Introduction to the brain

Brain Anatomy Fact: Your Brain uses 20% of the

Oxygen and Blood in your body
 London Taxi
Driver Study of
hippocampus

Forebrain Memorize all of

these structures!!
Division of the Nervous System
Remember! Axon
-Neurons are cells, so Terminals
they have all the same
organelles as regular
cells

Soma (Cell Body)

Neurons
Direction message travels
Dendrite
Axon
Action Potential
 Neurotransmitters

Acetylcholine
Amines Amino Acids Neuropeptides
(ACh)
Other
Neurotransmitters:
Parkinson's
link -Lipids (Anandamide)
-Norepinephrine
-Gases (Nitric Oxide) -Glutamate
-Dopamine -Glycine -Substance P
-Second Messengers
-Serotonin -GABA

Aspects of Neurotransmitters to know:

Neurotransmitters ● Excitatory/Inhibitory
● Associated Effects
● Diseases/drugs it interacts with
Second messengers are like social
media: it helps spread the message
quickly throughout the cell
(amplification)

Second 3 types of Second Messengers:

● Calcium ions
Benefits of Second
Messengers:
● cAMP ● Amplification
Messengers ● DAG ● Specificity
● Compartmentalization
 Plasticity

3 germ layers:
● Endoderm

Development ● Mesoderm
● Ectoderm → neural fold + neural groove → skin
and brain Questions
Sensing, Thinking,
and Behaving
 Rods: color,
acute detail
Cones: black/
Pupil: regulates how white, sensitive
much light enters eye to light
Cornea: Does most
of focusing

Vision
Pathway of light
Light → cornea → lens →
ganglion cells → bipolar cells
→ photoreceptors

Pathway of electrical signal

bipolar cells → bipolar cells →
ganglion cells → optic nerve
→ lateral geniculate nucleus
→ primary visual cortex

Retina Anatomy
 Sound waves → pinna/auditory canal → tympanic
membrane → malleus → incus → stapes → oval
window → cochlea → hair cells → auditory nerve →
auditory cortex

Hearing
Taste + Smell
 Two point threshold:
distance between two
points on the skin
necessary in order for a
person to distinguish 2
homunculus distinct stimuli

Touch/ Touch receptors:

Merkel’s disks 2 types of pain receptors:
Ruffini bodies ● Myelinated (Ad): sharp, fast pain
Pain Meissner’s corpuscles ● Unmyelinated (C): dull, diffuse, slow pain
Memory
Long-term potentiation: long-lasting
increase in strength of a synaptic
response → occurs as a change of
synapses involving NMDA receptors
and glutamate

Storing Memories
Language
Golgi tendon: measures force
Muscle spindle: measures
stretch

Muscle Anatomy
 Motor cortex - directs control of alpha motor neurons
Basal Ganglia - related to Parkinson’s
Cerebellum - integrates movement info, coordination, and
adjusts output with changing conditions

Movement Processing In Brain

Voluntary vs. Involuntary Movement
Questions
 Activates 3 systems:
● Voluntary NS: message to
muscles
● Autonomic NS:
○ Sympathetic (excites) →
move blood to muscles,
release of epinephrine
○ Parasympathetic (calms) →
regulates body once stressor
Role of stress in memory?
has passed
Chronic stress →
● Hypertension: high blood ● Neuroendocrine: stress
pressure hormones travel through the
● Atherosclerosis (hardening blood and stimulate the release
of arteries): abdominal
obesity, impaired neuron
of other hormones
function in hippocampus

Stress
Aging
● 1. Neuroscientists believe that the brain can
remain relatively healthy and full-functioning as it
ages.
○ Severe declines in memory, intelligence,
verbal fluency, and other tasks reflect
disease processes are not a part of normal
aging.
● 2. The effects of age on brain function are subtle
and very selective
○ Do not include widespread cell loss
○ Progressive mental decline is not an
inevitable part of aging
● 3. Damaged brain cannot respond with a robust
generation of new neurons
○ Relatively small stem cell populations
remain in a healthy adult brain
■ But they contribute to only a few of
the many different types of neurons
found
● Physical and mental exercise is viewed as an
effective means of slowing the effects of brain
aging
Brain Research
Diseases and
Disorders
Childhood Disorders
Childhood Disorders
Addiction
Nicotine
Alcohol
Marijuana
Opiates
Psychostimulants
Club Drugs
Degenerative Disorders
Degenerative Disorders
Psychiatric Disorders
Tourette Syndrome
Schizophrenia
PTSD
OCD
Panic Disorder
Injury and Illness
Brain Basics

MCQ

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 Name 1 benefit of the
second messenger system.

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Amplification, Specificity,
Compartmentalization

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List 1 lipid neurotransmitters

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-Lipids (Anandamide, Prostaglandin)

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What happens to the Na+

and K+ channels during the
falling phase?

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K+: Open
Na+: Closed

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What are the 3 germ layers?

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Endoderm, Ectoderm and

Mesoderm

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What are the 2

photoreceptors and what do
they see?

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Cones: color
Rods: black/white (more
sensitive to light)

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What is plasticity? Why is it

important?

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Brain’s ability to learn by

changing anatomy. This is
important so brain can be
adaptable.
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What receptor is vital for

LTP?

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NMDA Receptor

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Name an area on the body

with high acuity and a low
two-point threshold.

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Hands, lips, tongue

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What is semantic memory?

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Semantic (facts and figures)

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True or false: Severe declines

in memory, intelligence and
verbal fluency are a normal
part of aging .

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False

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What is viewed as an
effective means of slowing
the effects of brain aging?

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Physical and mental exercise

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What are two effects of

chronic stress?

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Appetite, Hypertension: high blood

pressure, Atherosclerosis (hardening of
arteries), abdominal obesity, impaired
neuron function in hippocampus

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What neurotransmitter is
released by the nervous
system in response to stress?

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Epinephrine by the
Sympathetic Nervous System

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What is the name of the

cells that can become new
neurons?

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Stem Cells

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Name a symptom of
schizophrenia

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Hallucinations, delusions,
confused thinking, inability
to experience pleasure, lack
of emotion
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True or False: TMS is

currently being used as a
possible treatment for
depression.
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True

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What is the genetic mutation

associated with Down’s
syndrome?

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Genetic Cause: Extra copy of

chromosome 21

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What neurotransmitter is
associated with Parkinson’s
Disease?

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Dopamine

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What neurotransmitter is
associated with ALS?

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Glutamate (excess of it)

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What is used as a treatment

for bipolar disorder?

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Lithium
Or anti-convulsants like
valproate

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What does MRI stand for?

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging

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MS is associated with the

degeneration of what?

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Myelin Sheath

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What is a common treatment

for ADHD?

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Behavioral therapy,
stimulants

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QUESTIONS?
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