Psych 160 First LE
CHAPTER 1: BIOPSYCH AS A NEUROSCIENCE
• Biopsychology
O Study of the biology of behavior
• Origins of biopsychology
O The Organization of Behavior (1949)
▪ Donald O. Hebb
▪ First comprehensive theory of how complex
psychological phenomena might be produced by
brain activity
▪ Based on humans and animals
• Disciplines of biopsychology
O Neuroanatomy: structure of the nervous system
O Neurochemistry: chemical bases of neural activity
O Neuroendocrinology: interactions between the
nervous and endocrine system
O Neuropathology: nervous system disorders
O Neuropharmacology: effects of drugs on neural
activity
O Neurophysiology: Functions and activities of the
nervous system
• Types of Research in Biopsychology
O Human and nonhuman subjects
▪ Advantages of humans:
• Can follow instructions and report their
experiences; cheaper, have human brains
▪ Advantages of nonhumans
• Brains and behaviour are simpler
• Insights from comparative approach
O Study of biological processes by comparing
different species
• Possible to conduct research impossible with
humans due to ethics
O Experiments and Non-experiments
▪ Experiments
• Study causation
• Two or more conditions
• Between versus Within subjects
• IVs and DVs; Confounded variable
• Coolidge effect
O Copulating male, incapable of continuing to
copulate with one sex partner can resume with
another sex partner
• Lordosis
O arched back, rump-up, tail-diverted posture
▪ Quasiexperiments
• Studies of groups of subjects previously exposed
to the conditions in real life
• Can’t control confounded variables
▪ Case Studies
• Focuses on a single case or subject
• Hard to generalize
O Pure and Applied Research
▪ Pure: motivated by curiosity of research
• Translational: translates pure findings to
beneficial applications
▪ Applied: intended to bring benefits to humankind
• Divisions of Biopsychology
O Physiological psychology
▪ Neural mechanisms of behavior through
manipulation and recording of brain
▪ Focus on development of theories of neural control
of behavior
O Psychopharmacology
▪ Manipulation of neural activity and behavior with
drugs
▪ Develop therapeutic drugs or reduce drug abuse
O Neuropsychology
▪ Psychological effects of brain damage in human
patients
▪ Case studies and quasiexperiments of patients with
brain damage
• Focused on cerebral cortex
O Psychophysiology
▪ Relation between physiological activity and
psychological processes
▪ Non-invasive (e.g. EEG)
O Cognitive neuroscience
▪ Neural bases of cognition (higher intellectual
processes); Uses functional brain imaging
▪ Interdisciplinary collaboration
O Comparative psychology
▪ Understand the evolution, genetics and
adaptiveness of behavior by comparing different
species
▪ Ethological research: animal behavior
▪ Evolutionary Psychology: understanding behavior
by considering its likely evolutionary origins
▪ Behavioral Genetics: genetic influences on behavior
• Converging Operations
O Different approaches are focused on a single problem
O Provide different viewpoints
O Korsakoff’s syndrome
▪ Severe memory loss caused by thiamine (B1)
deficiency
• Critical Thinking
O Morgan’s canon
▪ Law of parsimony
O Case 1: Delgado and the bull
▪ Claimed to control aggression
▪ Other explanations could be the stimulation caused
the bull to be dizzy or confused
O Case 2: Prefrontal Lobotomy
▪ Dr. Egas Moniz
• Developed prefrontal lobotomy
• Connections of the prefrontal lobes and the rest
of the brain are cut as a treatment for mental
illness
• Leucotome: surgical device
▪ Walter Freeman
• Transorbital lobotomy
• Biological roots of Behavioral Neuroscience
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O Hippocrates – brain is the seat of thought and • Described structural similarities among living
emotions species
O Aristotle – brain served to cool the passions of the • Major changes brought about by selective
heart breeding
O Galen – Aristotle’s claim is absurd • Observed rapid evolution
O Rene Descartes – animals were mechanical devices ▪ Natural selection
whose behavior was controlled by environmental • Survival of the fittest
stimuli • Fitness – ability to survive and contribute genes
▪ Humans are machines, automatic and have reflexes to the next generation
▪ Also have a mind which is linked by the pineal O Evolution and behavior
gland ▪ Social Dominance
O Luigi Galvani – electrical stimulation of a frog’s nerve • Dominant males copulate more
caused muscle contraction • Dominant females are more likely to produce
▪ Falsified Descartes’ claim more and healthier offspring
O Otto Loewi ▪ Courtship Display
▪ Proved that chemical transmission of the nervous • Promote evolution of new species
impulse across synapses occurs O Course of Human Evolution
▪ Electrical stimulation of hearts with acetylcholine ▪ Chordates → Vertebrates → Amphibians →
O Johannes Muller – doctrine of specific nerve energies Reptiles → Mammals
▪ Nerves carry an electrical impulse ▪ Homini
O Pierre Flourens • Austrolopithecus – smaller brain cavity than
▪ Experimental ablation (removed parts of the brain) Homo
▪ Inferred function O Human Evolution
O Paul Broca ▪ Doesn’t proceed in a single line
▪ Observed behavior of stroke patients ▪ Humans have little reason to claim supremacy
• Patient Tan – led to conclusion that a part of the ▪ Can be rapid
cerebral cortex performs functions necessary for ▪ Spandrels – nonadaptive evolutionary by-products
speech ▪ Does not progress to perfection
O Ramon Santiago y Cajal ▪ Exaptations – evolved for one function and co-
▪ Used staining techniques to study neurons opted to serve another
CHAPTER 2: EVOLUTION, GENETICS AND EXPERIENCE ▪ Similarity is not equal to same origin
• Analogues
• Origin of Dichotomous Thinking ▪ Homo sapiens mated with other Homo species
O Physiological or Psychological O Evolution of the brain
▪ Descarte: Physical matter is subject to scientific ▪ No clear relationship between overall human brain
investigation; mind is purview of the church size and intelligence
▪ Cartesian Dualism ▪ Brain weight expressed as a percentage of total
• Idea that the brain and mind are separate entities body weight might be a better measure
O Inherited or Learned O Evolutionary Psychology
▪ Nature-nurture issue ▪ Understand human behaviors through a
• Problems with dichotomous thinking consideration of the pressures that led to their
O Brain damage impacts psychological functioning evolution
▪ Asomatognosia – deficient awareness of body parts ▪ Polygyny, Polyandry, Monogamy
O Chimps manifest psychological abilities • Epigenetics
▪ Rouge test on monkeys O All mechanisms of inheritance other than the genes
O Behaviors develop under combined control of nature and its expression
and nurture O Mechanisms
O Model of the biology of behavior ▪ DNA Methylation
▪ Behavior as the product of interactions amongst: • Reaction that occurs when a methyl group
• Genes, experience and current situation attaches to a DNA molecule
• Human Evolution ▪ Histone Remodeling
O Charles Darwin • Reaction that occurs when histones change their
▪ Amassed evidence to support and suggest how shape and influence the shape of the adjacent
evolution occurs DNA
• Fossil records • *Maze dull rats only make more mistakes than maze-
bright if raised in an impoverished environment
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CHAPTER 3: ANATOMY OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

• CNS
O Brain (skull) and Spinal Cord (spine)
• PNS
O Somatic nervous system
▪ Interacts with the external environment
▪ Composed of:
• Afferent Nerves
O Sensory signals to brain O
• Blood-Brain Barrier
• Efferent Nerves
O Impedes the passage of many toxic substances from
O Motor signals that exit the brain to muscles
the blood into the brain
O Autonomic Nervous System
O Area postrema: weak blood-brain barrier
▪ Regulates body’s internal environment
O Lipid-soluble may pass
• Composed of:
• Anatomy of Neurons
O Afferent Nerves
O Neurons – specialized for reception, conduction and
O Efferent Nerves
transmission of electrochemical signals
▪ Sympathetic nerves
▪ Neuron Cell membrane – lipid bilayer
• Fight or Flight
• Channel proteins
• Lumbar and thoracic
O Certain molecules can pass
▪ Parasympathetic nerves
• Signal proteins
• Rest and Digest
O Transfer a signal to the inside of the neuron
• Brain and Sacral ▪ Classes of Neurons
• Multipolar – more than two processes extending
from the body
• Unipolar – one process extending from the body
• Bipolar – two processes extending from the body
• Interneurons – short/no axon; integrate neural
activity
▪ Anatomical structure
• Composed of cell bodies
O Nuclei (CNS) and Ganglia (PNS)
• Composed of axons
O Tracts (CNS) and Nerves (PNS)
• External Anatomy
• Meninges
O Dura mater (tough mother) – outer meninx
O Arachnoid membrane (spider-web-like)
▪ Subarachnoid space – contains many blood vessels
and CSF
O Pia mater (Pious mother) – adheres to the surface
• Ventricles and CSF
O CSF – protects the CNS and fills the spaces in the
brain and spinal cord
▪ Cushions and supports the brain
▪ Produced by the choroid plexus
▪ Build-up = hydrocephaly
O Central canal – runs the length of the spinal cord
O Cerebral ventricles: 2 lateral, third and fourth
ventricle

O
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• Internal Anatomy

O
O Planes
▪ Sagittal – dorsoventral + anteroposterior
▪ Horizontal – mediolateral + anteroposterior
▪ Frontal – dorsoventral +mediolateral
• Anatomy of the CNS
O Spinal Cord
▪ Gray matter – unmyelinated
• Dorsal horns and ventral horns
▪ White matter - myelinated
▪ Axons of spinal nerves joined via the dorsal root or
the ventral root
▪ Dorsal root ganglia – group of afferent unipolar
neurons

O ▪
• Glial cells • Five Major Divisions of The Brain
O Oligodendrocytes: wrap axons in myelin to increase
efficiency of conduction (CNS)
O Schwann Cells: guide axonal regeneration;
myelination (PNS)
O Microglia: respond to injury or disease by
multiplying, engulfing cellular debris or cells
O Astrocytes: star shaped, allow passage of some
chemicals and block others, contract and relax blood
vessels
• Neuroanatomical Techniques
O Golgi Stain – see silhouettes of individual neurons O
O Telencephalon undergoes greatest growth during
▪ Potassium dichromate and silver nitrate
development
O Nissl stain – structures in neuron cell bodies;
O Other four = brain stem
estimate # of cell bodies
O Myelencephalon
▪ Cresyl violet
▪ Composed of tracts carrying signals between the
O Electron microscopy – 3-D
brain and the body
▪ Pass beam of electrons through tissue
▪ Reticular formation
O Tracing techniques
• Occupies the central core of the brainstem from
▪ Anterograde – body to terminal buttons
the myelencephalon to the midbrain
▪ Retrograde – terminal buttons to body
• Arousal, sleep, attention, movement, reflexes etc.
• Directions in the vertebrate nervous system
O Metencephalon
▪ Pons & Cerebellum (sensorimotor structure)

O
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▪
O Mesencephalon
Tectum – dorsal surface of the midbrain
▪ O Limbic system: Circuit of midline structures that
• Inferior Colliculi – auditory function
• Superior Colliculi – visual-motor function
▪ Tegmentum – ventral to the tectum
• Periaqueductal gray – gray matter around the
cerebral aqueduct
O Mediates analgesic effects of opioid drugs
• Substantia nigra & Red nucleus – sensorimotor
O Diencephalon
▪ Thalamus
• Two lobes joined by the massa intermedia
• Sensory relay nuclei – receive signals from
sensory receptors, process and transport them
• Lateral geniculate nuclei, medial geniculate
nuclei, ventral posterior nuclei – visual, auditory,
and somatosensory respectively
▪ Hypothalamus
• Regulation of motivated behaviors
O Regulate release of hormones in the pituitary
gland
• Optic chiasm – point at which the optic nerves
from each eye come together
(Decussation/contralateral)
O Nondecussating (ipsilateral)
• Mammillary bodies
O Behind pituitary; surface of the hypothalamus
O Telencephalon
• Mediates the brain’s most complex functions
O Voluntary movement, interpret sensory input
and cognitive processes
• Cerebral cortex
O Deeply convoluted
▪ Most mammals are lissencephalic
▪ Fissures = large furrows
▪ Sulci = small furrows
▪ Gyri = ridges between fissures and sulci
▪ Longitudinal fissure – separate the cerebral
hemispheres
• Cerebral commissure – connects the
cerebral hemisphere
O Corpus callosum: largest
▪ Central fissure and lateral fissure
• Divide hemispheres into four lobes
O Frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal
▪Largest gyri
• Precentral, postcentral, superior temporal
▪ Neocortex
• Cortical neurons are pyramidal or stellate
• Six layers of neocortex
• Many long axons and dendrite course vertically
O Columnar organization
• Variations in thickness occur
▪ Hippocampus – three major layers; role in memory
for spatial location
• Limbic System and the Basal Ganglia
encircle the thalamus
▪ Regulate motivated behavior
▪ Amygdala → Hippocampus → cingulate cortex
(in the cingulate gyrus) → fornix → septum →
mammillary bodies
▪ Basal ganglia
• Amygdala → caudate → putamen → globus
pallidus
• Voluntary motor responses and decisions making
O Caudate + putamen = striatum
CHAPTER 4 NEURAL CONDUCTION AND SYNAPTIC
TRANSMISSION
• Resting membrane potential
O Difference in electrical charge between the inside and
outside of a cell
O Recorded through microelectrodes
O Resting potential: -70 mV
• Ionic Basis
O More Na+ ions outside the cell; more K+ ions inside
▪ Maintained even though ion channels are present
• Electrostatic charges – opposite charges attract
• Random motion – move down their
concentration gradient
• Sodium-potassium pump
O 3 Na+ inside for 2 K+ outside
• Postsynaptic Potential
O Neurotransmitters – diffuse across synaptic clefts and
interact with specialized receptors
▪ May depolarize (-70mV to -67mV)
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• Excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSP)
O Increase likelihood of firing
▪ May hyperpolarize (-70mV to -72mV)
• Inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP)
O Decrease the likelihood of firing
▪ Both EPSPs and IPSPs are graded responses
• Amplitude is proportional to signal eliciting
▪ Rapid transmission
▪ Decremental
• Amplitude decreases as it travels the neuron
O Integration
▪ Axon hillock → axon initial segment
• Generation of action potentials
▪ Threshold of excitation (-65mV)
• When reached action potential is generated
O All-or-none response
▪ Multipolar neuron adds all graded potentials into
one signal
• Integration
O Spatial summation – several at a time can
summate
O Temporal summation – one at a time
▪ Location of synapse
• The closer to axon trigger zone the bigger the
impact
• Conduction of Action Potentials
O Ionic basis
▪ When depolarized:
• Voltage activated sodium channels open
• Sodium ions rush in
• Potassium channels open
• Potassium ions leave
• Sodium channels close → end of rising phase and
beginning of repolarization
• Potassium channels gradually close
O Hyperpolarization
O Refractory period
▪ Absolute- impossible to elicit second one
▪ Relative – possible to fire again by applying higher-
than-normal levels of stimulation
▪ Responsible for:
• Why action potentials travel in one direction
• Rate of neural firing is related to the intensity of
the stimulation
• Axonal conduction of AP
O Nondecremental
O Slower
O Direction of transmission
▪ Antidromic (Axon to the cell body)
▪ Orthodromic (Cell body to terminal buttons)
O Conduction in myelinated axons
▪ Pass through the membrane only at the nodes of
Ranvier
▪ Saltatory conduction – transmission of AP in
myelinated axons
O Velocity of Axonal conduction
The larger the diameter of the axon the faster
▪
O Conduction in interneurons are passive and
decremental
• Hodgkin-Huxley Model
O Problem: simple neurons and mechanisms are not
representative of the mammalian brain
• Synaptic Transmission
O Structure of synapses
▪ Axodendritic – terminate in dendritic spines
▪ Axosomatic
▪ Dendrodenritic
▪ Axoaxonic
• Mediate presynaptic facilitation and inhabitation
▪ Directed synapses
• Neurotransmitter release and reception are in
close proximity
▪ Nondirected synapses
• Release and reception are distant
O Synthesis, Packaging and Transport of
Neurotransmitter Molecules
▪ Small neurotransmitters
• Synthesizes in cytoplasm, packaged in synaptic
vesicles by the golgi complex stored in clusters
near the presynaptic membrane
▪ Large neurotransmitters
• Neuropeptides
O Assembled on ribosomes, packaged in vesicles
and transported by microtubules to the
terminal buttons
▪ Many neurons contain two neurotransmitters
• Co-existence
O Release of neurotransmitters
▪ Exocytosis
• Entry of Calcium ions causes synaptic vesicles to
fuse with the presynaptic membrane and empty
their contents
O Activation of receptors by neurotransmitter
molecules
▪ Ligand – any molecule that binds to another
▪ Receptor subtypes
• Ionotropic receptors – ligand-activated ion
channels
O Immediate postsynaptic potential
• Metabotropic receptors – associated with signal
proteins and G proteins
O Effects are slower and longer lasting
O Reuptake, Enzymatic Degradation, and Recycling
▪ Terminate synaptic messages
• Reuptake by transporters
• Enzymatic degradation
O Acetylcholine breaks by acetylcholinesterase
O Glia, Gap Junctions and Synaptic Transmission
▪ Gap – narrow spaces between adjacent cells
• Connects the cytoplasm of two adjacent cells
• Neurotransmitters
O Small neurotransmitters
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▪ Amino acids O Bind to synaptic receptors

• Fast acting • Metabolism and elimination
• Point-to-point synapses O Terminated by enzymes from the liver
• Glutamate, Aspartate, Glycine and GABA • Drug Tolerance
▪ Monoamineneurotransmitters O Decreased sensitivity to a drug that develops as a
• Synthesized from a single amino acid result of exposure to it
• Slow and hormone like ▪ Same dose less effect or more dose to produce
• Diffuse effects same effect
• Catecholamines - From Tyrosine to L-dopa → O Cross tolerance
Dopamine → norepinephrine → epinephrine ▪ One drug produces tolerance to other drugs
• Indolamines – from tryptophan to serotonin O Metabolic tolerance -reduced amount of drugs
▪ Acetylcholine reaching the site of action
• Acetyl group + choline molecule O Functional tolerance -reduced reactivity of the site of
• Cholinergic action
• Voluntary muscle control • Drug withdrawal
▪ Unconventional Neurotransmitters O Adverse physiological reaction
O Opposite initial effects of the drug
• Soluble gases
O Nitric oxide and carbon monoxide • Drug Sensitization
O Repeated doses produce larger and larger effects
• Endocannabinoids
O Anandamide • Placebo Effect
O No specific physiological effect
• Short acting
O Large neurotransmitters • Drug effectiveness
▪ Neuropeptides O Dose-response curve
▪ Shows margin of safety for drugs with more than
• Pituitary
one effect
• Hypothalamic
▪ Shows the effect of the drug as a function of the
• Brain-gut
amount given
• Opioid
O Variation of drug effectiveness
• Miscellaneous ▪ Different sites of actions
PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY ▪ Affinity of the drug with the site of action
• The higher the affinity the more effective at low
• Pharmacokinetics doses
O Movement of drugs • Inactivation and excretion
• Pharmacology of synaptic transmission and behavior O Liver – enzymatic degradation
O Drugs’ effects O Blood – contains deactivating enzymes
▪ Agonists – facilitate effects of neurotransmitter O Kidneys – excretes the drugs
▪ Antagonists – inhibit effects
O Neurotransmitter action CHAPTER 5 RESEARCH METHODS IN BIOPSYCHOLOGY
▪ Synthesis → storage → breakdown of leaks →
• X-Ray Based Techniques
exocytosis → inhibitory feedback → activation of
O Contrast X-ray techniques
post synaptic receptors → deactivation
▪ Inject substance that absorbs x-rays around the
• Routes of admission surrounding tissue
O Oral ingestion (30-90min)
• Cerebral angiography
▪ First pass – drug goes to the liver
O Dye into a cerebral artery to visualize cerebral
▪ Easy and safe
circulatory system
▪ unpredictable
O Computed Tomography (CT)
O Injection (30-60s)
▪ Computer-assisted x-ray procedure
▪ Subcutaneous, intramuscularly, intravenous
▪ Takes many individual photographs as they rotate
▪ Little opportunity to counter reactions
• Radioactivity-Based Techniques
O Inhalation (2-3 min)
O Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
▪ Difficult to regulate dose of inhaled drugs
▪ Provides images of brain activity
▪ Damages the lungs
• Fleurodeoxyglucose is injected into the carotid
O Absorption through mucous membranes (3-5min)
artery
▪ Nose, mouth, and rectum can get damaged
O Magnetic-Field-Based Techniques
• Drug action
▪ Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
O Diffuse on neural membranes
• High resolution images, high spatial resolution
Psych 160 First LE

O Functional MRI ▪ Plethysmography

Images represent increase in oxygen flow in the
▪ • Change in blood volume
blood to active areas of the brain • Invasive Physiological methods
▪ Uses the BOLD signal O Stereotaxic Surgery
▪ Advantages over PET ▪ Use of atlas to locate brain structures
• Nothing to inject ▪ Stereotaxic instrument; head holder and electrode
• Both structural and functional information is holder
obtained ▪ Reference point is the bregma
• Better spatial resolution O Lesion Methods
• Produces 3-D images of activity ▪ Aspiration – tissue is drawn off by suction
▪ Poor temporal resolution O Radio-frequency
O Diffusion Tensor Imaging ▪ Destruction of tissue through a current
▪ Identify pathways along which water molecules O Knife cuts
rapidly diffuse ▪ Sectioning to eliminate conduction in a nerve
▪ Image of the major tracts O Reversible lesions
▪ Understand the connectome ▪ Temporary elimination of activity
• Transcranial Stimulation O Unilateral lesions
O Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ▪ Lesions only on one side of the brain as opposed to
▪ Turns off/on an area of the cortex bilateral lesions
O Transcranial direct current stimulation • Electrical stimulation
▪ Stimulate area by applying an electrical current O Deliver through bipolar electrodes
with two electrodes on the scalp O Weak pulses of current produces increase in the
• Psychophysiological Measures firing of neurons
O Brain activity O Elicits a number of behavioral sequences
▪ Scalp Electroencephalography (EEG) • Selective Chemical Lesions
• Measures gross electrical activity of the brain O Injecting neurotoxins to make more selective lesions
• Disk shaped electrodes attached to the scalp ▪ E.g. 6-Hydroxydopamine
▪ Magnetoencephalography • Neuropsychological Testing
• Measures change in magnetic fields O Assess the brain’s function
O SNS Activity O Help in making diagnosis
▪ Muscle Tension O Single test approach (before 1950s)
• Electromyography (EMG) ▪ Discriminate between patients with psychological
O Electrodes taped to the skin over the muscle problems due to structural brain damage from
▪ Eye movement those with functional changes
• Electrooculography (EOG) O Standardized-test-battery approach (1960s)
O Steady potential and change in electrical ▪ Halsteid-Reitan Test battery
potential are recorded • Performed poorly by brain-damaged patients
▪ ANS Activity • Can’t discriminate neurological patients and
• Skin Conductance psychiatric patients
O Electrodermal activity O Customized-test-battery approach (>1960s)
▪ Skin conductance level (SCL) ▪ Characterize the nature of the psychological
• Measure skin conductance associated with deficits
a particular situation ▪ Common battery tests then customized tests
▪ Skin conductance response (SCR) ▪ Newer tests designed to measure specific aspects
• Measure transient changes associated with ▪ Interpretation does not rest solely on how well the
discrete experiences patient does
• Cardiovascular Activity ▪ Requires more skill and knowledge on the
O Heart rate neuropsychologist
▪ Electrocardiogram (ECG) O Common neuropsychological test battery
▪ Average is 70 beats per minute ▪ Intelligence
O Blood Pressure • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
▪ Contraction = systole, relaxation = diastole ▪ Memory
▪ Normal 130/70 mmHg; hypertension • Digit span & information subtest
140/90 ▪ Language Lateralization
▪ Sphygmomanometer • Sodium amytal test
O Blood volume • Dichotic listening test
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O Specific Neuropsychological function
▪ Memory
• STM vs LTM
• Anterograde vs Retrograde
• Semantic vs Episodic
• Explicit vs Implicit
• Repetition priming tests are used
▪ Language
• Phonology, syntax, semantics
• Dyslexia
▪ Frontal Lobe Function
• Wisconsin Card Sorting Test
O Perseverative error for those with damaged
frontal lobes
▪ Paired-Image Subtraction Technique
• Obtaining functional brain images during
different cognitive tasks
• Subtract the activity in the two images to obtain
difference image
CHAPTER 9 DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
• Five Phases of Neuro Development
O Ovum +sperm = zygote
▪ Totipotency – ability to develop into any class of
cell
▪ Pluripotent – ability to develop into many, but not
all, classes
▪ Multipotent – develop into different cells of one
class
▪ Unipotent – develop into one type of cell
O Induction of the Neural Plate
▪ Composed of ectodermal tissue
• Ectoderm, mesoderm, endoderm
▪ Development is induced by chemical signals from
the mesoderm
▪ Cells are stem cells
• Have almost unlimited capacity of self-renewal
O Too much may produce errors
• Ability to develop into many different kinds of
cells
▪ Neural plate → neural groove → neural tube
• Neural tube → cerebral ventricles and spinal
canal
O Neural Proliferation
▪ Does not occur simultaneously and equally
• Most occur in the ventricular zone
• Partly controlled by the floor plate and the roof
plate
O Migration and Aggregation
▪ Factors governing migration
• Time and Location
▪ Types of migration
• Radial – ventricular zone to the outer wall of the
tube
• Tangential – parallel to the tube’s walls
▪ Methods of Migration
•
Somaltranslocation – extension grows from the
developing cell
• Glial-mediated migration
O Cells move along the radial glial cells
▪ These cells later become neurons
O Inside-out pattern – radial development
▪ Neural crest becomes neurons and glial cells of the
PNS
▪ Aggregation
• Form structures of the nervous system
• Mediated by cell-adhesion molecules (CAMs)
• Gap junctions with bridges called connexins
O Axon Growth and Synapse
▪ Growth cone – tip of an axon or dendrite; extends
and retracts filopodia
▪ Roger Sperry: axons are capable of precise growth
• Cut frog’s optic nerves and waited for retinal
ganglion cells to regenerate
O Grew back to the same point of the optic
tectum despite being rotated
• Chemoaffinity hypothesis
O Each post synaptic surface releases a specific
chemical label
• Topographic Gradient Hypothesis
O Axons are guided by specific targets arranged
on the terminal surface the same way as the
axons are
• Pioneer growth cones – first growth cones to
travel a particular route
O Fasciculation – growing along the paths
established by pioneer growth cones
▪ Synapse formation
• Synaptogenesis depends on astrocytes
O Neural Death and Synapse Rearrangement
▪ Necrosis – passive cell death
▪ Apoptosis – programmed/active cell death
▪ Neurotrophins promote growth and survival of
neurons
▪ Synapse Rearrangement
• Incorrect connections = death
• Postnatal Cerebral Development
O Synaptogenesis
▪ 4 months: visual and auditory cortexes
▪ 7-8 months: maximum synapse density
▪ 2 years: prefrontal cortex
O Myelination
▪ First few months: sensory areas then motor areas
▪ Until adulthood: prefrontal cortex
O Dendritic branching
▪ Progresses from deeper to more superficial layers
O Regression happens as well
▪ E.g. decline of gray matter
• Development of the Prefrontal Cortex
O Four types of cognitive functions
▪ Working memory
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▪ Planning and carrying out actions

▪ Inhibiting responses
▪ Following rules for social behavior
O Perseverative error
▪ Neural circuitry is not yet developed
▪ Synapse is not maximal until the second year
• Effects of Experience
O Critical vs sensitive periods
▪ Critical – time is essential
▪ Sensitive – greater effect if during a particular
interval
O Deprivation and Enrichment
▪ Enriched environments have beneficial effects
• Thicker cortex, more synapses, more dendritic
spines
▪ Deprivation
• Fewer synapses, dendritic spines and deficits in
depth and pattern perception
O Ocular dominance columns
▪ Depriving an eye of stimuli early on will have
adverse effects on vision
▪ Ability of deprived eye to activate the visual cortex
is reduced