Basic of Neuroscience and

Genetic in Behavior
 Behavior : brain, genetic,
environment
Neural Communication
 Neurons
 How Neurons Communicate
 How Neurotransmitters Influence Us

The Nervous System

 The Peripheral Nervous System
 The Central Nervous System
The Endocrine System
The Brain
• The Tools of Discovery: Having our
Head Examined
• Older Brain Structures
• The Cerebral Cortex
• Our Divided Brain
• Right-Left Differences in the Intact Brain

Genetic of Behavior
 Neural Communication
The body’s information system is built from
billions of interconnected cells called neurons.
 Neural Communication
Neurobiologists and other investigators
understand that humans and animals operate
similarly when processing information.

Note the similarities in the above brain regions, which are all
engaged in information processing.
 Neuron
A nerve cell, or a neuron, consists of many
different parts.
 Parts of a Neuron
Cell Body: Life support center of the neuron.

Dendrites: Branching extensions at the cell body.

Receive messages from other neurons.

Axon: Long single extension of a neuron, covered with

myelin [MY-uh-lin] sheath to insulate and speed up
messages through neurons.

Terminal Branches of axon: Branched endings of an

axon that transmit messages to other neurons.
Action Potential
A neural impulse. A brief
electrical charge that
travels down an axon and
is generated by the
movement of positively
charged atoms in and out
of channels in the axon’s
membrane.
 Threshold
Threshold: Each neuron receives
excitatory and inhibitory signals from
many neurons. When the excitatory
signals minus the inhibitory signals
exceed a minimum intensity (threshold)
the neuron fires an action potential.
 Action Potential Properties
All-or-None Response: A strong stimulus can
trigger more neurons to fire, and to fire more
often, but it does not affect the action potentials
strength or speed.

Intensity of an action potential remains the

same throughout the length of the axon.
 Synapse
Synapse [SIN-aps] a junction between the axon
tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or
cell body of the receiving neuron. This tiny gap
is called the synaptic gap or cleft.
 Neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters
(chemicals) released
from the sending
neuron travel across the
synapse and bind to
receptor sites on the
receiving neuron,
thereby influencing it to
generate an action
potential.
 Reuptake

Neurotransmitters in
the synapse are
reabsorbed into the
sending neurons
through the process of
reuptake. This process
applies the brakes on
neurotransmitter
action.
How Neurotransmitters Influence Us

Serotonin pathways are

involved with mood
regulation.

From Mapping the Mind, Rita Carter, © 1989

University of California Press
 Dopamine Pathways

Dopamine pathways
are involved with
diseases such as
schizophrenia and
Parkinson’s disease.

From Mapping the Mind, Rita Carter, © 1989

University of California Press
Neurotransmitters
 Lock & Key Mechanism
Neurotransmitters bind to the receptors of the
receiving neuron in a key-lock mechanism.
Agonists
Antagonists
 Neurotransmitters
Neuropeptides – are built from peptides which is a
kind of organic molecule
1.Opiods – buffer stress, provide soothing & reduce
pain, & produce pleasure - these include the
endorphines
2.Oxytocin – promote nurturing behaviors toward
children & bonding in couples. Associated with
blissful closeness & love. Women typically have
more oxytocin than men.
3.Vasopressin – supports pair bonding & in men it
may promote aggressiveness towards sexual rivals
 Other Neurochemicals
• Cortisol – released by adrenal glands
during stress response. It stimulates
amygdala & inhibits hippocampus
• Estrogen – brains of both men & women
contain estrogen receptors which affects
libido, mood & memory
 Nervous System

Central Peripheral
Nervous Nervous
System System
(CNS) (PNS)
 The Nervous System
Nervous System: Consists of all the nerve cells. It
is the body’s speedy, electrochemical
communication system.

Central Nervous System (CNS): the brain and

spinal cord.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): the sensory and

motor neurons that connect the central nervous
system (CNS) to the rest of the body.
The Nervous System
 Kinds of Neurons
Sensory Neurons carry incoming information from the
sense receptors to the CNS. Motor Neurons carry
outgoing information from the CNS to muscles and
glands. Interneurons connect the two neurons.

Interneuron Neuron Sensory Neuron

(Unipolar) (Bipolar)

Motor Neuron
(Multipolar)
 Peripheral Nervous System
Somatic Nervous System: The division of the
peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s
skeletal muscles.

Autonomic Nervous System: Part of the PNS that

controls the glands and other muscles.
 The Nerves
Nerves consist of neural “cables” containing many
axons. They are part of the peripheral nervous
system and connect muscles, glands, and sense
organs to the central nervous system.
 Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

Sympathetic Nervous System: Division of the

ANS that arouses the body, mobilizing its
energy in stressful situations.

Parasympathetic Nervous System: Division of

the ANS that calms the body, conserving its
energy.
 Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

Sympathetic NS
“Arouses”
(fight-or-flight)

Parasympathetic NS
“Calms”
(rest and digest)
 Central Nervous System
The Brain and Neural Networks
Interconnected neurons form networks in the
brain. Theses networks are complex and modify
with growth and experience.

Complex Neural Network

Central Nervous System
The Spinal Cord and Reflexes

Simple Reflex
The Endocrine System

The Endocrine
System is the body’s
“slow” chemical
communication
system.
Communication is
carried out by
hormones
synthesized by a set
of glands.
 Hormones
Hormones are chemicals synthesized by the
endocrine glands that are secreted in the
bloodstream. Hormones affect the brain and many
other tissues of the body.

For example, epinephrine (adrenaline) increases

heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, and
feelings of excitement during emergency
situations.
 Pituitary Gland
Is called the “master gland.” The anterior pituitary
lobe releases hormones that regulate other glands.
The posterior lobe regulates water and salt
balance.
Thyroid & Parathyroid Glands

Regulate metabolic and calcium rate.

 Adrenal Glands
Adrenal glands consist of the adrenal medulla and
the cortex. The medulla secretes hormones
(epinephrine and norepinephrine) during stressful
and emotional situations, while the adrenal cortex
regulates salt and carbohydrate metabolism.
 Gonads
Sex glands are located in different places in men
and women. They regulate bodily development
and maintain reproductive organs in adults.
 The Evolving Brain
Inside brain are three levels of development of
brain
•Reptilian - Brain stem is “reptilian brain” from
which rest of brain has evolved is simplistic,
concrete, fast, and motivationally intense
•Paleomammalian – Limbic System
•Neomammalian - Cortical tissues relatively
recent, complex, conceptualizing, slow &
motivationally diffuse sit atop subcortical &
brain stem structures
 The Brain:
Older Brain Structures
The Brainstem is the oldest part of the brain, beginning
where the spinal cord swells and enters the skull. It is
responsible for automatic survival functions.
 Brainstem

The Medulla [muh-

DUL-uh] is the base of
the brainstem that
controls heartbeat and
breathing.
 Brainstem
The Thalamus [THAL-
uh-muss] is the brain’s
sensory switchboard,
located on top of the
brainstem. It directs
messages to the sensory
areas in the cortex and
transmits replies to the
cerebellum and
medulla.
 Brainstem

Reticular Formation is a
nerve network in the
brainstem that plays an
important role in
controlling arousal.
 Cerebellum

The “little brain”

attached to the rear of
the brainstem. It helps
coordinate voluntary
movements and
balance.
 The Brain
Techniques to Study the Brain

A brain lesion
experimentally
destroys brain tissue to
study animal behaviors
after such destruction.

Hubel (1990)
 Clinical Observation
Clinical observations have shed light on a
number of brain disorders. Alterations in brain
morphology due to neurological and
psychiatric diseases are now being catalogued.

Tom Landers/ Boston Globe

 Electroencephalogram (EEG)
An amplified recording of the electrical waves
sweeping across the brain’s surface, measured
by electrodes placed on the scalp.

AJ Photo/ Photo Researchers, Inc.

 PET Scan

PET (positron emission

Courtesy of National Brookhaven National Laboratories

tomography) Scan is a
visual display of brain
activity that detects a
radioactive form of
glucose while the brain
performs a given task.
 MRI Scan
MRI (magnetic resonance
imaging) uses magnetic
fields and radio waves to
produce computer-
generated images that
distinguish among
different types of brain
Both photos from Daniel Weinberger, M.D., CBDB, NIMH

tissue. Top images show

ventricular enlargement in
a schizophrenic patient.
Bottom image shows brain
regions when a
participants lies. James Salzano/ Salzano Photo Lucy Reading/ Lucy Illustrations
 The Limbic System
The Limbic System is a
doughnut-shaped
system of neural
structures at the border
of the brainstem and
cerebrum, associated
with emotions such as
fear, aggression and
drives for food and sex.
It includes the
hippocampus, amygdala,
and hypothalamus.
 Amygdala

The Amygdala [ah-MIG-

dah-la] consists of two lima
bean-sized neural clusters
linked to the emotions of
fear and anger.
 Hypothalamus
The Hypothalamus lies
below (hypo) the
thalamus. It directs
several maintenance
activities like eating,
drinking, body
temperature, and
control of emotions. It
helps govern the
endocrine system via
the pituitary gland.
 Reward Center
Rats cross an electrified
grid for self-stimulation
when electrodes are
placed in the reward
(hypothalamus) center
(top picture). When the
limbic system is

Sanjiv Talwar, SUNY Downstate

manipulated, a rat will
navigate fields or climb
up a tree (bottom
picture).
 The Cerebral Cortex
The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers
the cerebral hemispheres. It is the body’s ultimate control
and information processing center.
 Structure of the Cortex
Each brain hemisphere
is divided into four
lobes that are separated
by prominent fissures.
These lobes are the
frontal lobe (forehead),
parietal lobe (top to rear
head), occipital lobe
(back head) and
temporal lobe (side of
head).
 Functions of the Cortex
The Motor Cortex is the area at the rear of the
frontal lobes that control voluntary movements.
The Sensory Cortex (parietal cortex) receives
information from skin surface and sense organs.
 The Cerebral Cortex
• The motor cortex – mediates motor
activity
• The premotor cortex - plans complex
motor activity
• Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) – Makes
meaning of sensory input.
– The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) - Controls
working memory
– The anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG) –
Connects directly limbic system
 Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)
• Makes meaning of sensory input
• Sets goals, makes plans, directs actions, and
shapes emotions
• Processes information, maintains conscious
attention, and forms behavioral responses
• Guides and sometimes inhibits the limbic
system
• Conducts executive reasoning and is critical
for sequencing behavior
• Handles working memory
Prefrontal Cortex’s Components
1. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) –
•Controls working memory
•Consolidates long term memory
•Compares information with other data coming
to it from other information centers of the brain
2. The anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG)
•Connects directly to the structures of the limbic
system
•Filters and amplifies information from lower
regions to and from the prefrontal cortex
 Courtesy of V.P. Clark, K. Keill, J. Ma.
Maisog, S. Courtney, L.G.
Ungerleider, and J.V. Haxby,
National Institute of Mental Health
Visual Function

The functional MRI scan

shows the visual cortex
is active as the subject
looks at faces.
 Auditory Function

The functional MRI scan

shows the auditory
cortex is active in
patients who hallucinate.
 Association Areas
More intelligent animals have increased
“uncommitted” or association areas of the cortex.
 Language
Aphasia is an impairment of language, usually
caused by left hemisphere damage either to
Broca’s area (impaired speaking) or to Wernicke’s
area (impaired understanding).
 Specialization & Integration
Brain activity when hearing, seeing, and speaking
words
 The Brain’s Plasticity
The brain is sculpted by our genes but also by our
experiences.

Plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to modify

itself after some types of injury or illness.
 Our Divided Brain
Our brain is divided into two hemispheres.
The left hemisphere processes reading, writing,
speaking, mathematics, and comprehension
skills. In the 1960s, it was termed as the
dominant brain.
 Splitting the Brain
A procedure in which the two hemispheres of the brain
are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers (mainly
those of the corpus callosum) between them.

Corpus Callosum
Courtesy of Terence Williams, University of Iowa

Martin M. Rother
 Split Brain Patients
With the corpus callosum severed, objects (apple)
presented in the right visual field can be named.
Objects (pencil) in the left visual field cannot.
Divided Consciousness
Right-Left Differences in the Intact
Brain
People with intact brains also show left-right
hemispheric differences in mental abilities.

A number of brain scan studies show normal

individuals engage their right brain when
completing a perceptual task and their left brain
when carrying out a linguistic task.
 Try This!
Try drawing one shape with your left hand and
one with your right hand, simultaneously.

BBC
 Two Stubborn issues in Brain
Research
• Where is the Self?
• Are there “his” and “hers” brains?
 Where is the Self?
• Modern brain scientists explain the mind or soul in
physical terms, as a product of the cerebral cortex
– The mind is:
• a series of independent brain parts dealing with different
aspects of thoughts (Dennett, 1991)
• a loose confederation of mental systems all working without
conscious awareness (Gazzaniga, 1998; Roser & Gazzaniga,
2004)
• Frontal lobes may play a critical role
• Many still question the relationship between
subjective experience and physical processes of
the brain
Are There “His” and “Hers” Brains?
• After analyzing 49 studies of sex differences in
brain anatomy, researchers found small
differences between the two groups and larger
differences within groups
• There do appear to be sex differences in
lateralization of language. Males show left-
hemisphere activation only; females, left and
right
• There also appear to be differences in amounts
of grey matter: females have more
Gender & Language Laterality
Genes and the
Environment
 Nature/Nurture
• First coined by Richard Mulcaster (1582)
• Refers to the ‘twin forces on development’
– Biological and environmental influences
• Nature
– Inborn biological endowment
• Nurture
– environment within which development occurs
• Interaction of Forces
 Sexual Reproduction and
Genetic Transmission
• Chromosomes
– Single molecule of DNA, thousands of genes
– 23 + 23 = zygote
• Genes
– segments of DNA, double helix, ladderlike
– blueprint for synthesis of protein molecule
– units of heredity
 Sexual Reproduction
and Patterns of Heredity
• The basics
– somatic cells hold genetic info on copies of 46
chromosomes inherited at conception
– Chromosomes dispersed throughout the nucleus
– 23 pairs of chromosomes
• 22 autosomes, 1 sex chromosome
• males xy
• females xx
 Cell Division: Somatic
Cells

• Mitosis
– for somatic (body) cells
– each cell replicates itself, then
divides
– result is two cells identical to
original
Cell Division: Germ Cells
• Meiosis
– for germ cells
– replication with 3 processes to ensure resulting
cell is nonidentical to germ cells (genetic
diversity: chances are 1/70 trillion)
• 2 steps of division
• crossing over
• random pairing during 2nd division
– monozygotic vs. dizygotic twins
 Genotype/Phenotype
• Genotype
– the set of genes you inherit, your unique
blueprint
• Phenotype
– how that set of genes is expressed as a result of
the environmental stresses
– the observable characteristics
 Environment
• Genetic code is expressed in
environments

• Multi-levels of influence possible (egs.)

– prenatal hormonal environment
– chemical environment of the cell
– nutrition of mother during pregnancy
– stress of mother
– opportunity for physical exercise
– birth order as it relates to attention
from parent
Not Exactly Identical
 Mendel’s Laws of
Inheritance
• Definitions of terms
– locus
– homozygous
– heterozygous
– allele
– dominant
– recessive
– intermediate expression of trait
 Codominance:
Result is distinct characteristics
Genetic Sex also Source of
Variability
 Gene-Environment Interactions
• Behavioral geneticists study how genes and
environment combine to influence organism’s
development
– Variations in environment can have large effects on
development of phenotype
– Gene-environment interaction is a two-way process
– Genetic factors play a role in the environments that
individuals inhabit and how they shape their
environments
 Heritability:
The study of genetic influences on
behavior

• Attempt to assess the degree to

which variation among individuals
on a given trait can be attributed to
genetic as compared to
environmental differences
– e.g., weight - a physical trait
– e.g., intelligence - a psychological trait
• can factors in the environment influence
weight or intelligence?
Heritability of Intelligence:
Kinship Studies

• Twin Methods
– correlations among IQs of pairs of
people related to different degrees,
e.g., identical twins, dizygotic twins,
siblings,
• Adoptive Methods
– correlations among pairs of people who
share an environment but not genes,
e.g., adopted child and biological child
 Intelligence: The
Findings
• Identical twins raised apart .72
• Identical twins raised together .86
• Same sex twins raised together .62
• Diff sex twins raised together .57
• Siblings .47
• Unrelated siblings .30
 Heritability of Schizophrenia

• Adoption Studies
– e.g., Kety et al (1976) found strong evidence of
heritability
• only biological relatives of adoptee who is
schizophrenic show high incidence of schizophrenia
 Heritablity of Schizophrenia
• Twin Studies
– High concordance for identical twins, this
concordance deceases as genetic relatedness
decreases
• Identical twins 48% concordance
• Fraternal twins 17%
• Siblings 9%
• Half-sibling 6%
• Fisrt cousin 2%
• Child of two sch. Parents 46%
• Child of one sch. Parent 13%
Mutations and Genetic Abnormalities
• Mutations are errors in the process of gene
replication; can be positive but usually
negative

– Down Syndrome (chromosomal

error)
– Phenylketonuria (PKU- defective
recessive gene)
– Klinefelter syndrome (sex-linked
chromosomal abnormality)
– Sickle-cell anemia (recessive gene)
 Chromosomal Errors
• Most incompatible with survival
• Variations in number sex chromosomes
– Turner’s XO
– Klinefelter’s XXY
– XYY
• Variations in number of other chromosomes
– Down’s Syndrome, Trisomy 21
– Edward’s Syndrome; Trisomy 17
 PKU
• Recessive gene disorder
• causes excessive buildup of
phenylalaline causing brain
damage
• environmental intervention
(diet) can reduce effects
 Huntington’s Disease
• dominant gene disorder
• 50% chance of offspring inherit the
disorder
• 1/15,000 incidence
• charcterized by severe mental and
physical disorder
• lag in onset of symptoms (35-45 yrs)
accounts for continued occurrence
• can be detected through genetic
testing
 Genetics of Psychiatry

Hurdles of Assigning behavioral Traits to

Specific Genes

•Categorization of most psychiatric disorders includes

genetically heterogeneous population of patients
•Lack of quantifiable tests for psychiatric disorders
•Familial clustering of certain behavioral traits can be
due to either genetics (nature) or upbringing (nurture)
•Multigenic determination of behavioral traits
 Basic Molecular Biology

“DNA makes RNA makes protein”

DNA is a genetic code consisting of series of
bases, (A), (C), (G), (T)
Genes consists of a strings of DNA code that
specify series of base triplets called codons that
determine a specific sequence of amino acids
Human genetic material consists of 3 billions
bases of DNA
Chromosome is a unit of 60 million bases
 Premises 0f Neurogenetics

A first-degree of an affected schizophrenic

patient has about 10% chance of having the
illness, far in excess of the I% risk in general
population. MZ twins display nearly 50%
concordance for schizophrenia
Bipolar I disorder and major depressive
disorder exhibit similar familial clustering
First degree relatives have 8-18 times
increased risk. MZ:33-90 % concordance
 Premises 0f Neurogenetics

Traits are clinically defined features, such as

sickle crises or blue eyes

Some traits are determined by a single gene,

others emerge from the interaction of the
products of hundreds of genes

Behavior likely is the expression of the

product of thousands of genes
 Tourette’s Disorder

In a several family pedigrees the disorder is

transmitted as autosomal dominant mode with
penetrance of 99% in males and 70% in females

Screening almost all chromosomes failed to

identify a specific genetic locus always inherited
with the clinical behavior
This finding suggest that Tourette’s syndrome is
A multigenic trait
 Bipolar Disorder

A locus that confers increased risk of bipolar

disorder, has been identified on chromosome
18, 21 q, 22q
 Personality Trait of Anxiety

A genetic variant of of the serotonin transporter

gene has been described that alters the number
of the transporter molecules of the presynaptic
membrane of serotonergic neurons
This accounts for 5% of the genetic variance of
anxiety in general population
 Schizophrenia

A locus on chromosome 15 appears to account

for auditory processing in several pedigrees of
patients with schizophrenia

A study of 265 Irish families with high incidence

of schizophrenia found two loci, on chromosome
8 and 6. Each of which accounted for the
vulnerability to schizophrenia in 10-30 % of the
families
 Alzheimer’s Disease
10% of cases of Alzheimer’s disease are
hereditary and the remaining 90% are sporadic
Of the hereditary cases 70-80% are attributable
to mutations in the presenilin 1 gene located on
chromosome 14. Age of onset: 40-50years
20-30% are attributable to mutations in the
presenilin 2 located on chromosome 1.
Age of onset: 50years
 Alzheimer’s Disease

2-3% of the familial cases are attributable to

mutations in the B-amyloid precursor protein
(APP) gene located on chromosome 21, which
causes the symptoms at the age of 50 years