PSY 209 Brain and Behavior Exam 1 Study Guide PDF

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MSU PSY 209 Brain and Behavior Ch. 1-3 Exam 1 study guide question and answers....

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Chapter 1 

Define biological psychology. The study of the biological bases of psychological processes and behavior

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Who is Leonardo da Vinci? How did he contribute to learning about the brain? The first accurate depictions of the anatomy of the brain was from the work of Leonardo da Vinci who laid the foundations of anatomical drawings.

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Who is Rene Descartes? What is dualism and how does it affect the study of brain and behavior? Rene Descartes proposed the idea that the behavior of animals could be linked to the workings of a machine (the brain). Dualism: the mind is subject to only spiritual interactions, whereas the body is subject to material interactions.

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What are the 3 main approaches to the study of brain and behavior? Somatic Intervention: an approach to finding relations between body variables and behavioral variables that involves manipulating body structure or function and looking for results in change of behavior. Behavioral Intervention: an approach to finding relations between body variables and behavior variables that involves intervening in the behavior of an organism and looking for results in changes in body function or structure. Correlation: the covariation of two measures.

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What is correlation? Correlation: the covariation of two measures.

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What is neuroplasticity? Give some examples. Neuroplasticity: reflects the idea that plastic changed to the brain can occur throughout the lifespan The acceptance of evolutionary theory is a founding principle underlying behavioral neuroscience. Ex. Body and behavioral measures

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What is an independent variable? Dependent variable? The independent variable is the variable that is manipulated The dependent variable is the variable that is effected

Chapter 2 

What are the parts of the central nervous system? What are the parts of the peripheral nervous system? The CNS contains the brain and spinal cord. The PNS contains all parts of the nervous system found outside the skull and the spinal cord.

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What is gray matter? What is white matter? White Matter mostly consists of axons with white myelin sheaths Gray Matter contains more cell bodies and dendrites, which looks like myelin.

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What are gyri (gyrus) and sulci (sulcus)? Gyrus: a ridged or raised portion of a convoluted brain surface. Sulcus: A furrow of a convoluted brain surface.

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Identify the lobes of the cerebrum and describe their major function. Identify the cerebellum and describe its major functions. Frontal Lobe: Cognitive skills and emotional expression Temporal Lobe: auditory information, also learning, memory, and emotion Parietal Lobe: sensory information across modalities and linguistics capacity, also sense of touch Occipital Lobe: includes visual processing Cerebellum: more simple than the cortex, controls lower order functions. Important for certain basic forms of learning (ex. Blinking).

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Be able to navigate through the brain – what terms do we use for direction? What is a coronal view? Horizontal view? Sagittal view? Anterior: front to back Posterior: back to front Dorsal: top Ventral: bottom Medial: middle Lateral: side to side Sagittal view: the plane that bisects the body into right and left halves. plane that divides the body into front (anterior) and back (posterior) Coronal view: plane that divides the body into front (anterior) and back (posterior) Horizontal view: plane that divides the brain into and upper and lower parts

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Be able to identify the basal ganglia and its component parts. What are their functions?

Basal Ganglia: important in motor control, habits like knowing how to play an instrument or a sport Includes 4 nuclei: caudate nucleus and the putamen are locations that damages from Parkinson’s. and then the Globus pallidus and substantia nigra (midbrain) 

Be able to identify the limbic system and its component parts. What are their functions? Limbic System: critical for emotion and different forms of learning Contains the Amygdala: emotional regulation and odor perception, Hippocampus and Fornix: both responsible for learning and memory, the Cingulate Gyrus: special decision making, and Olfactory Bulb: smell

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Be able to identify the diencephalon and its component parts. What are their functions? Thalamus: acts as a switchbox, directing almost all incoming sensory information to appropriate regions Hypothalamus: hunger, thirst, temperature, and sex.

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What is the thalamus? In general what does it do? Thalamus: acts as a switchbox, directing almost all incoming sensory information to appropriate regions

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Be able to identify the midbrain and its component parts. What are their functions? Midbrain: areas important for motor control, arousal, and motivation. Contains: Superior Colliculi: processes visual information, Inferior Colliculi: processes information about sounds, and the Tectum: connects the colliculi

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Be able to identify the hindbrain and its component parts. What are their functions? The hindbrain includes the Cerebellum: important for certain basic forms of learning (ex. Blinking), Pons: contains motor and sensory nuclei it is important for relaxing, sleep, and facial sensation. Lastly, the Medulla: responsible for autonomic functions from sneezing to breathing.

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What is CSF? What and where are ventricles? What are the major functions of the ventricular system? CSF (cerebral spinal fluid): the fluid that fill the ventral cavities, it protects the brain from sudden movement and it provides a medium for the exchange of materials Lateral Ventricle: extends to all four lobes and is lined with a specialized membrane: Choroid Plexus. Third Ventricle: middle ventricle that conducts the cerebrospinal fluid from the lateral ventricles to the fourth ventricles.

Fourth Ventricle: the passageway within the pons that receives the cerebrospinal fluid from the third ventricle and releases it to the brain and spinal cord.  

What are cranial nerves? . Who was Camillo Golgi? Who was Santiago Ramon y Cajal? How did their viewpoints differ how nerve cells are interconnected? Camillo Golgi: thought of as the pioneer of neuroscience research, he developed procedure where silver chromate revealed the structure of individual neurons. Santiago Cajal: used the Golgi’s technique to reveal a few individual cells standing out

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What is the neuron doctrine? Neuron Doctrine: hypothesis that the brain is composed of discrete nerve cells that are essential units for information processing

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Identify and know the function of each part of the neuron: dendrites, axon terminals, axon hillock, axon, and cell body. Dendrites: receive info Axon Terminals: the end of an axon, which forms a synapses on a neuron or other target cell. Axon: carries nerve impulses from the cell body to other neurons Cell Body: presence of cell nucleus Axon Hillock: cone-shaped area from which the axon originates out of the cell body

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What different techniques can be used to visualize neurons? What is retrograde and anterograde tracing and how does this technique help us visualize the brain? Golgi Stain, Nissi Stain: nissi fills out the cell bodies of the neuron, this works by a dye binding to the RNA in the cell, Immunocytochemistry, and in Situ Hybridization: RNA transcripts of a particular probe express itself.

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What is a synapse? What are the components of a synapse? Extracellular: outside of the neuron Intracellular: inside of the neuron

Chapter 3 - Neurophysiology 

Define neurophysiology. The study of the life processes of neurons

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What is resting membrane potential? How is it measured? Resting Membrane Potential: reflects period when neuron is not being influenced by other neurons nor is it producing its own signals

Diffusion: particles move from high areas of concentration to areas of low concentration. Electrostatic Pressure: distribution of electrical charges (opposites attract). Membrane Permeability: the membrane of the cell separates the interior from the exterior and can be selectively permeable to chemicals allowing movement of substances in and out. 

How do cations and anions contribute to the resting potential? Cations (positive) anions (negative)

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What are diffusion and electrostatic forces? How do they contribute to the resting potential? Diffusion: particles move from high areas of concentration to areas of low concentration. Electrostatic Pressure: distribution of electrical charges (opposites attract). Membrane Permeability: the membrane of the cell separates the interior from the exterior and can be selectively permeable to chemicals allowing movement of substances in and out.

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What is the sodium/potassium pump? How does it work? How does it help maintain the resting potential? Sodium/Potassium Pump: pumps 3 sodium ions out of the cell for every 2 potassium ions pumped in Electrostatic pressure reaches equilibrium

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What are leak potassium channels and how do they contribute to the resting potential? What is threshold potential? Threshold: stimulus intensity that is just adequate to trigger an action potential

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What is the action potential and what is its function? What happens before, during and after? Action Potential: refers to the electrical message of a neuron that travels through the axon to the presynaptic terminal It is initiated by the transfer of ionic energy From dendrites to axon terminals Neurotransmitters left over in the synaptic cleft are either inactivated by enzymes or removed by transporters.

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What is the refractory period? Refractory: unresponsive

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What is depolarization and hyperpolarization? Where are the sodium & potassium ions relative to the cell membrane during these events?

Hyperpolarization: an increase in membrane potential (the interior of the neuron becomes even more negative) Depolarization: a reduction in membrane potential (the interior of the neuron becomes less negative)  

Where is calcium during the action potential, at what point is it affected and what does it do? Define saltatory conduction? How does this occur? The form of conduction that is characteristic of myelinated axons, in which the action potential jumps from one node of Ranvier to the next

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What and where are nodes of Ranvier? Nods of Ranvier: a gap between successive segments of the myelin sheath where the axon membrane is exposed

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How does conduction differ between myelinated and unmyelinated axons? What are the different forms of synaptic connections? What is an electrical synapse? What is a chemical synapse? What is EPSP? Where does it occur? What causes it? Excitatory Post-Synaptic Potential: if an excitatory neuron releases an action potential, after briefly delay an EPSP results in the post-synaptic neuron

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What is IPSP? Where does it occur? What causes it? Inhibitory Post-Synaptic Potential: when the inhibitory neuron is stimulated, the post-synaptic effect is an increase in resting membrane potential

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What is the axon hillock? Axon Hillock: cone-shaped area from which the axon originates out of the cell body

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What is temporal and spatial summation? Spatial Summation: the summation of potentials from different physical locations Temporal Summation: occurs when post-synaptic potentials reach the axon at different times, though the closer they are the more complete the summation

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What is ontogenetic? How does it work? the development of an individual organism or anatomical or behavioral feature from the earliest stage to maturity

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What is the DREADD’s technique? Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs

Inserts mutant receptors into the brain. These receptors lie dormant until activated...