PSYCH-brainfunction_neuro.pdf

Biopsychology: The specialty in psychology that studies the interaction of biology, behavior, and mental processes. The scientific study of the interaction between the structure and activity of the nervous system (i.e., the brain), behavior and mental processes. The Nervous Sy...

Biopsychology: The specialty in psychology that studies the interaction of biology, behavior, and mental processes. The scientific study of the interaction between the structure and activity of the nervous system (i.e., the brain), behavior and mental processes. The Nervous System: Clinical observation of injured or mentally ill individuals Examining bodies after death Phrenology: Patterns of bumps on the skull correlated with personality traits and abilities ○ Behavioral functions are localized to certain areas of the brain ○ Pseudoscientific with no validity The Brainstem: Responsible for automatic survival functions Contains the midbrain, pons, medulla, and the thalamus The cerebellum ○ Coordinates voluntary movement and balance ○ Attached to the brainstem that participates in skilled movement and complex cognitive processing The Limbic System ○ Basic drives, emotions, and memory ○ Hippocampus: memory processing ○ Amygdala: located in temporal lobe – emotion processing Thalamus  ○ Sensory switchboard located at the top of the brainstem ○ Subcortical structure directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex; states of arousal, and learning and memory Cerebral cortex ○ Control and information processing center ○ Thin layer of neurons covering the outer surface of the cerebral hemispheres ○ Frontal lobe: primary motor cortex and complex cognitive processes, executive functioning, language ○ Prefrontal cortex: planning of behavior, attention, and judgment ○ Parietal lobe: primary somatosensory cortex; which helps us localize touch, pain, skin temperature, and body position ○ Occipital lobe: location of primary visual cortex ○ Temporal lobe: location of primary auditory cortex Corpus Callosum Nerve fibers that connect right and left hemispheres Other major tracts carry info between different lobes of the brain as well as from the body to the brain via the spinal cord The Split Brain Split brain patients: individuals who have had the corpus callosum surgically removed Duality of consciousness: condition in which a split-brain patient has a separate consciousness in each hemisphere Right and left brain Lateralization ○ Localization of a function on either the right or left cerebral hemisphere ○ Includes somatosensory and voluntary motor systems in the brains ○ Language is lateralized to the left hemisphere, and is almost always correlated with the person’s handedness ○ Other areas of lateralization include: Math and logical reasoning (left hemisphere), emotional behavior Neurons and Gila Cells specialized to receive and send information to other cells in the brain and body. Bundles of many neurons are called nerves. Neurons in the body (outside of the brain) are also called nerves. Cell body: The large , central mass of a neuron, containing the nucleus Axon: The branch of a neuron that is usually responsible for transmitting information to other neurons ○ Includes white matter and gray matter  Dendrite: A branch from the neural cell body that usually receives input from other neurons. The blood–brain barrier might offer too much protection to the brain in some cases. Myelin: The insulating material covering some axons Neurotransmitters Chemical messenger that communicates across the synapse connecting neurons Excitatory neurotransmitter: Makes the cell it connects to more likely to fire Inhibitory neurotransmitter: Makes the cell it connects to less likely to fire How neurotransmitters affect behavior Cause certain cell types or groups to fire (excitatory) or to be inhibited (inhibitory) ○ Engage or disengage brain networks ○ React or not react to stimuli ○ Remember or not remember information ○ Make or not make associations ○ Form or not form memory Neural signaling Neurotransmitter: Chemical messenger that communicates across a synapse ○ Dopamine ○ Serotonin ○ Norepinephrine ○ Acetylcholine ○ GABA: inhibitory; used in sleep meds and weight meds ○ Glutamine ○ Endorphins: pain thresholds (temporarily relieves pain) Receptor: Channel in the membrane of a neuron that interacts with neurotransmitters released by other neurons Reuptake: Molecules of neurotransmitter in the synaptic gap are returned to the axon terminal Types of Neurotransmitters Acetylcholine (Ach): Influences movement, memory, and autonomic nervous system function Epinephrine (adrenalin): Influences arousal Norepinephrine (noradrenalin): Influences arousal and vigilance Dopamine: Influences movement, planning, and reward (repeat behaviors that are pleasurable) Serotonin: Influences mood, appetite, sleep Glutamate: Influences excitation of brain activity How do we observe brain processes? Intracranial electrodes PET fMRI DTI EEG Lesions