Transcript Methods of Neuroscience

Methods of
Neuroscience
Lesson 2
Studying the Brain & Behavior
Anatomy & behavior
 Damage  behavior changes
 Structural differences  behavior
 Activity & behavior
 Behavior  record activity
 Change activity  behavior?
 Correlation vs experimentation
 causality ~
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Brain Damage & Behavior
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Correlate damage  behavioral change
Clinical Neuropsychology
 Broca’s aphasia
Experimental ablation
 Lesion brain  behavior change?
 Lashley & the engram
Problems: variability
 location of damage
 spared behaviors/abilities
 multiple areas & tracts involved
 post mortem ~
Anatomy & Behavior: Modern Techniques
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Noninvasive
Computerized axial
tomography
 CAT (CT) scan
 x-rays of brain
 Low resolution
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(MRI)
 higher resolution than CAT
 spinning H atoms radio
waves ~
Tracing & Labeling
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Stains, radio-isotopes
 Amino acids,
antibodies, etc.
Tracing connections
 Via axonal transport
 Antero- & retrograde
Labeling structures
 Receptors, genes,
etc. ~
Normal Brain Differences
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Sexual dimorphism
 corpus callosum
 hypothalamus
 Sexually Dimorphic
Nucleus - SDN ~
Brain Activity & Behavior
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Record activity during
behavior
EEG
 electroencephalograph
 reads electrical activity
of brain
PET Scans
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Positron Emission
Tomography
metabolic activity
radioactive 2-deoxyglucose
Disadvantages
 spatial/temporal resolution ~
fMRI
Functional MRI
 detects increases in oxygen use
 Advantages
 anatomy & activity
 High resolution spatial & temporal
 Disadvantages
 Difficulty interpreting activity level ~
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Electrical Stimulation of Brain (ESB)
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Change activity  change behavior?
 Fritz & Hitzig
 Olds & Milner
 neurosurgery
Advantage
 experimental
Disadvantage
 invasive
ESB during Neurosurgery
 Map function
 minimize loss ~
Experimental Psychopharmacology
Chemically change activity
 learn about drugs
 or use drugs to learn about brain &
behavior
 Block dopamine receptor
 movement effects?
 learning effects?
 Combine with behavioral tests ~
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Behavioral Psychopharmacology
Prenatal exposure to
methamphetamine
 effects on learning?
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FIGURE 1
Males
Mean Latency to Social Contact
350
300
Strangers
Cagemates
250
200
150
100
50
0
1
2
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Detour Learning Trial
4
Cellular imaging
Radioactive labeling
 similar idea to PET
 Cellular changes
during learning
++ ions ~
 role of Ca
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Genetic Techniques
Knock-out Mice
 Genes
 change microanatomy
 alter function
 Disable gene  no protein
 receptor, enzyme, etc
 evaluate effect on behavior
 Obesity
 Alcoholism ~
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