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Chapter 2 Lecture Powerpoint Myers Ed. 10
Chapter 2 Lecture Powerpoint Myers Ed. 10
Chapter 2 Lecture Powerpoint Myers Ed. 10
Building blocks of the mind: neurons and how they communicate (neurotransmitters) Systems that build the mind: functions of the parts of the nervous system Supporting player: the slowercommunicating endocrine system (hormones) Star of the show: the brain and its structures
Phrenology
Phrenology (developed by Franz Gall in the early 1800s):
the study of bumps on the skull and their relationship to mental abilities and character traits Phrenology yielded one big idea-that the brain might have different areas that do different things (localization of function).
Action potential:
When does the cell send the action potential?... when it reaches a threshold
The neuron receives signals from other neurons; some are telling it to fire and some are telling it not to fire. When the threshold is reached, the action potential starts moving. Like a gun, it either fires or it doesnt; more stimulation does nothing. This is known as the all-ornone response.
The threshold is reached when excitatory (Fire!) signals outweigh the inhibitory (Dont fire!) signals by a certain amount.
The Synapse
The synapse is a junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.
Neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters are chemicals used to send a signal across the synaptic gap.
Neural Communication:
Seeing all the Steps Together
Serotonin pathways
Networks of neurons that communicate with serotonin help regulate mood.
Dopamine pathways
Networks of neurons that communicate with dopamine are involved in focusing attention and controlling movement.
An agonist molecule fills the receptor site and activates it, acting like the neurotransmitter.
An antagonist molecule fills the lock so that the neurotransmitter cannot get in and activate the receptor site.
Types of Neurons
Sensory neurons carry messages IN from the bodys tissues and sensory receptors to the CNS for processing.
Motor neurons carry instructions OUT from the CNS out to the bodys tissues.
Interneurons (in the brain and spinal cord) process information between the sensory input and motor output.
The Nerves
are not the same as neurons.
Nerves consist of neural cables containing many axons. Nerves are part of the peripheral nervous system and connect muscles, glands, and sense organs to the central nervous system.
Neural Networks
These complex webs of interconnected neurons form with experience. Remember: Neurons that fire together, wire together.
The endocrine system refers to a set of glands that produce chemical messengers called hormones.
Adrenal Glands
Adrenal Glands
Pancreas
1. The sympathetic fight or flight nervous system responds to stress by sending a message to adrenal glands to release the hormones listed above. 2. Effect: increased heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar. These provide ENERGY for the fight or flight!
Pituitary gland
The Brain
What well discuss: how we learn about the brain the life-sustaining inner parts of the brain: the brainstem and limbic system the outer, wrinkled bark: the cortex left, right, and split brains Questions about parts of the brain: Do you think that the brain is the sum of its parts, or is the brain actually about the way they are connected? What do you think might happen if a particular area of the brain was stimulated? What do you think might happen if a particular area of the brain was damaged or not working well? Is it possible to understand the brain? If the human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we couldnt. Emerson M. Pugh but we can try.
Strategies for finding out what is different about the mind when part of the brain isnt working normally: case studies of accidents (e.g. Phineas Gage) case studies of split-brain patients (corpus callosum cut to stop seizures) lesioning brain parts in animals to find out what happens chemically numbing, magnetically deactivating, or electrically stimulating parts of the brain
Split-Brain Patients
Split = surgery in which the connection between the brain hemispheres is cut in order to end severe full-brain seizures Study of split-brain patients has yielded insights discussed at the end of the chapter
EEG: electroencephalogram
EEG: electroencephalogram
An EEG (electroencephalogram) is a recording of the electrical waves sweeping across the brains surface. An EEG is useful in studying seizures and sleep.
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The PET scan allows us to see what part of the brain is active by tracing where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task.
MRI: magnetic resonance imaging MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) makes images from signals produced by brain tissue after magnets align the spin of atoms. The arrows below show ventricular enlargement in a schizophrenic patient (right).
Functional MRI reveals brain activity and function rather than structures. Functional MRI compares successive MRI images taken a split second apart, and shows changes in the level of oxygen in bloodflow in the brain.
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Our tour of the brain begins with parts of the human brain found also in simpler animals; these parts generally deal with less complex functions:
Brainstem (Pons and Medulla) Thalamus Reticular Formation
The medulla controls the most basic functions such as heartbeat and breathing. Someone with total brain damage above the medulla could still breathe independently, but someone with damage in this area could not.
The cerebellum has many other functions, including enabling nonverbal learning and memory.
The Amygdala
Electrical stimulation of a cats amygdala provokes aggressive reactions. If you move the electrode very slightly and cage the cat with a mouse, the cat will cower in terror.
The Hypothalamus:
lies below (hypo) the thalamus. regulates body temperature and ensures adequate food and water intake (homeostasis), and is involved in sex drive. directs the endocrine system via messages to the pituitary gland.
Thalamus
Pushing the pedal that stimulated the electrode placed in the hypothalamus was much more rewarding than food pellets.
involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments include the sensory cortex
include the visual areas; they receive visual information from the opposite visual field
include the auditory processing areas
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Temporal Lobes
Some abilities managed by association areas in this by the temples lobe: recognizing specific faces managing sensory input related to sound, which helps the understanding of spoken words
This 6-year-old had a hemispherectomy to end lifethreatening seizures; her remaining hemisphere compensated for the damage.
Right Hemisphere
Feelings and intuition Big picture such as forest Language: tone, inflection, context Inferences and associations Perception Wholes, including the self
SplitTo end severe whole-brain seizures, some people have had surgery to cut the corpus callosum, a band of axons connecting the hemispheres.
Brain Studies
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