The Brain PDF

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AP Psych Review Video 2.6 The Brain Directions: Visit the AP Psych page on YouTube and watch Video 2.6. This lesson reviews content from Unit 2 and Myers 2e Book Unit 3. Complete the guided viewing notes and exit ticket to receive credit for today’s assignment. 2020 Exam Overview The first few minutes of the lesson are reviewing the format and expectations for this year’s FRQ-based exam. FRQ Review Last Lesson: Double Blind Study

Antagonist

Acetylcholine

Definition & Application: Researchers are testing a new drug to treat schizophrenia that works as a dopamine antagonist by binding to receptor site and thus preventing the transmission of natural dopamine. This was designed because symptoms of schizophrenia are often the result of excess dopamine, and the drug will reduce transmission of this neurotransmitter.

Definition & Application: ACh is a neurotransmitter responsible for muscle contraction, learning, and memory that is present in both the central and peripheral nervous systems. Researchers interested in creating a drug for individuals w/Alzheimer’s would want to find medications that repair/increase effectiveness of ACh to counteract memory loss symptoms connected to damage of these cells

PET

Blood-Brain Barrier

Myelin Sheath

Definition & Application: Researchers would use a PET scan to detect the presence of Multiple Sclerosis by identifying damage to myelin as a method to test if the new medication was effective. The PET would track use of radioactively tagged glucose that was injected into blood of participants to identify damaged cells.

Definition & Application: The BBB is a semi-permeable network of cells in the lining of capillaries of the brain that prevents many harmful substances from entering. Subsequently, researchers working to treat brain diseases like Parkinson’s must create drugs capable of crossing BBB, so they can address brain problems.

Definition & Application: Myelin, which is a fatty layer of tissue surrounding axons of some neurons that insulates and accelerates the messages, is produced by glial cells. BEcause Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that attacks and destroys the myelin sheath, researchers may focus on drugs that help glial cells produce myelin.

Definition & Application: The researchers use a double blind method, so neither they nor participants realize who is receiving the treatment. Such reduces the potential impact of confounding variables, such as researcher bias.

How Did You Do? Pretty well Subdivisions of the Brain: Major Brain Areas

1. Hindbrain

2. Midbrain

3. Forebrain

Hindbrain/Brainstem Structure & Function

Forebrain Structure & Function

Cerebellum

Balance, fine motor coordination, procedural memories

Thalamus (FB)

Sensor relay station of the brain; info from all senses (except smell) sent first to thalamus, thalamus then sends it to other parts of brain (visual to occipital, sounds to temporal, touch to somatosensory cortex in parietal lobe, etc)

Medulla

Vital functions, such as heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, reflexes like sneezing/vomiting

Pons

Sleep, bridge connecting cerebellum to cortex, coordinates voluntary movements, related to facial expressions

Reticular Formation

Network of fibers running thru brainstem, related to arousal to stimuli

Thalamus

see above ^

Limbic System

Donut shaped group of structures including hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus memory/learning/emotion/drives

Hippocampus Amygdala

Hippocampus-learning and memory, where you create new explicit memories (memory is encoded, not stored)

Hypothalamus Amygdala- strong emotions (fear and aggression), 2 almond shaped Hypothalamus- maintenance functions, hunger drive, thirst, stable internal body temp, controls pituitary gland

Cerebrum (4 Lobes)

“Contralateral Control”

Pituitary Gland

Endocrine gland located below cortex and below hypothalamus

Cortex

Wrinkled outer layer

Hemispheres

Left and right

Frontal Lobes

Higher-level thought, language, planning, strip that controls voluntary movement

Parietal Lobes

Processing somatic/touch sensory info, strip that controls sense of touch

Occipital Lobes

Visual processing

Temporal Lobes

Auditory processing, right side associated w/recognizing faces

Cortex Areas

Motor Cortex (Output)

Sensory Cortex (Input)

CNS is organized such that each hemisphere is responsible for movements/sensations of opposite sides of bodu

Somatosensory and motor

Right hemisphere section controls body’s left side

Parietal lobe Left hemisphere section receives input from body’s right side

*FRQ “Touch” Hint

Be specific when talking about touch (voluntary movement or somatosensory cortex touch)

Homunculus:

Model that shows proportion of motor cortex dedicated to moving each body part and of sensory cortex dedicated to touch sensation for each part of the body is depicted by its size on distorted figure

Check for Understanding: Commonly Confused C’s of the Brain (Stop video 30:07, can you identify?) Cerebrum

Corpus Callosum

Cerebral Cortex

Cerebellum

Largest area of brain including surface (cortex) and subcortical regions in each of the two hemispheres; functions = language, complex thought, consciousness, sensory and motor processing

Group of nerve fibers that relay info b/t two halves of brain

Wrinkled outer layer of brain covering both hemispheres; includes motor, somatosensory, auditory, visual, olfactory, and gustatory cortexes and association areas for thought, language, and reasoning

“Lil brain” responsible for controlling balance, coordinating fine motor movement, and creating procedural implicit memories; in hindbrain

Additional FRQ Hints!

Mirror v motor neuron, repression v regression, authoritative v authoratiran, proactive v retroactive interference

Association Areas Def Association Area: Regions on cerebral cortex not responsible for either sensory or motor functions that are instead related to higher-level thinking like language and reasoning

Broca’s Area

Left frontal lobe for production of language

Wernicke’s Area

Left temporal lobe for understanding/comprehension of language

Check for Understanding Example 1: thalamus, smell, frontal

Example 2: association areas, Broca’s and Wernicke’s

Brain Lateralization & Hemispheric Specialization (YouTube Video) Define

Left Hemisphere

Right Hemisphere

Division of labor b/t brain’s two hemispheres

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Split Brain Surgery

Left motor cortex controls movement of right side Left somatosensory cortex controls perception of touch on right side Most language-related functions (B and W)

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Right motor cortex controls movements of left side Right somatosensory cortex controls perception of touch on left side Recognizing faces and emotional responses

How? Cut corpus callosum (network of fibers connecting 2 hemispheres) in procedure

Why? To treat severe epileptic seizures

What Didn’t Happen: Effects on personality or intellect

What Did Happen: Mostly eliminated seizures

Research Design: - Studied lateralization of function and hemispheric specialization - Split brain participants are put in front of apparatus that presents images in only one visual (brief flash) - It is only possible to see hemisphere that controls language

Key Findings: - Language in left hemisphere - Contralateral motor control

Left Visual Summary: Images sent to left visual field sent to right hemisphere (no language so can’t say it), which controls left hand (can draw it)

Right Visual Summary: Images sent to right visual field sent to left hemisphere (language so can say it), which controls right hand (can draw it)

Check for Understanding Example 1: Yes, right

Example 2: No, left

Example 3: Yes, no, right, left

AP Exam Practice: An individual referred to only as Patient H.M. in the publicized research was studied for many years. This individual had significant damage to a structure in his limbic system during a surgical procedure. After the

operation, Patient H.M. could no longer form any new memories and could not live independently. He was not able to understand the consequences of participating in research. While he could not learn any new words or follow a conversation, he could learn to complete new skills. During the study, he was given numerous tests and took part in a variety of research tasks. ● Explain the research method used in this famous study and why it was used. ● Identify a potential ethical flaw and how it might be corrected. ● Explain the region of his brain that was likely destroyed. ● Explain the specific type of amnesia Patient HM experienced according to the description above. The research method used in this famous study was a case study, which is an in-depth investigation of a single person or group. In this case, the single person was HM. This was used because HM is the only person with the condition, and it would violate ethics to force another person to have this condition. A case study would allow for detailed findings. A possible ethical flaw could be that HM wouldn’t be able to understand the consequences of participating in this research and thus could not provide informed consent as a subject. Informed consent means that the participant is aware of all the potential risks and costs involved in the research. This flaw could be corrected by getting informed consent from a parent/guardian. The region is brain likely destroyed is the hippocampus, which is an area of limbic system responsible for learning and memory. The hippocampus is where one creates and encodes new explicit memories, which HM couldn’t do. The specific type of amnesia HM is experiencing is anterograde amnesia, which is the loss of ability to create new explicit memories. Anterograde amnesia victims still retain and can create procedural memories, which explains why HM can learn to complete new skills.

Exit Ticket: I Feel Confident/Better About:

But I Still Have Questions Surrounding: Split brain research

Parts of the brain...