How does learning a new skill change the brain structure?
■ may mag-ba-bind sa NMDA receptor
● long-term potentiation
○ strengthening of synpases based on recent
patterns of activity
○ produce long-alasting increase in signal
transmission
○ graph
■ kung practce nang practice, continually
exposed to a certain stimulation,
tumataas yung threshold ganern halos di
bumabalik sa resting membrane
● long-term depression
○ weakening of synapses
■ connection still there but weakened over
time
○ involve long-term changes inthe intensity and
duration of IPSPs
So bakit kaya nag-i-increase or nag-de-decrease yung level of
eme eme?
● experiment: dentate gyrus (the one with the red part)
○ stimulate entorhinal cortex
○ they produced rapid stimulation
■ nag-ke-carry over papunta doon sa may
yellow
● high levels of stimulation -> tumataas yung signals
○ at the start, typical itsure is glutamate will just
bind to the receptors and they will let sodium
ions enter, walang learning na nangyayari rito
pero may nakaharap na Mg++ so on a
normal level, hindi matatangal si
magnesium, limited Na+ tuloy
makakapasok
○ but high levels of stimulation (putting in a lot of
effort to learn ganern)
■ pagpaulit ulit stini stimulate, in-e-excite
yung cell, PSP, eventually, if there are
enough levels of stimulation, ma-e-e-ject
si magnesium
■ and pag na eject na si magnesium, thats
when open the NMDA receptor, allowing
more sodium ions and more calcium ions
na (it is the influx of calcium ions that
mark hte learning)
● so when nag enter na yung
calcium ions thats when u know
learning is occuring
■ kapag dumadami na yung calcium ions
dumadami na yung AMPA receptor din
● so learning does change the
brain structure, dumadami yung
receptors mo to accomodate
more stimulation
○ the changes in the brain structure
■ may increase in number of synapses
■ increase in sizes of synapses
■ increase in postynaptic receptors
(parang yung sa example above = AMPA
 receptors increased to accomodate high ○ when he was in med school, he was seeing
level of stimulation) patients, they all came to him for different
● nootropics (“smart” drugs) reasons
○ substances that are thought to improve memory ■ but he noticed that even though they
○ studies not reliable came for diff reasons they had similar
■ most research done on nonhumans or symptoms and he deduced that the
humans with memory problems underlyining problem was that theyre all
■ problematic designs (few aprticipants) -> stress
leads to poor controls ■ when he was doing lab research, rats etc
■ difficult to replicate respond with increase heart rate, beting
■ no reliable evidence rate, adrenal secretions when they are
● How would life be without memory? stressed (even if different stimulus)
○ man who can only ○ stress without distress
○ clive wearing ■ stress is the nonspecific response of the
body to any demand made upon it
■ any threat to the body in addition to its
specific effects , activated a generalized
Stress response to stress
● [definitions of time] ○ GENERALIZED ADAPTATION SYNDROME
● what is common in the definitions ■ first stage: alarm stage
○ stressor (ano ba yung stressor? our perception) ● adrenal glands release
+ individual + strategies to cope (resources) = epinephrine
stress response ○ epi: stimulates SNS
■ stressors: may be out of our control, may ○ flight or fight response !
be daily hassles in life ● adrenal glands also release
● Dr. Hans Selye cortisol
○ neuroendocrinologist ○ which increases blood
○ modern day father of stress glucose (for extra energy)
○ stress is a perception ○ aldosterone (important
for maintaining blood salt
 and blood volume) also
released
● temporarily suppresses less
urgent activities
■ second stage: resistance stage
● sympathetic response declines
● BUT adrenal glands continue
secreting cortisol
● also other hormones that help
the body to maintain prolonged
activities
■ third stage: exhaustion stage
● individual is tired, inactive, and
vulnerable
● nervous system and immune
systems no longer have the
energy to sustain their responses
○ u start feeling sick !!!!!
■ so, his most important idea: physical and
psychological stressors induce the same
general response
● kahit wala virus, u start feeling
feverish ganern
Evolution of stress
● The Gods Must Be Crazy
● in our evolutionary past
○ starvation, predators, etc.
● common modern day stressors
STRESS
● selye’s HPA system
○ ACTH and glucocorticoids
● sympathetic nervous system
○ epinephrine and norepinephrine
● sterss also releases cytokines
Animal models of stress
● early animal models of stress
○ unethical
■ repeated electric shocks
■ long periods of physical restraint
○ little scientifiec value to humans
■ bc extreme stress we dont rly
experience
● difficult to relate to common
humans stressors
■ mask variations ni the stress reponse
● more modern animal models of stress
○ study of social threats
Adverse effects of stress
● medical disorders are psychosomatic
● gastric ulcers
○ one of the first medical disorders to be classified
as psychosomatic
○ painful lesions to the lining of the stomach and
duodenum (small intestine)
○ can be life-threatening
○ why psychosomatic?
 ■ typicallly presence of Helicobacter pylori
(H pylori) - which is not sufficient to
induce the foramtion of ulcers; even
people without gastric ulcer can have
helicobacter pylori
■ so actually: stress induces increase in
gastric secretions + stress induces
decrease in blood flow + h. pylori =
gastric ulcers
Stress and Immune System
● psychoneuroimmunology
○ study of interactions among psycholo…….
● microorganisms
○ pathogens: microorganisms that cause disease
● recall: our body’s lines of defense
○ behavioral immune system
■ moving away from people who are sick
(may be unconsciously or consciously)
○ physical surface barriers
■ skin, hair, mucus ganern
○ innate immune system
■ antigens
■ characteristics
● asdasd
■ problem: sometimes cannot distinguish
between harmless (allergic response)
and a harmful invading microorganism
○ adaptive immune system
■ but we know that certain pathogens
have evolved to be detected by the
innate immune system
■ so we have the adaptive immune
system, the last level of defense
■ but mas mabagal yung response
■ T-lymphocytes (thymus), B-lymphocytes
(bone marrow produced)
● stored in lympathic system
● T-lymphocytes
○ cell-mediated immunity
■ invading cell has an antigen outside
surface
■ T-cell binds to the cell containing the
antigen
■ T-cell multiplies ….
● B-cells
● Cytokines
○ are the reason y u feel feverish, sleepiness, etc
when u r stressed
Stress and the Immune System
● eustress vs distress
Stress and the HIppocampus
November 22, 2019
Drug addiction
● effects of repeated administration
○ tolerance
■ shift of the response curve to the right
○ withdrawal symptoms
○ [sensitization] - we wont be talking about this
● addiction - definition
○ use drugs despite adverse effects
○ not the same as physical dependence
○ not restricted to drugs
■ same mechanisms kahit drugs etc pa
● why it happens in the first place
○ physical-dependence theories [early model]
■ people get hooked 2 drugs bec they
would like to avoid the withdrawal
symptoms (withdrawal avoidance)
■ NOT CONSISTENT cuz people still go
back 2 drugs even after withdrawal
symptoms have been cured
○ positive-incentive theories
■ actually, obtaining pleasurable effects
yung goal
○ intercranial self-stimulation paradigm
■ another way to explain y or how
addiciton happen
○ neural circuits [dopamine systems] -
IMPORTANT YUNG MESO PAHTWAY
■ mesocorticolimbic system
● eme to the nucleus accumbens
daw
● dopamine in the NA is critical to
experience of reward and
pleasure [BRAIN’S REWARD
CIRCUITS]
■ nigrostriatal system
○ meron ding behavioral theories but we won
DEVELOPMENT OF ADDICTION
● the more u stimulate the nucleus accumbens, the less
na a activate yung prefrontal cortex
Most commonly abused drugs
● tobacco
○ nicotine - the ingredient that is psychoactive
○ smoker’s disease
○ buerger’s disease
● alcohol
○ affects so many organs cuz widely distributed in
the body
■ both fat and water-soluble
● recall: BBB is fat-soluble
■ low doses - may stimulate u
● but if u increase: loss of control,
disinhibited ganern ganern
■ high doses
■ very high doses
● marijuana
○ from cannabis plant
○ social doses
○ high doses
 ○ low addiction potential, withdrawal symptoms
rare
○ can cause tachycardia
● cocaine and other stimulants
○ highly addicted but wtihdrawal symptoms quite
mild
○ prevents eme of catecholamines ?
○ LOCAL ANESTHETICS
■ numbness and pain are different
● opioids: heroin and morphine
○ pain killers
○ increases receptors !