Behavioral Neuroscience Exam Questions and Answers Graded A+
Mental illness treatment - Answers -treatment dictated by cause of mental illness
-ex. In 1700s, cause=devil, so treatment=exorcism; today, cause resides in brain abnormalities
(physiological or anatomical) so therapy can be psychopharmacology (addresses abnormal chemical
imbalances in brain's physiology) or surgery (abnormal brain anatomy)
-however, a cause can be difficult to define
Biomedical perspective of behavior - Answers -physical and psychological illness are treated the same
-psychological illnesses reside in the brain
-however, biomedical view doesn't tell the whole story...
-A and B have same violent behavior that's thought to originate from brain abnormalities
-A has amygdala tumor (genetic) and gets amygdalectomy that's successful (but surgery's side effects
sleep and eating issues)
-since A's surgery worked, B gets same surgery; aggression is cured but B becomes severely depressed
-biomedical perspective too limited—2 patients w same symptoms and treatment have 2 dif outcomes;
only considers how internal factors (i.e. genetics) affects brain and behavior, but need to consider how
environment/external factors affect brain and behavior
-B's aggression caused by traumatic environment (not genes), so used aggression as outlet; removing
amygdala removed his outlet, causing depression; biomedical perspective would use surgery for
depression, ignoring its true environmental cause (CAUSE DETERMINES TREAT)
Effect of environment on behavior - Answers -the physical environment in the present can affect the
brain as well as the memory of an environment can affect the brain (ex. PTSD = psychological trauma +
memory of trauma)
Brain and behavior diagram - Answers -behavior determined by brain
-brain influenced by intrinsic factor (genetics; tumor, disease, etc) and environment
-environment can be physically present or memory of a past environment
Interaction of environment and brain's intrinsic factors - Answers -not everyone who experiences
trauma will get PTSD—some are more vulnerable, some are more resilient
-ex. A and B are both normal in normal environment, but A has PTSD and anxiety in traumatic
environment whereas B is normal in traumatic environment—shows mental illness can be an
INTERACTION of genes and the environment
,-genes establish a predisposition that by itself doesn't create abnormal behavior, but the environment
acts as a trigger for the predisposition, causing disordered behavior
Where do behavioral abnormalities come from? - Answers -can arise from genes alone
-can arise from present/past experiences (stress, trauma/abnormal memory of stress, trauma)
-can arise from genes (predisposition) and present/past experiences (trigger)
How does the brain cause different behaviors to the same stimulus between individuals? - Answers -
environmental experiences (present and past/memory) and genes influence brain which, in turn,
influences behavior
-our brain is a decision-maker and influences how we interpret sensory input/stimulus, and this
interpretation informs our response to the stimulus
-our memories, emotions, and motivations (controlled by hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus)
influence how we interpret/evaluate stimuli and respond to them; everyone's memories, emotions, and
motivations vary, so interpretation varies and thus behavioral responses vary
-if the stimulus was the only influence on behavior, we'd all respond/behave the same
-psychological interpretation of stimuli allows differential responses
Broad outline of brain's anatomy and physiology - Answers -divided into different brain areas:
hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, etc
-each brain area made up of neurons and synapses that are fueled by energy to produce
neurotransmitters and neural impulses
-receptor cells receive info from environment, receptors transmit info to sensory neurons, sensory
neurons send signals to brain, brain makes decision (informed by psychological experiences like
emotion, motivation, memory), brain sends impulses to motor neurons, motor neurons send signals to
motor cells/muscles
Biobehavioral system - Answers 1. Brain (decision maker)
2. Nervous system—neurons + brain (uses energy to produce neural impulses)
3. Receptors (transduce physical stimuli into neural impulses for sensory neurons)
4. Muscles (transduce neural impulse into motor output)
-NS, receptors, and muscles connect the brain to the environment
-evolved from single cell organisms that had to use energy from environment to repair and reproduce
itself via nucleus and cytoplasm (bio); these single-celled organisms got energy through behavior: by
,sensing food via eyespot, responding to food via flagella, and coordinating their response with sensory
input via cytoplasm (decision making)
-multicellular organism composed of cells that specialize in sensing (receptors), responding (muscles),
and coordinating (neurons)
Interaction of anatomy and physiology - Answers -interaction of anatomy and physiology give rise to
behavior
-location rule: the location of the interaction determines the type of behavior that's produced (ex.
Interaction occurs in hippocampus—>memory)
-how rule: HOW physiology interacts with anatomy determines if the behavior is abnormal or normal
(ex. Abnormal interaction in hippocampus causes Alzheimer's, abnormal interaction in hypothalamus
causes drug addiction, abnormal interaction in amygdala causes schizophrenia)
Abnormal anatomy and physiology interactions - Answers -normal interaction requires both normal
anatomy and physiology
-abnormal interaction can rise from abnormal anatomy, and since anatomy is abnormal, physiology is by
default also abnormal (ex. Brain damage/degeneration)
-abnormal interaction can rise from normal anatomy but abnormal physiology
-
Neuropsychiatric Disorders - Answers -brain anatomy normal, physiology abnormal
-behavioral abnormality depends on where physiology is abnormal
-caused by neurochemical imbalance (imbalance of neurons or neurotransmitters)
-distal cause: what's causing the imbalance—ex. Genes alone, environment alone, genetic predisposition
+ environmental trigger
-proximal cause: the neuron/neurotransmitter imbalance itself
-usually treated with drugs (psychopharmacology)
-ex. Depression, schizophrenia, anxiety
Anatomical brain damage - Answers -brain anatomy is abnormal (so physiology must be abnormal too)
-caused by disease (ex. Neurodegenerative disease), drugs, tumor, stroke, wounds, age
-neurons usually degenerate SELECTIVELY not globally, so loss of behavior depends on the location of
the damage
, -anatomical damage is often more irreversible and requires surgery, whereas physiological impairment
is more often reversible and treated with pharmacology
-ex. Temporal lobe damage—>aphasia (language impairment); frontal lobe damage—>(cognitive
impairment); hippocampus damage—>amnesia
Stroke - Answers -neurons require energy to function (ion pumps, neurotransmitter production); O2 and
nutrients transported to brain via blood for energy production
-stroke occurs when brain is deprived of nutrients and O2, causing neurons to de deprived of energy and
die; ex. Blood vessel blockage or rupture (hemorrhage)
-selective damage causes selective behavioral symptoms—strokes usually selective blockage, so only
specific areas of neuron death
-ex. Stroke occurs in temporal lobe—>cognitive impairment; frontal lobe—>temporary paralysis
Brain damage recovery - Answers -when selective, usually temporary and recovers over weeks
-brain remains damaged but neural plasticity enables flexibility in dif brain areas to adapt their fcns;
neighboring brain areas can assume missing fcns by sprouting new axonal endings
-reorganization: excess neurons can assume function of damaged neurons; greater brain plasticity
means more excess neurons (younger brains have more excess neurons)
-recovery from brain damage depends on amount of damage and age (younger=more plasticity); left-
handers may also have more plasticity
-CNS neurons cannot regenerate, but PNS neurons can; they regain structure and sprout new axons
central nervous system - Answers -brain and spinal cord; decision-maker
-contains tracts: bundles of neurons' axons in CNS
-contains nuclei: bundles of neurons' cell bodies in CNS
-surrounded by meninges: vascularized membranes that protect and nourish brain/spinal cord (since
neurons can't store nutrients)
-tracts connect brain and spinal cord, allowing brain to know sensory info below neck and control
movement below neck
peripheral nervous system - Answers -sensory and motor neurons connecting CNS to rest of body
-consists of nerves: bundles of neurons' axons in PNS
Mental illness treatment - Answers -treatment dictated by cause of mental illness
-ex. In 1700s, cause=devil, so treatment=exorcism; today, cause resides in brain abnormalities
(physiological or anatomical) so therapy can be psychopharmacology (addresses abnormal chemical
imbalances in brain's physiology) or surgery (abnormal brain anatomy)
-however, a cause can be difficult to define
Biomedical perspective of behavior - Answers -physical and psychological illness are treated the same
-psychological illnesses reside in the brain
-however, biomedical view doesn't tell the whole story...
-A and B have same violent behavior that's thought to originate from brain abnormalities
-A has amygdala tumor (genetic) and gets amygdalectomy that's successful (but surgery's side effects
sleep and eating issues)
-since A's surgery worked, B gets same surgery; aggression is cured but B becomes severely depressed
-biomedical perspective too limited—2 patients w same symptoms and treatment have 2 dif outcomes;
only considers how internal factors (i.e. genetics) affects brain and behavior, but need to consider how
environment/external factors affect brain and behavior
-B's aggression caused by traumatic environment (not genes), so used aggression as outlet; removing
amygdala removed his outlet, causing depression; biomedical perspective would use surgery for
depression, ignoring its true environmental cause (CAUSE DETERMINES TREAT)
Effect of environment on behavior - Answers -the physical environment in the present can affect the
brain as well as the memory of an environment can affect the brain (ex. PTSD = psychological trauma +
memory of trauma)
Brain and behavior diagram - Answers -behavior determined by brain
-brain influenced by intrinsic factor (genetics; tumor, disease, etc) and environment
-environment can be physically present or memory of a past environment
Interaction of environment and brain's intrinsic factors - Answers -not everyone who experiences
trauma will get PTSD—some are more vulnerable, some are more resilient
-ex. A and B are both normal in normal environment, but A has PTSD and anxiety in traumatic
environment whereas B is normal in traumatic environment—shows mental illness can be an
INTERACTION of genes and the environment
,-genes establish a predisposition that by itself doesn't create abnormal behavior, but the environment
acts as a trigger for the predisposition, causing disordered behavior
Where do behavioral abnormalities come from? - Answers -can arise from genes alone
-can arise from present/past experiences (stress, trauma/abnormal memory of stress, trauma)
-can arise from genes (predisposition) and present/past experiences (trigger)
How does the brain cause different behaviors to the same stimulus between individuals? - Answers -
environmental experiences (present and past/memory) and genes influence brain which, in turn,
influences behavior
-our brain is a decision-maker and influences how we interpret sensory input/stimulus, and this
interpretation informs our response to the stimulus
-our memories, emotions, and motivations (controlled by hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus)
influence how we interpret/evaluate stimuli and respond to them; everyone's memories, emotions, and
motivations vary, so interpretation varies and thus behavioral responses vary
-if the stimulus was the only influence on behavior, we'd all respond/behave the same
-psychological interpretation of stimuli allows differential responses
Broad outline of brain's anatomy and physiology - Answers -divided into different brain areas:
hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, etc
-each brain area made up of neurons and synapses that are fueled by energy to produce
neurotransmitters and neural impulses
-receptor cells receive info from environment, receptors transmit info to sensory neurons, sensory
neurons send signals to brain, brain makes decision (informed by psychological experiences like
emotion, motivation, memory), brain sends impulses to motor neurons, motor neurons send signals to
motor cells/muscles
Biobehavioral system - Answers 1. Brain (decision maker)
2. Nervous system—neurons + brain (uses energy to produce neural impulses)
3. Receptors (transduce physical stimuli into neural impulses for sensory neurons)
4. Muscles (transduce neural impulse into motor output)
-NS, receptors, and muscles connect the brain to the environment
-evolved from single cell organisms that had to use energy from environment to repair and reproduce
itself via nucleus and cytoplasm (bio); these single-celled organisms got energy through behavior: by
,sensing food via eyespot, responding to food via flagella, and coordinating their response with sensory
input via cytoplasm (decision making)
-multicellular organism composed of cells that specialize in sensing (receptors), responding (muscles),
and coordinating (neurons)
Interaction of anatomy and physiology - Answers -interaction of anatomy and physiology give rise to
behavior
-location rule: the location of the interaction determines the type of behavior that's produced (ex.
Interaction occurs in hippocampus—>memory)
-how rule: HOW physiology interacts with anatomy determines if the behavior is abnormal or normal
(ex. Abnormal interaction in hippocampus causes Alzheimer's, abnormal interaction in hypothalamus
causes drug addiction, abnormal interaction in amygdala causes schizophrenia)
Abnormal anatomy and physiology interactions - Answers -normal interaction requires both normal
anatomy and physiology
-abnormal interaction can rise from abnormal anatomy, and since anatomy is abnormal, physiology is by
default also abnormal (ex. Brain damage/degeneration)
-abnormal interaction can rise from normal anatomy but abnormal physiology
-
Neuropsychiatric Disorders - Answers -brain anatomy normal, physiology abnormal
-behavioral abnormality depends on where physiology is abnormal
-caused by neurochemical imbalance (imbalance of neurons or neurotransmitters)
-distal cause: what's causing the imbalance—ex. Genes alone, environment alone, genetic predisposition
+ environmental trigger
-proximal cause: the neuron/neurotransmitter imbalance itself
-usually treated with drugs (psychopharmacology)
-ex. Depression, schizophrenia, anxiety
Anatomical brain damage - Answers -brain anatomy is abnormal (so physiology must be abnormal too)
-caused by disease (ex. Neurodegenerative disease), drugs, tumor, stroke, wounds, age
-neurons usually degenerate SELECTIVELY not globally, so loss of behavior depends on the location of
the damage
, -anatomical damage is often more irreversible and requires surgery, whereas physiological impairment
is more often reversible and treated with pharmacology
-ex. Temporal lobe damage—>aphasia (language impairment); frontal lobe damage—>(cognitive
impairment); hippocampus damage—>amnesia
Stroke - Answers -neurons require energy to function (ion pumps, neurotransmitter production); O2 and
nutrients transported to brain via blood for energy production
-stroke occurs when brain is deprived of nutrients and O2, causing neurons to de deprived of energy and
die; ex. Blood vessel blockage or rupture (hemorrhage)
-selective damage causes selective behavioral symptoms—strokes usually selective blockage, so only
specific areas of neuron death
-ex. Stroke occurs in temporal lobe—>cognitive impairment; frontal lobe—>temporary paralysis
Brain damage recovery - Answers -when selective, usually temporary and recovers over weeks
-brain remains damaged but neural plasticity enables flexibility in dif brain areas to adapt their fcns;
neighboring brain areas can assume missing fcns by sprouting new axonal endings
-reorganization: excess neurons can assume function of damaged neurons; greater brain plasticity
means more excess neurons (younger brains have more excess neurons)
-recovery from brain damage depends on amount of damage and age (younger=more plasticity); left-
handers may also have more plasticity
-CNS neurons cannot regenerate, but PNS neurons can; they regain structure and sprout new axons
central nervous system - Answers -brain and spinal cord; decision-maker
-contains tracts: bundles of neurons' axons in CNS
-contains nuclei: bundles of neurons' cell bodies in CNS
-surrounded by meninges: vascularized membranes that protect and nourish brain/spinal cord (since
neurons can't store nutrients)
-tracts connect brain and spinal cord, allowing brain to know sensory info below neck and control
movement below neck
peripheral nervous system - Answers -sensory and motor neurons connecting CNS to rest of body
-consists of nerves: bundles of neurons' axons in PNS
