Physcoactive drugs
- Drugs that interact with NT system and affect mood arousal or behaviour
Agonists
Increase activity of the NT system
- opiates mimic endorphins
Antagonists
Decrease activity of the NT system
- dopamine blockers for schizophrenia
Plasticity
Describes the nervous systems ability to change
4 ways to change the NS
1) growth of dendrites and axons
2) synaptogensis
3) pruning
4) myelination
Stem cell
Have the capacity to make any cell, even neurons
Neurogenesis
Enhancing neurogenesis could improve function/recovery
CNS
Brain plus spinal cord
PNS
Nerves connecting the CNS with the body
CNS protection
- protected by 3 layers of meninges
- cerebral ventricles( fluid filled pockets)
- cerebrospinal fluid
4 parts of cerebral cortex
Frontal
Occipital
Temporal
Parietal
Corpus callosum
Connects 2 hemispheres of the brain that allows communication
Left side of brain
Fine tuned language
- speech
- reading
- writing
-phonology
Right side of brain
Course language
- simple speech
- simple writing
- tone of voice
- visuospatial skills
Frontal lobe
Moor function, language, memory
- executive function
Parietal lobe
- ## somatosensory cortex( pressure, pain)
Temporal Lobe
Auditory info
- understanding langauge
- autobiographical memories
- contains auditory cortex and wernickes area
Occipital lobe
Vision
Back of brain
Cortical Hierarchies
Path by which sensory information passes through the brain
- primary sensory cortex then association cortex
Basal Ganglia
- helps control movement
- allows us to perform movements to obtains rewards and reinforcements
Limbic System contains:
Hypothalamus
Thalamus
Amygdala
Hippocampus
Brain stem
Back of brain, connects cortex with spinal cord, relay station
Brain stem contains
- Cerebellum: balance, coordination of movement
- Pons: connects cortex to cerebellum;tiggers dreams
- Medulla: breathing, heartbeat, vital functions
Spinal Cord
Thick bundle of nerv a that conveys signals between the brain and body
