Neuroscience and Consciousness

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Neuroscience and Consciousness
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Neurons

• Neurons vary in size and shape
• All are specialized to receive and transmit
  information

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Synapse
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The Neural Impulse
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Take it to the Web

• Synapses
• The Neural Process
• Online Quiz

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Types of Messages

• Excitatory messages
• Inhibitory messages

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Types of Neurons
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The Nervous System

• Central Nervous System (CNS)
• Peripheral Nervous System
• Somatic Nervous System
• Autonomic Nervous System
• Sympathetic division
• Parasympathetic division

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The Nervous System and Beyond

• Endocrine System
• Hormones
• Pituitary gland
• Adrenal glands
• Gender effects

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Get into small groups and determine how each of
the following parts of the brain may be active
while driving a car. Keep in mind that some
structures might be more active under certain
driving conditions, whereas others may be active
regardless of conditions.

• Medulla
• Thalamus
• Reticular formation
• Cerebellum
• Amygdala
• Hypothalamus
• Hippocampus

• Frontal lobes
• Parietal lobes
• Occipital lobes
• Temporal lobes
• Motor cortex
• Sensory cortex

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The Brain
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Web Information

• Brain model tutorial

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Brainstem
Thalamus
Medulla
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Cerebellum
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Substantia Nigra
Plays an important role in reward, addiction, and
movement
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The Limbic System

• The Limbic System is a doughnut-shaped system of
  neural structures at the border of the brainstem
  and cerebrum, associated with emotions such as
  fear, aggression and drives for food and sex. It
  includes the hippocampus, amygdala, and
  hypothalamus.

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Amygdala

• The Amygdala ah-MIG-dah-la consists of two lima
  bean-sized neural clusters linked to the emotions
  of fear and anger.

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Hypothalamus

• The Hypothalamus lies below (hypo) the thalamus.
  It directs several maintenance activities like
  eating, drinking, body temperature, and control
  of emotions. It helps govern the endocrine system
  via the pituitary gland.

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Hippocampus
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• Neuroplasticity
• Neurogenesis

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The Cerebral Cortex

• The intricate fabric of interconnected neural
  cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres. It is
  the bodys ultimate control and information
  processing center.

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Lobes
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The Motor Cortex is the area at the rear of the
frontal lobes that control voluntary movements.
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Lobes
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The Sensory Cortex (parietal cortex) receives
information from skin surface and sense organs.
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Lobes
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Lobes
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Quiz

• Lobes of the Brain

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Group Activity

• List the five most essential structures of the
  brain and the five least essential

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• The Setting You are a famous neurosurgeon who
  specializes in brain damage involving the
  language system. In each of the following cases,
  make a diagnosis concerning where you believe
  brain damage has occurred.
• Case 1 A 56-year-old female has suffered a
  recent stroke. She speaks in a curious manner
  resembling fluent English but the phrases make no
  sense. You find that she comprehends your verbal
  or written instructions perfectly and can even
  write them down, but cannot repeat them verbally.
  You quickly diagnose the problem as a lesion in
  the _____________.

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• Case 2 A mother brings her 7-year-old son to
  you because he is having serious problems in
  learning to read. At age 5 his corpus callosum
  was sectioned to prevent epileptic seizures. She
  points out that he is a very intelligent child
  and she cannot understand why reading is so
  difficult for him. You explain that his reading
  difficulties are probably related to the fact
  that _________.
• Case 3 An intelligent businessman comes to you
  and explains rather agitatedly that he awakened
  yesterday morning to find, much to his dismay,
  that he could no longer read. Your tests
  determine the following a) He is totally blind
  in the right visual field. b) He speaks fluently
  and comprehends speech. c) He can write with his
  right hand but cannot read what he has written.
  d) He can copy written words but only with his
  left hand. You turn to your puzzled assistant
  and remark that this is indeed a tough one, but
  you are willing to bet that you will find brain
  damage in at least two areas, which are
  _______________ and __________________.

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Methods of Studying the Brain

• p. 35
• http//www.bic.mni.mcgill.ca/

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Consciousness

• An organisms awareness of itself and
  surroundings
• Not all-or-none rather, more on a continuum

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Attention

• Selective Attention

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Dichotic Listening Technique
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Attention

• Selective Attention
• Cocktail-Party Effect

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Attention

• Selective Attention
• Cocktail-Party Effect
• Automaticity
• Divided attention task

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Sleep

• Brain processes external information
• Brain processes internal information
• Body remains active
• In general, can be easily awakened

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Stages of Sleep

• Stage 1
• Stage 2
• Stage 3
• Stage 4
• Stages of sleep

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Sleep Deprivation

• REM deprivation
• Delta deprivation

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Why do we sleep?

• Restorative/recuperative therapy
• (sleep protects)
• Evolutionary/Circadian theory
• (sleep helps us recover)
• Sleep helps us remember
• Sleep may play a role in the growth process

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Sleep Disturbances

• Parasomnias
• Nightmares
• Night Terrors
• Sleepwalking
• Sleeptalking

• Insomnia
• Sleep Apnea
• Narcolepsy

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Nature and Function of Dreams

• Psychodynamic view
• Freud
• Wish fulfillment
• Unconscious
• Manifest content
• Latent content

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Nature and Function of Dreams

• Information Processing
• Dreams of absent-minded transgressionDAMIT
• Physiological/Biological View
• Activation-synthesis hypothesis
• Cognitive View

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The Brain and Sleep

• REM ? pons/acetylcholine
• Initiation/duration ? serotonin
• Wakefulness/arousal ? norepinephrine, dopamine