today’s agenda: journal questions: a. what is the function of the frontal lobe of your brain? b....

Today’s Agenda:Journal Questions:

a. What is the function of the frontal lobe of your brain?

b. What is the function of your sympathetic nervous system?

*1. Lecture II: Neuron & Neurotransmitters

2. Homework: Read Chapter 50

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 1

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 2

The Amazing BrainDr. Rick Woodward

“Your conscious life is an awake dream.”

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 3

Organization of the Nervous SystemI. Central Nervous System consists of:

1. Brain

2. Spinal Cord

II. Peripheral Nervous System consists of:

1. Somatic Nervous System

(1) Cranial Nerves: 12 pairs

(2) Spinal Nerves: 31 pairs

2. Autonomic Nervous System

(1) Sympathetic Nervous System

(2) Parasympathetic Nervous System

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 4

Central Nervous SystemA. Composed of:

1. The Brain (called the Cerebrum)

2. The Spinal Cord

Your BrainA. The brain has roughly 100 billion

cells.

B. 10% of these cells are electrical conducting cells called neurons.

C. The brain’s left hemisphere controls language in most people, typically contains about 186 million more neurons than the right

(Science Illustrated March/April 2011)

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 5

The Neuron: One neuron dies every second starting at birth, which means we lose 31 million neurons every year.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 6

Your BrainD. The average brain weighs about 3 pounds.

(1) Male brains typically weigh 10% more than female brains.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 7

Your BrainE. People who drink alcohol

heavily, have, on average, 1.6% less brain volume than those who don’t drink alcohol.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 8

Your Brain

F. What is the brain made of?

(1) 77 – 78% Water

(2) 10 - 12% Fat

(3) 2% Other Organic Compounds

(4) 1% Carbohydrates

(5) 1% Inorganic Salts

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 9

Your BrainG. 8 to 10 Seconds is the time it

takes to lose consciousness when the brain is deprived of blood.

(1) After 40 to 120 seconds, brain damage becomes more likely.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 10

Your BrainH. Brain Imaging: Advances in Neuroscience

(The area of the brain’s surface if it were unfolded would be 22 square feet or 34 pages of your textbook laid end-to-end.)

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 11

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 12

Overview of the Parasympathetic & Sympathetic Nervous Systems

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 13

The Process of Memory

-Receiving Information:

A. Short Term Memory

1. Immediate Memory

2. Working Memory

-Encoding: Transforming Short Term Memory into Long Term Memory

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 14

Types of Memory Immediate Memory:

Lasts only 1 to 2 seconds.

a. Sensory Memory: Briefly holds stimuli from the environment.

(in about .5 to 1 second for vision and 3 to 4 seconds for hearing.)

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 15

Types of MemoryShort-Term Memory: Loss of information

occurs within 1 minute unless the material is continually rehearsed.

a. An fMRI image of the areas used for executive functions such as short-term memory tasks.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 16

Types of Memoryb. Working Memory: Deliberate thinking

takes place.

-Limited Capacity (about 7 items)

-Limited Duration (about 20 seconds)

04/21/23 17

Working Memory as a Filter or Screen:

Working Memory has three choices:

(1) Disregard the information (purge it from memory)

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 18

Working Memory as a Filter or Screen:

2) Retain the information by repeating it over and over (rehearsal).

(3) Transfer the information into long-term memory though rehearsal or by connecting it with information already there (encoding).

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 19

Long-term Memory is our Permanent Information Store

(Reference library) It is the conversion of short-term memory into long-term storage –this process is called consolidation

(1) Declarative Knowledge: Knowledge of facts, definitions, and rules.

(2) Procedural Knowledge: Knowledge of how to perform activities.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 20

Special Areas of the Brain

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 21

Special Areas of the BrainA. Hippocampus: Learning & Memory

(processing from short-term to long-term memory)

-Researchers have discovered that Alzheimer’s Disease begins here; initial site of specific protein production that eventually forms amyloid plaques.

B. Hypothalamus: Various day-to-day body functions (homeostasis), including appetite, emotional expression of pleasure, rage, fear.

The Amygdala C. Amygdala (The Primitive Brain): Plays

a vital role in social behavior (impulse control); interpreting facial expressions. Memory of fear involves the amygdala.

(Recall: Teenagers tend to use their amygdala rather than their frontal lobe)

04/21/23 22

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 23

Special Areas of the Braind. Thalamus: Regulates the flow

of sensory information.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 24

The Neuron is the functional unit of the brain.

The human brain consists of a trillion (1,000,000,000,000) neurons.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 25

Parts of the Neuron:a. Axon: Sends out information

(conducts impulses)

b. Dendrite: Receives information

c. Cell Body: Contains the nucleus

d. Myelin: Insulates axons so that transmission of impulses is rapid.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 26

What’s the matter? There are two types of matter:

1. Gray Matter (Composed of Neurons & Cell Bodies)

a. Place where computation takes place and memories are stored.

2. White Matter (Axons)a. Determines the speed at

which information can be processed.3. The density of gray and white matter in the brain are determined by genes and environmental factors, such as experience.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 27

What’s the matter?A. There are two types of matter:

(1) White Matter (millions of communication cables, each one containing a long, individual wire, or axon, coated with a white, fatty substance called myelin.)a. Like the trunk lines that connect telephones in different parts of a country, this white cabling connects neurons in one region of the brain with those in different regions.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 28

What’s the matter?Recent Research “White Matter

Matters.” –Scientific America (March 2008)

2. “For decades neuroscientists exhibited little interest in white matter. They considered the myelin to be mere insulation and the cables as passive passageways.”

-Most research has been on the synapse.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 29

What’s the matter?Nerve Transmission:

Healthy Myelinated Nerve versus Damaged Nerved

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 30

What’s the matter?3. New studies show changes in

myelin as one learns and practices.

a. Myelin is produced until age 25.

-The brain does not finish wrapping human axons until early adulthood.

“Critical Windows for Learning.”

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 31

What’s the matter?4. The importance of myelin:

a. “Modern investigation has revealed that nerve impulses race down axons on the order of 100 times faster whey they are coated with myelin.”

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 32

What’s the matter?

5. “Myelin responds to the environment and participates in learning, in part by strengthening neuronal connects.”

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 33

What’s the matter?6. “White matter abnormalities have

been found in people affect by ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, Language Disorders, Autism, cognitive decline in aging and Alzheimer’s disease and even in individuals afflicted with pathological lying.”

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 34

The Synapse: The point where information is transmitted from one neuron to the next. (Synapse = Gap)

A. The number of possible different combinations of synaptic connections among the neurons in a single human brain is larger than the total number of atomic particles that make up the known universe.

(Don’t you feel smart!!!)

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 35

Active Learning

A. Learning is about creating and strengthening the neural pathways in the brain.

B. Electrical signals most jump across the synapse (gap) in order for us to lean anything new.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 36

Active Learning

C. The first time that we learn something, demands the most effort to cross the gap (synapse).

(1) Analogy: Crossing a deep ravine.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 37

Active Learning

2. The first time you attempt to cross a deep ravine may be quite challenging.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 38

Active Learning3. After you cross the ravine once,

it becomes easier and easier.

-journeys across get easier and easier as with learning.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 39

Active Learning4. As the signal crosses the gap again and

again, we get a more solid pathway.

(i.e. building a bridge across the gap)

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 40

Active Learning5. After you build a bridge, learning becomes

almost effortless.

a. To learn better, we need to make it easier to cross the synaptic ravine by building and strengthening our bridges.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 41

Neurotransmitters

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 42

NeurotransmittersChemicals that transmit information.

A. Serotonin: Active in maintaining waking EEG patterns.Decreased; related to depressionIncreased; related to obsessive-compulsive disorder.O.C.D. = Excessive concern with order, rules, and trivial details.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 43

EEG Brain Waves

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 44

Neurotransmitters B. Dopamine: Active in maintaining

normal motor behavior.

-Decreased; muscles are rigid and movements are difficult.

i.e. Parkinson’s Disease (T.R.A.P.)

-Increased; May be related to schizophrenia (delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech)

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 45

Current Researcha. The brain changes physiologically

“plasticity” as a result of experience .

b. IQ is not fixed at birth. –Higher development of white matter is correlated directly with higher IQ.

c. Children who suffer severe neglect have up to 175 less white matter in the corpus callosum (structure that connects the two hemispheres of the brain).

d. Some abilities are acquired more easily during certain sensitive periods, or “critical windows of opportunity.”

e. Learning is strongly influenced by emotion.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 46

Effects of Drugs on the Nervous System

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 47

Developmental Disorders of the Nervous System

a. Major deformities of the nervous system occur before week 20 of pregnancy.

b. Anencephaly (no brain) can occur during weeks 3-4.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 48

Advances in Technology I. Visualizing Brain Activity

a. Colored magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the axial section of the human brain showing a metastatic tumor (yellow).

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 49

Advances in TechnologyII. Visualizing Brain Activity

b. Positron Emission Tomography

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 50

Advances in TechnologyIII. Visualizing Brain Activity

c. DTI (Diffusion Tensor Imaging)

-Shows white matter in action.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 51

SleepHow important is sleep?

Sleep

A. As we age, we spend less time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

B. During REM is when we dream

c. New born babies spend half their sleeping hours dreaming.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 52

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 53

Maslow’s Hierarchy

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 54

Bloom’s Taxonomy

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 55

Bloom’s Taxonomy

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 56

Dr. Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 57

Pharmaceuticals that Can Potentially Enhance Memory

Using drugs to amplify the brain’s natural capacity to remember

1. Cortex Pharmaceuticals: Developing a new class of molecules known as ampakines, which facilitate the transmission of the neurotransmitter glutamate.

Limitless (2011)

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 58

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 59

Pharmaceuticals that Can Potentially Enhance Memory1 a. Glutamate is one of the primary

excitatory chemicals passed across the synapses between neurons. b. By amplifying it effects, Cortex hopes to improve the brain’s underlying ability to form and retrieve memories. c. When administered to middle-age rats, one ampakine was able to reverse their age-related decline in the cellular mechanism of memory.

(National Geographic November 2007)

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 60

Oxford University StudyGet Smart: Learning to Learn (2-07-08)

A. Case Study performed on middle school students:

1. Typical Student Profile:

a. Poor concentration.

b. Not stimulated by school lessons

(Thought they were boring)

c. Watched lots of television.

d. Not interested in reading.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 61

Oxford Study

B. Found that by giving students Omega 3 fatty acids (fish oils) may allow the neural signals to jump more easily across the synaptic gap.

1. Found increases in reading, motivation, memory and concentration.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 62

Visualization

A. Enhancing athletic performance.

1. Scientists have discovered that if you imagine specific body movements, this stimulates new pathways in the brain that may enhance that specific body movement when actually performed.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 63

Memorizing FactsA. Memorizing: Setting up a neural

pathway is like setting up a row of dominoes.

1. Commit a fact to memory and we create a new neural pathway.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 64

Memorizing Facts

B. To retrieve a fact, we just simply need to stimulate that specific pathway.

-Sounds easy!

-Not so easy if that pathway breaks down somewhere along the way.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 65

Memorizing Facts

C. Creating simple “original” stories to remember facts allows up to build several neural pathways as opposed to just one.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 66

Memorizing Facts

D. By increasing the number of neural pathways, you increase the probability of recalling stored information.

-The advantage of storytelling allows us to create lots of pathways.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 67

Memorizing FactsB. Flash Cards

1. One question, one fact per card.

a. What is the function of the

brain?

b. Answer:

To control and coordinate the activities of the body.

2. Advantages to Flash Cards:

a. Portable

b. Memorizing small chunks of

information

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 68

Memorizing Facts

C. Students need to practice and review new content information at least twenty-four times to obtain 80% competency.

(Marzano, Pickering & Pollock, 2001)

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 69

Memorizing FactsD. New learning must make

sense to the learner.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 70

Memorizing FactsE. “Authentic rehearsal moves the learner

beyond mere memorization by encouraging students to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate knowledge through novel and challenging activities.”

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 71

Pneumonic DevicesP.M.A.T

Stages of Meiosis in Sequential Order

Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase

-Please Make Another Taco

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 72

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 73

Pneumonic Devices King Kingdom Philip Phylum Came Class Over Order For Family Great Genus Spaghetti Species

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 74

Intuition

A. Subconscious memory is often called intuition.

1. An area in the frontal lobe continuously scans everything around us subconsciously.

2. It compares previous experiences with the present.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 75

Creating an Original Thought

A. Scientists can now measure the moment when you create an original thought.

1. Also known as the “aha” moment

2. A sudden burst in electrical activity in the brain.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 76

When are you most likely to have an original thought?

A. Normally our brain is constantly being stimulated and bombarded by extraneous stimuli.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 77

When are you most likely to have an original thought?

B. You are most likely to have an original thought when you are relaxed.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 78

Historical Original ThoughtsA. Issac Newton: Relaxing in an

orchard when he came up with theory of gravity.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 79

Historical Original Thoughts

B. Galileo: Thought of a pendulum to measure time as he sat quietly in a church.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 80

Historical Original Thoughts

C. Niels Bohr: Thought of the structure of the atom while he watched horses racing around a track.

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 81

Original Thoughts

A. Where and when do you have your original thoughts?

04/21/23 Dr. Rick Woodward 82

Conclusion

Just by attending this class today, you have stimulated countless new pathways in your brain!

You should begin studying for Exam III (Next Thursday)

Last topic before Exam III(Endocrine System)