Introduction to Neuroscience - 2 + Methods in Neuroscience

PSYC480

Dr Usman Afzali

University of Canterbury

2/27/23

Karakia Whakatūwhera

Whakataka te hau ki te uru/ Whakataka te hau ki te tonga/ Kia mākinakina ki uta/ Kia mātaratara ki tai/ E hī ake ana te atakura/ He tio, he huka, he hau hū/ Tīhei mauri ora!

Cease the winds from the west/ Cease the winds from the south/ Let the breeze blow over the land/ Let the breeze blow over the ocean/ Let the red-tipped dawn come with a sharpened air./ A touch of frost, a promise of a glorious day.

Kauhau

  • Fundamentals of Neuroscience
  • Methods in Neuroscience

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
  • Evolution and brain

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

(Nash et al. 2022)

Literature Review/Essay 10%

A 1000 word (3 pages) literature review/essay covering fundamentals of and methods in neuroscience. This exercise will help you dig deeper into the world of neuroscience and having a think about what processes and methods you might use in case you wanted to conduct neuroscientific research. You can select from variety of topics, including but not limited to the history of neuroscience, old methods, contemporary methods, the role of advanced computational modelling, the role of open-science in improving neuroscientific research, the role of online repository and version control tools such as Git and GitHub, etc.

Karakia Whakatūwhera

Unuhia, unuhia/ Te pou, te pou/ Kia wātea, kia wātea/ Āe, kua wātea

Remove, uplift/ The posts/ In order to be free/ Yes, it has been cleared/

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.
Nash, Kyle, Tobias Kleinert, Josh Leota, Andy Scott, and Jeff Schimel. 2022. “Resting-State Networks of Believers and Non-Believers: An EEG Microstate Study.” Biological Psychology 169 (March): 108283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108283.