Brain and Behavior

Behavioral neuroscience The study of the biological processes that underlie behavior.

Neuroscience literacy Understanding of brain structure and function, research methods, and the scope of neuroscience research.

Seductive allure of neuroscience explanations The tendency for neuroscience-sounding explanations to seem more convincing, even when the neuroscience information is nonsense or incorrect.

Dunning-Kruger effect A psychological phenomenon discussed in relation to how people can be influenced by neuroscience explanations.

René Descartes Believed animals were mechanical and that behavior was controlled by responses to external stimuli; believed the human mind was separate from the body.

Pineal gland The structure Descartes believed connected internal interpretation with external experience.

Luigi Galvani Studied electrical stimulation of frog nerves and observed that electrical current caused frog muscles to contract.

Electrophysiology The study of how electricity impacts the nervous system.

Alessandro Volta Disagreed with Galvani's explanation and argued that the frog's contractions could be caused by electricity passing through the metal table.

Voltaic pile An early battery created by Alessandro Volta.

Intracellular recording Recording changes in electrical voltage or currents inside a single cell.

Extracellular recording Measuring ionic current and voltage in the space between cells.

In vitro Studying cultured neurons or a brain slice outside a living animal.

In vivo Studying a living animal, including recording what a cell is doing while the animal is awake.

Johannes Müller Associated with the doctrine of specific nerve energies and experimental techniques used to study behavior.

Doctrine of specific nerve energies The idea that all nerves work through electrical impulses, but the brain interprets signals differently depending on which nerve is stimulated.

Ablation Purposely damaging or removing a portion of the brain and observing what happens.

Marie-Jean-Pierre Flourens Used experimental ablation to study the functions of different brain regions.

Neurospecificity The idea that different parts of the brain are responsible for different behaviors or functions.

Phineas Gage A man whose frontal lobe was damaged by an iron rod in 1848; his case provided evidence that brain damage can affect personality and behavior.

Phrenology The belief that mental traits could be determined by the size of particular brain areas as measured through the skull.

Franz Joseph Gall Associated with phrenology.

Problem with phrenology Phrenology has no scientific support, although its popularity contributed to interest in the idea of brain specialization.

Paul Broca Studied patients with brain damage and concluded that a region of the left frontal cortex was responsible for language production.

Patient Tan A patient studied by Paul Broca who lost the ability to speak normally after a stroke and could essentially only say the word "Tan."

Broca's area A region of the left frontal cortex associated in the lecture with language production.

Language production The ability to produce spoken language; Broca's patient showed impaired production but preserved comprehension.

Gustav Fritsch and Eduard Hitzig Studied the brains of dogs and found evidence that specific parts of the motor cortex control specific parts of the body.

Contralateral effects The phenomenon in which one side of the motor cortex controls movement on the opposite side of the body.

Motor cortex The brain region involved in controlling movement; specific sections control specific parts of the body.

Johann Purkinje The anatomist who was the first to section the human brain thinly enough to view its cells through a microscope.

Purkinje cells Cells observed by Johann Purkinje in the brain and later known by his name.

Matilda Effect The tendency for major contributions by women in science to be dismissed or attributed to male colleagues.

Matilda Joslyn Gage The person after whom the Matilda Effect is named.

Rosalind Franklin A scientist whose contribution to discovering the structure of DNA was discussed as an example of the Matilda Effect.

Marthe Gautier A scientist whose contributions to understanding Down syndrome/trisomy 21 were discussed as an example of the Matilda Effect.

Matthew Effect The disproportionate credit given to people who already have early advantages, which can suppress recognition of contributions from racial and ethnic minorities.

Charles Henry Turner Studied animal cognition and was discussed as an example of contributions later being attributed to others.

Camillo Golgi Developed the Golgi stain and supported the reticular theory.

Golgi stain A staining technique that helps researchers see different cells in brain tissue.

Reticular theory The idea that cells in the brain are connected together in a continuous network or reticulum.

Santiago Ramón y Cajal Supported neuron theory and created detailed observational drawings of brain tissue.

Neuron theory The idea that brain cells are separate cells that communicate with each other without physically touching.

Synapse The space or point of communication between neurons.

Charles Sherrington Provided evidence for synapses, studied how cells are connected, and developed the concept of inhibition.

Inhibition A process in which one cell can pass along a signal that reduces or inhibits activity in another cell.

Sparks The idea that cells communicate through electrical signals.

John Eccles Associated with the idea that neurons communicate through electrical signals, or "sparks."

Soups The idea that cells communicate through chemical exchange.

Henry Dale Associated with the idea that neurons communicate through chemical exchange, or "soups."

Otto Loewi Conducted the frog-heart experiment that provided evidence for chemical communication.

Loewi's frog-heart experiment An experiment in which stimulating one frog heart's vagus nerve caused its heart rate to slow, and transferring its saline to another heart also slowed the second heart.

Vagusstoff The chemical substance Loewi believed was released into the saline during his frog-heart experiment.

Acetylcholine The neurotransmitter identified from the chemical substance involved in Loewi's frog-heart experiment.

Neurotransmitters Chemicals that allow cells to communicate with each other.

Neurotrophins Chemicals that allow neurons to grow and maintain themselves.

Rita Levi-Montalcini A neuroscientist who discovered neurotrophins and received the Nobel Prize in 1968.

NGF Nerve growth factor; a chemical important for the growth and maintenance of neurons.

Marian Diamond A researcher associated with modern neuroscience and the study of neuroplasticity.

Neuroplasticity The ability of the brain to change with experience.

Enrichment Exposure to more experiences that can physically change and improve the brain.

Glia Non-neuronal cells in the brain; Marian Diamond's study of part of Einstein's brain found more glia.

Karl Deisseroth A neuroscientist associated with optogenetics.

Optogenetics A technique that uses genetic engineering and light to control specific neurons.

Opsins Light-sensitive proteins produced by neurons after genetic code is introduced through optogenetic methods.

Why electrical stimulation cannot isolate one neuron Electrical stimulation affects many neurons, making it difficult to determine what one specific neuron is doing.

Kafui Dzirasa A researcher associated with neuroengineering and personalized neuroscience.

Neuroengineering The use of engineering and technology to study and influence the nervous system.

Personalized neuroscience The idea of using individual patterns of brain activity to develop more targeted approaches to disorders.

Machine learning in neuroscience A method used to identify patterns in brain activity associated with different disorders.

"Pacemaker for the brain" The idea of using technology to regulate abnormal electrical patterns in the brain.

Informed consent A requirement that research participants understand potential risks and benefits and have the option to participate voluntarily.

Minimize harm The ethical principle requiring researchers to minimize potential risks and harm to participants.

Deception in research Researchers should avoid deception when possible; if deception is necessary, it must be justified and participants must be fully debriefed.

Voluntary withdrawal The right of a participant to leave a study at any time for any reason without negative consequences.

Confidentiality The ethical requirement to protect participants' personal information.

IRB Institutional Review Board; a committee responsible for reviewing research involving human participants.

Exempt IRB review A level of review for research involving less than minimal risk that meets an exemption category.

Expedited IRB review A level of review for research involving minimal risk or qualifying minor changes.

Why use animals in research Animals may be used when research would be unethical or impractical to conduct on humans.

Animal models Animals used in research to study biological processes, disease, development, genes, and environmental effects.

Epigenetics The interaction between genes and the environment.

IACUC Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee; responsible for reviewing and overseeing animal research.

Replacement An animal research principle requiring researchers to use non-animal models when possible.

Reduction An animal research principle requiring researchers to use the fewest animals necessary to obtain good results.

Refinement An animal research principle requiring researchers to find ways to improve animals' lives and reduce suffering.

Most common animal model Mice.

Why mice are useful in research Their approximately two-year lifespan makes them useful for studying disease progression.

Least common animal model Non-human primates.