Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 What is Neuroscience?

Neuroscience: the study of the nervous system, the collection of nerve cells that interpret all sorts of information, which allows the body to
coordinate activity in response to the environment.

-Coveys all different types of information using a combination of electrical and chemical signals.

Neurons: the main active cellular units of the nervous system and are highly sensitive to changes in their environment.

Action Potential: the electrical output of many neurons is an all-or-nothing response called an action potential.

Neurotransmitters: chemicals that are responsible for passing information between neurons.

-Our brain can handle about 10^28 operation per second.

-Real strength of the brain is its flexibility. Brains are capable of changing and adapting to a wide variety of circumstances. (Blind people can use
visual areas during echolocation)

-Brain is also responsible for the origin of consciousness (place where thoughts, fears, and desires are born), and creativity.

1.2 How do we learn about neuroscience?

Three main research designs:

1. Experimental Design
2. Observational Study
3. Case Study

Experimental Design:

-Step wise process of developing a research question and hypothesis, then answering that question by performing tests.

-Main goal of experiment is to establish a causal relationship between one factor that is being changed
(independent variable) and the factor being influenced (dependent variable) by eliminating influence
of confounding variables.

Confounding Variables: a variable that influences both the dependent and independent variable
(extraneous variable)

-The influence of confounding variables can eliminated by comparing the experimental group with a
control group.

Control Group: a group that is as similar as possible in every way except for the manipulation of the
independent variable.

Causality: a well-designed experiment should establish this. A change in the independent variable causes a change in the dependent variable.
Assuming population size is representative, experiments allow us to extrapolate (predict/theorize) findings to a larger population size.

Representative: If a sample population is representative, it means the distribution of the characteristics in the sample is proportionally similar
the distribution in the total population.

Observational Study: (correlation, not causation)

Quasiexperimental Design: a research method that allows researchers to study casual relationships without randomly assigning participants to
groups (cause and effect relationship), therefor many have several uncontrolled variables.

-Quasiexperimental studies are usually done when conducting an experimental study may be too impractical or
unethical.

-Weakness is that there is no true randomness in the groups, thus the influence of cofounding variables may affect
the interpretation of the data.

Case Study: (correlation, not causation)

-A highly detailed description of a single patient and their condition. Documents details regarding a specific deficit or enhancement.

-Oppurtunity to examine individuals with very rare conditions, which are useful for informing about the function of different brain structures.

-Have been instrumental in teaching us about the brain structures involved with memory (patient HM), language (patient Tan), and fear
processing (patient SM).

Phineas Cage: most famous case study of all of neuroscience (1848). Railroad worker that was left with significant damage, largely to his frontal
lobe. Changes in his personality taught us that one of the functions of this area of the brain is regulating our inhibitions.

-Difficult to generalize the findings from a case study to the population at large. Usually description of a one-of-a-kind individual.

-Helpful for the development of hypothesis, that can later be tested experimentally.

1.3 What Neuroscience is NOT

“We only use 10% of our brain.” – We use every part of our brain, and most of our brain is active most of time – just not at the same time.

“Forming memories causes new neurons to be born.”- Memories are stored at the sites of close contact between neurons, called synapses.
Changes in the ways neurons connect and communicate with one another is likely the mechanism behind how memories are formed and
stored, rather than the creation of new neurons.

Neurogenesis: the process by which new neurons are generated in the brain from neural stem cells.

-In particular, the hippocampus (learning and memory) and the olfactory epithelium (smelling) exhibit frequent birth and death of neurons.

“The brain cannot repair itself.” – Plasticity: the ability to change overtime. Even if critical brain areas are damages, the brain learns to ‘rewire”
itself and figures out how to carry out functions without using the damaged connections.

Neurodegenerative: conditions in which the symptoms get progressively worse over time. Ex. Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. No
evidence that the brain can recover from the destruction caused by these diseases.

“If you are analytical, you are left brain dominant, but if you are creative, you are right brain dominant.”- Nearly every function that the left
half of the brain can do, the right half can do just as well, and vice versa. Sensory information, voluntary control of the muscles, memories, and
many other behaviors can be performed equally well by both the left and right halves of the brain.

-Major exception to this is the processing and production of language. For some unknown reason, the processing and production of language
are heavily lateralized in the left hemisphere.

-Signaling pathways from the left brain crosses over to communicate with the right half of the body and vice versa.

-This contralateral (opposite) organization is a consequence of evolution and a major distinguishing feature of the vertebrate brain.

1.4 Neuroscience is ever changing

-More neuroscience studies were published 2015-2020 than in the previous 70 years.

1. Egyptians (around 2500 BCE) - When important Egyptians died, major organs were removed and stored in canopic jars in preparation for
immortality in the afterlife. The brain was blended into a mush and flushed out the skill using palm wine. Thought the brain wasn’t needed for
the afterlife.

2. Ancient Greek Physicians (2000 years later) – Aristotle developed a theory that the heart was the seat of the soul and that blood was the life
force that dictated a person’s behavior. “Hot blooded” acted impulsively. Function of brain was to cool the blood as the blood passed through
it, which calmed the temper.

3. Paul Broca (mid 1800s) – First to suggest that specific areas of the brain were responsible for carrying out specific functions, called
localization theory.

Localization Theory: specific areas of the brain were responsible for carrying out specific functions

Distributive Processing Theory: opposing view to localization theory. Behavioral functions require activation of cells across several different
areas of the brain. Complex behaviors such as emotion, consciousness, or cognition require coordination action across distinct brain areas.

Cognition: the act of generating knowledge through a combination of senses, memories, and thoughts.

-Absolutes are rare in neuroscience.

4. Debate between Camillo Golgi &Santiago Roman y Cajal (Early 1900s)- prompted researches to look more closely to the neurons
(microscopes). Through careful drawings of their observations, they concluded that neurons have different shapes and carried out different
functions. This laid the foundation for understanding the cells that make up the nervous system and the way they communicate with one
another.

5. Electron Microscope (1954) – aimed at the space between neurons for the first time, allowing us to see a tiny anatomical component (about
20 nanometers across) for the first time.

6. fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging device – 1991) – allowed us to visualize brain activity while the person was actively engaged in
behaviors, such as decision making task or observing visual stimuli.

CLARITY: a visualization strategy. A method to render an entire brain transparent, which helps us to map out the nature of the connections that
span the nervous system. (Today, much excitement revolves around this!)

1.5 Neuroscience is an integrative field o study

“Angles” of analysis:

1. Biology – root of the study.

-Molecular neurobiologists (study proteins and gene regulation)
-cellular neurobiologists (how networks of neurons communicate)
-Cognitive neurobiologists (study underlying causes of behavior)
2. Genetics – Understanding genetics such as autosomal dominant neurodegenerative condition and Huntington’s disease.
3. Ecology and Evolution – Ex. Parasite Toxoplasma, which changes an animal’s response to fearful stimuli, allowing the organism to
reproduce as it moves through different species in the food web.
4. Psychology/Philosophy – Provided earliest explanations about the brain and ideas about the origin
of the mind
-Some question branched from philosophy as people began thinking about the “mind-
body problem”.
Mind Body problem: the discussion centered around the question if a function as
complex as consciousness could result from activity of a clump of cells.
-Psychologists wondered whether parts of the brain in isolation have different
properties than when those parts are working together.
Emergence: the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
5. Chemistry – Use a variety of endogenous (growing or originating from within an organism)
chemicals that act as signaling molecules, allowing communication between cells. These chemicals
exist in many different structures, which determine their function (some acidic while other basic,
some polar others fat soluble, some gasses, etc..)
-The nervous system is also very sensitive to exogenous (originating from outside the
body) chemicals, like caffeine and cocaine.
6. Physics
Action potential: the fundamental units of communication between neurons. Neurons maintain a negative electrical
charge. The main way for neurons to send signals depends on a temporary change in this voltage; this signal is called action
potential. This change in voltage is due to the movement of charged ions across the cell membrane, and they follow the rules of
magnetism (opposite charges attract while like charges repel).
7. Math (computational neuroscience) – grown from the use of mathematical modeling to describe or predict some aspects of the
nervous system. (86 million neurons in the brain)

-Dr. Oliver Sacks used his knowledge of the dopamine neurotransmitter system to treat patients with paralysis-like condition in the
1960s, leading to the development of levodopa treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

-CT scan can be used for assessing the extent of a head injury or location of a brain tumor.

-EEG can be used for the diagnosis of epilepsy.

8. Engineering – Help develop the tools needed to understand question in neuroscience. Also work closely with healthcare providers to
translate science into therapy, like the deep brain stimulator device for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.