Lecture 1: The Basics of the Nervous System
Which neurons take in sensory info and take it up to the spine, and which neurons take motor instructions from spine to rest of body? (Answer in order.)
Afferent Neurons
Efferent Neurons
What are the three layers of the brain from top to bottom?
“New Mammalian” Brain/Forebrain/Cerebral Cortex
“Old Mammalian” Brain/Midbrain/Limbic System
“Reptilian” Brain/Hindbrain/Brainstem
What boosts the power of certain neurotransmitters by connecting to neurotransmitter receptors and creating a chain reaction that creates more of a particular neurotransmitter? Give an example.
Agonist drugs such as THC/cannabis, alcohol, heroin or any other opioids.
Which term describes the phenomenon where larger doses of a drug are required to produce the same effect?
Tolerance
What is the difference between brain imaging techniques that show structure versus function of the brain?
Structure means it shows us the shape of the brain. Function means it shows us if there is activity in the brain.
What makes up the Central Nervous System?
Brain and Spinal Cord
Where is the thalamus and what does it do?
The thalamus is in the Midbrain and its function is to be the sensory switchboard that sends sensory information to the corresponding part of the brain.
True or False: Michael Gazzaniga discovered that the left part of the brain controls the left side of the body and the right part of the brain controls the right side of the body.
False
The left hemisphere controls the right side of the body and the right hemisphere controls the left side of the body.
Which of the following is true about REM sleep?
A. It typically occurs at the beginning of the sleep cycle
B. The body is paralyzed while the brain is highly active
C. It is associated with slow delta waves
D. It is the stage where sleepwalking most commonly occurs
B. The body is paralyzed while the brain is highly active
What did we learn from The Case Study of Phineas Gage?
Different parts of the brain have different purposes
What is the Sympathetic Nervous System and why does it exist?
The Sympathetic Nervous System is the body’s defense mechanism that floods our body with norepinephrine and adrenaline when we are afraid or angry. It makes us faster, more energetic, more alert, stronger
What do Broca's Area and Wernicke's Area control? (Answer in order.)
Broca's Area controls muscle movement in the mouth. Wernicke's Area controls language understanding and production
Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections, especially in response to learning or following injury.
What makes neuroplasticity more effective?
Neuroplasticity is most effective for younger people (especially young children) with organized, repeated practice.
True or False: Our brain waves get larger and slower with each stage until REM sleep.
True
True or False: An MRI only shows the structure of the brain, while an fMRI shows the structure and the function of the brain.
True
When a neuron is not firing, we say it is at its resting potential. When a neuron is firing, we call that a(n) _________ or a(n) _________.
action potential / impulse
Which layer(s) of the brain does a dog possess? What is the function of the layer(s)?
Hindbrain and Midbrain.
The Hindbrain controls instincts, survival, bodily functions. The Midbrain controls emotion, reproduction, parenting.
What is the name for Reuptake Inhibitors and how do they work?
SSRIs block the reuptake mechanism of a neuron so that the neurotransmitter (or the chemical) stays in the synapse long enough to travel to other neurons.
What is the difference between physical addiction and psychological addiction?
Physical addiction is chemical in which there is a physical “need” the body develops for a drug during addiction. Psychological addiction the mental “need” that a person might feel for a drug during addiction.
What is the purpose of the Endocrine System? List all purposes.
To control hormones such as those that control:
mood
growth and development
how our organs work
metabolism
reproduction
We need to be able to take in information in order to respond to it.
Our brains need to be able to send out instructions in order for us to do anything.
Because of this, what is the phrase that scientists use for neurons?
Scientists call neurons the “basic building block of behavior."
Regina George found out that her friend Cady was feeding her protein bars that made her fatter instead of helping her lose weight. This made her extremely angry at her friend. What part of Regina George's brain was triggered?
The amygdala.
What procedure is done to help stop epileptic patients from having seizures? Why does this procedure work?
These patients get a procedure called a corpus callostomy that cuts the corpus callosum in two, which makes it impossible for electrical signals to cross the corpus callosum for the two hemispheres of brain to communicate.
We're not sure exactly why we need to sleep, but some theories are information processing, physiological theory, problem solving theory, Freudian theory, and activation synthesis theory.
Explain what the Freudian theory is.
dreams are key to understanding the inner conflict of our unconscious mind; we should see the “manifest content” or dreams (the storyline) as a series of symbols for the “latent content” (hidden meaning)
According to Charles Darwin's theory of how natural selection shapes genes, if a civilization carries the mutation of sickle cell anemia, they are more likely to be immune to malaria and live on to have children. Why is this?
The sickle cell trait makes it hard for the malaria germ to grow in their red blood cells, making people immune to it.