PSYCH 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Refrigerator Magnet, Electroencephalography, Positron Emission Tomography
14 Jun 2018
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Monitoring activity in the brain
Tools to read electrical, metabolic, and magnetic activity in the brain. What does
each one do?
EEG AND PET MOST COMMON
NOW MRI AND FMRI
• EEG: electroencephalogram
o An EEG (electroencephalogram) is a recording of the electrical waves
sweeping across the brain’s surface. Used when?____electros placed on scalp
covered with gel figure out how the brain is gernally responding, USED FOR
SEIZUES AND SLEEP PATTERNS __________
• MRI: magnetic resonance imaging
o MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) makes images from signals produced by
brain issue after magnets align the spin of atoms. Reveals brain structures.
The arrows below show ventricular enlargement in a schizophrenic patient
(right).
o Radioactive pulse disorients pattern back to normal spin gives detailed
picture
o Larger than average activity in left hemisphere
• fMRI: functional MRI
o 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 blood flow in the brain.
o Look at picture detects blood flow to back of brain
• PET: positron emission tomography
o The PET scan allows us to see what part of the brain is active by tracing
where a radioactive form of glucose inserted in to the bloodstream goes
while the brain performs a given task. Harder the brain works the more
blood it needs. We can see where the brain fuel goes via sugar glucose. Good
when?_____which areas of the brain are active when doing the
test____________________
MRI machines - The force of the device's 10-ton magnet is about 30,000 times as
powerful as Earth's magnetic field, and 200 times stronger than a common
refrigerator magnet
Areas of the brain and their functions
• The brainstem and cerebellum:
o coordinates the body
• The limbic (border) system:
o manages emotions, and connects thought to body
• The cortex (the outer covering):
o integrates all information
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The Base of the Brainstem:
The base of brainstem is medulla, the brainstem is the pons, helps coordinate
The Medulla
• The pons helps coordinate automatic and unconscious movements.
• 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 pons Controls swallowing posture eye movement
• Pons supres bidy mivemnt in REM
• Communication frontal lobes to cerebellum
• Superman had an accident where you broke his spine damaing medulla unableto
breathe
Thalamus ( Inner chamber )
• Thalamus is the router
• All sensory except for smell are routed through the thalamus on the way to the
cortex higher outer brain
• Can cause blindness and other loss of sense
• Would heart sense of smell, ofactory bulb
• Serves as a hub through which traffic will pass on its destination
•
Reticular Formation
• Net like
• Nerve network In brain stem
• Enables alertness arousal from coma to wide awake
• Net work of neurons branch from spinal cord to thalamus
• Cat experiments → stimulates the reticular formation in order to make a
sleeping cat pop awake, will lapse into coma enable
Cerebellum little brain
• The cerebellum helps coordinate voluntary movement such as playing a sport.
• Located in parts
• Behind the pons and below back of brain
• Area of implicit memories and conditioning stores
• Helps us judge time, modulate emotions, integrate multiple sources of sensory input
• Injured cerebellum → trouble walking , shaking hand
• Alcohol on cerebellum
• The cerebellum has many other functions, including enabling nonverbal learning
and memory.
The Limbic Border System
• The hippocampus seahorse
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• processes conscious, episodic memories.
• works with the amygdala to form emotionally charged memories.
• The Amygdala almond helps process emotions, especially fear and aggression.
• The Hypothalamus § regulates body temperature and ensures adequate food and
water intake (homeostasis), and is involved in sex drive.
The Amygdala in limbic
• A wide variety of personality traits seem to be affected by the amygdala.
• Had all these awful thoughts
• Charles Whitman first murdered his wife and mother •
• Then killed 14 people at the University of Texas before police shoot him down •
• Wrote, ) have been the victim of unusual and irrational thoughts. ) cannot
concentrate and after much thought, ) decided to kill my wife…After my death ) wish
an autopsy preformed to see if there is any physical disorder.
• Tumour pushing on amygdala
• Causing fear and aggression
The Hypothalamus:
• Provides pleasurable rewards associated with eating, drinking and sex
• Addictive disorders may stem from lack of rewarding feelings from this area,
known as reward deficiency syndrome
• addictive disorders from these area
• many of this area relies on dopamine
• AD(D don’t get dopamine from rewards
• Want dopamine will do crazy things
• The Hypothalamus as a Reward Center
o Pushing the pedal that stimulated the electrode placed in the hypothalamus
was much more rewarding than food pellets. The rate was willing ti walk on
grid to stimulate hypothalamus
The cerebral cortex: the lobes consist of
• Outer gray bark strucuturethat is wrinkled in order to create more surface srea for
20 + billion neurons
• 180 + billion glial cells which feed and protect neurons and assist neural
transmission
o the frontal lobes : active in executive functioning , judgement planning ,
inhibiting impulses
o parietal – managing input from multiple senses, spatial and
mathematical reasoning monitor sensation of movement
o occipital lobes – visual areas
o temporal – auditory processing, helps us recognize specific faces
o what might happen if there is damage to frontal lobe? Gage study, if frontal
lobe damage no longer to make good decisions, sit there for hours
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