Sections of the Brain
What does the occipital lobe do?
Receives and processes visual information
Do action potentials travel across dendrites or axons?
Axons
What is one symptom of schizophrenia?
False
What does the forebrain consist of?
Thalamus, hypothalamus, cerebrum
What do dendrites do?
They receive signals from the axons.
What is a possible cause for amnesia?
Ex. head injury, seizures, shock, hysteria, drugs, alcohol
At what age does your brain become fully developed?
Around 25 years of age
What does the hindbrain consist of?
Cerebellum, medulla oblongta
What are synapses?
What is a possible treatment for amnesia?
Ex. Cognitive therapy, emotional support, drug abstinence
True or false: 60% of the human brain is composed of fat.
True
What does the hypothalamus do
Main control centre for homeostasis. Major link between nervous and endocrine systems. Interacts with the pituitary glands.
What is the purpose of myelination?
Myelin acts as a layer of insulation for nerves, increasing the speed of charges/action potentials
What causes multiple sclerosis?
It is caused by autoimmune diseases that cause the body's immune system to break down myelination.
What age does your spinal cord stop growing?
Around age 4
What is the thalamus and what does it do?
Forms connections between the hindbrain and forebrain, as well as connections between most senses and the cerebellum.
What are the 4 steps of signalling between neurons? (remember the Khan Academy diagram in the slides)
1. Action potential reaches the end of the axon, depolarizing it (i.e. affecting its voltage potentials)
2. Voltage gated calcium ion channels open, leading to an influx of calcium ions into the axon of the presynaptic cell
3. Calcium ion influx leads to release of neurotransmitter by the presynaptic cell
4. Neurotransmitters bind to receptors on dendrites of the postsynpatic cell, triggering the next step of the cycle
What are 3 symptoms of Alzheimer's disease?
Ex. Memory loss, difficulty in concentration, lack of judgement
Approximately how many neurons does the brain contain?
100 billion neurons