• Some Key Concepts from MCB 61 “Brain, Mind, and Behavior” – Winter/Spring 2008
• Useful as a guide for study
• Not intended to be an exhaustive list
• Lecture 1 (1/22)
• Stanley Kubrick and 2001
• hominid evolution
• genus Australopithecus
• Homo neanderthalensis
• Homo sapiens
• hominid brain evolution
• Lecture 2 (1/24)
• mind and mental states
• general features of vertebrate brains
• anatomical terms used to describe locations
• meninges: dura mater, arachnoid layer, pia mater
• cerebral spinal fluid
• anatomical sections / views of the brain: coronal, sagital
• cerebral cortical lobes
• other major brain regions: cerebellum, limbic system, brain stem, etc
• grey matter, white matter, ventricles
• corpus callosum
• Lecture 3 (1/29)
• brain vasculature: cerebral arteries
• forebrain structures: cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, limbic system
• brainstem: diencephalon, midbrain, hindbrain, cerebellum
• cranial nerves
• CNS
• PNS: neuromuscular, sensory, enteric, autonomic
• autonomic: sympathetic and parasympathetic
• human CNS: 100 billion neurons, 5-10x as many glial cells
• structure of neuron
• Dmitri Mendeleev, periodic table of the elements
• elemental abundances in the human body
• atoms, molecules
• Lecture 4 (1/31)
• structure and properties of water
• hydrocarbons, organic molecules, molecular structure
• hydrophobic, hydrophilic, lipophobic, lipophilic
• polarity of molecules
• hydrogen bond
• amino acids, peptide bonds, polypeptides, proteins
MCB 61 Key Concepts 2008 - Page 1
• primary, secondary, tertiary structure of proteins
• inferring 3-dimensional structure from sequence
• distributed computation of protein folding
• Lecture 5 (2/5)
• biological macromolecules: protein, carbohydrate, fat/lipid, nucleic acids
• phospholipid bilayer membrane
• dimensions: small molecules, proteins, lipid bilayer, nerve cells, synapse
• deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA, RNA
• gene and genetic code
• transcription and translation
• historical timeline of discovery in genetics
• Avery and DNA
• Hershey-Chase blender experiment (1952)
• The Double Helix story
• Lecture 6 (2/7)
• Rosalind Franklin
• Linus Pauling
• government, military, politics: impact on scientific enterprise
• neuronal axon
• Na/K pump
• ATP
• energy consumption by brain
• neuronal ion gradients
• Lecture 7 (2/12)
• membrane potential, resting potential
• voltage-gated ion channels
• action potential
• refractory period
• myelin
• nodes of Ranvier
• saltatory conduction
• Lecture 8 (2/14)
• Paracelsus: “Everything is a poison”
• water poisoning
• hyponaetremia
• blood-brain barrier
• tetrodotoxin (TTX)
• TTX resistance
• saxitoxin
• paralytic shellfish poisoning
• local anesthetics: cocaine and others
• batrachotoxins (BTXs)
MCB 61 Key Concepts 2008 - Page 2
• ciguatoxins (CTXs) and ciguatera
• multiple ways to interfere with Na-channel function
• Lecture 9 (2/19)
• neural anatomy / connectivity: Ramon y Cajal and Golgi
• structure and function of synapses
• dedritic spines
• synaptic vesicles
• voltage-gated calcium channels
• neurotransmitter receptors
• reuptake transporters
• rapidity of neural signaling
• hyperpolarization, IPSP
• depolarization, EPSP
• integration of multiple inputs by neurons
• ionotropic receptor, ligand-gated ion channel
• metabotropic receptor, G-protein couple receptor (GPCR)
• Otto Loewi and the discovery of the neurotransmitter concept
• Lecture 10 (2/21)
• GPCRs and amplification
• glutamate and CNS excitation
• GABA and CNS inhibition
• glycine
• acetylcholine
• dopamine
• synthesis of dopamine and other monoamine neurotransmitters
• Lecture 11 (2/26)
• ACh receptors: nicotinic (ionotropic), muscarinic (metabotropic)
• agonist
• antagonist
• acetylcholinesterase
• brainstem nuclei and cortical projections
• astrocytes and synapses
• EEG
• seizures
• Lecture 12 (2/28)
• antiseizure drugs: mechanism of action
• epilepsy
• surgical treatments
• drug, psychoactive drug, pharmacology
• caffeine
• adenosine
MCB 61 Key Concepts 2008 - Page 3
• sedative-hypnotics: alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepines, general
anesthetics, inhalants
• therapeutic index
• nicotine
• arecoline
• cannabinoids
• Lecture 13 (3/4)
• Midterm Exam One
• Lecture 14 (3/6)
• lethal-injection pharmacology and execution
• 8th Amendment of the US Constitution
• death-penalty history and usage
• opium poppy
• Friedrich Wilhelm Sertürner
• morphine, codeine
• semi-synthetic opioids
• synthetic opioids
• Lecture 15 (3/11)
• varieties of psychoactive drugs
• stimulants/caffeine, sedative-hypnotics, tobacco/nicotine
• opioid receptor
• endogenous opioid neurotransmitters
• neuropeptides
• coca plant, cocaine
• amphetamine-type stimulants
• psychedelics/hallucinogens
• hallucination
• LSD
• Albert Hofmann
• psilocybin
• DMT
• mescaline, peyote
• Cannabis, cannabinoids
• endogenous cannabinoid neurotransmitters
• presynaptic neurotransmitter receptors
• retrograde signaling
• Lecture 16 (3/13)
• nervous system development
• genome
• embryonic development, embryonic stem cells
• neuorgenesis, gliogenesis, synaptogenesis
• migration, differentiation, maturation
MCB 61 Key Concepts 2008 - Page 4
• Roger Sperry
• Sperry’s classic experiment
• chemo-affinity hypothesis
• nerve growth factors / neurotrophins
• myelination
• synaptic plasticity / neuroplasticity
• Lecture 17 (3/18)
• brain lesions
• stroke, aneurism, tumor, trauma
• static brain imaging
• exploratory brain surgery, x-rays
• CAT scan
• MRI, magnetic field, nuclear spin
• invasive versus noninvasive techniques
• dynamic brain imaging
• Penfield’s neurosurgical techniques
• EEG, MEG, PET
• positron decay, radioactive isotopes
• Lecture 18 (3/20)
• PET scan, radioactive isotopes
• difference images
• SPECT
• fMRI, tesla, guass, hemoglobin, BOLD
• spatial and temporal resolution
• Ernest Lawrence, Glenn Seaborg, Robert Oppenheimer, Edward Teller
• cyclotron
• U-235 and U-238
• fission and fusion bombs
• Lecture 19 (4/1)
• sensory perception – sensation and perception
• chemotaxis
• chemoreceptor protein
• phototaxis, phototropism
• five canonical senses
• electromagnetic spectrum
• Karl von Frisch
• honeyguide
• polarized light
• echolocation / biosonar
• Lecture 20 (4/3)
• electric field detection
• passive vs. active electroreception
MCB 61 Key Concepts 2008 - Page 5
• magnetic field detection
• geomagnetic field, navigation
• electromagnetic spectrum
• anatomy of the eye and retina
• photoreceptor cells, photoreceptor proteins
• light absorption spectra
• Lecture 21 (4/8)
• rods, cones
• rhodopsin, cone-opsins
• retinal distribution of the rods and cones
• blind spot
• color vision: trichromatic, dichromatic, tetrachromatic
• photoreceptor cells: inner segments, outer segment, synapse
• retinal, retinol, beta-carotene
• Lecture 22 (4/10)
• light-induced isomerization of retinal
• GPCR amplification of signal
• anatomy of retina: cell types and cell layers
• retina to LGN to visual cortex pathway
• contralateral connectivity
• topography of visual space, receptive fields
• visual maps in the cortex
• functions of different visual areas (V1, V4, V5, posterior temporal lobe)
• lesions and consequences: scotoma, hemianopia, cortical achromatopsia, cortical motion
blindness, prosopagnosia
• Lecture 23 (4/15)
• sound waves
• properties of sound
• speed of sound
• hearing ranges
• Fourier analysis
• ear anatomy
• middle ear (ossicles, oval window)
• inner ear (cochlea, basilar membrane, hair cells)
• connectivity from ear to brain
• hearing loss
• Lecture 24 (4/17)
• noise-induced hearing loss
• hearing aids, cochlear implants
• vestibular system
• semicircular canals, utricle, saccule
• otoliths, calcium carbonate
MCB 61 Key Concepts 2008 - Page 6
• taste / gustation
• taste buds, taste receptor cells
• regeneration of taste cells, taste stem cells
• different taste receptors: salt, sour, bitter, sweet, umami
• ionotropic channels as taste-receptor proteins
• GPCRs as taste-receptor proteins
• synthetic sweeteners: saccharin, aspartame
• principle of limited sloppiness
• Lecture 25 (4/22)
• synthetic / non-nutritive / “artificial” sweeteners
• stevioside
• taste receptors: salt, sour, bitter, sweet, umami
• flavor = taste + smell + texture
• jasmine aroma, complexity
• olfactory epithelium.
• olfactory neural pathway
• human olfactory receptor cells
• cilia contain olfactory receptor GPCRs
• olfactory stem cells
• Lecture 26 (4/24)
• Midterm Exam Two
• Lecture 27 (4/29)
• essential oils, cardamom, jasmine, spices
• geranial, geraniol
• thiols
• stereoisomers, shape, molecular variety and aromatic differences
• “asparagus smell”
• anosmia: specific vs general
• olfactory epithelium, olfactory receptor cells, olfactory receptor proteins, olfactory nerve
• olfactory neural pathways: limbic and orbitofrontal pathways
• pheromones
• vomeronasal pathway
• chili, capsaicin
• thermal receptors, TRP channels
• menthol
• isothiocynates: mustard, wasabi, horseradish, etc
• Lecture 28 (5/1)
• somatosensory receptors: touch/pressure mechanoreceptors, pain, temperature
• somatosensory pathway
• receptive field
• somatosensory homunculus / body map, Wilder Penfield
• secondary / accessory somatosensory areas
MCB 61 Key Concepts 2008 - Page 7
• lesions to primary and secondary somatosensory cortical regions
• sensory neglect syndromes
• motor pathway and components: M1, supplementary motor areas, cerebellum
• lesion to primary motor cortex versus secondary motor cortices
• apraxias
• mirror neurons
• anosognosia
• Lecture 29 (5/6)
• palindromes
• anosognosia and lateralization of cortical function
• Sigmund Freud, psychological defenses
• language
• aphasia
• Broca’s aphasia, production aphasia
• Wernicke’s aphasia, comprehension aphasia
• Wada test
• corpus callosum, commisurotomy
• split-brain patients
• Lecture 30 (5/8)
• Albert Einstein’s brain differences
• Hubble Ultra Deep Field
• mind-body problem
• mind, consciousness
• self-awareness in animals
• William James’ approach to neuroscience
• scientific revolutions
MCB 61 Key Concepts 2008 - Page 8