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Unit 3A + 3B Biological Bases Of Behavior (The Brain (The Cerebral Cortex,…

- - - - building blocks of the body's neural information system, nerve cells
      - Types
        
        Sensory Neurons-neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord
        
        Motor Neurons- neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands.
        
        Interneurons -neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between sensory inputs and motor outputs, the majority of neurons.
      - Parts
        
        Dendrite -bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses towards the cell body.
        
        Axon -the extension of a neuron through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands.
        
        Myelin Sheath - a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing fibers of neurons; enables greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next. Forms until age 25, MS results from its degeneration.
      - Action Potential -a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. Involves the exchange of ions. Axon surfaces are selectively permeable.
        
        neurons receive signals from others, excitatory- accelerating, inhibitory- braking.
        
        Threshold -the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse. An all-or-none response- must have enough or doesn't do anything.
    - - Synapse-the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The gap is called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft.
      - Neurotransmitters - chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.
      - Re-uptake -a neurotransmitter's re absorption by the sending neuron once it has hit threshold.
    - - Candance Pert and Soloman Snyder attached a radioactive tracer to morphine, and discovered where it was taken up in an animal brain, and found the receptors of mood and pain sensations.
      - Endorphins- natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure.
      - Neurotransmitters and their functions
        
        Acetylcholine -enables muscle action, learning, and memory
        
        Dopamine -influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion
        
        Serotonin -affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal
        
        Norepinephrine -helps control alertness and arousal.
        
        GABA -a major inhibitory neurotransmitter
        
        Glutamate -major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory.
      - Agonist -mimics a neurotransmitter's effect and binds to the receptor, amplifies it.
        Antagonist -binds to receptors, but blocks a neurotransmitter's function.
  - - - The brain and spinal cord
      - Neurons cluster into work groups called neural networks so they can have fast, short connections. When fired together, they are wired together.
      - The Spinal Cord connects the PNS with the brain. Ascending Neural Fibers send up sensory information, and descending fibers send back motor-control information.
      - Reflexes -simple. automatic responses to sensory stimuli.
    - - The sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body.
      - Somatic Nervous System -division of the PNS that controls skeletal muscles. Reports current state of skeletal muscles.
      - Automatic Nervous System -part of the PNS that controls glands and the muscles of internal organs. Operates on its own.
        
        Sympathetic Nervous System -arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations.
        
        Parasympathetic Nervous System -calms the body, and conserves its energy.
- - - - CT (Computed Tomography) Scan -a series of X-ray photographs taken from different angles and combined by computer into a composite representation of a slice through the body. (aka CAT scan)
      - PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scan -a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain preforms a given task.
      - MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)-a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissues; show brain anatomy.
      - fMRI (functional MRI) -a technique for revealing bloodflow and brain activity by comparing successive MRI scan, show brain function.
  - - - The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; responsible for automatic survival functions.
      - Medulla -the base of the brain stem, controls heartbeat and breathing.
      - Pons -Coordinates movements for the brain.
      - Reticular Formation -a nerve network in the brain stem that plays an important role in controlling arousal.
    - - doughnut-shaped neural system located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives.
      - Hippocampus- processes memory
      - Amygdala -two Lima bean sized neural clusters in the limbic system linked to aggression and fear, but only one part to fear.
      - Hypothalamus -a neural structure lying below the thalamus; directs several maintenance activities, such as eating, drinking, body temperature, and helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. It is linked to emotion, sexual behavior, and reward.
        Reward Deficiency Syndrome -a genetically disposed deficiency in natural brain systems for pleasure and well-being.
  - - - brain waves, bloodflow, glucose consumption
      - makes inferences
      - Modulates our speech to make meanings clear
      - helps orchestrate our sense of self
    - - speaking and calculating
      - makes quick, literal interpretations of language
  - - - The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition. (perception, thinking, memory, language)
      - In motionless bodies, the brain and mid is still alive; looking to map out conscious functions of the cortex, but we don't have a specific definition of consciousness.
    - - visual perception track- enables us to create the mental furniture that allows us to think about the world.
        visual action track- guides our moment to moment actions
  - - - very wrinkly to allow more surface area.
      - Glial Cells - cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons. May also play a role in information transmission and memory.
      - Lobes are separated by fissures, or folds, in the brain
        
        Frontal Lobe - portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements as well as in making plans and judgement.
        
        Parietal Lobe - the portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and towards the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position.
        
        Occipital Lobe -Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields.
        
        Temporal Lobe - the portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information from the opposite ear.
    - - Motor Functions
        
        Motor Cortex -an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.
        
        The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body.
      - Sensory Functions
        
        Sensory Cortex -area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
        
        If simulated, people feel sensations as though something is touching a part of the body. The more sensitive the region, the larger the area is in the sensory cortex.
      - Association Areas- areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.
    - - Aphasia -impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to the Broca's area or Wernicke's area
      - Broca's Area -controls language expression -an area, usually in the left frontal lobe, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.
      - Wernicke's Area -controls language reception- a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe.
      - The brain operates by dividing its mental functions into sub functions.
    - - The brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience.
      - Constraint induced therapy rewires brains by restraining a functioning limb and forcing use of the bad one. Allows for use of limbs for stroke victims.
      - Allows for one side of the brain to compensate for the side of the brain that doesn't work as well.
      - Neurogenesis - the formation of new neurons that start deep in the brain and then migrate elsewhere to form connections with neighboring neurons.