Kafli 1 : Introduction

Kafli 1 : Introduction

1. Brain

   • Corpus Callosum
     • The largest commissure of the brain, interconnecting the areas of neocortex on each side of the brain.
     • Split-Brain Operation
       • Brain surgery that is occasionally performed to treat a form of epilepsy; the surgeon cuts the corpus callosum, which connects the two hemispheres of the brain.
     • Cerebral Hemispheres
       • The two symmetrical halves of the brain; constitute tha major part of the brain.
   • Experimental Ablation
     • The research method in which the function of a part of the brain is inferred by observing the behaviors an animal can no longer perform after that part is damaged.

2. Priciples and Research

   • Scientists
     • Doctrine of Specific Nerve Energies
       • Muller's conclusion that because all nerve fibers carry the same type of message, sensory information must be specified by the particular nerve fibers that are active.
     • Physiological Psychologist
       • A scientist who studies the physiology of behavior, primarily by performing physiological and behavioral experiments witch laboratory animals.
   • Beliefs
     • Monism
       • The belief that the world consists only of  matter and energy and that the mind is a phenomenon produced by the workings of the nervous system.
     • Dualism
       • The belief that the body is physical but the mind is not.
     • Functionalism
       • The principle that the best way to understand a biological phenomenon is to try to understand its useful functions for the organism.
   • Scientific Explanations and concepts
     • Generalization
       • A general conclusion based on many observations of similar phenomena.
     • Reduction
       • A phenomenon is described in terms of the more elementary processes that underlie it.
     • Model
       • A mathematical analogy for a physiological process; for example, computers have been used as models for various functions of the brain.

3. Natural Processes

   • Senses
     • Sight
       • Blindsight
         • The ability of a person who cannot see objects in his blind field to accurately reach for them while remaining unconcious  of percieving them; caused by damage to the "mammalian" visual system of the brain.
       • Unilateral Neglect
         • A syndrome in which people ignore objects located towards their left and the left sides of objects located anywhere; most often caused by damage to the right parietal lobe.
   • Movement
     • Reflex
       • Anautomatic, stereotyped movement that is produced as the direct result of a stimulus.
   • Natural Selection
     • The process by which inherited traits that confer a selective advantage become more prevalent in a population
     • Selective Advantage
       • A characteristic of an organism that permits it to produce more than an average number of offspring of its species.
     • Evolution
       • A graduall change in the structure and physiology of plant and animal species - generally producing more complex organisms - as a result of natural selection.
   • Genes
     • Mutation
       • A change in the genetic information contained in the chromosomes of sperms or eggs, which can be passed on to an organism's offspring; provides genetic variability.