NEUROPHYSIOLOGY

LECTURE

NEUROPHYSIOLOGY

Nerve: branch with many cells

Neuron: individual cell

Neurons can be categorized by:

● Input (sensory, interneuron, motor neuron)
● Anatomy (monopolar, bipolar, multipolar)
● Location (central, peripheral)
● Transmitter produced (serotonergic, dopaminergic, etc.)
● Relationship to another neuron (presynaptic, postsynaptic)

NEURAL SIGNALS
Internal signals
● Electrical signals
● Action potentials (spikes)
○ Sodium / potassium spikes
○ Calcium / potassium spikes
○ Combination of both
● Graded potentials
○ Part of neuron (dendrites)
○ Entire neuron (non-spiking neuron)
● Plateau potentials

Neuron-to-neuron signals
● Chemical signals
○ Delivered by vesicles across a synapse
■ Neurotransmitters
■ Neuromodulators
○ Gasotransmitters
● Electrical signals
○ Electrical synapses
○ Ephaptic signaling

MEMBRANE POTENTIAL
● The inside of a neuron has more negative charge than outside when the neuron is inactive
● Neural activity is affected by changing the voltage of the membrane potential
● Usually -70mV
 SYNAPTIC INTEGRATION
● Spatial summation: Activity of multiple presynaptic neurons combine to change postsynaptic
neuron
● Temporal summation: Single presynaptic neuron firing multiple action potentials to change
postsynaptic neuron

NEURAL COMPUTATION
● Connections between neurons are important for function
● Neurotransmitter type is irrelevant to function, because receptors determine responses of
target neuron
● Neural circuits can be changed (learning, recovery from damage) while preserving core function

● Neurons are not fixed, they change when animals learn

AGING
● Fewer neurons
● Fewer synaptic connections
● Less synaptic plasticity
● Greater risk of neurodegenerative disease
● Accumulated risk of injury over time

T-TESTS

T-test: a statistical hypothesis test that determines whether there is statistical difference between
the means (average) of two groups.
● Null hypothesis: 𝜇0 = 𝜇
● Alternate hypothesis: 𝜇0 ≠ 𝜇 or 𝜇0 >𝜇, 𝜇0 < 𝜇

ASSUMPTIONS OF A T-TEST
● The data must be continuous or ordinal. E.g. mass or 5-point Likert scale respectively
● The data is selected randomly and is representative of the general population
● The data when plotted follows a normal distribution or in other words it follows a bell-shaped
curve
● There should be a large sample size
● Most textbooks have it as 30
● Highly dependent on the dataset
● Homogeneity of variance; equal variance between the two groups.
● σ²1 = σ²2

TYPES OF T-TESTS
1. Independent one-sample
● Compares the mean of a sample group to a set mean (mean of the population)
● Example: Say the average time to sprint 100m is 30 seconds. You would then compare a sample
group’s average time to the theoretical value of 30 seconds to see if it is significantly different

Formula:
t = t-statistic or t-value; m = mean of sample; µ= population mean or theoretical value; s =
standard deviation of the group; n = sample size

Critical value table

● T-value ≤ critical value: fail to reject null
● T-value > critical value: reject null
● Degrees of freedom (df): n-1
● Alpha value: 0.05

One tailed vs. two tailed

● One-tail: 𝜇0 >𝜇, 𝜇0 < 𝜇
● Two tail: 𝜇0 ≠ 𝜇

1. Independent two-sample
● compares the means of two different samples, not to a theoretical value or population mean.
● Example: comparing the average time for women to complete a 100m sprint compared to the
average time it takes for men to complete a 100m sprint.

Formula:

NB: the df is nA + nB -2

2 2
t = t-value; mA = mean of sample A; mB = mean of sample B; sA = variance of sample A; sB =

variance of sample B; nA = sample size of sample A; nB = sample size of sample B

1. Paired T-test
● compares the mean of a sample group to the mean of the same sample group at a different
timepoint
● For example: calculate the mean time for a group to run 100m, then compare this to the mean
time of the same group to complete 100m but given sports drinks 20 min. before their sprint

Formula:

NB: df is n-1

t = t-value; m = mean difference between the two means; s = standard deviation of the difference
between the two means; n = sample size