Lecture 1

Nervous Systems
o Peripheral & Central
 
Peripheral Nervous System
o Somatic nervous system
 Called voluntary system (bc voluntary movements)
 Conveys messages to CNS and send messages to muscles
o Afferent nerves send info to CNS
o Efferent nerves sends message back to muscles to react
o Autonomic nervous system
 Very non-voluntary and controls basic life functions (think autonomic = automatic)
 Regulates smooth muscle, heart, and glands
 Also called 'fight or flight' system
o Sympathetic = hypes you up
o Parasympathetic = calms you down
 Parasympathetic counteracts effect of sympathetic
 
Central Nervous System
o Brain + spinal cord
 
Neuroanatomical Terms and Conventions
o Tracts v Nerves
 Tracts = bundles of axons in the CNS (white matter)
 Nerves = bundles of axons in the PNS
o Nuclei v Ganglia
 Nuclei = groups of neuron cell bodies in CNS (grey matter)
 Ganglia = groups of neuron cell bodies in the PNS
o Planes of view
 Sagittal
o Cut down the longitudinal fisher (view from side)
 Coronal
o Cut down the centre, direction of central sulcus (view from front)
 Horizontal
o Cut across middle (view from top)
o Sulcus v Gyrus
 Sulcus = folds or creases
 Gyrus = bit that sticks out
 
Brain - General
o Lobes
 Frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe
o Dorsal/superior = towards top of skull, ventral/inferior = towards bottom of skull
o Anterior/rostral = towards front of skull, posterior/caudal = towards back of skull
o Lateral view = view from outside surface of brain, medial view = towards centre of brain
Brain - Divisions
o Forebrain
 Telencephalon
o Contains cerebral cortex, limbic system, and basal ganglia
 Diencephalon
 o Contains thalamus and hypothalamus
o Midbrain
 Location of:
o Superior colliculi
o Inferior colliculi
o Hindbrain
 Contains medulla, pons, cerebellum, and reticular formation
 
Hindbrain Regions
o Medulla
 Circuit of neurons that controls vital functions e.g. heart rate, blood pressure,
respiration
o Pons
 Bridge of fibres that connects brainstem w/ cerebellum
 Contains several clusters of nuclei
o One is the reticular formation that runs through the pons and has influence
of on our levels of alertness
o Cerebellum
 Miniature brain located behind brain stem
 Controls coordination of movement and balance
 Has two hemispheres
Midbrain Regions
o Superior colliculi
 Relays visual info and important for visual attention & eye movement
o Inferior colliculi
 Relays auditory info and important for auditory attention
o Colliculi appear as two small bump on back of brain stem
 Located in tectum (dorsal area of midbrain), as opposed to the tegmentum (ventral
area of midbrain)
Forebrain regions
o Diencephalon
 Thalamus
o Relay station, all sensory info (except smell) must pass to get to cerebral
cortex
o Filters and begins to organise sensory input
 Hypothalamus
o Located below the thalamus, at the base of the brain
o Plays major role in regulation of basic the biological drives (4 F's; fighting,
fleeing, feeding, fucking)
 Controls autonomic system; involved in regulation of body
temperature
o Controls pituitary gland (in the endocrine system, attached by a stalk to the
base of the hypothalamus)
 Pituitary gland releases hormones into the body and controls other
glands
 Corpus callosum
o Lies above the thalamus
o Connects the two hemispheres of the brain
o Telencephalon
 Basal ganglia
 o Group of structures crucial for planning and producing movement
 Limbic system
o Loosely connected network of structures, plays role in learning & memory
and expression of emotion
o Contains hippocampus and amygdala
 Hippocampus = plays role in memory, esp. consolidation (learning)
of new memories
 Amygdala = located in front of hippocampus, serves role in
processing emotional info, esp. learning of the fear response
 Cerebral cortex
o Outer layer of cerebral hemispheres
o 2-6mm thick, and folded
 Folds called sulcus and bumps called gyrus
o 3 main functions
 Complex patterns of motor sequences
 Distinguishes differences in visual stimuli
 Allows us to engage in symbolic thinking
 
Lobes
o Occipital Lobes
 Located at back of brain
 Includes primary visual cortex, concerned w/ many aspects of vision
o Parietal lobes
 Located behind central sulcus
 Concerned w/ perception of stimuli related to touch, temp., pressure, and pain
o Temporal lobes
 Located below the lateral fissure
 Concerned w/ perception and recognition of auditory stimuli and memory
o Memory; ability to attach words to objects and to recall those names, and
categorise them
o In general, more concrete info is processed towards the back of the
temporal lobe and more complex info is process towards the front
o Frontal lobes
 Located in front of central sulcus
 Concerned w/ parts of reasoning, planning, parts of speech & movement (motor
cortex), emotions, and problem-solving
Important Regions of the Cerebral Cortex
 o Frontal Lobes
 Prefrontal cortex
 Motor association cortex
 Primary motor cortex
 Broca's area
o Parietal Lobes
 Primary somatosensory cortex
 Sensory association cortex
 Wernicke's area
o Occipital Lobes
 Visual association cortex
 Visual cortex
o Temporal Lobes
 Auditory cortex
 Auditory association area
Cortical Association Areas
o Each primary sensory area sends info to adjacent association area
 Circuits of neurons in association cortex analyse the info received from the primary
sensory cortical areas
o Regions of association cortex located close to primary sensory cortex receive info from only
one sensory system
o Regions of association cortex located far from primary sensory areas receive info from more
than one sensory systems
 Makes it possible to integrate info from more than one sensory system
Brain Support System
o Cerebral Ventricles
 Series of chambers filled w/ CSF (cerebrospinal fluid)
o These cavities form the ventricular system
 The CSF in the ventricular system has 2 functions:
o Mechanical shock absorber; bran floats in CSF and is protected from sudden
movements
 o Medium for exchange of materials between blood vessels and tissue
o Meninges
 The protective sheaths around the brain and spinal cord
 Consists of 3 layers:
o Dura mater
o Arachnoid membrane
o Pia mater
 Between pia mater and arachnoid membrane is gap called sub-arachnoid space,
filled w/ CSF
o Vascular System
 Blood brain barrier is a mechanism to help protect brain from toxins, but also makes
it difficult for drugs to enter brain
o Brain capillaries that span across the brain
 
Lecture 2
 
Cerebral Hemispheres
o Lateralisation
 Each hemisphere specifying in different tasks (e.g. left in language)
o Contralateral arrangement
 Each hemisphere is more strongly connected to the opposing side of the body
o Objects viewed in the left visual field are processed in the right brain hemisphere
 Corpus callosum allows cerebral hemispheres to communicate (info may get sent to
one hemisphere, but corpus callosum allows both sides to have the knowledge of what
is being processed)
 
Cells in the Nervous System
o Neurons
 Basic function units
 Take in info from other neurons, integrate the signals, and pass signal onwards
o Reception --> conduction --> transmission
o Glial cells
 Nourish, protect, and physically support neurons
 Oligodendrocyte; covers axons of neurons w/ myelin
Parts of the Neuron
o Dendrites
 Receive message from other neurons; transmit received info to soma
o Soma (cell body)
 Contain mechanisms that control metabolism and maintenance of the cell
 Collates messages from other neurons
o Axon
 Carries messages (action potentials) away from soma towards the other cell
o Terminal buttons
 Located at the end of the twigs that branch off axons
 Secret neurotransmitters which affect activity of cells being communicated w/
o Myelin
 Insulates some axons for efficient transmission of action potential
o Increases speed of propagation of action potential
o Synapse
  Gap between terminal button and other neuron axon, where action potentials are
exchanged
 
Cell Membrane
o Lipid bilayer of 2 layers of fate molecules
o Embedded protein molecules
 Form ion channels for which material moves in an out of cell (interchange of
intracellular= inside, and extracellular= outside molecules)
 When cell is at rest, ion channels are closed and inside & outside solution is
relatively static
o Neuron at rest:
 More sodium ions (Na+) outside the cell
 More potassium ions (K+) inside the cell
 Resting membrane potential (RMB) of approx. -70mV
o Inside is more negatively charged at rest
Action Potential
o Brief reversal in resting charge of neuron
o Occurs when neuron membrane is sufficiently depolarised (RMB moves towards 0mV)
o When threshold reaches about -55mV neuron will fire an action potential, but must reach
that critical threshold level
 Action potential is of fixed size; all or none
o What happens:
 Sodium channels open (-55mV)
 Allows sodium ions in
 Potassium channels open (approx. -40mV)
 Sodium channels close
 Allows potassium ions to exit
 Sodium channel close (peak; 50mV)
 Ion transporters pump Na+ back out and K+ back in to restore the balance
 Potassium channels begin to close (-70mV)
 Depolarisation (1 --> 3)
 Repolarisation (3 --> 4)
 Hyperpolarisation (4 --> onwards)
Speed of Propagation
o Depends on:
 Diameter of axon (bigger = faster)
 Presence or absence of myelin sheath
Myelin Sheath
o Electric insulator that prevents current flow across membrane
o Current can only flow at breaks in sheath
 Called Nodes of Ranvier
 Sodium channels concentrated here; action potential can only be generated at these
gaps
o Action potential jumps from break to break; increases speed
o Non myelinated axons are much slower
Synaptic Transmission
o Neurons do not touch each other, gap in synapse
o When action potential reaches synapse, neurotransmitters are released into synaptic cleft
and received by dendrites of other neuron
 Cell that sends = presynaptic, cell that receives = postsynaptic
 o Stages:
 Before action potential arrives, neurotransmitters are stored within vesicles in
terminal button
 Action potential arrives and triggers release of neurotransmitters into cleft
 Neurotransmitters diffuse across cleft, some will attach to receptor molecules in
postsynaptic neuron and activate, allowing postsynaptic neuron to generate action
potential
 Leftover neurotransmitters are terminated (reuptake, enzyme deactivation, or
diffusion)
Neurotransmitter Types
o Excitatory
 Neurotransmitters that bind w/ receptors and depolarises the membrane
 Increases likelihood of action potential in postsynaptic neuron
o Inhibitory
 Neurotransmitters binds and hyperpolarises the membrane
 Less likely for postsynaptic neuron to fire action potential
 
Lecture 3
 
Variables in Quantitative Research
o IV v DV
 Independent Variable = causes change in another variable, often the variable being
manipulated the researcher
 Dependent Variable = depends on the other variable, often measured by the
researcher
Causation
o Causation = condition in which one event (the cause) generates another event (the effect)
o Criteria for causation:
 Cause (IV) must be related to effect (DV)
o Relationship condition
 Changes in IV must precede changes in DV
o Temporal order condition
 No other plausible explanation must exist for effect
 
Lesion Studies
o Dissociation
 Brian damage is associated w/ impairments in a particular domain of cognitive
functioning
o Double dissociation
 Person A is impaired in Task 1 but not Task 2
 Person B is impaired in Task 2 but not Task 1
o Stronger evidence for dissociable brain mechanisms
o Problems w/ lesion studies:
 Patients are rare
 Damage is often not very circumscribed
 Plasticity
Solutions
o Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
o Positron Emission Topography (PET scans)
 Patient infused w/ radioisotope
  Radioactive decay can be used to measure cerebral bloodflow, tells us where in the
brain is busy
 Positives: good spatial resolution, negatives: radioactivity
o High Spatial Res Techniques
 Allows us to identify brains areas whose activation is correlated w/ particular types
of cognitive operation
o EEG/MEG can be recorded as voltage or magnetic fluctuations at/close to the scalp and
reflects the summed effects of ionic current flow within a great many neurons
o Electroencephalography (EEG)
 Real time resolution of brain activity
 Poor spatial res. due to spatial smearing
o Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
 Real time resolution of brain activity
 Better spatial resolution than EEG
Brain Stimulation Techniques
o Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
 Focal magnetic pulses are used to disrupt brain function in localised brain areas
 Two types:
o Transient lesion TMS
 rTMS = repetitive TMS
 Event related TMS
 Brief magentic pulses are used to generate transient lesions, allows
causal inferences
o State dependent TMS
 Motor cortex excitability is enhanced by viewing bodily motion
 Pros and cons:
o Allows us to make causal inferences
o But, can only stimulate accessible brain areas which are close to the surface
 
Lecture 4
 
Executive Functions
o One conceptualisation:
 The ability to over-ride automatic behaviour in order to deal w/ novel situations
 The ability to switch flexibly between tasks
 The ability to carry out a task while holding in mind other goals
o Some areas of cognition can remain preserved despite issue w/ our executive functions
o Another conceptualisation:
 Volitions
o Goal/intention formulation, motivation (initiation), awareness of self &
environment
 Planning
o Conceptualise change, think abstractly, ability to conceive of alternative
solutions and make choices, impulse control, sustained attention, memory
 Purposive action
o Initiate, maintain attention, switch and stop sequences of complex
behaviour (non-routine)
o Another:
 Executive functions are required when:
o Planning and decision making needed
 o Error correction or troubleshooting required
o Non-automatic or novel responses to be made
o Dangerous or technically complicated responses needed
o Need to overcome habit or temptation
o Hot & cold
 Hot = higher order cognitive processes that we are performing in am
emotional/social context
 Cold = higher order cognitive process that has less context, less stakes to it
 
Important Regions of the Frontal Lobes
o Primary motor cortex
o Non-primary motor cortex
 Premotor cortex and supplementary motor area
o Prefrontal cortex
Prefrontal Cortex
o Can be divided in many ways
o Common subdivision is into three regions:
 Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
 Orbitofrontal cortex
 Mediofrontal cortex
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC)
o Involved in higher order cognitive operations
o Often labelled as 'executive' circuit, however important to recognise that executive
functioning is also implicated in the mediation of emotional, motivational, and social
behaviour
o Deficits following damage to the DLPFC may include:
 Working memory
 Planning, task-setting, and problem solving
 Sequencing
 Selective and sustained attention
 Perseveration - 'getting stuck'
 Inhibition
 Cognitive flexibility
o Measures sensitive to DLPFC damage:
 FAS test
 Digit span backwards, backwards 7's, N-back (working memory)
 Tower of Hanoi/London (task-setting/planning, sequencing, problem solving)
 Stroop test (inhibition)
 Wisconsin car sort (cognitive flexibility)
Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC)
o Involved in mediation of emotional and social responses, responsible for executive
processing of emotional stimuli
o Deficits to damage OFC may include:
 Emotional liability
 Diminished social insight
 Socially inappropriate behaviour, esp. conversation skill
 Difficulties w/ changing reinforcements
 Lack of sensitivity to future outcomes, both +ve and -ve
 Lack of empathy
o Measures sensitive to OFC damage:
  Family/caregiver reports of social behaviour, empathy, aggression
 FAS test (individual may give socially inappropriate answers)
 Bechara's gambling task
Mediofrontal Cortex (MFC)
o Believed to support a number of overlapping functions, including:
 Response monitoring (control and monitoring of action)
 Error detection
 Deciding between competing responses
 Motivation or drive behaviour
o Deficits to damage in MFC may include:
 Apathy
 Akinesia
 Difficulties w/ emotion: flat affect
 Difficulties w/ decision making
 Diminished verbal output
o Measures sensitive to MFC damage:
 Family/caregiver reports (apathy)
 Questionnaires, scales measuring motivation
 Reaction time (individuals w/ damage to this region may be slower on speeded
tasks)
 
Clinical Implications w/ Executing Function Damage
o Difficulties w/ activities of daily life
o Mood disturbances
o Disordered eating behaviour
o Other risky behaviours
 

Lecture 5
 
Memory
o Large proportions of memories are faulty in some way (false memories)
o Anterograde amnesia
 Loss of info following the onset of amnesia
o Things are rehearsed in short-term memory before being transferred to long term memory
 Encoding = forming a new memory
 Storage = storing the memory in your long term memory
 Retrieval = recalling the memory
o In your short term memory:
 Extra info coming in = interference
 Info going out = decay
o MEMORY
 Short term (what did I just say?)
 Long term
o Declarative (stuff you can consciously recall)
 Episodic (what did I have for breakfast?)
 Semantic (what is the capital of France?)
o Non-declarative (stuff you can't technically remember but it is familiar)
  Priming (facilitated processing, being put into a certain mind set that
may make it easier or more difficult to recall)
 Procedural (how to ride a bike)
 Conditioning (reflex response to new stimuli)
Short Term Memory
o Limited capacity (7+/- 2 items)
o Decays quickly without rehearsal
o Chunking
 Item can be letters put together as a word, or a sequence of numbers, etc.
o Serial position effect
 U shaped curve
 Primacy effect: reflect info acquired early and rehearsed more
 Recency effect: most recently experienced & still available
Working Memory
o Central executive
 Phonological loop
 Visuospatial sketchpad
 Episodic buffer
Taxonomy of Memory
o Long term memory can be broken into:
 Declarative
o Available to conscious retrieval
o Can be declared (propositional)
o E.g "what did I eat for brekkie?" or "what is the capital of Spain?"
 Non-declarative
o Experience-induced change in behaviour
o Cannot be declared (procedural)
o E.g. subliminal advertising?, how to ride a bike, phobias
o Declarative memory can be broken into:
 Episodic
o Memory for personally experienced events that occurred in particular place
at a specific time
o Contextual, spatiotemporal, autobiographical, -"remembering"
 Semantic
o Memory for facts, general knowledge, word meanings - "knowing"
o Acontextual: independent of where or when the info was encoded
 
 
Diagrams