PSY HW #2 - Homework on neurotransmitters, the four lobes of the brain, the Astonishing PDF

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Homework on neurotransmitters, the four lobes of the brain, the Astonishing Hypothesis, damage to brain regions, and the two brain hemispheres. ...

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1. Explain what neurotransmitters are. What is an agonist? What is an antagonist? Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that specifically send messages to neurons/ cells in the human body. An agonist is a molecule with the ability to speed up a neurotransmitter’s process. Agonists can do different things to the neurotransmitter such as speed up its release in the body and speed up how many neurotransmitters are being made. An antagonist is the opposite of of an agonist molecule in which it slows down the actions of a neurotransmitter. The antagonist slows down the actions of a neurotransmitter by stopping its release and by stopping the amount of neurotransmitters being made.

2. What are the four lobes of the brain? Give one function for each. What lobe would process words that we hear? What lobe would process words that we see? What lobe would process words that we speak? The four lobes of the brain are the frontal lobes, parietal lobes, occipital lobes and the temporal lobes. One function of the temporal lobe is the understanding of different languages. One function of the frontal lobe is problem solving. One function of the parietal lobes is navigation. The primary function of the occipital lobes is vision. The frontal lobe processes the words that we speak. The occipital lobe processes the words that we see. The temporal lobe processes the words that we hear.

3. In the Astonishing Hypothesis (pg.49) Sir Francis Crick notes, What one neuron tells another neuron is simply how much it is excited.” Using terms from the chapter, compare the neural communication when we are tapped gently on the arm and slapped across the face. The neural communication varies greatly from when you are tapped gently on the arm compared to when you are slapped across the face. When you are slapped there is stronger stimuli which triggers an increase in the number of neurons that will fire and it will also increase the amount of times those neurons fire. This is different to the weaker stimuli of a tap on the arm in which less neurons would be fired. The quote on how “excited” a neuron is relates to the excitatory signals of neurons that accelerate the neurons. There would be a stronger excitatory signal with a stronger stimuli, therefore the more “excited” a neuron is the faster the message gets relayed to the next neuron.

4. Within what brain region would damage be most likely to disrupt your ability to skip rope? Your ability to sense tastes or sounds? In what brain region would damage perhaps leave you in a coma? Without the very breath and heartbeat of life? If there is damage to the cerebellum, it would hinder one’s ability to skip rope. If there is damage to the thalamus it would hinder your ability to to sense tastes or sounds.You can be left in a coma if there is damage to the reticular formation. If there is damage to the medulla it would take away your breath and heartbeat of life. 5. As you look straight ahead, how is the visual information sent to your two brain hemispheres? As you look straight ahead, your eyes can see everything in your line of sight. The information from your brain’s left hemisphere goes to the right hemisphere and vice versa (the information from the right hemisphere goest to the left hemisphere. The information is transferred through the corpus callosum which served as a bridge between the two hemispheres....