Lawrence Lars
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1. Vision: Part 1. Describe in great detail the visual pathways, including the ventral and dorsal streams. Start with the eye and end with specific brain structures. You must provide two examples. Part 2. What are the behavioral effects that you could observe in an adult who sustains extensive damage limited to the primary visual cortex (V1)? Would it be the same as blindsight? Why or why not? Give an example of an experiment you could use to test the behavioral effects for someone who has damage to V1.
2. Dopamine and Drug addiction: Part 1. Describe the mechanism of action for Dopamine (DA) agonist drugs (e.g., L-Dopa, cocaine) and describe the hypothesized role of DA release in the reinforcing effects of psychostimulants. Part 2. The research on sensitization of the nucleus accumbens has dealt with addictive drugs, mainly cocaine. Would you expect a gambling addiction to have similar effects? How could someone test this possibility?
3. Emotion: Part 1. Describe how the brain processes emotion. People with amygdala damage approach other people indiscriminately instead of trying to choose people who look friendly and trustworthy. What might be a possible explanation? Discuss the difference between emotion expression and the ability to recognize emotion. Part 2. Why might it sometimes be difficult to find effective drugs for someone who suffers from both depression and schizophrenia?
4. Learning: Part 1. Lashley sought to find the engram, the physiological representation of learning. In physiological psychology terms, how would you recognize an engram if you saw one? That is, what would someone have to demonstrate before you could conclude that a particular change in the nervous system was really an engram? Part 2. Describe the role of the hippocampus in memory formation. How has imaging technology improved our understanding of the role of the hippocampus in human memory? How have neurochemistry methods improved our understanding of the role of the hippocampus in memory?
5. Memory: Part 1. Alcohol and several tranquilizers impair memory formation. Use what you have learned in this class and propose a concrete and scientific explanation. How should one over come the memory impairments caused by alcohol consumption? Part 2. If a synapse had already developed LTP once, should it be easier or more difficult to get it to develop LTP again, explain?
6. Corpus Callosum Facts: Part 1. When a person born without a corpus callosum moves the fingers of one hand, he or she is likely also to move the fingers of the other hand, involuntarily. What possible explanation can you suggest? Explain lateralized functions and give examples of two of those functions. Part 2. Most people with Broca's aphasia suffer from partial paralysis on the right side of the body. Most people with Wernicke's aphasia do not. Why?
7. Methods: Part 1. Scans and tests used to study the living human brain can be either static (a snapshot at one point in time) or dynamic (showing changes over time). Give one example of each type, including its advantages and disadvantages. Part 2. Design a new cognitive neuroscience experiment using a dynamic neural measure. Make sure you describe in great detail the IV, DV, hypothesis, procedure, expected results/outcomes, any new conclusions that can be learned from your experiment.
8. Neural Communication: In as much detail as possible and necessary describe the steps of an action potential and synaptic transmission. Part 1. Give a detailed, step-by-step description of the stages of an action potential, including a description of and explanation for the refractory periods, and an accurate graph representation. Part 2. Give a detailed, step-by-step description of synaptic transmission (i.e., communication). You must mention the ions at work!
9. Movement: Part 1. Ordinarily, patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease (who have damage to dopamine-releasing axons) move very slowly if at all. However, during an emergency (e.g., a fire in the building), they may move rapidly and vigorously. Suggest a possible explanation. Part 2. Neurologists assert that if people lived long enough, sooner or later everyone would get Parkinson's disease. Why?
10. Plasticity and Development: Part 1. Biologists can develop antibodies against nerve growth factor (i.e., molecules that inactivate nerve growth factor). What would happen if someone injected such antibodies into a developing nervous system? Part 2. Describe how stem cells function. What is the advantage of using stem cells? Should researchers be allowed to conduct research on embryonic stem cells?
2. Dopamine and Drug addiction: Part 1. Describe the mechanism of action for Dopamine (DA) agonist drugs (e.g., L-Dopa, cocaine) and describe the hypothesized role of DA release in the reinforcing effects of psychostimulants. Part 2. The research on sensitization of the nucleus accumbens has dealt with addictive drugs, mainly cocaine. Would you expect a gambling addiction to have similar effects? How could someone test this possibility?
3. Emotion: Part 1. Describe how the brain processes emotion. People with amygdala damage approach other people indiscriminately instead of trying to choose people who look friendly and trustworthy. What might be a possible explanation? Discuss the difference between emotion expression and the ability to recognize emotion. Part 2. Why might it sometimes be difficult to find effective drugs for someone who suffers from both depression and schizophrenia?
4. Learning: Part 1. Lashley sought to find the engram, the physiological representation of learning. In physiological psychology terms, how would you recognize an engram if you saw one? That is, what would someone have to demonstrate before you could conclude that a particular change in the nervous system was really an engram? Part 2. Describe the role of the hippocampus in memory formation. How has imaging technology improved our understanding of the role of the hippocampus in human memory? How have neurochemistry methods improved our understanding of the role of the hippocampus in memory?
5. Memory: Part 1. Alcohol and several tranquilizers impair memory formation. Use what you have learned in this class and propose a concrete and scientific explanation. How should one over come the memory impairments caused by alcohol consumption? Part 2. If a synapse had already developed LTP once, should it be easier or more difficult to get it to develop LTP again, explain?
6. Corpus Callosum Facts: Part 1. When a person born without a corpus callosum moves the fingers of one hand, he or she is likely also to move the fingers of the other hand, involuntarily. What possible explanation can you suggest? Explain lateralized functions and give examples of two of those functions. Part 2. Most people with Broca's aphasia suffer from partial paralysis on the right side of the body. Most people with Wernicke's aphasia do not. Why?
7. Methods: Part 1. Scans and tests used to study the living human brain can be either static (a snapshot at one point in time) or dynamic (showing changes over time). Give one example of each type, including its advantages and disadvantages. Part 2. Design a new cognitive neuroscience experiment using a dynamic neural measure. Make sure you describe in great detail the IV, DV, hypothesis, procedure, expected results/outcomes, any new conclusions that can be learned from your experiment.
8. Neural Communication: In as much detail as possible and necessary describe the steps of an action potential and synaptic transmission. Part 1. Give a detailed, step-by-step description of the stages of an action potential, including a description of and explanation for the refractory periods, and an accurate graph representation. Part 2. Give a detailed, step-by-step description of synaptic transmission (i.e., communication). You must mention the ions at work!
9. Movement: Part 1. Ordinarily, patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease (who have damage to dopamine-releasing axons) move very slowly if at all. However, during an emergency (e.g., a fire in the building), they may move rapidly and vigorously. Suggest a possible explanation. Part 2. Neurologists assert that if people lived long enough, sooner or later everyone would get Parkinson's disease. Why?
10. Plasticity and Development: Part 1. Biologists can develop antibodies against nerve growth factor (i.e., molecules that inactivate nerve growth factor). What would happen if someone injected such antibodies into a developing nervous system? Part 2. Describe how stem cells function. What is the advantage of using stem cells? Should researchers be allowed to conduct research on embryonic stem cells?