Download MCDB 3650 Take Home Quiz 1 50 points (6) Describe how an

MCDB 3650 Take Home Quiz 1 50 points
1. (6) Describe how an action potential ultimately causes some kind of change in the
post-synaptic neuron. What kinds of ways can the postsynaptic neuron respond, and
what dictates this response? Consider neurotransmitters, neurotransmitter receptors,
multiple inputs, and distance of input(s) from the neuronal cell body in your answer.
2. (6) Describe how the neurons in your visual system create a representation of the real world. Include
how cells in the retina take in information, process it, and deliver it to the parts of your brain that can
actually consciously interpret your visual input. As a follow up, describe why do some individuals
cannot process their entire visual field, or neglect specific portions.
3. (6) Patients with lesions in particular parts of their brains are often used to help describe what that brain
region must normally do. Sometimes, this data does not match data from fMRI experiments on patients
with undamaged brains who have been asked to do the task that individuals with lesions cannot do. Why
might the two sets of data not match, and how can one reconcile the two, experimentally or otherwise?
4. (6) When normal patients are exposed to two different objects, one in their right visual field and a
different one in their left visual field, they report seeing an alternation of the two objects, rather than a
merging of the two objects. The same phenomenon is true for illusions—in representations where two
different pictures are present (for example, two faces vs. a vase), you cannot “see” both at the same time,
and yet you are conscious of both of them. How does this tie into our “consciousness”, and how we
respond to the world around us?
5. (8) In the papers we read about recognition, attention, and choice, the authors presented evidence to
support their hypothesis that a single neuron was in part responsible for our ability to recognize an
object, notice a change, or encode value. Describe, using evidence from the papers, how the authors can
make this conclusion. Please include your own opinion, based on the evidence presented, about whether
single neurons can have specific single functions.
6. (6) Using the readings, explain how emotions are constructed in the human brain. Why do people
experience emotions differently, and what are some correlations between brain disfunction and amoral or
violent behaviour? How might the social cognition part of your brain be involved in making a choice?
How are choices tied to emotions and planning?
7.
(12) Oliver Sacks, in a story from The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, describes a case study of a
person who has spent her entire life not using her hands. Madeline was born with cerebral palsy, and was
cared for by family who did everything for her. Later in life, when her older relatives had died, she
suddenly found herself needing and wanting to do things for herself. She found she was able to use her
hands, although at first it was very difficult. Before long, she actually became quite artistic and began
sculpting things out of clay. On the other hand, people (and animals) who are not exposed to normal
environmental cues during “Critical periods” of brain development often lack the ability to develop
certain behaviors. How can these be reconciled? Use evidence discussed in the readings to describe how
theories of development (consider the protomap and protocortex theories), and evidence of plasticity or
lack of plasticity fit together to paint a picture of brain development as we know it.