Assimilation of sensory info to higher brain regions.

Substantia Nigra is here: Dopamine here is in part important for motor coordination.

Switchboard Operator for sensory information, especially visual, but NOT olfactory.

Information relayed from thalamus to cortex and basal ganglia

Center of emotion, eating, drinking mating, anxiety agression.

Olfactory bulbs, hypothalamus, amygdala, cingulate gyrus

Mediates hormones through interaction with Pituitary Gland.

Lesions to this region impair feeding, sex, temp regulation, etc.

Perform several supportive tasks: forming matrix to hold neural circuits together and absord dead cells and debris.

10 times more numerous, but 1/10 the size of neurons; don't transmit over long distances

Enriched environment --> improved performance in mazes and increased branching of neurons

Donald Hebb: Rats at home versus in cafe in lab.

Travels along axon 10-100 m/s

Electrical gradient: -70mV b/w inside and outside --> far more Na+ outside than inside

Concentration Gradient: more Na+ outside cell and K+ inside cell- maintained by the Sodium Potassium pump (3 Na+ out for every 2 K+ in)

Hyperpolarization- increase in negative charge inside neuron; returns to rest after small increase

Depolarization- decrease in negative chage inside neuron; returns to rest after small decrease

More Na+ outside

More K+ inside

greater positive charge outside cell

proteins generate negative chare inside neuron

very few sodium ion cross the membrane (sodium-potassium pump)

Potassium flow into cell (electrical gradient) and out of cell (concentration gradient)

K+ has free access in or out, but mostly attracted to (-) inside neuron

Sodium-Potassium pump: 3 Na+ out and 2 K+ in

-70 mV inside cell and peaks at about +30mV

stimulation beyond threshold of excitation produces a sudden depolarization of the membrane

rapid depolarization continues to about +30mV and rapidly returns to its resting potential

Slight depolarization- sodium channels slightly open

Once threshold is reached, sodium channels open wide and Na+ ions rush into cell

At the peak of action potntial, sodium channels close and cannot be opened again for next millisecond or so

Open wide as the AP approaches its peak allowing K+ ions out of the cell

Cell becomes hyperpolarized and overshoots resting membrane potential, and the returns to -70mV

sodium gates are firmly closed

membrane cannot produce an action potential regardless of the stimulation

sodium gate revert to usual state, but the potassium gates remain open

A stronger than normal stimulus can result in an action potential.

AP begins at Axon Hillock

Na+ ions enter axon - depolarize neighboring area - activate voltage gated channels - regenerate AP down the axon

AP doesn't reverse directions, area where AP just came from is still in the refractory period.

AP continues to the pre-synaptic terminals at the end of the axon

Speed of impulses increases from 1 to 10 m/s as diameter of axon increases

Myelin Sheaths on some axons increase speed of impulses up to 100 m/s or more

- area under sheath does not have sodium channels

-Nodes of Ranvier: Unmyelinated sections with sodium channels

-AP is regenerate at each Node of Ranvier

-Saltatory conduction occurs as AP jump from node to node

Onset is around young adulthood.

Prevalence: 1/20k-30k

Symptoms: Muscle weakness and spasms, difficulty moving or with coordination and balance, problems with speech, swallowing, visual system, pain, varying cognitive impairments, often accompanied by depression,

communication betwen neurons occurs in this "gap"

Once the AP reaches the terminal buttons, Ca++ channels are activated and this influx results in exocytosis of neurotransmitters into synapse.

Neurotransmitters bind receptors, where they evoke EPSPs or IPSPs.

usually small unless peptides (small proteins)

synthesized and packaged in the terminal buttons into synaptic vesicles by the Golgi complex - once filled, synaptic vesicles are placed in clusters adjacent to presynaptic membrane

Peptides are stored in vesicles by the soma's golgi complex, then transported by microtubules to the terminal buttons

Main area for hearing and complex aspects of vision.

Damage in this area- no longer recognize faces, but recognize voices. The amygdala is a structure in this lobe for emotion.

Capgras Syndrome- they recognize the face, but do not get that emotional response and therefore think the person is an imposter.

specialized for body senses (touch, pain, temp, and awareness of body parts in space)

Damage in this area- Phantom Limb Syndrome

Primary motor cortex-imortant for planned control of fine movements.

Prefrontal Lobe: contributes to aspects of memory and to the planning of movement- decision making.

The idea that everything that happens has a cause, or determinant, that one could observe or measure.

determinism vs free will

drugs that increase energy, alertness, and activity (cocaine)

Prevent neurons from reabsorbing dopamine or serotonin.

drugs that decrease arousal (alcohol and anxiolytics: anxiety reducing drugs)

facilitate transmission at synapses that use GABA

drugs that produce drowsiness, insensitivity to pain, and decreased responsiveness (opiates)

stimulate endorphins- inhibit chronic pain

THC attaches to receptors that control memory and movement

excites receptors of both excitatory and inhibitory transmitters

attempt to describe the structures that compose the mind (senstations, feelings, and images)

Edward Titchener

to learn how people produce useful behaviors

William James

Introduction (includes hypothesis and justification)

Methods (procedure)

Results (observations/measurements)

Discussion (How do these results fit into my hypothesis)

Clearly define your variables- done by operationally defining your variables

Operational definition- specifies the operation or procedures that will be used in study.

IV and DV (variables)

Measure relationship between two variables, without the experimenter controlling either of them

Correlation Coefficient- mathematical estimate of the relationship between two variables (between +1 and -1)

The direction and distance from 0 are important when interpreting correlational coefficients.