Lecture summary of Neuropsychology at Radboud University. The summary is mainly in English, because the lectures were given in English, and there are some notes in Dutch to clarify it.
HC1: Evolution & function of the nervous system
Evolution & historical perspectives on mind and brain
Why is the brain so important?
The brain's primary function is to produce behavior. To do so, it must: --> hoe doet het brein dat?
• Receive information about the world; --> door sensorische input --> maar wat is de echte
sensorische input? Voor iedereen anders
• Integrate information te create a sensory reality
• Make a constant stream of predictions about what te expect; --> inschattingen maken
• Procedure commands to control the movement of muscles --> taken geven aan de
spieren
The make up of the nervous system altogether allows the brain to do so. --> brein werkt in
combinatie met het nervous system
What is behavior? --> different types:
• Relatively Fixed Behaviors --> genen, ermee geboren
o Dependent on heredity
• Relatively flexible behaviors --> iets wat je moet leren --> wat gebeurt onder andere in
het brein
o Depent on learning
Complexity of behavior varies considerably in different
species depending on complexity of nervous system --> simple dier, heeft
een simplere nervous system, simpeler brein, simpeler gedrag, etc
Philosophy of brain and behaviour: Aristotle and Mentalism --> hoe dachten ze vroeger over het
brein en hoe nu?
Mentalism --> daar begon het mee
• An explantion of behavior as a function of the nonmaterial mind --> iets wat niet in ons
lichaam is (geen ruimte), maar heeft invloed op ons brein --> dus soort van geest --> blijft
als mensen dood gaan
• Ancient Greece: Aristotle
o Psyche or soul: Synonym for mind; an entity once proposed to be the source
of human behavior, that lives after death
Philosophy of brain and behaviour: Descartes and Dualism
Dualism
• Both a nonmaterial mind and the material body contribute to behavior --> beide, dus
materiaal en non-materiaal en samen zorgen ze voor het gedrag
• Mind directs rational behavior
• Body and brain direct all other behavior via mechanical and physical principles
o Examples: sensation, movement, and digestion
• Mind is connected to the body through the pineal gland of the brain --> een gebied van
het brein (de pineal gland) zorgt voor gedrag --> voor simple gedragingen is geen non-
materiaal nodig
Moeilijk te bewijzen deze theorie
Mind – Body Problem
, o Difficult/impossible to explain a nonmaterial mind in command of a material body -->
hoe interacteren deze?
Philosophy of brain and behaviour: Darwin and Materialism
Materialism --> hier geloven we nog steeds in
• Behavior can be explained (fully) as a function of the nervous system
without considering the mind as a separate substance -->
we can explain by studing the brain
• Related to evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin
Darwin's Concept of Natural Selection:
• Differential success in the reproduction (i.e., passing on your genes--> getting baby's etc)
of
different characteristics / behavior (phenotypes) results from the interaction of organism
s with their environment!! --
> cope with the environment, that changes to pass with the genes are higher
• Traits / behavior that increase reproductive success and chances of
survival will be passed on to offspring
• Competition is a key concept --> er is veel competitie
Human brain understanding through studying the animal brain
Plaatje:
Van makkelijk naar moeilijk --> kikker is het
moeilijkste dier hier --> van mensen starten wij ook
bij een makkelijk nervous system
Plaatje: hedendaagse menselijke brein is het grootst in vergelijking tot ons gewicht.
Hoe hoger de ratio tussen de gewicht en gewicht van je brein des te moeilijker gedrag je kan laten
zien. --> mensen hebben de hoogste ratio --> wij hebben het grootste brein (dus ook dan olifanten) --
> en dus meest moeilijkste gedrag.
Neuroplasticity --> het brein is plastisch --> je brein zorgt voor je gedrag, maar je gedrag zorgt ook
voor je brein --> dat heet neuroplasticiteit
• The brain is plastic:
o Neural tissue
has the capacity to adapt to the world by changing how its functions are orga
nized
o Because the brain can adapt to the world, different species could develop
o Neuroplasticity is seen both in the developing brain and in adaptations of bra
in structure following injury
,Hoe gebeurt dit? Hoe kan het brein beïnvloedt worden door de omgeving? Dat is gerelateerd
aan epigenetics
Epigenetics --> die al je dan komt tot uiting in je leven --> wat komt tot uiting kan komen door je
omgeving --> gebeurd het hele leven door
• Study of differences is gene expression related to environment and experience
• Epigenetic factors do not change your genes,
but they do influence how your genes operate
• Epigenetic changes can persist throughout a lifetime, and the cumulative effects can mak
e dramatic differences in how yout genes work and how likely a spieces is to pass
on its genes --> evolution
Example: muizen precies hetzelfde dna, maar ze kregen verschillend voedsel --> metabolisme is heel
anders bij elkaar --> dus verschillende omgevingen heben invloed op het genotype, want ze hadden
wel hetzelfde dna.
Plastic Patterns of Neural Organization: Phenotypic Plasticity
An individual's genotype
(genetic makeup) interacts with the environment to elicit a specific phenotype from a large
repertoire of possibilities
Studying Brain and Behavior in Modern Humans
The brain – and especially the cortex – is highly flexible
• That means that humans can live VERY different life styles in VERY different
environments, with equal skill and success. That also means that individual differences in
brain organization are huge! The average brain does not exist! --> we kunnen vaak alleen
wat zeggen over populatie, want 1 individue werkt weer anders --> elk brein is namelijk
anders --> er is geen gemiddeld brein
Anatomical & functional divisions of the nervous system
Overview of the structure of the brain
• Forebrain:
Major structure of the brain, consisting of two almost identical hemispheres (left and rig
ht). Prominent
in mammals and birds, responsible for most higher order conscious behaviors. -->
grootste gedeelte en veel functies --> linker en rechterhelft
, • Cerebellum: 'Little brain'
o Involved in the coordination of
motor and cognitive processes. --> heeft net zoveel
neuronen als de rest van het brein --> dus soms
waarde beetje ongewaardeerd
• Brainstem:
Central structures of the brain, including the hindbrain, midbrain,
thalamus & hypothalamus. Source
of behavior in simpler animals, responsible for most
of our unconscious behaviors.
• Spinal cord: Consists of nerves that carry incoming and outgoing messages between the
brain and the rest of the body including reflexarry incoming and out --> naar onder bij je
rug/nek --> signalen
Dit is alles wat je moet weten!
Printen en gebruiken om te checken --> overzicht
Dit is het centrale zenuwstelstel
Forebrain: Cerebral / Neo cortex (beide benamingen kunnen) -->
hoogste in de ranking --> zorgt voor het ingewikkeldste gedrag --
> cognitieve functies etc.
The cerebral cortex is a thin sheet composed of
6 layers of nerve cells folded many times to fit inside the skull
responsible for regulating various mental activities. --> mentale
activiteiten
Forebrain: Allocortex
Evolutionary older part of cortex consisting of 3 of 4 layers of nerve cells present
in structures of the limbic system (cingulate cortex, hippocampus, amydala), as well
as structures related to the olfactory system. --> gevonden in meerdere strucuten van het brein
Cingulate cortex: --> is een gebied --> de allocortex wordt
gevonden in de cingulate cortex, maar bv ook in amydala
Controlling motivational states, attention, and self-
monitoring --> de oeps... respons
Orientation
'Brain-Body Orientation'
Illustrates brain-structure location from the frame of reference of the face --> dit moet je gewoon
leren!!
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