question

two approaches to "abnormal behavior"

answer

abnormal behavior as part of a person's "life story" : one explanation is that they are a consequence of something that has happened to a person. Current abnormal behavior has antecedents and consequences. OR abnormal behavior as an expression of underlying causes : abnormal behavior caused by physiological and neurochemical abnormalities. something weird is happening in their brain.

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perspective A on abnormal behavior

answer

abnormal behavior as part of a person's "life story" : one explanation is that they are a consequence of something that has happened to a person. Current abnormal behavior has antecedents and consequences.

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perspective B on abnormal behavior

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abnormal behavior as an expression of underlying causes : abnormal behavior caused by physiological and neurochemical abnormalities. something weird is happening in their brain.

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where does perspective B (drug) come from? (think sociologically?)

answer

A perspective like this is encouraged because we live in a medical society (pharmacology). Western medicine suggests that you can diagnose something based on certain criteria, and once you diagnose it there should be a predictable set of guidelines for treatment.

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which perspective on abnormal behavior is better?

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neither, they both work together

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advantages/disadvantages of perspective A

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psychotherapy is expensive and often isn't insured, while drugs are insured more often. talk therapy might also be unavailable a lot of the time, whereas drugs are on the shelf every day. all the people who need talk therapy might be out of luck for long periods of time which can really hurt them. talk therapy might take a LONG time to work, while drugs generally act quickly. there is a stigma attached to talk therapy- because of advertisements for drugs, more people go demand that their psychiatrists give them drugs.

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advantages/disadvantages of perspective B

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side effects, addiction/dependence, advertisement of drugs helped to de-stigmatize mental illness (direct to consumer advertising), drugs are PRIVATE, while talk therapy might be more public.

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the most effective treatment

answer

both talk and drug combined

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why is it most effective to use both talk and drug therapy together?

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drug and talk might treat different components of the same disorder. If they do, what does that suggest about theory to explain the cause of a behavioral/mental disorder

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two factors that theoretically cause abnormal behavior/mental disorders

answer

inherited or induced physiological/neurochemical vulnerability that interacts with environmental factor/stressor (some life event)

question

use of pharmacology?

answer

provides a useful window to study the relationship between brain and behavior- it's a way in so that you can get some idea of why someone might have a mental disorder

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three things that drugs do:

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alter emotions, alter thinking, change behavior

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Where do chemicals and drugs act?

answer

on neurons, in synapses, and at receptors. as contemporary psychologists, we need to understand that drugs have an impact on the brain.

question

Phineas study

answer

suggests that there are structures of the brain that, for example, influence personality. But if we relied solely on accidents to produce outcomes that point to relationships between brain and behavior then the process of learning would be very slow. We have to actually and actively look at the brain in order to understand how it relates to behavior.

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what are neurons and why are they important for studying the brain?

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specialized cells that communicate with one another. if you're going to study behavior you definitely have to study neurons to understand how parts of the brain and body interact/communicate with each other.

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what is detection?

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the ability to detect and perceive. requires some neurons to be set aside to achieve that task. Neurons in the brain need to be assigned specific functions, and ultimately they need to produce an act.

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The nervous system and peripheral nervous system can be broken down into:

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a detection, integration/organization, and activation system.

question

the brain accomplishes tasks by:

answer

organizing information in fundamentally similar ways- regardless of what the task is, the brain is using neurons and chemicals and systems in ways that are similar to each other. Example: people who are studying the brain science of thirst are also inevitably learning about the brain science of hunger.

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what is a nerve?

answer

bundle or neurons. could contain hundred or thousands of neurons

question

what is the process of a neuron and what is important for?

answer

synthesis of endogenous neurotransmitter storage of endogenous neurotransmitter release of endogenous neurotransmitter interaction between neurotransmitter and receptors in synapse reuptake of released neurotransmitter metabolism of released neurotransmitters--- important for communicating messages

question

what is the "hotspot" of understanding neurotransmitters?

answer

the interaction between neurotransmitters and receptors in the synapse!!!

question

Three neurochemical systems in the brain?

answer

dopamine norepinephrine serotonin (5-HT)

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How can the organization of the information in the brain be characterized?

answer

-Neuroanatomical- neurons organized in systems having origins and destinations -Neurochemical- neurons use specific chemicals to transmit information in synapses -Neurophysiological- neurons can transmit information at different rates

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Are there neurotransmitters in the peripheral nervous system?

answer

Yes- some of them have very long axons and some have shorter ones. The PNS can also use hormones to communicate between brain and target.

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what is the significance of thresholds?

answer

excitation and inhibition can be added together...if there is enough excitation then an action potential will occur.

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what happens when a NT binds to a receptor and activates it?

answer

Activating a receptor can excite or inhibit the postsynaptic membrane on the dendrite

question

action potential

answer

neural event that most directly facilitates the ability of the NT to activate receptors in a synapse?

question

what is an excitatory postsynaptic potential or EPSP?

answer

if a NT-receptor interaction is an excitatory event, then it is called an excitatory postsynaptic potential . An EPSP represents a depolarization of the postsynaptic membrane. An EPSP increases the likelihood that the postsynaptic neuron will have an action potential. -an EPSP will cause an influx of sodium ions into the post-synaptic cell

question

what is an IPSP?

answer

if a NT-receptor interaction is an inhibitory event, then it is called an inhibitory postsynaptic potential or IPSP. An IPSP represents a hyperpolarization of the postsynaptic membrane. An IPSP decreases the likelihood that the postsynaptic neuron will have an action potential.

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Can a single NT chemical be both excitatory and inhibitory in the same synapse at the same time?

answer

Yes. The neurotransmitter can activate multiple varieties of receptors in a single synapse.

question

Does every chemical/NT have one specific function?

answer

NO. The function of a chemical/NT depends on which receptor subtype it interacts with. For example, A single chemical NT can act through multiple so-called subtypes of receptors. For example, dopamine can act through D1 D2 D3 D4 or D5 subtypes of receptors. The different sites and receptors in the brain determine what dopamine can do.

question

What can drugs do and, therefore, what are drugs useful for?

answer

Drugs can change psychology and behavior!! THEREFORE, drugs are useful for research, therapy, and recreation.

question

explain how an action potential works?

answer

the axon is more negatively charged on the inside!!!!!!!!!!!!! when the AP fires, there is an influx of sodium into the neuron. this reverses the charge because sodium is positively charged. after the sodium comes in there's a depolarization phase where positively charged ions (sodium and potassium) flood OUT of the axon again. the action potential is propagated along the axon. after it reaches the axon terminal, the NT is released

question

what happens in the axon terminal?

answer

NTs stores in vesicles. NTs are released into the synapse.

question

two chemicals that cause positivity and negativity in axons?

answer

sodium = EPSP, chloride = IPSP

question

what is reuptake?

answer

natural process where the leftover NT is taken back up into the presynaptic neuron

question

neurophysiology and action potential:

answer

neurons can fire at different rates. action potential is neurophysiological. action potential is an all-or-nothing event, but the number of action potentials fired in a certain amount of time can be MORE OR LESS. action potentials can't fire FASTER than others, it's just how many of them occur in a time span can be different.

question

what are the responsibilities of neurons?

answer

detection of information from the environment, activation of motor responses, integration and organization of information

question

what can pharmacotherapy do?

answer

can successfully treat abnormal behavior without us having any idea about how the drug is altering brain neurochemistry. it also will always have more than one effect!!

question

hierarchical organization of neurons?

answer

as information travels upward from sensory receptors to higher processing regions in the brain, communication amongst neurons increases. there is little horizontal communication (cross talk) between motor neurons

question

if the drug blocks the reuptake of a chemical (dopamine)...

answer

there will be an increase in dopamine in the synapse

question

neuroanatomy

answer

studies that neurons have a set origin and destination

question

neurochemistry

answer

chemical reactions take place to transmit information. certain NTs have certain effects in certain parts of the brain.

question

neurophysiology

answer

neurons can transmit information at different rates (fire action potentials at different rates)- one neuron can fire MORE than another in a particular period of time.

question

what happens if a neuron reaches "threshold" ?

answer

an action potential will automatically fire and there will be an influx of sodium ions into the neurons

question

LATERAL HYPOTHALAMUS: how can it be manipulated?

answer

if you stimulate it, you will stimulate eating. if you lesion it, you will inhibit eating.

question

why are there different strategies for studying the brain/behavior?

answer

people study different things, people simply have research preferences, and different strategies create different effects (if a lesion in the brain inhibits hunger, another approach might stimulate hunger)

question

James Olds experiment?

answer

turned on electric currents in rats' brains (stimulation) and they didn't eat. upsetting because he predicted the opposite. however, they did move toward the food, and it seemed as if the electric current was causing them to move towards the food (they enjoyed the current). concluded that electrical stimulation of the brain was something that the rat would do to itself! he called this self-stimulation. he referred to this as the discovery of the PLEASURE CENTER in the brain.

question

how did behaviorists react to Olds experiment/conclusions?

answer

BF Skinner and Watson and other behaviorists weren't very pleased with this because they thought that just be observing behavior you could understand the brain. They said that all you need to know about behavior is reinforcement/punishment.

question

How did Olds respond to behaviorists' reactions?

answer

Olds said that an electrical stimulation of the brain IS rewarding, so you actually can study the relationship between reward and the actual brain, not just behavior

question

James Olds phenomenon of self-stimulation:

answer

Rats will press a lever to activate electrical stimulation of specific areas of their brain.

question

where did Olds go wrong?

answer

Olds was WRONG to say that he discovered the "pleasure center". CENTERS don't exist, there are overlapping systems within the brain. not centers. Olds thought that it was a CENTER because: he placed his electrodes in the wrong place...

question

what is the Medial Forebrain Bundle? How does it relate to Olds experiment?

answer

toward the middle of the brain, sends axons forward in the brain IN BUNDLES. James Olds had his electrodes in the MFB. he was a little behind the hypothalamus and was artificially activating at least 3 NT systems, and he had no idea that that was happening. the technologies for tracking NT systems didn't exist when he was doing this experiment = he didn't know which NTs were where!

question

what chemical was principally involved in Olds experiment?

answer

dopamine

question

what is histofluorescence?

answer

a way to use a chemical, placed into brain of rat, that will label neurons that use a specific NT, and fluoresce.

question

is there a reward "center" or a pleasure "center" in the brain??

answer

there are multiple neurochemical systems in the brain serving reward or pleasure including dopamine

question

What can provoke the release of dopamine from dopamine axon terminals in the nucleus accumbens of the rat brain?

answer

literally everything (injection of cocaine eating a meal of rat pellets self administration of cocaine self administration of amphetamine ingestion of alcohol "sham feeding" glucose solution "sham feeding" corn oil "sham feeding" nonnutritive mineral oil self administration of nicotine self administration of THC copulation anticipating copulation)

question

Is pleasure organized in the brain exclusively?

answer

no- why?? ADD THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! !! * ***************************

question

when a neuron is at rest, there is a greater amount of sodium ____ the membrane in comparison to _____ the membrane

answer

outside; inside

question

Some conclusions of James Olds experiment

answer

stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle in the rat brain produced high levels of self-stimulation behavior

question

Simon Le Vay's study

answer

example of sexual dimorphism in humans!provided more evidence that there are fundamental differences between male and female brains. also suggested that sexual orientation may, at least in part, be due to structures in the brain. the size of the brain region he studied (INAH) may have something to do with sexual orientation. This was an OBSERVATIONAL STUDY...aka he couldn't make causal claims about his findings.

question

What did Simon Le Vay's study actually demonstrate in terms of the INAH?

answer

the INAH 3 region in the brain of heterosexual males in much larger than the region in homosexual males and heterosexual females. also, there is no significant difference in the sizes of the INAH 1 and INAH 2 regions amongst gay men, straight men, and straight women.

question

examples of sexual dimorphism in rat brain?

answer

1. the functional organization of the preoptic area 2. the density of synaptic spines in the preoptic area 3. 5HTS receptor binding potential, as demonstrated by histofluoresence and PET scans

question

histofluoresence and pet scans

answer

map out where receptor subtypes are- maps out the neuroanatomy of certain neurotransmitters

question

a physiologically male rat is demonstrating female-like sexual behavior. why?

answer

in the first five days of the rat's life, a drug given to the rat prevented estrogen from having its effect on the rat's brain, causing the rat's brain to be developed as female.

question

microdialysis

answer

stick a tube into the brain and extract cerebral spinal fluid which contains NTs which allows you to measure the amount of each NT.

question

sexual dimorphism is largely characterized by...

answer

subtle differences between males and females as well as subtle similarities between males and females

question

studies regarding ADHD have shown...

answer

abnormalities in lateralization of the brains of some boys who are diagnosed with ADHD, abnormalities in dopamine neurotransmission, abnormalities in norepinephrine neurotransmission

question

Parkinson's disease is thought to be a result of the degeneration of ___ neurons in the ____

answer

dopamine; substantia nigra

question

nucleus accumbens

answer

part of reward circuit, has to do with addiction, and serotonin/dopamine

question

VTA

answer

Located in the midbrain, at the top of the brainstem, the VTA is one of the most primitive parts of the brain. It is the neurons of the VTA that synthesize dopamine, which their axons then send to the nucleus accumbens. The VTA is also influenced by endorphins whose receptors are targeted by opiate drugs such as heroin and morphine.

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