Neuroscience

Psychology:
A Concise Introduction
2nd Edition

Richard Griggs
Chapter 2

Prepared by
J. W. Taylor V
The Journey…

 The Neuron
Textbook Reading / Questions
 What is a neuron?
 List & describe the major parts of a neuron

 Draw a picture of a neuron and label its main parts

 What is a neurotransmitter?
 How are neurotransmitters relayed?
 What is an agonist?
 What is an antagonist?
 List the major neurotransmitters & their functions
 ***Refer to Table 3.1
 The Neuron
The Structure of a Neuron
How Neurons Communicate
Neurotransmitters,
Drugs, and Poisons
Neurons and Glial Cells
 Neurons are responsible for information
transmission throughout the nervous system
 Glial cells do not directly transmit
information, but instead support neurons in
their work by disposing of waste products of
neurons, keeping their
chemical environment
stable, and insulating
them
The Structure of a Neuron
 Dendrites are the fibers that
project out of the cell body,
receiving information from other
neurons
 The cell body contains the
nucleus of the cell and other
biological machinery to keep the
cell alive
 The axon transmits messages
through the neuron
 The axon terminals are at the
end of the axon and send
messages to a different neuron
The Structure of a Neuron

There are billions of neurons

(nerve cells) throughout the body.
How Neurons Communicate

Communication Communication
within between
a neuron is neurons is
electrical chemical
The Electrical Impulse

 Information from the dendrites is either

excitatory (telling the neuron to generate an
electrical impulse) or inhibitory (telling the
neuron not to generate an electrical impulse)
 The impulse is an “all or nothing” event, meaning
that there either is or is not an electrical impulse
 Stimuli of varying intensities are encoded by the
quantity of neurons generating impulses and the
number of impulses generated each second by
the neurons
The Electrical Impulse

 The myelin sheath is an insulating layer of

fatty white substance that encases the axon,
allowing electrical message to be transmitted
faster within the neuron
 Damage to the myelin sheath will slow
electrical impulses, and can result in diseases
like multiple sclerosis
Chemical Communication
Between Neurons
 Axon terminals contains sacs of
neurotransmitters
 These neurotransmitters are naturally occurring
chemicals in the nervous system that specialize in
transmitting information between neurons
 Between the axon terminals of one neuron
and the dendrites of another neuron is a
small space called the synaptic gap, across
which neurotransmitters are sent, allowing
neurons to communicate
Brain Scans

 Brain scans work because neurons require

oxygen and other nutrients such as blood
sugar
 Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans
use a dose of radioactive glucose, which moves
to the more-active areas of the brain
 Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(MRI) detects active areas of the brain by
highlighting those areas that require more
oxygen
Neurotransmitters,
Drugs, and Poisons
Key terms:

Agonists Antagonists

Drugs and poisons Drugs and poisons

that increase the that decrease the
activity of one or more activity of one or more
neurotransmitters neurotransmitters
Keys that almost fit:
Agonist and Antagonist
Molecules

An agonist molecule fills An antagonist

the receptor site and molecule fills the lock
activates it, acting like the so that the
neurotransmitter. neurotransmitter
cannot get in and
activate the receptor
site.
Neurotransmitters
1. Acetylcholine (ACh) is involved in both learning and
memory and muscle movement
2. Dopmaine impacts our arousal and mood states, thought
processes, and physical movement
3. Serotonin and norepinephrine are neurotransmitters
involved in levels of arousal and mood, and play a major
role in mood disorders such as depression
4. GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the
nervous system; glutamate is the main excitatory
neurotransmitter
5. Endorphins are a group of neurotransmitters that are
involved in pain perception and relief
Acetylcholine (ACh)
 Botulinum poison (botulin) is an antagonist that
blocks the release of ACh at muscle junctures,
leading to paralysis and even death
 Curare is an antagonist that paralyzes the body by
occupying the receptor sites for ACh, thereby
preventing ACh from getting in and carrying its
message to a neuron
 Black widow spider venom is an agonist for Ach,
causing the continuous release of ACh, flooding the
synapse
Dopamine
 Low levels are associated
with Parkinson’s disease,
and excessively high levels
are associated with schizophrenia
 L-Dopa is an agonist that increases production of
dopamine
 Anti-psychotic drugs are antagonists that block the
receptor sites for dopamine so that this neurotransmitter
cannot send its messages
 Amphetamine acts as an agonist by stimulating the
release of dopamine from axon terminals
 Cocaine is an agonist that blocks the re-uptake of
dopamine
Serotonin and Norepinephrine

 Some antidepressant drugs work by blocking

the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephine
 Anti-depressant drugs like Prozac, Paxil,
and Zoloft are selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors
GABA and Glutamate
 Anti-anxiety drugs are agonists for GABA
 Lack of GABA may contribute to epilepsy, a
brain disorder resulting in uncontrolled
movement and convulsions
 Glutamate is involved in memory storage
and pain perception.
 Excessive glutamate can lead to neuron
death; deficient glutamate has been
proposed to explain schizophrenia
Endorphins
 Morphine and heroin are agonists that bind
to receptor sites, thereby increasing
endorphin activity
The Journey…

 The Nervous
System
 The Brain
Textbook Reading / Questions
 Summarize the primary functions of the CNS and of the
subsystems of the PNS (Ch. 3.4)
 List and describe functions of the major glands which
make-up the endocrine system (Ch. 3.4)
 Draw and label the major structures of the brain.
 See figure 3.6 (pg. 85)

 Draw and label the structure of the cerebral cortex

 See figure 3.10 (pg. 91)

 List and describe the function of each major section of

the cerebral cortex (i.e., the four major lobes)
 The Nervous and
Endocrine Systems
The Central Nervous System
The Peripheral Nervous System
The Endocrine Glandular System
Nervous System Subdivisions
The Inner and Outer Parts of
the Nervous System
The
The peripheral
central nervous
nervous system
system [PNS]
[CNS] consists of
consists ‘the rest’ of
of the the
brain and nervous
spinal system.
cord.
The PNS
The CNS gathers
makes and sends
decisions information
for the to and from
body. the rest of
the body.
Types of Neurons

 Interneurons exist only in the central

nervous system
 Sensory neurons carry information to the
central nervous system from sensory
receptors in the eyes, muscles, and glands
 Motor neurons carry movement commands
from the central nervous system to the rest of
the body
Interneurons in the Spine
Your spine’s
interneurons trigger
your hand to pull
away from a fire
before you can say
OUCH!

This is an example
of a reflex action.
The Central Nervous System
Consists of the spinal cord and the brain
 The spinal cord has two functions

 Conduit for incoming sensory data

and outgoing movement commands
 Provides for spinal reflexes, which
are simple automatic actions not
involving the brain
 The brain is the control center for the
entire nervous system
The Peripheral Nervous System

 Gathers information about the external

environment and the body’s internal
environment for the brain through sensory
neurons
 Serves as the conduit for the brain’s
commands to the rest of the body through
motor neurons
The Peripheral Nervous System
Consists of two parts:
 The somatic (or skeletal) nervous system carries
sensory input from receptors to the CNS and relays
commands from the CNS to the skeletal muscles to control
their movement
 The autonomic nervous system regulates our internal
environment and consists of two parts
 The sympathetic nervous system is in control when we
are very aroused and prepares us for defensive action
(such as running away or fighting)
 The parasympathetic nervous system is in control when
the aroused state ends to return our body to its normal
resting state
The Nervous System
The Peripheral Nervous
System
The Endocrine Glandular System

 Not part of the nervous system

 Works with the autonomic nervous system in
responding to stress, and plays a role in basic
behaviors and bodily functions such as sex,
eating, metabolism, reproduction, and growth
 Endocrine glands secret hormones, which are
chemicals carried by the bloodstream to target
sites throughout the body
The Endocrine Glandular System
 Endocrine glands are controlled by the
hypothalamus, which controls the most influential
gland, the pituitary
 Releases hormones essential for human growth and that
direct other glands to release their hormones
 Some other glands:
 Thyroid gland affects our growth and maturation
 Adrenal glands are involved in metabolism and help
trigger the “fight or flight” response with commands from
the autonomic nervous system
 The pancreas is involved in digestion and maintaining
blood-sugar levels
The Endocrine Glandular System
 The Brain
Going up the Brain Stem
Processing in the Cerebral Cortex
Specializations of the
Left and Right Hemispheres
Consciousness and
the Sleeping Brain
The Central Core
 The brain stem
 The medulla links the spinal cord to the brain and is involved in
regulating heartbeat, blood pressure, digestion, and swallowing
 The reticular formation is a network of neurons running up the
center of the brain stem and into the thalamus that is involved in
controlling our different levels of arousal and awareness
 The cerebellum is involved in the coordination of our
movements, our sense of balance, and motor and
procedural learning
 The thalamus, located at the top of the brain stem,
serves as a relay station for incoming sensory
information (except smell)
 The basal ganglia are on the outer sides of the thamalus and are
concerned mainly with the initiation and execution of physical
movements
The Central
Core Brain
Structures
The Limbic System

 Plays a role in our survival, memory, and

emotions
 The hypothalamus control the pituitary gland,
the autonomic nervous system, and plays a
major role in regulating basic drives such as
eating, thirst, and sex
 The hippocampus is involved in the formation
of memories
 The amygdala plays a major role in regulating
our emotional experiences, especially fear,
anger, and aggression
The Limbic System
Processing in
the Cerebral Cortex
 The cerebral cortex
is the most important
brain structure, serving
as the information
processing center for
the nervous system
 Is where perception, language, memory, decision
making, and all other higher-level cognitive processing
occur
 Consists of two hemispheres connected by a band of
neurons called the corpus callosum, allowing the two
hemispheres to communicate
Brain Lobes
1. The frontal lobe is the area in the
front of each hemisphere and in front of
the central fissure and above the lateral
fissure
2. The parietal lobe is the area located
behind the central fissure and above the
lateral fissure
3. The temporal lobe is located beneath
the lateral fissure
4. The occipital lobe is located in the
lower back of each hemisphere
The Four Lobes and the
Sensory-Motor Processing Areas
The Motor Cortex
 The frontal lobe strip of cortex, directly in front
of the central fissure in each hemisphere,
allows us to move different parts of our body
 Each hemisphere controls the voluntary
movement of the opposite side of the
body (a contralateral relationship)
 Amount of motor cortex devoted to a
specific body part is related to the
complexity and precision of movement
of which that part is capable
The Somatosensory Cortex
 The parietal lobe strip of cortex, directly
behind the central fissure in each
hemisphere, is where body sensations
of pressure, temperature, limb
position, and pain are processed
 Contralateral relationship
 Amount of sensorimotor cortex devoted
to a body part is directly proportionate to
the sensitivity of that body part
Homunculi for the Motor Cortex
and the Somatosensory Cortex
Visual Cortex
and Auditory Cortex
 The visual cortex is located in the occipital lobes at
the back of the hemispheres
 The auditory cortex is in the temporal lobes
 These primary areas pass the
results of their analyses on to
areas in the other lobes to complete
the brain’s interpretation of the
incoming visual or auditory information
 These secondary cortical processing
areas are part of what is termed the
association cortex
Association Cortex

 Consists of the other 70% of the cortex not

in one of the previously mentioned areas
 This is where the higher-level processing
such as decision making, reasoning,
perception, speech, and language occurs
 All of which require integration of various types
of information
The Case of Phineas Gage
 Phineas Gage was railroad worker
who survived when a metal tamping
iron flew through his left cheek and
head, exiting through his frontal
lobes
 He became irresponsible,
impulsive, disorderly, indecisive,
and cursed, leading neuroscientists
to think the frontal lobes are
important in such behaviors
Language

 Broca’s area, in the left hemisphere’s temporal

lobe, is responsible for fluent speech production
 When damaged, people cannot generate fluent speech,
but can still understand speech easily
 Singing and musical abilities seem to be housed in the
right hemisphere because damage to Broca’s area does
not impair these abilities
 Wernicke’s area is in the left temporal lobe and is
responsible for the comprehension of speech and
reading
Language
Studying the Two Hemispheres
 Light waves from the left visual field go to the
right half of each eye, and light waves from the
right visual field go to the left half of each eye
 The right half of each eye connects with the
right hemisphere, and the left half of each eye
connects with the left hemisphere
Pathways for
Processing
Information
in the Left
and Right
Visual Fields
Studying the Two Hemispheres
 With split-brained people, the information
cannot transfer between hemispheres
because the corpus callosum has been cut
 Split-brain people can only identify
information orally when it is presented
briefly in the right visual field (and thus
processing in the left hemisphere)
 If a spoon was flashed in the left visual
field, split-brained people could not say it
was a spoon
 If the person was blind-folded and told to
find the object from a group of objects
with the left hand, s/he can do this
What we know…
 Left hemisphere
 Language
 Math and logic skills
 More analytical, analyzing wholes into pieces
 Right hemisphere
 Spatial perception
 Solving spatial problems
 Drawing
 Face recognition
What we know…
 Remember, however, that these differences
in hemispheric performance are for people
whose two hemispheres can no longer
communicate
 When normal people are performing a task,
the two hemispheres are constantly
interacting and sharing information
 This is why it is not very accurate to say
someone is “left-brained” or “right-brained”
 Rather, nearly all of us are “whole brained”