Untitled Flashcard Set

Exam 1 - Neuro

Chapter 1. 

Ancient Egypt and Greece: Egypt considered the heart the center of the soul. During mummification they threw away the brain and kept the heart. Hippocrates (Greece) argues that the brain is the center of intelligence and not just for sensation. Aristotle (Greece) disagreed with this and stated that the brain cooled the heart. 

Roman Empire: Galen was a physician for gladiators, embraced the hippocratic view of the brain. His main contribution was that he dissected various animal brains and found fluid-filled spaces (ventricles). Developed ventricular theory, the idea that ventricles moved through nerves creating movement.

Renaissance - 1800s: During this time, Descartes promoted dualism, the idea that the mind and body are separate. Believed the mind/soul lived in the pineal gland. 

1700s,1800s,1900s: 17th and 18th centuries took a break from the ventricular theory, examined the brain more thoroughly, especially white and gray matter. Gross anatomy was involved in the 18th century. By the 19th century views of the brain were that nerves acted out as wires, understanding the electrical phenomena, the nervous system can generate electricity. 

People in Neuroscience

  • Bell & Magendie: Identified separated roots (Dorsal–from body to brain AKA sensory; Ventral–from the brain to body AKA motor)

  • Franz Gall: Proposed phrenology: bumps on the surface of skull reflect brain surface and personality traits. 

  • Marie-Jean-Pierre Flourens: Used ablation method to show that cerebellum is used for movement while cerebrum was used for sensation and perception. Ablation is destroying parts of the brain to investigate its functions. 

  • Paul Broca: known for Broca’s area on the left frontal lobe. Used for speech comprehension still understanding language but can’t speak it right. 

  • Darwin: Nervous systems of many different species may share common mechanisms. 

Cell Theory

The neuron: the basic functional unit of the brain. 

Levels of Analysis

  • Molecular Neuroscience: Investigates molecules like neurotransmitters, receptors, and ion channels.

  • Cellular Neuroscience: Examines neuronal properties, signal processing, and cellular interactions.

  • Systems Neuroscience: Studies neural circuits executing common functions (e.g., visual or motor systems).

  • Behavioral Neuroscience: Focuses on how neural systems coordinate to produce behaviors.

  • Cognitive Neuroscience: Explores complex mental operations like memory, language, consciousness, and thought.

 Debates on Animals in Research

  • Essential for medical progress; strictly regulated by institutional committees (IACUC) focusing on animal welfare rather than animal rights philosophies.

Disorders to KNOWWW

  • Alzheimer’s Disease

  • Autism

  • Multiple Sclerosis 

  • Parkinson’s Disease

  • Schizophrenia

  • Stroke