Deck 3: Section 1: Neuroscience and Behavior

Question 1

Describe what is known about the differences in processing between the right and left hemispheres of the brain.

Answer 1

The answer should provide the following information: (1) Language processing is located in the left hemisphere; (2) Brain organization is contralateral: The left hemisphere processes information from the right side of the body; (3) A band of fibers (corpus callosum) connects the two hemispheres in normal brains; (4) The left and right hemispheres are in constant communication via the corpus callosum. If this is severed, the two hemispheres process information independently. This generally does not cause problems so long as both hemispheres receive the same information. However, a person would not be able to name an object shown only to the left eye, because language is processed in the left hemisphere and only the right hemisphere received the information. If the object was shown only in the right visual field, the person could name the object but could not reach behind a screen with her left hand and correctly choose the object from a number of objects. This is due to the fact that the right hemisphere controlling the left hand never received the information.

Question 2

Describe the role that dopamine plays in Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, reward learning, and drug addiction.

Answer 2

The answer should indicate that dopamine is a neurotransmitter that regulates motor behavior, motivation, pleasure, and emotional arousal. People with severely depleted levels of dopamine suffer from Parkinson's disease. High levels of dopamine have been linked to schizophrenia. Dopamine release during a pleasurable event allows the individual to associate the event with the behavior that produced it. Thus, dopamine release during a pleasurable drug high may strengthen the drug-taking behavior and lead to addiction.

Question 3

Several electrical and imaging techniques are now used to compare behavior to the functioning of specific areas of the brain. Describe four of these techniques and suggest the types of research questions they may answer.

Answer 3

The answer should provide the following information: (1) Electroencephalogram: time-linked patterns of electrical patterns across the active brain, useful in studies of sleeping and waking; (2) Functional magnetic resonance imaging: pictures of areas of high blood oxygen flow; captures differences in brain use during tasks. For example, what areas on the brain are active when you tell a lie? (3) Positron emission tomography: generates a picture of brain function by measuring the differential absorption of a harmless radioactive material in brain regions. The research questions must involve questions regarding chronic brain functioning Transcranial magnetic stimulation: delivers a magnetic pulse that passes through the skull that can temporarily deactivate neurons in the cerebral cortex. The ability to switch on and off cortical regions allows for the determination of cause and effect between brain function and behavior.

Question 4

Describe the role of norepinephrine and serotonin in the regulation of mood and arousal.

Question 5

Is there a functional difference between brain death and a persistent vegetative state? What are the moral and ethical dilemmas that arise from making these distinctions? What have functional imaging techniques offered to inform this debate?

Question 6

The areas of the cerebral cortex are called "lobes." For each lobe, describe its relative position and major functions.

Question 7

The somatosensory and motor cortices appear to have a "map" of the complete body across the cortical surface from the top to the bottom. Describe aspects of this "map" of the body and how it differs from a drawing of the body in perspective.

Question 8

When walking home alone late one night, you are startled by a moving shadow that you glimpse out of the corner of your eye. Which division of the autonomic nervous system mobilizes your body's defenses? What does it do? Later, when you see that the shadow is just the neighbor's cat, what division of the autonomic nervous system is acting, and how does it lessen your physiological arousal? How do these autonomic divisions differ from the other main division, the somatic?

Question 9

Referencing specific neural structures and electrochemical processes, describe the flow of information from when it is received by one neuron to when it is transmitted to another neuron.

Question 10

Barbara and Kenneth have slightly below-average intelligence scores. When they find out that the heritability of intelligence is approximately 0.5, they become worried that their future children also will have below-average intelligence. Using several different lines of reasoning, assuage the fear of this couple.

Question 11

Discuss the likely impairments associated with damage to the (a) spinal cord, (b) hindbrain, (c) hippocampus, and (d) forebrain.

Question 12

Describe three processes by which neurotransmitters leave the synapse.

Question 13

Explain the difference between a drug agonist and an antagonist, give an example of each, and describe several ways that drugs can function as agonists.

Question 14

Question 15

Question 16

Question 17

Question 18

Question 19

Question 20

Question 21

Question 22

Question 23

Question 24

Question 25

Question 26