Psych 2210 1st Edition Lecture 10 Outline of Last Lecture I. Measuring Electrical ActivityII. Review of Neuronal Electrical ActivityIII. MethodsIV. Place Cells and Grid CellsV. What about HumansVI. Link to Alzheimer’s VII. Digital vs. PaperVIII. Hippocampal Activity Codes for MemoryOutline of Current Lecture I. Emotional and Pro-social effects caused by release of serotoninII. Effects of Serotonin DepletionIII. Physical Symptoms and Possible Addiction due to Norepinephrine and Dopamine releaseIV. Does MDMA have therapeutic value? V. Connectivity ChangesVI. Methods (refresher) VII. Research Applications VIII. “The Dress” discussionCurrent LectureI. Emotional and Pro-social effects caused by release of SerotoninThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.a. Direct Effectsi. Mood, appetite, sleepb. Indirect Effectsi. Triggers the release of the hormones oxytocin and vasopressinii. Play important roles in love, trust, sexual arousal, and other social experiencesiii. May account for the characteristic feelings of emotional closeness and empathy produced by the drug. II. Effects of Serotonin Depletiona. Surge of serotonin after taking MDMA depletes the brain of serotoninb. Negative after effects: confusion, depression, anxiety, sleep probelmsIII. Physical Symptoms and Possible Addiction due to Norepinephrine and Dopamine releasea. Norepinephrine (activated when nervous system is)i. Increased heart rateii. Increased blood pressureiii. Increased energyb. Dopaminei. MDMA increases activity in reward circuitii. Animals will self-administer MDMAIV. Does MDMA have therapeutic value? a. First used in the 1970s as aid in psychotherapyb. Labeled schedule 1 drug in 1985—high abuse potential c. Anecdotal reports about positive effects in some disordersd. Currently in clinical trials for PTSD and existential anxiety in terminal cancer patientse. 2014 Biological Psychiatryi. Methods, Subjective EffectsV. Connectivity Changesa. Communication between the medial temporal lobe and medial prefrontal cortex (involved in emotional control) was reduced. b. Communication heightened between the amygdala and the hippocampus—the opposite of what is typically seen in patients with PTSD. c. Summaryi. Amygdala and hippocampus cerebral blood flow (CBF):1. Decreased spontaneous activity2. Correlated with the intensity of the drug’s effectsii. Prefrontal cortex—Cingulate RSFC:1. Decreased connectivity between emotional control areasiii. Amygdala—hippocampal RSFC: 1. Increased connectivity d. Can brain changes be therapeautic? i. Asked to recall favorite and worst life memoriesii. Compared answers after MDMA and after placeboiii. Measured changes in blood flow and connectivityiv. Favorite memories: rated as more vivid, emotionally intense and positive after MDMA than placebov. Worst memories: rated less negativelye. Correlations with brain changes after MDMAi. MDMA decreases activity in anxiety processing areas: 1. Decreased activity in the limbic system2. Decreased connectivity between the medial temporal lobe and medial prefrontal cortex3. These effects were stronger in subjects who reported stronger subjective experiencesii. MDMA decreases impact of negative memories: 1. Increased communication between the amygdala and the hippocampus2. Opposite to that seen in patients with PTSDVI. Methods (refresher) a. Measuring Electrical Activity b. Review of Neural Electrical Activity i. Neurons communicate via electrical signals 1. Inputs to dendrites, post-synaptic potentials2. Action potentialsii. This activity can be measured1. Individual neurons2. Summed activity of thousands of neuronsc. Single Cell Recordingsi. Records neural activity but doesn’t stimulate itii. Invasiveiii. Correlate activity with behavioriv. Stereotaxic Procedure to implant electrodesv. Electrode signal is amplified and recorded during behaviorVII. Research Applicationsa. Hubel and Wiesel: Mapping the Visual Cortexb. Simple cells—respond to particular orientationVIII. THE DRESSa. Patch of light hitting the eye could be from: i. A dark object illuminated by a bright lightii. Or from a light object illuminated by a dim light. iii. Nonetheless we generally see a snowball in the shade as white and a lump of coal in sunlight as black. b. Color Constancyi. Yellow-orange patch could come from:1. A white cloth illuminated by a warm light (such as a tungsten or halogen light bulb) 2. Or an orange cloth illuminated by white light (such as the sun and sky on a sunny day) 3. Nonetheless we usually see white shirt under a floor lamp as white, not orange. c. Subjective experience is a “guess”.d. The Dress—digital camera can yield a picture that is: i. Over or underexposed (failures of lightness constancy) ii. Or that has a color cast (a failure of color