Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

Neurobiology is the study of the nervous system of animals. Nervous systems are used in responses to stimuli. Behaviour is the pallern of responses in an animal. The simplest example of animal behaviour is the reflex.
Reflexes and reflex arcs

An example of a reflex takes place when a young rabbit touches a stinging nellie plant for the first time with the tip of its nose. The rabbit's response to touching a nettle involves a series of neurons that are called a reflex arc. 1 Nerve endings in the skin of the rabbit's nose detect the pain caused by the stings. These cells are called pain receptors. The pain receptors are nerve endings of sensory neurons. 2 These sensory neurons carry impulses from the nose of the rabbit to its central nervous system. 3 The impulses travel to the ends of the sensory neurons where there are synapses with relay neurons. Messages are passed to the relay neurons by synaptic transmission. 4 The relay neurons have synapses with motor neurons, which carry impulses out of the central nervous system, to muscles in the rabbit's body. 5 Messages are passed across synapses from motor neurons to muscle fibres, which contract and pull the rabbit's nose away from the nettle. It is the cOlmeetions between sensory, relay and motor neurons that ensure the response is appropriate to the stimulus - this is known as co-ordination.

stimulus a challee ill the eIIVirol1lllellt, either illtemal or external, that is detected by a receptor alld elicits a respollse response a chmlee ill all oreallism, prodllced by a stimllills reflex a rapid IIIICOIISciollS response to a stimllills

The pain withdrawal reflex

Another reflex arc is used to co-ordinate the response to a pain stimulus, for example if we touch a hot object with our hand. This reflex action is called the pain withdrawal reflex and is co-ordinated by the spinal cord. Figure 1 shows the reflex arc for the pain withdrawal reflex.

o00nerve fibre
of sensory neuron

receptor cells or nerve endings

sensing pain
dorsal root of

cell body of sensory neuron in the dorsal root ganglion

relay neuron

spinal nerve spinal

nerve
nelVe fibre of motor

neuron

.............../

effector

(muscle
that pulls hand

away from pain when

ventral root of

spinal nerve

cell body of
motor neuron white matter grey
matter

it contracts)

spinal cord
Figure 1 Components of a reflex arc 321

30 Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

Natural selection and animal responses

The survival chances of animals are greatly affected by their behavioural responses. Individuals with the best-adapted responses are most likely to survive and produce offspring. U a response is genetically determined, rather than learned, it can be inherited by offspring. Responses should therefore change by natural selection, especially if the environment changes. Example 1 Migration in Sylvia alricapilla The bird Sylvia alricapilla (blackcap) breeds duting the summer in Germany and, until recently, migrated to Spain for winter. However, studies show that 10% of blackcaps now migrate to the UK instead. To test whether the change is genetically determined, eggs were collected from parents which had migrated to the UK in the previous winter and from parents who had ntigrated to Spain. The yowlg were reared and the direction in which they ntigrated was recorded. Birds whose parents had ntigrated to the UK tended to fly west, wherever they were reared, and birds whose parents had migrated to Spain tended to fly south-west. They therefore responded to environmental stimuli at the tin1e of ntigration in the same way as their parents. In the 10% of birds migrating to the UK, the response had changed. Warmer winters in the UK were probably the agent of natural selection that caused this change. Example 2 Rejection of
CIICIIIrIS CailOrlIS

eggs

The cuckoo (ClIclIllls CailOrlIS) lays single eggs in the nests of other bird species and then abandons them. U the strategy succeeds, the young cuckoo hatdles first and is fed by its foster parents, whose own young hatch later and are pushed out of the nest by the young cuckoo. However, cuckoo eggs are sometimes identified as foreign and removed from the nest. There is evidence that the egg rejection response develops by natural selection in populations that are targeted by cuckoos. Egg rejection is frequent in many species that would be suitable for cuckoos to use to rear their YOlmg. It is much less common in species that are W1sltitable, for example because they lay their eggs in tree holes, which are inaccessible to egg-laying female cuckoos. Egg rejection behaviour is mudl less COlllillon in meadow pipits in Iceland, where there are no cuckoos, than in populations of the same species in Europe where there are cuckoos.

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Data-based questions: garter snakes and prey selection
Some populations of the garter snake, Thamnaphis e/egans, feed on slugs, while others do not. Females bearing fertilized eggs were obtained from two populations in 0llifornia. Young snakes were reared from the eggs and for 10 days they were offered slugs to eat. The snakes had not seen their parents eating slugs. The number of days on which each snake ate a slug was recorded.

?;

[)lassen county
06
(n-58l)

6-

04
02 I7Qb

Location of population
Santa Cruz (with many slugs) lassen County (few slugs) Table 1

Ale slugs on <5 days

30 snakes

Ale slugs on

days

165 snakes
114 snakes

567 snakes

a) For each population calculate the percentages that ate slugs on <5 days. [3] b) Explain the behaviour of the populations, in terms of natural selection. [4] 2 Predict, with reasons, the result of moving snakes from lassen County to Santa Cruz. [3] Snakes from Lassen County and Santa Cruz were cross-bred. The FI hybrids were tested in the same way as the original populations. Figure 2 shows the numbers of snakes that ate slugs each of the possible numbers of days from a to 10. 3 Discuss the evidence from the bar charts for: a) the slug-eating response being inherited [2J b) the alleles for slug eating being recessive. [2J 322 4 Suggest a type of receptor for the slugeating snakes to detect slugs. [I]
I

?;[] ?;D
0246810

Feeding score

Santa Cruz county

(n _190;)

:l

53 06
04

02

0246810

Feeding score

I I I I I

Fl Lassen x Santa Cruz I

(n-71)

53 5-

06
04

I
I I I I I I I I I I I I I

02

Feeding score

2 4 6 8 10

Figure 2 Slug eating in garter snakes

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30

Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

Perception of stimuli Stimuli are detected by receptors. Some receptors are nerve endings of sensory neurons, e.g. pain receptors. Others are special cells located in a sense organ. Animals can detect a wide variety of stimuli, using different types of receptor.
Humans have the following types of receptor. Mechanoreceptors perceive 1110velnents. Examples: mechanoreceptors ill the ear perceive sound vibrations alld

movements due to gravity; mechanareceptors in the skin perceive pressure changes.

o

Chemoreceptors perceive chemical substances. Examples: chemareceptars ill the nose detect volatile chemieals in the air

(smells); chemoreceptors in the tongue perceive dissolved chemieals (tastes).

o

Figure 3 The Hermann grid. What do you perceive when you look at it? What type of receptors are you using?

Thermoreceptors perceive heat and temperature. Examples: thermareceptors in the skin perceive heat and cold;

thermoreceptors in ti,e hypothalamus mallitar the tempemture of the blood.

o

Photoreceptors perceive electromagnetic radiation, usually light. Examples: rod and cone cells ill the retilla of the eye perceive light.

Figure 4 shows the structure of the eye, including the retina, where the photoreceptors are located.

lens
aqueous
humour

scler a

choroid

pupil

retina

iris

! l - - - - - love a

conjuncti va

blind spot

cornea

vitreous
humour

optic
nerv e

Figure 4 The eye 323

-..:I

30

Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

Rod and stem cells Light entering the eye is focused to form an image on the retina, Figme 5 shows the cell types in the retina, Two types of light-sensitive cell detect the image and convert it into nerve impulses, These are the rod and cone cells, Rods are very sensitive to light, so work well in dim light conditions, In bright light the pigment in them is temporarily bleached, and they do not work. Rod cells absorb all the visible wavelengths of light and do not distinguish between them so they give us black and white vision, Groups of rod cells send impulses to the brain via a single neuron, so the brain cannot distinguish which rod absorbed the light, There is therefore less detail in images transmitted to the brain by rods than by the cones, each of which sends impulses to the brain via an individual nemon, There are three types of cone, which absorb different ranges of wavelength of light, They are named according to the colour that they absorb most: red, blue or green, When any colour of light reaches the retina, the red, blue and green cones will each be stimulated by a certain amount. By analysing the amount that each of the three cone types are stimulated, the colom of light can be very precisely determined, Cones are only stimulated by bright light and therefore the colour vision that they give us does not work well in dim light. Processing of visual stimuli The retina begins the task of processing the visual stimuli that are collected by the rods and cones and passed via the bipolar cells to the ganglion cells, Each ganglion cell is stimulated when light falls on a small circular area of retina called the receptive Held, There are two types of ganglion celL In one type, the ganglion is stimulated if light falls on the centre of the receptive field, but tllis stimulation is reduced if light also falls on the periphery, In the other type, light falling on the periphery of the receptive field stimulates the ganglion cell, but this stimulation is reduced if light also falls on the centre, Both types of ganglion cell are therefore more stimulated if the edge of light/dark areas is wililin the receptive Held, Tllis type of processing is called edge enhancement and it is the explanation of an optical illusion called the Hermann grid, Contra-lateral processing of visual stimuli means that some impulses from the left eye pass to the right side of the brain, and vice versa, This exchange happens in the optic clliasma, shown in Figure 6, The right side of the brain processes visual stimuli from the left side of the visual field, and vice versa.
324

L nerve fibres
} of ganglion cells

ganglion

cell
}-bipolar
neuron

cone cell

layer of
pigmented

cells

Figure 5 Rods and cones in the retina

visual field

......
\\
" "

\"

right eye right optic

nerve

optic chiasma

thalamus

visual
cortex

Figure 6 The optic chiasma

30 Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

m.a

Perception of sound Sound waves pass through the air. When they reach the eardrum, a thin sheet of tissue between the outer and middle ear, they make it vibrate rapidly. There is a series of three tiny bones in the air-filled middle ear, which are in contact with each other. They form a connection between the eardrum and another thin sheet of tissue, the oval window, located between the middle and irmer ear. The bones of the middle ear transmit vibrations from the eardrum to the oval wirIdow. They can also amplify the sound by about twenty times. If sounds are too loud, muscles attached to the bones contract, to damp down the vibrations and protect the ear. The cocWea is the part of the irmer ear that is used for hearing. It is a tubular, coiled, fluid-filled structure. Within the cochlea are membranes to which sensory cells are attached. Each of these cells has a bundle of hairs, stretching from one membrane to another. When vibrations are
pinna bones of skull
I

transmitted from the oval window into the cochlea, they stimulate particular hair cells by making their hair bundles vibrate. Different hair cells resonate and therefore vibrate at different frequencies, allowirlg us to distinguish between soruIds of a different pitch. When a hair cell is stinllllated, it sends an impulse to the brain across a synapse and along a sensory neuron in the auditory nerve. The round window is another thin sheet of tissue, located between the middle and irmer ear. If it did not exist, the oval window would not be able to vibrate, because the incompressible fluid in the cochlea would prevent it from moving. When the oval window pushes the fluid in the cocWea inwards, the round wirldow moves outwards, and when the oval wirIdow moves outwards, the round window moves irlwards. In tltis way, the oval window is free to vibrate and to transmit vibrations to the fluid in the cochlea.
parts of inner ear concerned

bones of
middle ear

with balance muscle attached auditory

nerve

cochlea
ear drum

found window

oval window

Figure 7 The structure of the ear

Thinking about science. perception and reality

Figure 8 shows the frequency sensitivity of six land mammals. The solid area shows where frequency sensitivity is best, while the lines indicate how much louder other frequencies need to be in order to be heard. Does the world sound the same to any of the animals?
_ 0<18 111111 +20o$lI 1111'" HOdS HOdii

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDI I 111111111111111

IDIIIIII IDIIIIIIIIIIIII

2 Which is the real world-the one we perceive or the world perceived by the bat?

g
..

..I 111111I1111I1I11I111_lIImli I 1111111111111111111111111111111[1 III I I I I 1111111 11111 I 11111111111111111111

3 Animals also differ considerably in their visual perception. Is what each animal sees what is really there, is it a construction of reality, or is reality a false concept?

"X,

'000

(HI)

Figure 8 Sensitivity of mammals to

frequencies of sound

325

aI:m

30. Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

Innate behaviour
Some types of animal behaviour develop whatever external inlluences an animal experiences-they develop independently of the environmental context. They are genetically programmed and are called innate behaviour. An example is movement of Pial/aria flatworms towards food. Other types of behaviour develop as a result of the animal's experiences. They are examples of learned behaviour. An example is the use by chimpanzees of narrow twigs to extract termites from termite mounds. Figure 9 Woodlouse (slater)

Investigating biology: innate behaviour in invertebrates

The behaviour of invertebrate animals can be investigated by carefully designed experiments. Two types of behaviour involving movement have been defined: Taxis is movement towards or away from a directional stimulus. An example is movement of a woodlouse or slater (Figure 9) away from light. Kinesis also involves movement as a response, but the direction of movement is not influenced by the stimulus. Instead, the speed of movement or the number of times the animal turns is varied. An example is slower movement, with more frequent turning when woodlice are transferred from drier to more damp conditions. Choice of invertebrate species Many different invertebrates can be used in experiments. Planarian flatworms, woodlice, blowfly larvae, snails and beetles are often used. Some species can be purchased from suppliers but it is also possible to use invertebrates from local habitats. These should be kept for a short time only, protected from suffering during the experiments and then returned to their habitat. Endangered species should not be used.

Stages in designing an investigation: 1 Place the animals in conditions that are similar to the natural habitat. 2 Observe the behaviour and to see what stimuli affect movement. 3 Choose one stimulus that appears to cause a taxis or kinesis. 4 Devise an experiment to test responses to the stimulus. 5 Ensure that other factors do not have an effect on the movement. 6 Decide how you will measure the movement of the invertebrates.

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Data-based questions: chemotaxis in woodlice
Figure 10 shows apparatus that can be used to test the response of invertebrates to scents. The animals are placed in the syringe W, a pump is attached to tube X, to draw air gently through arms Y and Z. The apparatus was used to test whether woodlice were attracted to the smell of other members of their own species. Three species were tested. In each case air was drawn through a container of the woodlice into one of the two arms. This air was therefore scented with the woodlice. Unscented air was drawn into the other arm. The number of woodlice that moved from syringe A into each arm was counted. The results are shown in Table 2.

Suggest another method for encouraging the woodlice to move out of the syringe and into one of the arms. [2)
f I I

2 Outline the trends shown by the data in the Table 2. [2)

3 Tests show that the differences between the numbers collecting in each
arm are statistically significant (chi-squared test). Deduce, with a reason, the type of receptor that the woodlice must have. [2] 4 Discuss, in terms of survival and reproduction, the possible reasons for the woodlice entering: a) the scented arm of the apparatus [2)

:
I I I I I I

Figure 10 Testing chemotaxis

Unscented

I
I I I

Oniscus asellus Porcellio scober

Table 2

69 62
55
I

b) the unscented arm of the apparatus. [2)

326

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Armadillidium vulgare

30 Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

Learned behaviour Learned behaviour develops as a result of experience. Although offspring inherit the capacity to learn, they do not inherit specific patterns of behaviour. Offspring behave in a similar way to their parents in many cases, but only because they learn behaviour patterns from them, not because of the genes that they have inherited. For example, human offspring inherit the capacity to learn a language. The language that they learn is usually that of their biological parents, but not if they are adopted by adults who speak a different language. Birdsong has been investigated intensively in some species. It is partly innate and partly learned. All members of a bird species share innate aspects of song, allowing each individual to recognize other members of the species. The learned aspects introduce differences, allowing individuals to be recognized by their song, and in some species allowing mates to be chosen for the quality of their singing. Learned behaviour has adva11lages over innate behaviour. It allows responsiveness to change or variation in the environment. New behaviour patterns can spread quickly through a population. This can greatly improve chances of survival. For example, honeybees can leanl from other bees in their colony how to find nectar sources. They can also learn to find a particular flower type by associating its colour with its scent. The location and type of flowers that is yielding the most abundant nectar changes over time, but bees can learn new locations and types of flower. TIJ..is would not be possible with innate behaviour. Animals learn to avoid eating distasteful or poisonous plants or animals; they learn to avoid touching plants or animals with stings; they learn to avoid predator attacks and other dangers. It is possible to find examples of all of these patterns of learned behaviour throughout the world, and deduce how they increase chances of survival.

Figure 11 Blue tit pecking through

milkbottle cap

Thinking about science: blue tits and milk bottles

Newspaper articles recently reported that blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) had stopped pecking through the aluminium caps of milk bottles, delivered to the doorsteps of houses, to drink the cream. This type of behaviour was observed in the 1920s in Southampton, England, and then soon after 150 kilometres away - far further than blue tits normally fly. Amateur birdwatchers followed the rapid spread of the behaviour, in both blue tits and great tits, across Europe to the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. German occupation of the Netherlands during the Second World War stopped deliveries of milk for eight years - five years longer than the life of a blue tit. However, within months of the resumption of deliveries, blue tits throughout the Netherlands were pecking through the bottle tops. In 1952 the journal Nature reported "Although no experimental analysis of the behaviour involved in the opening of milk bottles has yet been made, further observations in the field enable the discussion to be carried furthe(' Much less milk is now delivered to doorsteps, because milk in supermarkets is cheaper. Also skimmed milk, without cream at the top, has become popular with humans. This may explain why blue tits have not recently been observed pecking through bottle tops. What is the evidence from the observations that this is learned rather than innate behaviour? 2 How did the behaviour increase the chance of survival of the blue tits? 3 How can we be certain this behaviour pattern did not
evolve by natural selection
j

hundreds of years ago? 4 Why are scientists

sometimes suspicious of evidence based on amateur observations, rather than

on numerical data from

controlled experiments?

327

30. Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

Learned behaviour
Several different types of learning have been defined. One of these, called conditioning, was investigated by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, using dogs. Pavlov inserted a tube through the cheek of his experimental animals that could be used to collect saliva from the mouth. He was then able to give stimuli and measure the volume of saliva secreted by the dogs. He found that saliva was secreted in response to the sight or smell of food. These types of stimulus, to which all dogs respond without learning, are called unconditioned stimuli and the secretion of saliva that results is the unconditioned response. Pavlov observed after a while that the dogs were starting to secrete saliva before they received the unconditioned stimulus. Something else had become a stimulus that allowed the dogs to anticipate the arrival of food. He found that the dogs could learn to use a variety of signals in this way, including the ringing of a bell, the Hashing of a light, a metronome ticking or a musical box playing. These are examples of conditioned stimuli and the secretion of saliva that these stimuli elicit is the conditioned response. Conditioned responses are used extensively in many animal's behaviour and can greatly increase survival chances. There are other more sophisticated types of learning, which also aid help animals to survive, reproduce and pass on their genes.
I I

Figure 12 Pavlov's dogs

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Data-based questions:

birdsong - innate or learned?

I
I

The sonograms in Figure 13 are a visual representation of birdsong, with time on the x-axis and frequency or pitch on the v-axIs. I Compare sonograms I and II, which are from two populations of white-crowned sparrows (Zanatrichia leucophyrys). [2] 2 Sonogram III is from a white-crowned sparrow that was reared in a place where it could not hear anv other birdsong.

..._
II

,
,I ..

I I I

a) Compare sonogram III with sonograrns I and II. [2J

b) Discuss whether the song of white-crowned sparrows is

1' -----.,w-- '\1 \, \11\1 \1 \ \. \1 \ ' ":,'

innate, learned or due to both innatE factors and learning.

[3]
3 In 1981 Martin Morton and Luis Baptista published a very unusual discovery - a white-crowned sparrow had learned to imitate the song of another species. Sonogram IV is from a strawberry finch (Amandava amandava). Sonogram V is from a white-crowned sparrow that had been hand-reared bV itself until it was 46 davs old and then placed in an aviary with other white-crowned sparrows and a strawberry finch.

-III

a) Compare sonogram V with sonogram IV. [2]

b) Compare sonogram Vwith sonograms I and II. [2J c) Suggest two reasons whV birds rarelv imitate other species. [2] d) Discuss whether Morton and Baptista's obseNation is evidence for innate or learned development of birdsong. [2]

'"

'v

..

328

Figure 13 Sonograms of birdsong

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30

Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

m.a

Neurotransmitters and synapses

The basic principles of synaptic transmission were described in Chapter 24 - an action potential in the pre-synaptic neuron causes release of neurotransmitter into the synaptic cleft, and an action potential is stimulated in the post-synaptic neuron when the neurotransmitter binds to receptors in its membrane. Two additional features of synapses give a fuller understanding of the functions of synapses.

More than one pre-synaptic neuron can form a synapse with the same post-synaptic neuron (see Figure 14). Sometimes there are hundreds of pre-synaptic neurons! Usually a single release of neurotransmitter from one of the pre-synaptic neuron is insufficient to trigger an action potential. Either one pre-synaptic neuron must repeatedly release neurotransmitter, or several different pre-synaptic neurons must release neurotransmitter together. The additive effect from multiple releases of neurotransmitter is called summation. Neurotransmitters that stimulate action potentials in the postsynaptic neuron are called excitatory. Some neurotransmitters have a different effect - they inhibit action potentials. Neurons only release one type of neurotransmitter. Pre-synaptic neurons therefore either excite or inhibit post -synaptic transmission - they cannot do both. Where there are many synapses between pre-synaptic neurons and a post-synaptic neuron there can be interaction between the activities of the excitatory and inhibitory neurons (Figure 15). Whether a postsynaptic action potential is excited or not is a summation of the effects of all of these neurons. This is the basis of decision-making processes in the central nervous system.
Psychoactive drugs

EPSP plus IPS?

./

action

- - potential

action /potential

1 100

ms

Figure 14 Excitatory post-synaptic potentials (EPSP), inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSP)

The brain has many synapses, perhaps as many as 10 16 in children. These synapses vary in their organization and use a wide variety of neurotransmitters. Over a hundred different brain neurotransmitters are known. Psychoactive drugs affect the brain and personallty by altering the functioning of some of these synapses. Some drugs are excitatory, because they increase post-synaptic transmission. Others are inhibitory because they decrease it. Examples of excitatory drugs I Nicotine contained in cigarettes and other forms of tobacco, derived from the plant Nicotiana tabacum. 2 Cocaine derived from the leaves of a Peruvian plant, Etythroxylon coca. 3 Amphetamines a group of compounds that are synthesized artificially. Examples of inhibitory drugs I Benzodiazepines a group of compounds including Valium that are synthesized artifiCially. 2 Alcohol in the form of ethanol, which is obtained by using yeast to ferment sugar. 3 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) obtained from the leaves of the Cannabis sativa plant.

nerve endings of pre-synaptic

neurons

forming

synapses

Figure 15 Multiple synapses

Figure 16 Micrograph of brain tissue

329

:a..:II

30 Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

Cocaine

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THe)

Cocaine acts at synapses that use dopamine as a neurotransmitter. It binds to dopamine reuptake transporters, which are membrane proteins that pump dopamine back into the pre-synaptic neuron. Because cocaine blocks these transporters, dopamine builds up in the synaptic cleft and the post-synaptic neuron is continuously excited. Cocaine is therefore an excitatory psychoactive drug. Synapses that use dopamine are part of what is known as the reward pathway that gives us pleasurable feelings during certain activities. Cocaine gives feelings of euphoria that are not related to any particular activity. Excitatory drugs can also work by mimicking excitatory neurotransmitters, for example, heroin mimics endorphins.

THC binds to cannabinoid receptors in pre-synaptic membranes. Binding inhibits the release of neurotransmitters that cause excitation of postsynaptic neurons. THC is therefore an inhibitory psychoactive drug. Cannabinoid receptors are found in synapses in various parts of the brain, including the cerebellum, hippocampus and cerebral hemispheres. Sevcral naturally occurring or endogenous cannabinoids have been discovered. They are an lUllIsual example of rctrograde signalling as they are released by the post-synaptic neuron and convey a message to the prc-synaptic neuron. People have reportcd a wide variety of feelings due to THe. The main eUects are disruption of psydlOmotor behaviour, short-term memory inlpairment, intoxication and stimulation of appetite.

Drug addiction - the causes

The American Psychiatric Association has defined addiction as:

"a chrollically relapsil1g disorder that is characterized by three maill elemellts: (a) compulsioll to seek alld take the drug (b) loss ofcOl1trol il1 limitillg illtake alld (c) emergel1ce ofa mgative emotiollal state whell access to the drug is prevellted."
Only certain drugs cause addiction and usually repeated use over a prolonged period of time is needed. With a few drugs, addiction can develop more rapidly. Some people seem much more vulnerable to addiction than others. Also, addiction is more prevalent in some parts of society than others. The causes of addiction are clearly not simple and three areas need to be considered. 1 Dopamine secretion is associated feelings of well-being and pleasure. Many addictive drugs, including opiates, cocaine, nicotine and alcohol affect dopamine secreting synapses. 2 Genetic predisposition is the increased chance of developing an addiction that some people have because of their genes. One example is the gene, DRD2, that codes for the dopamine receptor protein. There are multiple alleles of this gene and a recent study showed that people with one or more copies of the Al allele consumed less alcohol than those homozygous for the A2 aIIele. 3 Social factors affect drug use and addiction. Cultural traditions are very important and help to explain why different drugs cause problems in different parts of the world. Peer pressure, poverty and social deprivation, traumatic life experiences and mental health problems may also contribute.

Figure 17 Wine and other alcoholic drinks contain ethanol which is an addidive drug. Some scientists who advise on drug addiction regard problems due to alcohol addidion to be greater than other less socially acceptable drugs.

330

30 Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

mal

The human brain

There has been intense research into the structure and function of the human brain. Figure 18 shows the main structures. Medulla oblongata controls automatic and homeostatic activities, such as swallowing, digestion, vomiting, breathing and heart activity. Cerebellum co-ordinates ullconscious functions, such as movement and balance. Hypothalamus maintains homeostasis, co-ordinating the nervous and endocrine systenlS, synthesising the hormones secreted by the posterior pituitary, and releasing factors that regulate the secretion of hormones by the anterior pituitary. Pituitary gland the posterior lobe stores and releases hormones produced by the hypothalamus and the anterior lobe produces and secretes hormones that regulate many body functions. Cerebral hemispheres act as the integrating centre for high complex functions such as learning, memory and emotions.

skull

cerebral hemisphere

pineal gland

hypothalamus

cerebellum

--t+t-f'::7""""------

medulla

oblongata

spinal cord

pituitary gland

vertebra

Figure 18 Diagram of the brain

lesion studies and animal experimentation

Lesion studies gave the first useful information about brain functions. For example, in the 19th century, after the death of a patient who could only say the word "Tan", the French neurologist Charcot found a single large tumour damaging the lower left side of the patient's brain. He deduced that this part of the brain is invoived with speech. Another famous case involved Phineas Gage, who suffered severe damage to the frontal lobes of his brain in 1848 when a large metal pin passed through his skull. The lesion radically altered his personalit y and capacity for social interaction. Many lesions due to tumours or accidental damage have been investigated, but rather than wait for these fortuitous opportunities, some neuroscientists have perfonned experiInents on aninlals, including primates. Removal of parts of the skull gives access to the brain and allows experimental procedures to be performed. The effect on the animal can be observed, as long as the animal is still alive. These experiments therefore involve vivisection. Therc are widespread objections to them, because of the suffering they may cause to the animal and because at the end the animal is often sacrificed.

Figure 19 Image of brain lesion

331

30 Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

---{HL

Functional magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a very useful technique for studying the internal structure of the body and for finding tumours and other conditions in patients. A specialized version of MRI, called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been developed, which allows the parts of the brain that are activated by specific thought processes to be identified. Active parts of the brain receive increased blood flow, which fMRI records. The experimental subject is placed in the scalUler and a high-resolution scan of the brain is taken. A series of low-resolution scans is then taken while the subject is being given a stimulus. These scans show which parts of the brain are activated during the response to the stimulus. The three iInages in Figure 20 were obtaiIled from an fMRI experiment where experiInental subjects watched a moving target on a screen and moved a cursor to follow it. This task caused the cerebellum to be strongly activated because it coordinates eye and hand movements.

Figure 20 fMRI scans

Pain and painkillers

Pain receptors iIl the Skill and other parts of the body detect StiIllUli such as the chemical substances in a bee's sting, excessive heat from a flame or the puncturing of skin by a hypodermic needle. These receptors are the nerve endings of sensory neurons and they convey impulses to the central nervous system. When iInpulses reach sensory areas of the cerebral cortex we experience the sensation of pain. At times it is necessary to block feelings of pain and the body uses natural painkillers to do this. One group, called endorphins, are oligopeptides that are secreted by the pituitary gland. They bind to receptors in synapses in the pathways used iIl the perception of pain. This blocks synaptic transmission and prevents the pain being felt.
Figure 21 fMRI scan of endometriosis

pain

332

30 Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

II:aa

Sympathetic and parasympathetic control

The peripheral nervous system comprises all of the nerves outside the cemral nervous system. It is divided into two parts: the voluntary and the autonomic nervous systems. Unconscious processes are controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which is itself divided imo sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. These often have contrary effects on an unconscious process. For example, parasympathetic nerves cause an increase in blood flow to the gut wall when the gut is active. Sympathetic nerves cause a decrease in blood !low, during fasting or when blood is needed elsewhere, for example in muscles during vigorous exercise. The heart rate and size of the pupil are also under autonomic control. Impulses are transmitted to the heart's pacemaker by the medulla oblongata. Impulses carried by the sympathetic system cause the heart rate to speed up; impulses canied by the parasympathetic system cause it to slow down. Muscle fibres in the iris control the size of the pupil. Impulses carried to radial muscle fibres by neurons of the sympathetic system cause them to contract and dilate the pupil; impulses carried to circular muscle fibres by neurons of the parasympathetic system cause the pupil to constrict. The pupil reflex The pupil reflex occurs when bright light shines into the eye. Photoreceptor cells in the retina perceive the bright light, causing impulses to be semto the brain in neurons of the optic nerve. The medulla oblongata (brain stem) processes these impulses, which results in impulses being transmitted via neurons of the parasympathetic system to the circular muscle fibres in the iris. This causes constriction of the pupil, so the amOWll of light entering the eye is reduced and the eye is protected from damage. Doctors sometimes use the pupil reflex to test a patient's brain fundion. A light is shone into each eye. If the pupils do not constrict, the medulla oblongata is probably damaged. If this and other tests of brain stem function are repeated and fail to show nonnaI activity, the patient is said to have suffered brain death. It may be possible to sustain activity in other parts of the patient's body on a life support machine, but recovery is extremely unlikely.

Figure 22 Eye: dilated pupil

Figure 23 Eye: constricted pupil

Which of these standards: a) is possible in practice

b) is most appropriate for ethical or other reasons. 2 Some would argue that what defines a person is higher brain function. If this is so, is it possible, or reasonable, to distinguish between the death of the body and the death of a person?
3 Supporters of euthanasia might argue for a quality of life standard. Why is this definition problematic? Discuss the ethical issues associated with euthanasia.

CRITICAL CONSIDERATIONS: medical definitions of death

For legal and ethical reasons, it is often necessary to clearly define when a human life has ended. For example, a person may have expressed a wish that once dead, their healthy organs may be used for organ transplants. Human death can be established by several different criteria. 1 The biological standard: cessation of life of the whole organism. 2 The cardiopulmonary standard: when the heart and lungs cease to function. This standard is problematic today because heart and lung function can often be maintained indefinitely through artificial means. 3 The whole-brain standard: if all parts of the brain including the brain stem are non-functional. The pupil reflex is one way to check if the brain stem is non-functional. Patients have survived for years with only the brain stem functioning - known as a permanent vegetative state. 4 The higher brain standard: death is considered to have occurred if the cerebral hemispheres have ceased to function, even if the brain stem is functioning and allowing homeostasis to continue.

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Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

Social organisation
Honeybees are one of the best known of social organisms. They live in colonies of thousands of bees, co-operating to give the colony as a whole the colony the best chance of survival. Individual bees cannot survive unless the colony survives. The colony is like a superorganism, with natural selection acting at this level rather than at the level of the individual bees in it. There are three castes of honeybee: o Queens - fertile females, one only per colony, who lays eggs. o Drones - fertile males, several hundred per colony, whose only role is to search for virgin females and mate with them. o Workers - infertile females, thousands, who carry out all the tasks needed in the colony including foraging for food and rearing larvae. Often worker bees give up their lives while defending the colony. They also help in rearing larvae, though they do not usually themselves breed. Both these actions can be regarded as altruistic. In studies of animal behaviour, altruism is defined as actions that increase another individual's lifetime number of offspring at a cost to one's own survival and reproduction.

Figure 24 Naked mole rats (Heterocepho/us glober) are social mammals. They live in underground colonies of about 80 individuals. Only one female reproduces but three other castes help her: frequent workers,

infrequent workers and non-workers.

Each of these castes has different roles in the colony.

Altruism
The evolution of altruism is an interesting conundrum: if natural seJection involves a struggle for existence in which the winners reproduce and pass on their alleles to their offspring, natural selection should always act against altruism. It is easier to understand the evolution of co-operation - a group of animals who help each other in some way may be more successful in the overall struggle for existence than animals that do not and all of them will increase their chance of reproduction. Of course there are cases where cheating or manipulation by some individuals disrupts these relationships. True altruism always seems to involve animals that are genetically related, with natural selection operating at the level of alleles. In a honeybee colony, the offspring that a worker helps to rear will usually be her siblings and shaTe some of her alleles. In fact, because of the way in which gender is determined in honeybees, female siblings will on average share 75 per cent of their alleles. If the larvae that a worker rears become either queens or drones, they will have the chance of reproducing and passing on some of the worker's alleles to bees in the colony or another colony. This explains why workers toil so hard to ensure the survival of the colony - their alleles perish or survive with it. Over millions of years of evolution, any colonies where the worker bees did not act altruistically to defend the colony and rear the young will have died out and the alleles that made the workers act non-altruistically will have disappeared too.

Figure 25

Vampire bats living in groups share blood. If a member of the group fails to feed for several nights, it is given blood by another member of the group. This happens even if the bats are not genetically related, so is regarded as altruism. All the bats are vulnerable to starvation if they fail to feed, so they benefit from this system of blood sharing.

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30 Option E: Neurobiology and behaviour

EaIII

Foraging behaviour
Foraging is searching for food. Animals must decide what type of prey to search for and how to find it. Studies have shown that animals tend to choose the prey that gives the highest rate of energy relllm. For example, the shore crab (Carcil1l1S II/omas) prefers to eat mussels of intermeruate size, when presented in an aquarium with equal numbers of each size. As Figure 26 shows, these give the highest energy yield per second of time spent breaking open the shells. For most animals, the availability of food varies over both space and time. Foraging behaviour may therefore need to change, to optimize food intake at any moment. Evidence for this has come from sturues of the bluegill sunfish (LepolI/is II/acrocilirus), which feed on small invertebrates, including Dapill1ia. Figure 27 shows how the conswnption of Dapill1ia of clifferent sizes changes as prey density increases.
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Figure 27 Sunfish prey size at different prey densities Rhythmical behaviour Many animal species show rhythmical variations in activity. These can be over an annual cycle. For example, mate selection and mating in red deer (Cell/lls elaplws) occurs in the aullmm. As a result, calves are born in the spring, when most food is available. On the Great Barrier Reef most species spawn together over just one or two nights, soon alter the full moon in November each year. This gives the highest possible concentration of sperm and eggs, raising the chance of fertilization and reducing the chance of predation. Rhythmical behaviour patterns can also follow daily cycles, for example, diurnal sleep arld nocturnal activity in hamsters. Exaggerated traits Some species have behaviour patterns or anatomical features that seem to us to be exaggerated, for example the tail feathers of the peacock. Darwin explained this by mate selection. In the case of the peacock, if female peahens prefer males with longer, more spectacularly coloured tail feathers, such tails will develop by natural selection. Exaggerated traits may be preferred when selecting a mate because they indicate fitness. If a peacock can survive with the encumbrance of its tail feathers, it is probably well adapted in olber ways and is therefore a good mate to moose.

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Data-based questions:

rhythmical behaviour patterns

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A study was done of the flight behaviour of serotine bats (Eptesicus serotinus), using radio transmitters attached to the bats. Each line indicates the timing and length of a flight.
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Figure 28 Flight behaviour in serotine bats

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