Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to The early maturation of the CNS entails subdividing sections through a process called segmentation. During this time, the brain undergoes massive cellular expansion producing neural stem cells that will…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to Our entire CNS begins from a simple sheet of cells. During development, these cells expand to create the highly patterned and functional units of our brain and…
Figure 5.1 Brain MRI highlighting the brain regions where functional and structural changes are prominent as a result of mistreatment. The pink areas are regions that mediate emotion and motivation. Blue areas support higher order functions such as working memory and attention.…
How Do We Choose A Model System? Animal models are used to understand biological phenomena and behaviors that can be applied to a broad range of species. The choice of model organisms is based on behavioral characteristics, breeding, ease of…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to Certain ethics limit the use of experimentation on humans, and some alternate species are not readily available for study. For example, many great apes are endangered, and…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to Our discussion of connectivity in the human brain highlighted the need for model systems to understand human brains. This principle goes beyond just connectivity, though. Much of…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to The mammalian nervous system is made up of a network of interconnected cells. In this section, we will discuss the evolution of the cellular composition of brains…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to While comparative neuroscience involves the study of many species, one species in particular has captured a disproportionate amount of attention: humans (de Sousa et al., 2023). A…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to There are several challenges in comparing the nervous systems of different species. As is evident from Figure 4.2, brain structures are highly diverse. Figure 4.2 Diversity of brains Image credit: Herculano-Houzel,…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to In this section, we will discuss how scientists select a model system to study, as well as some of the rules governing use of animals in research.…