NROB60H3 Lecture Notes - Schizophrenia
Document Summary
Various aspects of human nature: curiosity, pain, pleasure, movement, reasoning, learning, memory, emotion, and madness. Neuroscience: study of the brain, what disciplines are involved. Nervous systems of different species evolved from common ancestors: therefore they have common mechanisms, but many behavioural traits are specialized for the environment (niche) a species normally occupies. Why use a sheep brain in this course: large, accessible, not human, many of the same structures, less cost. The neuroscientist: education, training, research experience, clinical vs. experimental research. Observation: to test a specific hypothesis, made during experiments. Replication: observation cannot be accepted unless it can be replicated, repetition with the same results, often enough to rule out chance. Interpretation: educated guess about the observations, based on knowledge (or lack thereof) and preconceived notions. Verification: like replication but by other scientists using the same protocols, not be able to verify a results is not a bad thingit leads to further refinement of the interpretation.
