Neuroscience and
Behavior
Your brain…and other stuff!
Last time we thought about…
• The shift from INTROSPECTIVE psychology to SCIENTIFIC
psychology
• Wait…what are the differences again?
• Ways to effectively design an experiment
• Wait…how did those work again?
• Common mistakes made in the analysis of data
• Wait…what were some of those again?
We also talked about…
• The Placebo Effect!
• Question!
• What is the Placebo Effect? What causes it?
Neuroscience: Foundations
• Paul Broca (1861): describes patient who cannot produce
spoken language
• The problem? Damage in a small area in her left FRONTAL lobe
• Broca’s Aphasia
Carl Wernicke (1848-1905): describes patient who cannot
comprehend language but CAN produce it
Damage to an area in the left TEMPORAL lobe
Wernicke’s Aphasia
Visuals!
Question!
• What do both Broca’s Aphasia and Wernicke’s Aphasia have in
common?
• What can we learn about the brain (and maybe the mind)
from both afflictions?
Brains! Brains!
• Your brain is made up of over 100 BILLION neurons!
• Neurons: cells in the nervous system that communicate with
one another to perform information-processing tasks.
• Question: Are you reducible to your nervous system? Are
you just a brain? Are all of your actions, thoughts, and
feelings reducible to a bunch of neurons inside your
skull?
Neurons: They’re Funny
Looking
• Neurons are made up of three parts
• Cell body
• The largest part of the neuron
• Houses the cell nucleus
• Nucleus houses DNA
• Keeps cell alive
• Dendrites
• RECEIVE information from other neurons, muscles, or glands and
send information to the cell body
• Axons
• SEND information from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or
glands
• Axons are long and creepy
Neurons: Close Up!
Oh Syn-APSE!
• Synapse: the gap between the axon of one neuron and the
dendrites or cell body of another
• Terminal Buttons: knoblike structures that branch out from an
axon
• Neurotransmitter: chemicals that transmit information across
the synapse to a receiving neuron’s dendrites
• Receptors: parts of the dendrite that receive
neurotransmitters and initiate a new electric signal
Neurotransmitters & Disease
• Acetylcholine (Ach)
• Dopamine
• Glutamate
Alzheimers (ACH-producing neurons
deteriorate)
Schizophrenia (high), Parkinson’s
(low)
Migraines, seizures (high)
• GABA
Seizures, tremors, insomnia (low)
• Norepinephrine
Depression (low)
• Serotonin
Depression (low)
• Endorphins
“Runner’s high” (high)
Dopamine!
Awkward Lecture Ahoy!
But Remember…
• Neurotransmitter levels aren’t the only thing that matters:
It’s all about the LOCATION of the
receptor sites!
This Is Your Brain on Drugs…
• Drugs act like neurotransmitters, tricking your brain into acting in
abnormal ways
• Agonists: drugs that increase the action of a neurotransmitter
• Antagonists: drugs that block the function of a neurotransmitter
• L-dopa: agonist for dopamine, helps fight Parkinson’s symptoms
• Amphetamines: stimulates release of norepinephrine and dopamine
• Prozac: blocks the reuptake of serotonin
Nervous System: Peripheral vs.
Central
Split Brain Syndrome
• The brain is split into two hemispheres
• The two hemispheres are connected by commissures (bundles
of axons that allow the hemispheres to communicate with
each other)
• Corpus callosum: the largest commissure; connects large areas
of the cerebral cortex on each side of the brain and supports
communication of information across hemispheres
Parts of the Brain
Gratuitous Video from Someone
Knowledgeable!
Hindbrain & Midbrain
Forebrain: Subcortical
Structures
Forebrain: the Most Evolved
Part of YOU
• Occiptal Lobe: processes visual information
• Parietal Lobe: processes information about touch, contains the
somatosensory cortex
• Temporal Lobe: located at the lower side of each hemisphere,
responsible for hearing and language
• Frontal Lobe: specialized areas for movement abstract
thinking, planning, memory, and judgment
Cerebral Cortex, One More
Time
Cerebellum vs. Frontal Lobes
• Why do zombies shuffle?
Your Brain is Plastic
• Plasticity: functions that are assigned to certain areas of the
brain may be capable of being reassigned to toher areas of the
brain to accomodtate changing input from the environemnt
• Sensory inputs “compete” for representation in each area
• The Woman Without a Cerebellum
But Not THAT Plastic…
•Phineas Gage!
What Happens When…
• You cut the corpus callosum?