Part ONEAP Psychology

ASAP Science: 7 Myths About the Brain You Thought Were True

Somatic nervous system◦ Nerves to voluntary muscles and sensory

receptors◦ Controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles

Autonomic nervous system◦ Sympathetic division – mobilizes body resources

Internal organs and glands arousing

◦ Parasympathetic division- conserves bodily resources calming

Arousing◦ Dilates pupil◦ Accelerates heartbeat◦ Inhibits digestion◦ Stimulates glucose released by

liver◦ Stimulates secretion of

epinephrine and norepinephrine by adrenal gland

◦ Relaxes bladder◦ FIGHT or FLIGHT

Calming◦ Contracts pupil◦ Slows heartbeat◦ Stimulates digestion◦ Stimulated gallbladder◦ Contracts bladder

Fight or Flight Response

ASAP Science: The Science of Goosebumps and Music Chills

ASAP Science: Why Do We Get Nervous?

With your group, write a short story describing a person in a state of distress.

Your story should include descriptions of the effects of the AUTONOMIC nervous system on this person (BOTH sympathetic AND parasympathetic)

(Fight or Flight AND Rest & Digest Responses)

Highlight key phrases

Make it interesting, creative, and exciting!

No, it does not have to be totally realistic.

I will read them aloud!

Automatic inborn response to sensory stimulus◦ Sensory neurons excited by a stimulus pass a

message to interneuron in the spinal cord◦ The interneuron activates a motor neuron causing

a muscle reaction◦ EX - Finger to a flame – finger moves away before

pain registers in the brain

Individual cells in the nervous system that receive, integrate, & transmit information

Soma – Cell Body Dendrites – Branching structures that

receive signals from other cells Axon – Fiber that carries signals away from

soma to other cells Myelin sheath – Insulating material that

encases some axons Terminal buttons – Small knobs at the end

of axons that release neurotransmitter at synapses

Neuron video clip

Add Sensory, Motor, and Interneurons to your notes!

Resting Potential – Neuron’s stable, negative charge when inactive

Action Potential – Voltage spike that travels along axon

Absolute refractory period – brief time after action potential before another action potential can begin

All-or-none law – A neuron fires or doesn’t fire

Action Potential Video Clip

Chemicals that transmit info from one neuron to another.

Acetylcholine – ◦ Released by neurons that control skeletal muscles◦ Enables muscle action, learning and memory◦ Alzheimer’s disease, Ach- producing neurons

deteriorate Dopamine –

◦ Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

◦ Excess dopamine receptor activity linked to schizophrenia

◦ Starved of dopamine – tremors and decreased mobility , Parkinson’s disease

Serotonin ◦ Affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal◦ Low levels linked to depression and obsessive-

compulsive disorder◦ Prozac and other antidepressant drugs raise

serotonin levels Norepinephrine

◦ Helps control alertness and arousal◦ Undersupply levels linked to depression

GABA –gamma-aminobutyric acid◦ A major inhibitory neurotransmitter◦ Under supply linked to seizures, tremors and

insomnia◦ Contributes to the regulation of anxiety

Glutamate◦ Major excitatory neurotransmitter◦ Involved in memory◦ Oversupply can overstimulate brain, producing

migraines or seizures (monosodium glutamate in food)

Synthesis and storage of neurotransmitters in synaptic vesicles

Release of neurotransmitters into synaptic cleft

Binding of neurotransitters at receptor sites lead to excitatory and inhibitory

Inactivation or removal – drifting away of neurotransmitters

Reuptake or neurotransmitters by presynaptic neuron

Video Clip: How neurotransmission occurs

Neurotransmitters carry messages from a sending neuron across a synapse to receptor sites on a receiving neuron

Agonists molecules excite – mimic neurotransmitters ◦ morphine mimics the action of endorphins

Antagonists molecules inhibit – blocks its action ◦ Similar to occupy its receptor site and block its

action◦ Butnot similar enough to stimulate the receptor

Create a “family” made up of the following members (give each one a name):

Acetylcholine, dopamine twins, serotonin, norepinephrine, glutamate, & GABA

Draw each family member and describe their personality ◦ They should clearly represent the functions

of that neurotransmitter Make it creative, accurate, and

APPROPRIATE! Due Tuesday—2 classwork grades

Create a MNEMONIC DEVICE to remember the function of each major brain structure.◦ Using words and/or pictures◦ You will need a pack of notecards for this

Any size, but bigger is better

Brain Part

Brain Function

and Mnemonic

Device

(picture or words)

Left and Right Hemispheres◦ Contralateral control

each hemisphere controls the opposite side of he body

◦ Lateralization Left and right hemispheres have different functions

◦ Left Hemisphere Usually handles verbal processes

Language, speech, reading, writing◦ Right Hemisphere

Usually handles nonverbal processing Spatial, musical, and visual recognition tasks

Video Clip: Quick Left/Right Brain Test

Large band of neural fibers connecting the two brains hemispheres and carrying messages between them.

Split-brain surgery--cutting the corpus callosum to reduce epileptic seizures

Gazzaniga, Bogen, & Sperry—famous for split-brain studies (1965)◦ Split brain patients were asked to focus on a dot

and then images were shown on both sides of the dots (in their left & right visual fields)

◦ When shown to the right visual field—they could name & describe objects

◦ When shown to the left visual field—they could NOT name it.

◦ Supports the idea that language is controlled by the left side of the brain. Video Clip: Girl with Half a Brain

Video Clip: Split Brain Experiments

Top part of the spinal cord includes: Cerebellum= “little brain”

◦ Coordinates fine muscle movement—writing, typing, playing an instrument

◦ Balance (finger to nose during drunk test—one of the first parts of the brain affected by alcohol)

Medulla◦ Regulates unconscious functions such as breathing and

circulation (also maintaining muscle tone, regulating reflexes—sneezing, coughing, salivating)

Pons(bridge of fibers connecting the brainstem to the cerebellum)◦ Involved in sleep and arousal

Reticular FormationNerve network controlling arousal (also muscle reflexes, breathing, & pain perception)

Lies between the hindbrain & the forebrain

Involved in locating where things are in space (locating where a sound came from) Dopamine synthesis (creation)—used for

voluntary movements Damage to an area of the midbrain linked to

Parkinson’s

Largest & most complex region of the brain Thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system,

cerebrum, & more Large in humans

◦ Includes cerebral cortex (outer layer of the brain—wrinkly cauliflower looking part!) and subcortical structures

Thalamus◦ Top of the brainstem◦ Relay center for cortex◦ Distributes all incoming sensory signals – except

smells

Regulates basic biological needs ◦ Hunger, thirst, sexual desire, temperature

regulation “hypo”=underunder the thalamus Size of a kidney bean; pleasure

center Controls autonomic nervous system Link between brain & endocrine

system (hormones) The four F’s (fighting, fleeing,

feeding, and…ahem…”mating”) Rat that kept “accidentally”

stimulating his hypothalamus—dopamine rich area

If researchers lesion (cut out) the lateral (side) areas of the hypothalamus—the animal will starve

If researchers electrically stimulate the lateral hypothalamus (activate it) –the animal will eat constantly and gain weight rapidly

Loosely connected network that contributes to emotion, memory, motivation (pleasure centers)◦ Hippocampus

Contributes to memory◦ Amygdala

Involved in learning of aggression and fear responses

◦ Parts of the thalamus & hypothalamus are included in the limbic system

Cerebrum -Handles complex mental activities

Sensing, learning, thinking, planning

Divided into two cerebral hemispheres (left/right brains)

Fissures—grooves in the brain; corpus callosum in the fissure separating the halves, connecting the two hemispheres

Each cerebral hemisphere has 4 lobes:

Frontal Lobe Located behind the forehead Speaking and muscle movements Making plans and judgments Prefrontal cortex – relational reasoning, working memory

Parietal Lobe◦ Located at the top of the head◦ Somatosensory cortex – touch and body sensation

Occipital Lobe◦ Located at the back of the head◦ Visual areas that receive visual information form the opposite visual field

Temporal Lobe◦ Located above the ears◦ Includes auditory areas primarily from the opposite ear

Motor Cortex◦ Located at the rear of the frontal lobes ◦ Controls voluntary movement

Aphasia – impaired use of language due to damage to any one of several cortical areas

Broca’s Area – controls speech muscles via the motor cortex

Wernicke’s Area- Interprets auditory code Angular Gyrus – transforms visual

representations into an auditory code Visual Cortex – receives written words as

visual stimulation

Clinical Observations◦ Observe effects of brain disease and injuries

Manipulating the Brain◦ Electrically, chemically or magnetically stimulate

parts of the brain and study the effects Record Electrical Activity

◦ EEG – electroencephalogram Use electrodes on the head to record electrical

activity Line tracings called brain waves

Measures brain waves

Lesioning◦ Destroying a piece of the brain to learn about its

function Electrode inserted deep into brain, passes electric

current, burns tissue & disables brain structure

Neuroimaging Techniques◦ PET scans – positron emission tomography scan

Chemical Activity Detects radioactive form of glucose while the brain performs

a given task Like radar shows which areas of the brain are most active

while performing a task◦ MRI – magnetic resonance imaging

Images of Brain Structure Uses a strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce a

computer-generated images that distinguish among different types of tissue

See the structures within the brain, brain anatomy◦ fMRI – functional MRI

Brain Function Reveals blood flow and brain activity by comparing successive

MRI scans

The brains ability to modify and reorganize following damage (especially in children)

NPR audio article◦ “The Face Of A Famous Skull Found On

Flickr”

Be ready to share with the class 3 details from the story.

Phineas Gage LEGO creation

-Damaged frontal lobe & prefrontal cortex-Found that it affected both his decision making and personality

The body’s slow chemical communication system

Glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Chemical messengers◦ Mostly manufactured by the endocrine glands

that are produced in one tissue and affect another including the brain

◦ When they act on the brain they influence our interest in sex, food and aggression

◦ Some are chemically identical to neurotransmitters

◦ Effects usually outlast the effects of neural messages

Endocrine glands –◦ above kidneys◦ Secrete

Epinephrine (adrenaline) Norepinephrine (noradrenaline)

◦ Help to arouse the body in times of stress Pituitary gland

◦ Most influential gland- hypothalamus controls the pituitary gland

◦ Regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

Hypothalamus◦ Brain region controlling the pituitary gland

◦ Pineal◦ Produced melatonin; functions in sleep &

circadian rhythms Pituitary gland

◦ Secretes hormones that affect other glands Thyroid gland

◦ Metabolism Parathyroids

◦ Regulates calcium in the blood Adrenal glands

◦ Fight or flight responses Pancreas

◦ Regulates blood sugar Gonads

Ovary◦ Secretes female sex hormones Testis◦ Secretes male sex hormones

Hormone Crash Course

With your partner(s), develop a scenario in which a person may have damaged, injured, or developed some kind of abnormality to the part(s) of the brain you have been assigned.

Describe what symptoms/difficulties a person injured in that region(s) of the brain may face.

Describe your scenario and present your symptoms to the class

The class will determine what brain part(s) were affected.

*Turn in ONE copy of your scenario/symptoms and affected brain parts.