 
  fMRI:

• shows blood flow to different parts of the brain 

• PET:

• drink dye that binds to blood cells and shows activation to different parts of brain 

CNS vs PNS

• Central Nervous System (CNS): Brain and spinal cord 

• Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): rest of body

• Autonomic nervous system:

• unconscious processes 

• Sympathetic:

• 
  

• unconscious processes to perceive and act during danger 

  • Heartrate increase, pupil dilation, digestion reduction 

• Parasympathetic:

• unconscious process to rest and digest after danger 

  • Reduce heartrate, increase digestion, pupil constriction 

• Somatic nervous system:

• voluntary movements and sensory information 

  • Sensory neurons bringing information from peripherals 

  • Motor neurons bringing information to cells in extremities 

relationship between nervous system and parts

• 
  Central Nervous System (CNS) 

  • Brain and spinal cord 

• Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) 

  • Autonomic nervous system: unconscious processes 

    • Sympathetic: unconscious processes to perceive and act during danger 

      • Heartrate increase, pupil dilation, digestion reduction 

    • Parasympathetic: unconscious process to rest and digest after danger 

      • Reduce heartrate, increase digestion, pupil constriction 

  • Somatic nervous system: voluntary movements and sensory information 

    • Sensory neurons bringing information from peripherals 

    • Motor neurons bringing information to cells in extremities 

Meninges 

• Pia mater: shiny layer right on top of the brain 

• Arachnoid mater: middle layer  

• Dura mater: outer layer to protect from outside damage 

right brain vs left brain

• Right brain is more creative and time-free 

• Left brain is more logical and systematic 

• 
  Dendrites

• – shorter offshoots from cell body 

• Axon –

• longer tail off neuron 

• Myelin sheath –

• protective coating on outside of axon 

• 
  

• Axon terminals -

• tips of the axon's branches 

hormones vs neurotransmitters

• 
  Hormones can travel longer distances or short distances at different speeds 

• Neurotransmitters always travel short distances very fast 

agonist vs antagonist

• Receptor agonist: activates receptor by mimicking neurotransmitter 

• Receptor antagonist: block receptor 

Opiate vs opioid drugs 

• Opiate: naturally extracted or refined from plant matter 

  • Opium, Heroin, Morphine, Codeine 

• Opioid: “synthetic” drugs made in a lab, typically prescribed 

  • Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, Fentanyl 

how do opoid drugs work?

Opioid drugs inhibit pain signal for multiple steps in pathway 

• Bind to opioid receptors meant for endorphins, to mimic pain reduction, causing euphoria 

• Activates the reward pathway - VTA (Ventral Tegmental Area) & NA (Nucleus Accumbens) 

• Excessive stimulation of the dopamine reward system 

Stages of Neural Development 

1. Neurolation (formation of neural tube) 

2. Neurogenesis (creation) and proliferation (multiplication) 

3. Migration and differentiation 

4. Circuit formation (synaptogenesis) 

5. Circuit pruning (cell death and rearrangement) 

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Movement + memory

Glutamate

increases the likelihood that neurons will fire. Important for learning and memory

GABA

Main inhibitory neurotransmitter; decreases the likelihood that neurons will fire

Dopamine

Reward, motivation, reinforcement

Norepinephrine

Alertness, attention, arousal, flight or fight

Serotonin

Mood regulation, sleep

Endorphins

= pain relief + pleasure.