Chapter 2
Research at the Cellular level
• Neuroanatomy:
o 2 main parts of the nervous system:
Central nervous system: Brain and spinal cord
Peripheral (somatic) nervous system: Temp. of body, muscle
movement, basically to do with spinal cord shit.
• Translational research: Translational research: communicating and combing
science research with clinical research
o Fig. 2.1
Electrical messages send down through axons and once the current
gets where it needs to they are released as neurotransmitters
(chemicals that transmit .
o Autonomic Nervous system:
2 parts: Sympathetic Nervous system (Fight or flight) and Para
sympathetic Nervous system (help bring body back to equilibrium)
The Structure of the brain (the basic structures Fig.2.2)
• Brain Stem (controls fundamental biological functionbreathing)
• Medulla, Pons, and cerebellum (regulates breathing, heart beat, and motor
control)
o Cerebellum has to do with balance
• Midbrain (coordinates sensory information and movement)
• Thalamus (relay station, directing nerve signals that carry sensory information to
the cortex)
• Hypothalamus (Homeostasis…ex. Blood pressure, blood temp, etc.)
• Forebrain (Fig 2.3): contains cerebral cortex plus
o Limbic system: Amygdala, the cingulate gyrus, and the hippocampus
deals with primarily with emotion and impulses
Hippocampusmemory formationlinked with memory deficits
o Basal Ganglia
Memory
• Known as H.M.
• Age 16 developed grand mal seizures (??)
• Surgery to remove hippocampus
• Could not save new long term memories
• Able to remember long term memories that occurred before the surgery
• Short term memory is not dependent on functioning hippocampus
• Long term memory must go through the hippocampus to be stored The Cerebral Cortex and its Lobes
• Higher cognitive functioning, including reasoning, abstract thought (ex.Love),
perception or time, and creativity.
• Two Hemispheres
o Left side: Language and cognitive functioning and tends to process
information in a more linear and logical manner
o Right side processes the world in a holistic manner, spatial context,
creativity, imagery, and intuition
• Each hemisphere has four lobes (Fig. 2.4): Temporal (Auditory and verbal
information, labeling of objects and verbal memory…the hippocampus area),
Parietal (Integrates sensory information from various sources and may be
involved with visuospatial processing), Occipital (associated with vision…center
of visual processing), and Frontal (reasoning, impulse control, judgment,
language, memory, motor functioning, problem solving, and sexual and social
behavior)
• Corpus callosum: allows both hemispheres to communicate
• Complex Trait: ??
• Law of segregation: You will always express the dominant gene
• Law of Independent assortment: ??
The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
• Sensorysomatic nervous system: cranial nerves which control sensation and
muscle movement
• Autonomic nervous system: sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system
o Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) controls involuntary movements,
activates the body, and creates a bodily state of arousal that could indicate
the presence of stress and anxiety
o Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) returns body function to resting
levels
The Endocrine System (Fig. 2.5)
• A system in the body that sends message to the bodily organs via hormones
• Pituitary gland
•
Neuroimaging
• Taking pictures of the brain
• Neuroanatomy (the brain structure)
• CT and CAT scans (computerized axial tomography: radioactive dyes, Xrays
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging: radiofrequency waves and magnetic fields
• Other Technology: Neurophysiology (Positron Emission Tomography (PET scan) • Functional MRI (fMRI)
Genetics
• DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid): associated with your genes
• Sex Chromosomes: males have a X and a Y chromosome and females have 2 X
chromosomes
• Influence of genes in characteristics
o Genes determine height, eye color, various diseases
• Per
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