GE CLST 73A Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Phineas Gage, Scientific Method, Lesion
31 Jul 2016
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#5 10/8/15
How do we use the scientific method to study the brain?
-Lesion out parts of the brain and see how behaviors change (animals)
-Study patients with head injuries
-Localization of function
-clinical anatomical method: Wait for the people to die then study, examine the
damage to the brain
-animal experimentation
-microscopic examination: visualizing the neuron and how it works
Localization Story:
-Franz Joseph Gall of Germany (phrenology)
-analyzed shapes and “bumps” of skulls to determine mental/moral attributes
-his idea was very popular, can do it at home
-helped to establish that the brain is the physiological basis of all function
-credibility is challenged because he failed to revise when he saw neg examples
-unilaterally functional: no localization of function (Phineas Gage)
-part of the brain is damage, but still functional
-Paul Broca’s Language Area: Are there specific language areas? Where?
-Claude Leborgne tried to produce words but could only say one word
-“We speak with the left hemisphere”
-Wernicke’s Area- aphasia: speak a lot but nothing makes sense
-yes, there is localization. Only when these two areas are damaged you
witness aphasia
-Jean-Martin Charcot: sclerose en plaque
-patients sit down and hold a feather, told to sit perfectly still but the feather
trembles
-those with multiple sclerosis have tremor with intention, those with parkinsons
have tremor at rest
-MS: damage to the myelin sheath
-ALS: degeneration of the motor neurons
-Parkinson’s: death of cells in the midbrain
Neuron Story:
-Luigi Galvani: stimulated frog legs
-Gustav Fritsch and Eduard Hitzig: stimulated dog paw
-David Ferrier and the Deaf Hemiplegic Monkeys
-challenged by Friedrich Goltz of Strasbourg
-Ferrier’s mapping became the basis for future mapping
-Santiago Ramon y Cajal: neurons don’t actually touch; synaptic cleft
-Golgi maintained there was a neural network (they are all connected)
What exactly crosses the synaptic gap?
“spark”-electrical signal VS “soup”-chemical signal
1894-1905: Adrenalin stimulates heart, raises blood pressure
-vs. Muscarine
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lesion out parts of the brain and see how behaviors change (animals) Clinical anatomical method: wait for the people to die then study, examine the damage to the brain. Microscopic examination: visualizing the neuron and how it works. Analyzed shapes and bumps of skulls to determine mental/moral attributes. His idea was very popular, can do it at home. Helped to establish that the brain is the physiological basis of all function. Credibility is challenged because he failed to revise when he saw neg examples. Unilaterally functional: no localization of function (phineas gage) Part of the brain is damage, but still functional. Claude leborgne tried to produce words but could only say one word. Wernicke"s area- aphasia: speak a lot but nothing makes sense. Only when these two areas are damaged you witness aphasia. Patients sit down and hold a feather, told to sit perfectly still but the feather trembles.
