PSYCH 290: Behavioral Neuroscience

1
PSYCH 290 Behavioral Neuroscience

• Alison S. Fleming
• ROOM 2037A
• Office Hours Mondays 11-12 or by appointment
• Email fleming_at_psych.utoronto.ca
• TAs Vedran Lovic email vedran_at_psych.utoronto.ca
• Andrea Gonzalez email andreag_at_psych.utoronto.ca
• Pearl Behl pearl.behl_at_sw.ca

2
FOCUS How the Nervous and Endocrine Systems
affect Behavior

• Nervous system
• CNS-central nervous systembrain and spinal cord
• PNS-peripheral nervous system somatic and
  autonomic sensory and motor nerves going to and
  from the CNS
• Endocrine system
• different secretory glands pituitary,adrenal,gon
  ads,thyroid,
• Behavior
• Perception-see, hear, smell, touch,
• Movement-run, walk, write, talk, sing, think
• Motivation- eating, drinking, sexual, maternal
• Cognition-learning, memory, consciousness

3
FEEDBACK EXISTS BETWEEN BEHAVIOR AND INPUTS TO
BRAIN TO CONTROL BEHAVIOR
photperiod, temp, social stim
NTS (da,ne,ach) Neuropeptides (gaba,glut,oxy)
Cort,E,P,Test,Prl,oxy,vp
BEHAVIOR
4
Course Mechanics

• One semester
• 1 term test (30)
• 1 final (40)
• 5 page research paper (30)
• TEXT Kolb, B. Whishaw,I.Q. (2000) An
  Introduction to Brain and Behavior. New York
  Worth Publ
• Course web page
• http//www.utm.utoronto.ca/psychology/index_files
  /04-05/PSY290/PSY290.htm

5
Paper Requirements

• Paper is a 5 page research paper that focusses on
  an issue relating to brain and behavior that
  interests you-comes out of your experience
• Must have at least 10 primary sources at least 5
  within past 5 (6) years (1999-2005) attach to
  paper, 1 of these references that were obtained
  in past 2(3) years (2003-2005)
• To be written in APA format (Abstract,
  introduction,text, conclusion, and references)

6
Paper topics

• Pick a topic where there is a debate or a
  difference of opinion as to the cause,etc., to
  set up a dichotomy And come to your own
  conclusions based on the DATA
• Examples of topics used in the past
• mechanism of pain alleviation through acupuncture
• Dietary treatment of ADHD
• Causes of postpartum depression
• Do neurons regenerate in adulthood?
• What changes in the brain with aging, can
  degeneration be reversed?
• Cognitive changes associated with alzheimers,
  Huntingtons Chorea, parkinsonism, etc.
• Brain damage and amnesias
• Endocrine control of sexual behavior in humans
• Early feeding experience and obesity
• Efficacy of SSRIs in treatment of depressions

7
What we will cover in this course

• Jan 3 history of how people through the
  centuries have thought about the role of the
  brain and its relation to behavior, starting with
  The Greeks until modern times
• Jan 10 Neuroanatomy. The overall structure and
  function of the brain, starting with a brief
  description of how the nervous system has changed
  over evolutionary time
• Jan 17/19 Lab dissection of a sheeps brain
• Jan 24 Structure and function of the neuron-both
  how information is propagated along the axon of
  the neuron and crosses the synapse so that
  neurons can talk with one another
• Jan 31 Neurotransmitters that permit
  communication across the synase and drugs that
  act on those neurotransmitters. Drugs like
  antidepressants (ssris), neuroleptics
  (chlorapromazine,etc.), alcohol,
  opioids,nicotine,etc. how these drugs alter
  mood,cognition, etc.

8
Course content contd

• Feb. 7 structure and function of the different
  sensory systems what are they?
• Feb 14-20 READING WEEK-YEEEHHHH
• Feb 21 TEST 1 (term test 30, based on
  lectures and readings to this point)
• Feb 28 motor systems from simple reflex to
  complicated skilled movements
• Mar 7 homeostatic and non-homeostatic systems
  motivation motivation regulatory systems
  feeding and drinking and body weight regulation
  What do we mean by motivated behaviors? How
  assess?
• Mar 14 Motivation sexual differentiation and
  reproduction
• Mar 21 Motivation Parental behavior and
  development
• reproductive behaviors(sex,maternal)
• TERM PAPER DUE
• Mar 28 Learning and Memory in animal models and
  in humans
• April 4 Wrap-up
• Test 2 FINAL (30)-YEEHHHHH!!!!!

9
DEBATE ON USE OF ANIMALS IN RESEARCH

• Left side of room write down three reasons why
  it is wrong to use animals in research
• Right side of room write down three reasons why
  it is important to use animals in research
• Two sides what do you really think. And provide
  two reasons why you think this way.

10
Historical Antecedents to present-day Behavioral
Neuroscience or Physiological Psychology

• Tutankhamum (2 century BC) 4 organs preserved,
  not brain.
• Old and New testaments (12-2 century BC) heart
  still seat of wisdom
• Aristotle ancient Greek scientist (4 century BC)
  brain grey and unimpressive brain a cooling
  unit observer of behavior

11
(No Transcript)
12

• BUT
• Hippocrates Greek physician brain regulates
  feelings and behavior
• Galen (131 to 201 AD) dissected brain mind in
  brain hollow tubes between sensory and motor
• Dark Ages (NEXT 1000 years til 1500)- religious
  dogmatism, no scientific inquiry

13

• Renaissance (1500-1800 AD) (Copernicus (earth
  revolves around sun), Francis Bacon (scientific
  method and inductive reasoning)
• Descartes (1596-1650) Cartesian doctrine of
  non-continuity between man and animals

14
(No Transcript)
15
5-7 Major Findings in the 19 century

• 1.distinction between sensory and motor
  nerves-Galen believed hollow tubes and
  free-flowing spirits between two first to think
  of a clear distinction between different kinds of
  nerves was
• Bell-Magendie (1774-1842)-distinction between
  sensory and motor nerves

16
Bell-Magendie Law-spinal roots dorsalsensory
ventralmotor
17
Reflex arc-sensory nerves go into spinal cord
dorsally and motor nerves leave spinal cord
ventrally
Sensory neuron SYNAPSES on interneuron
Interneuron SYNAPSES on motor neuron
Receptor SYNAPSES on sensory neuron
Fig 2.9 A simple sensory-motor (reflex) arc. A
simple reflex is set in motion by a stimulus to
the skin (or other part of the body). The nerve
impulse travels to the spinal cord and then back
out to a muscle, which contracts. Reflexes
provide an automatic protective device for the
body.
Motor neuron SYNAPSES on muscle
18

• 2. Prior to Johannes Muller, there was no
  recognition that different sensations are due to
  different sensory systems
• Muller-Doctrine of Specific Nerve Energies
  (1826) 5 sensory modalities

19
Mullers LAWS

• 1. external agencies can give rise to no kind of
  sensation which cannot also be produced by
  internal causes, exciting conditions of our
  nerves
• 2. The same internal cause excites in the
  different senses different sensations particular
  to it
• 3. The same external cause also gives rise to
  different sensations in each sense, according to
  special endowments of its nerve
• 4. The peculiar sensations of each nerve of sense
  can be excited by several distinct causes
  internal and external (sens of light by
  mechanical, electricity, chemical, blood
  congestion, etc.)
• 5. qualities of different nerves are different
• 6. one nerve or sense cannot take place and
  perform the function of another nerve or
  sense-each is distinct
• 7. dont know where the specificity
  resides..receptor, sensory nerve, brain, etc.

20
PHRENOLOGY

• 3. issue of localization of function within the
  brain
• A. specific-Gall and Spurzheim (1758-1828)
  Phrenology
• addressed Gall- a very good anatomist (cc,etc.)

21
BRAIN DIVIDED UP INTO 37 FACULTIES- SIZE OF
SKULL OVER THOSER BRAIN AREAS THOUGHT TO
REFLECT EXTENT TO WHICH FACULTIES APPLY TO THAT
INDIVIDUAL
22
Different faculties in the brain reflected by
skull bulges
23
PROBLEMS WITH PHRENOLOGY

• Incorrect assumption that the size of the skull
  accurately reflects the size of the underlying
  brain. Skull has many different thicknesses,
  which vary
• No scientific analysis of the psychological
  factors. No reason to think is a faculty of
  secretiveness, amativceness,etc. today still
  dont know what are the basic personality traits
• Methods were feckless, anecdotal, personal, no
  independent anal of faculties and skull
  protuberances,etc. Techniques were entirely
  correlational.

24

• B. general- Pierre Flourens(French anatomist and
  physiologist) (1794-1867) (extirpation common
  action, specific action)- believed that although
  there were differences in general function
  between, say, different lobes of cortex (visual,
  frontal, etc. believed that there were NO
  differences in function within general regions)
• C. specific-Fritz and Hitzig (physiologists)
  (1870) (electrical stimulation of brain)

25
Hitzig-electrophysiologist
26
Electrical stimulation of the Brain shows
localization of function
27

• D. specific- Broca ( head surgeon at Mental
  Hospital) (1824-1880) (motor aphasia speech
  center)
• specific-
• E. specific- Wernicke (1874) (German
  neurologist) temporal lobe or receptive aphasia
• F. general-Lashley (mass action,
  equipotentiality)

28
Brain of Tan, with localized damage to left
frontal cortex
29

• 4. Sherrington-Reflex-distinction between
  voluntary and involuntary behavior

30
REFLEX ARC
Sensory neuron SYNAPSES on interneuron
Interneuron SYNAPSES on motor neuron
Receptor SYNAPSES on sensory neuron
Fig 2.9 A simple sensory-motor (reflex) arc. A
simple reflex is set in motion by a stimulus to
the skin (or other part of the body). The nerve
impulse travels to the spinal cord and then back
out to a muscle, which contracts. Reflexes
provide an automatic protective device for the
body.
Motor neuron SYNAPSES on muscle
31

• END