PSYC 301 : Brain Dysfunction and Recovery
Lecture 1: Course introduction
Neuroscience:
● the scientific study of the nervous system.
○ Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and the mind
● Behavioral neuroscience : many subdiciples
● Neuropsychology= brain disfunction on how it affects them in the individual in the world
like parkinsins , help identify the approach
● Cognitive science = some method of functional changes such as using fmri and how it
affects when people are moving their hands
Why Study Brain Dysfunction and recovery?
1. Intrinsic Interest
2. Dysfunction as a ‘window’ into the healthy brain
3. Novel therapeutic targets
The right tools for the job:
● Fundamental neuroscience, neuropsychological case studies , historical treatments,
modern therapies, treat people with brain dysfunction, lived experience of brain
dysfunction
Lecture 2: Brain basics
1. Name two theories of neuron function. Which one was shown to be predominantly correct?
2. Have a foundational understanding of basic brain facts. What aspect of the
the human brain is most clearly, mechanistically related to our intelligence?
3. Name and describe two general types of cells within the nervous system.
4. Identify three types of staining and the use case for each.
5. Name four types of glial cells and describe some functional roles for each.
6. Explain what is meant by a “tripartite synapse.”
7. Describe the central dogma of molecular biology.
8. Name and describe the function of some key cellular structures.
9. Describe the relationship between dendrites and some common brain dysfunctions.
Phineas Gage
● formen , worker job to manage the explosives in the railroad
● Job: ut explosives in and press it down with the iron that he got hit with, one day he
made a mistake and forgot to put in the explosive cap so the iron rod and the explosives
shot a metal rod to his head
● He was sitting up and talking to the doctor normally
● Vomited a half tea cup of brain
● Noticed: he was radically altered
○ Fitfull , indulgent , he so radically changed that he was no longer him
, ○ Personality change, speak, and talk changed
○ Brain tissue lost= he is lost
● Recovered: he got a job where he drove people in a horse carriage
1. Name two theories of neuron function. Which one was shown to be predominantly correct?
Golgi vs. Ramón Y Cajal
● Golgi silver nighting stained only 10% of the neurons
○ Only some are being strained= we can see the neurons in the brain , see
neurites branching with other neurons
○ Like a net- reticulum
○ APPLIES BETTER TO ASTROCYTES
● Fundamental cell is connected like a series of tubes from one place to other or one big
net
● Ramon Y Cajal:
○ He is an artist , looked at all different types of cells and said they are all like one
continuous and there are a very tiny space where they communicate - called
synapses
○ Very accurate drawings
○ Much more systematic observation
○ This is not a big continuous mesh
○ They are close but separate.
○ There is a tiny synapse between the cells called the synapse. They must
○ be communicating with each other chemically through this synapse.
■ But you can't physically see the synapse because it is super tiny.
● BOTH didn’t like each other = like speech in Nobel prize
● Ramon y Cajal vindicated BUT Golgi is not entirely wrong because synapses , that small
length is so small we can’t see the space under the microscope
Human Brain Facts
● 2-3% of body weight = 20% of your energy ( 15% cardica, 25% glucose), 3 pounds
● Comprised of neurons, gila, stem cells, blood vessels , more than half = cerebellum
● Consistency of soft tofu (yum)
● Convoluted (wrinkled)
● 85 billion neurons = located in cerebellum
● Slightly larger in men than women
○ Size of brain doesn’t correlate with intelligent
Adult of Neurogenesis or NO
● When you are born new neurons stop producing
○ FALSE = found in rats…
● Last couple of years = Paper neurogenesis drops rapidly by the time we hit puberty in a
very small part of the brain
, ● We don’t regenerate neurons , once they are gone they don’t house the learning that has
been there
Type of Brains
1.
2. Gaglia of an insect, brain is spread across the body, insects have great reflexes with
amazing nervous system
3. Fish Brain = cerebellum isn’t used too much but rather more of the optic lobe . they don’t
have experience at all and rather the non-conscious decision
4. Rat Brain= Cerebellum so large its covering midbrain,thing sticking out = olfactory tract,
no wrinkles
5. Dog Brain = Spinal cord coming out back of brain, starting to get wrinkling, looks like big
frontal lobe but it is rather olfactory, front of undeveloped ( can visual a point)
6. Monkey Brain= Spinal cord coming out from bottom than the back, resembles the human
brain, much smaller forebrain.
a. Pointing is hard for monkeys understand
7. Chimpanzee brain
a. Cerebellum is quite small, frontal lobe is a bit large , sets are skills more and
more human like
Humans Brain Scale
- Cerebellum keeps getting bigger
- Wrinkle more
- Frontal lobe larger and larger
Exceptions to the ‘rules’
● Its not size of the brain but its proposition to its body
● Exp. dolphin’s to human looks similar
Brain Cell Density
● Intelligence also correlates with sophistication of cellular connection
● Number of neurons per cubic space
● humans= most neurons per cubic cm
, Matter
● Gray Matter = find cell bodies of neurons
○ Neurons that don’t have milon
● White matter= long connection from one to ther , axon that are covered in milon from
one place to another
○ Myelinated axon
Staining Reveals Matter
● Only for dead brain
● Nissle -stained = reveals where the gray matter is located where there is cell bodies
● FIber stain= reveals white matter , makes it darker
2. Have a foundational understanding of basic brain facts. What aspect of the human brain is
most clearly, mechanistically related to our intelligence?
● If an animal is above the line of best fit: the brain is larger than its body
(intelligent animals-high brain mass to body mass ratio)
3. Name and describe two general types of cells within the nervous system.
Two Basic Cell Types
1. Neurons: type of cell that is the main communicating cells in the nervous system, they
can send signals really quickly and very targeted
2. Glia : Latin Word Of glue , of the nervous
system are more active nervous system
The Neuron
● Have many types but similar designs
● Dendrite = soma = axon = terminals
● Basic design: input receive information mostly in the cell body, then OUtput area where
the chemicals are gonna be released
● Dendrites are integrated into a cell body, cell tells whether or not to have axon potentials
through neurotransmitters
● Types of neurons:
○ Pyramidal: cerebral cortex, pyramid like shape, everything is a dendrites basil
and apical dendrites , from cell body heads to axon
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