Introduction to Neuroscience - 2 + Methods in Neuroscience

PSYC480

Dr Usman Afzali

University of Canterbury

2/28/24

Kauhau

  • Fundamentals of Neuroscience
  • Methods in Neuroscience

Note Taking (from SAS) …

Change of the Lecture Venue

Change of lecture venue. From next Wednesday onwards, we will be moving to Psyc Soci 210 (capacity = 27 seats).

Fundamentals of Neuroscience

What is Neuroscience?

  • Perception, thinking, understanding, control of movement
  • Experimental psychology + physiology
  • Research: perception, control of movement, sleep and walking, reproductive/ingestive/emotional behaviour, learning, memory
  • Examples of neuroscience subfields
  • Computational neuroscience
  • Tools to conduct neuroscientific research

History

  • 7th Century: Descartes and control of behaviour
  • 19th Century: Muller and removing organs for study
  • Contemporary neuroscience

Ethical Issues

  • Animal research
  • Human research

Neuron

Structure

  • Axon
  • Dendrite
  • Cell body

Neuron, CNS and PNS

(Carlson and Birkett 2017)

Physiology of Neuron

(Carlson and Birkett 2017)

Supporting cells of Neuron

  • Glia: nerve glue
  • Astrocyte: physical support and clean debris
  • Oligodendrocyte: support axons and produce myelin sheath
  • Schwann cells: PNS

(Carlson and Birkett 2017)

Neuron communication 1

Withdrawal reflex

(Carlson and Birkett 2017)

Neuron communication 2

Inhibition

(Carlson and Birkett 2017)

Action Potential

Electrical event in the neuron

  • Negative charge of -70mV inside the axon membrane - resting potential
  • Any difference: membrane potential
  • hyperpolarisation vs. depolarisation

(Carlson and Birkett 2017)

Synapse

  • The role of neurotransmitters
  • Presynaptic membrane, synaptic cleft, postsynaptic membrane
  • Postsynaptic potentials: EPSP and IPSP
  • Termination of postsynaptic potentials

Synapse types

(Carlson and Birkett 2017)

CNS Structure

Brain Development

Pre- and post-natal

(Carlson and Birkett 2017)

Sub-divisions

(Carlson and Birkett 2017)

Cerebral Cortex

  • Surrounds the cerebral hemispheres
  • Greatly convoluted; consisting of sulci (small grooves), fissures (large grooves), and gyri (bulges between adjacent sulci or fissures)
  • Greatly enlarged surface area of the cortex, compared with a smooth brain

Four Lobes

(Carlson and Birkett 2017)

Four Lobes…

(Carlson and Birkett 2017)

Four Lobes…

(Carlson and Birkett 2017)

BREAK TIME

Methods in Neuroscience

Functional Neuroimagining

  • Introduction and function
  • Uses
  • Limitations (functional, spatial, and temporal)

EEG/ERP

  • Introduction and function
  • Uses
  • Limitations

(Cacioppo, Tassinary, and Berntson 2016)

(Afzali et al. 2022)

High Performance microsegmentation

  • Introduction and Use
  • Examples

Microstates

THE END

References

Afzali, M. Usman, Alex P. Seren-Grace, Robin W. Palmer, Ewald Neumann, Sarah Makarious, Debra Wilson, and Richard D. Jones. 2022. “Detection of Concealed Knowledge via the ERP -Based Technique Brain Fingerprinting : Real-Life and Real-Crime Incidents.” Psychophysiology 59 (11). https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.14110.
Cacioppo, John T., Louis G. Tassinary, and Gary G. Berntson, eds. 2016. Handbook of Psychophysiology. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107415782.
Carlson, Neil R., and Melissa A. Birkett. 2017. Physiology of Behavior. Twelfth;Global; Book, Whole. Harlow, Essex: Pearson. https://go.exlibris.link/wyZtfK4C.