Mind Over Methods
This type of study manipulates the body (like the brain) to observe changes in behavior.
What is a somatic intervention?
This class of chemical signals is released outside the body to affect individuals of a different species.
What are allomones?
This term describes the brain’s learned response where returning to a drug-associated environment can trigger cravings and relapse.
What is conditioned drug tolerance?
This hypothesis suggests that depression is caused by a deficit in neurotransmitters like serotonin and norepinephrine.
What is the monoamine hypothesis?
This brain structure is central to emotional behavior, especially fear, and is part of the limbic system.
What is the amygdala?
In this type of experiment, the same subjects are tested before and after a treatment.
What is a within-subjects experiment?
This part of the pituitary gland does not synthesize its own hormones but releases them via axons from neuroendocrine cells in the hypothalamus.
What is the posterior pituitary?
This stimulant reverses dopamine transporters, pumping dopamine into the synapse and intensifying postsynaptic activation.
What is amphetamine (or methamphetamine)?
This brain region shows reduced volume and activation in people with depression, especially during memory tasks.
What is the hippocampus?
In classical fear conditioning, this stimulus is paired with a shock to produce a conditioned response like freezing and increased blood pressure.
What is a tone?
This imaging technique uses radioactive chemicals to map brain activity but is limited by concerns about radiation exposure.
What is a PET scan?
This hormone is released in response to CRH from the hypothalamus and stimulates cortisol secretion from the adrenal cortex.
What is ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone)?
This brain pathway, often studied using self-stimulation in rats, is activated by addictive drugs and involves dopamine release from the VTA to this structure.
What is the nucleus accumbens?
This behavioral test measures anhedonia in rodents by comparing their preference for sugar water versus plain water.
What is the sucrose preference test?
This division of the autonomic nervous system prepares the body to relax and recuperate, often activated by coping strategies like yoga or deep breathing.
What is the parasympathetic nervous system?
This technique uses light to control genetically modified neurons and offers superior temporal resolution.
What is optogenetics?
This hormone, released from the posterior pituitary, responds to changes in blood osmolarity and acts directly on the kidneys to promote water retention and reduce urine output.
What is vasopressin?
This is calculated by comparing the ED50 and LD50 of a drug and reflects the margin between effective and lethal doses.
What is the therapeutic index?
Overactivity in this brain region can overstimulate the HPA axis, leading to an inappropriate stress response - a hallmark of anxiety disorders.
What is the amygdala?
This hormone, released during stress, suppresses the immune system to prioritize immediate survival.
What is cortisol?
This histological method uses a probe to visualize mRNA in tissue samples.
What is in-situ hybridization?
Unlike peptide and amine hormones, steroid hormones exert their effects by doing this inside the cell.
What is binding to intracellular receptors and altering gene expression as transcription factors?
This term refers to the degree of chemical attraction between a drug and its receptor, and is inversely related to the ED50.
What is binding affinity?
This hypothesis proposes that schizophrenia is caused by reduced activation of NMDA receptors, and is supported by the effects of drugs like PCP and ketamine.
What is the glutamate hypothesis?
In rodent studies, increased maternal licking and grooming after separation led to reduced stress responses due to epigenetic changes in this receptor.
What are glucocorticoid receptors?