romikgosai/squad_modified huggingface dataset:
The essence of the information processing approach is to try to understand brain function in terms of information flow and implementation of algorithms. One of the most influential early contributions was a 1959 paper titled What the frog's eye tells the frog's brain: the paper examined the visual responses of neurons in the retina and optic tectum of frogs, and came to the conclusion that some neurons in the tectum of the frog are wired to combine elementary responses in a way that makes them function as "bug perceivers". A few years later David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel discovered cells in the primary visual cortex of monkeys that become active when sharp edges move across specific points in the field of view—a discovery for which they won a Nobel Prize. Follow-up studies in higher-order visual areas found cells that detect binocular disparity, color, movement, and aspects of shape, with areas located at increasing distances from the primary visual cortex showing increasingly complex responses. Other investigations of brain areas unrelated to vision have revealed cells with a wide variety of response correlates, some related to memory, some to abstract types of cognition such as space.

Questions and answers:
["
Q: The scientific paper, What the frog's eye tells the frog's brain was released in what year?
A: 1959", '
Q: Who won a Nobel Prize for the discovery that cells in the visual cortex of monkeys become active when sharp edges move?
A: David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel']
Furthermore, even single neurons appear to be complex and capable of performing computations. So, brain models that don't reflect this are arguably too abstractive to be representative of brain operation; models that do try to capture this are very computationally expensive and arguably intractable with present computational resources. However, having said this, the Human Brain Project is trying to build a realistic, detailed computational model of the entire human brain. It remains to be seen what level of success they can achieve in the time frame of the project and the wisdom of it has been publicly contested, with high-profile scientists on both sides of the argument.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What is the project called that is trying to build a realistic, detailed computer model of the human brain?
A: the Human Brain Project']
One of the primary functions of a brain is to extract biologically relevant information from sensory inputs. The human brain is provided with information about light, sound, the chemical composition of the atmosphere, temperature, head orientation, limb position, the chemical composition of the bloodstream, and more. In other animals additional senses may be present, such as the infrared heat-sense of snakes, the magnetic field sense of some birds, or the electric field sense of some types of fish. Moreover, other animals may develop existing sensory systems in new ways, such as the adaptation by bats of the auditory sense into a form of sonar. One way or another, all of these sensory modalities are initially detected by specialized sensors that project signals into the brain.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What type of animal has a sense that adapted into sonar?
A: bats', '
Q: What type of animal uses infrared heat to sense?
A: snakes', '
Q: The group of animals that can detect magnetic fields is what?
A: birds', '
Q: The group of creatures that can sense electric fields is what?
A: fish']
Each sensory system begins with specialized receptor cells, such as light-receptive neurons in the retina of the eye, vibration-sensitive neurons in the cochlea of the ear, or pressure-sensitive neurons in the skin. The axons of sensory receptor cells travel into the spinal cord or brain, where they transmit their signals to a first-order sensory nucleus dedicated to one specific sensory modality. This primary sensory nucleus sends information to higher-order sensory areas that are dedicated to the same modality. Eventually, via a way-station in the thalamus, the signals are sent to the cerebral cortex, where they are processed to extract biologically relevant features, and integrated with signals coming from other sensory systems.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Light-receptive neurons are located in what part of the eye?
A: retina', '
Q: Vibration-sensitive neurons are found in what part of the ear?
A: cochlea', '
Q: Signals are sent from the thalamus to what part of the brain?
A: cerebral cortex']
Motor systems are areas of the brain that are directly or indirectly involved in producing body movements, that is, in activating muscles. Except for the muscles that control the eye, which are driven by nuclei in the midbrain, all the voluntary muscles in the body are directly innervated by motor neurons in the spinal cord and hindbrain. Spinal motor neurons are controlled both by neural circuits intrinsic to the spinal cord, and by inputs that descend from the brain. The intrinsic spinal circuits implement many reflex responses, and contain pattern generators for rhythmic movements such as walking or swimming. The descending connections from the brain allow for more sophisticated control.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What part of the body is controlled by nuclei in the midbrain?
A: the eye,', '
Q: All the muscles controlled by motor neurons in the body are controlled by what?
A: spinal cord and hindbrain']
The brain contains several motor areas that project directly to the spinal cord. At the lowest level are motor areas in the medulla and pons, which control stereotyped movements such as walking, breathing, or swallowing. At a higher level are areas in the midbrain, such as the red nucleus, which is responsible for coordinating movements of the arms and legs. At a higher level yet is the primary motor cortex, a strip of tissue located at the posterior edge of the frontal lobe. The primary motor cortex sends projections to the subcortical motor areas, but also sends a massive projection directly to the spinal cord, through the pyramidal tract. This direct corticospinal projection allows for precise voluntary control of the fine details of movements. Other motor-related brain areas exert secondary effects by projecting to the primary motor areas. Among the most important secondary areas are the premotor cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Which motor areas of the brain control breathing and swallowing?
A: the medulla and pons,', '
Q: At the lowest level of the brain and spinal cord, are what areas?
A: the medulla and pons', '
Q: The red nucleus controls what part(s) of the body?
A: coordinating movements of the arms and legs', '
Q: A strip of tissue found at the edge of the frontal lobe is called what?
A: primary motor cortex', '
Q: The primary motor cortex sends signals to the spinal cord through what?
A: pyramidal tract.']
In addition to all of the above, the brain and spinal cord contain extensive circuitry to control the autonomic nervous system, which works by secreting hormones and by modulating the "smooth" muscles of the gut. The autonomic nervous system affects heart rate, digestion, respiration rate, salivation, perspiration, urination, and sexual arousal, and several other processes. Most of its functions are not under direct voluntary control.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: The brain and spinal cord work together to control what system of the body?
A: autonomic nervous system', '
Q: What system in the body controls heart rate?
A: autonomic nervous system', '
Q: What system in the body controls salivation?
A: autonomic nervous system', '
Q: Most of the processes of the autonomic nervous system are called what?
A: not under direct voluntary control', '
Q: Which system in the body controls urination?
A: The autonomic nervous system']
A key component of the arousal system is the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), a tiny part of the hypothalamus located directly above the point at which the optic nerves from the two eyes cross. The SCN contains the body's central biological clock. Neurons there show activity levels that rise and fall with a period of about 24 hours, circadian rhythms: these activity fluctuations are driven by rhythmic changes in expression of a set of "clock genes". The SCN continues to keep time even if it is excised from the brain and placed in a dish of warm nutrient solution, but it ordinarily receives input from the optic nerves, through the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT), that allows daily light-dark cycles to calibrate the clock.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: The SCN of the nervous system is an abbreviation for what?
A: suprachiasmatic nucleus', '
Q: The suprachiasmatic nucleus is a small part of what part of the brain?
A: the hypothalamus', "
Q: Which part of the arousal system controls the body's biological clock?
A: the suprachiasmatic nucleus", '
Q: The RHT is an abbreviation for what?
A: retinohypothalamic tract', '
Q: THE SCN receives information from the optic nerves through what?
A: the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT']
The SCN projects to a set of areas in the hypothalamus, brainstem, and midbrain that are involved in implementing sleep-wake cycles. An important component of the system is the reticular formation, a group of neuron-clusters scattered diffusely through the core of the lower brain. Reticular neurons send signals to the thalamus, which in turn sends activity-level-controlling signals to every part of the cortex. Damage to the reticular formation can produce a permanent state of coma.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: A group of neuron-clusters scattered in the core of the lower brain is called what?
A: the reticular formation', '
Q: Reticular neurons transfer signals to what part of the brain?
A: the thalamus', '
Q: Damage to the reticular formation can cause what?
A: state of coma', '
Q: The SCN transfers signals to a set of areas that implement what?
A: sleep-wake cycles.']
Sleep involves great changes in brain activity. Until the 1950s it was generally believed that the brain essentially shuts off during sleep, but this is now known to be far from true; activity continues, but patterns become very different. There are two types of sleep: REM sleep (with dreaming) and NREM (non-REM, usually without dreaming) sleep, which repeat in slightly varying patterns throughout a sleep episode. Three broad types of distinct brain activity patterns can be measured: REM, light NREM and deep NREM. During deep NREM sleep, also called slow wave sleep, activity in the cortex takes the form of large synchronized waves, whereas in the waking state it is noisy and desynchronized. Levels of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin drop during slow wave sleep, and fall almost to zero during REM sleep; levels of acetylcholine show the reverse pattern.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: There are two types of sleep called what?
A: REM sleep (with dreaming) and NREM', '
Q: What type of sleep involves dreaming?
A: REM sleep', '
Q: The three types of brain activity that can be measured are what?
A: REM, light NREM and deep NREM', '
Q: Slow wave sleep is also known as what?
A: deep NREM sleep', '
Q: During what stage of sleep do serotonin and norepinephrine levels drop?
A: slow wave sleep']
For any animal, survival requires maintaining a variety of parameters of bodily state within a limited range of variation: these include temperature, water content, salt concentration in the bloodstream, blood glucose levels, blood oxygen level, and others. The ability of an animal to regulate the internal environment of its body—the milieu intérieur, as pioneering physiologist Claude Bernard called it—is known as homeostasis (Greek for "standing still"). Maintaining homeostasis is a crucial function of the brain. The basic principle that underlies homeostasis is negative feedback: any time a parameter diverges from its set-point, sensors generate an error signal that evokes a response that causes the parameter to shift back toward its optimum value. (This principle is widely used in engineering, for example in the control of temperature using a thermostat.)

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Homeostasis is defined as what?
A: The ability of an animal to regulate the internal environment of its body', '
Q: Homeostasis is Greek for what phrase?
A: "standing still"', '
Q: The milieu interieur term was used by what physiologist?
A: Claude Bernard', '
Q: Homeostasis is like what household tool?
A: a thermostat.']
In vertebrates, the part of the brain that plays the greatest role is the hypothalamus, a small region at the base of the forebrain whose size does not reflect its complexity or the importance of its function. The hypothalamus is a collection of small nuclei, most of which are involved in basic biological functions. Some of these functions relate to arousal or to social interactions such as sexuality, aggression, or maternal behaviors; but many of them relate to homeostasis. Several hypothalamic nuclei receive input from sensors located in the lining of blood vessels, conveying information about temperature, sodium level, glucose level, blood oxygen level, and other parameters. These hypothalamic nuclei send output signals to motor areas that can generate actions to rectify deficiencies. Some of the outputs also go to the pituitary gland, a tiny gland attached to the brain directly underneath the hypothalamus. The pituitary gland secretes hormones into the bloodstream, where they circulate throughout the body and induce changes in cellular activity.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: The hypothalamus is located at the base of what?
A: the forebrain', '
Q: In vertebrates, the most important part of the brain is what?
A: the hypothalamus,', '
Q: A collection of small nuclei at the base of the forebrain is called what?
A: the hypothalamus,', '
Q: The gland directly underneath the hypothalamus is which gland?
A: the pituitary gland', '
Q: The pituitary gland sends hormones through what in the body?
A: the bloodstream']
Most organisms studied to date utilize a reward–punishment mechanism: for instance, worms and insects can alter their behavior to seek food sources or to avoid dangers. In vertebrates, the reward-punishment system is implemented by a specific set of brain structures, at the heart of which lie the basal ganglia, a set of interconnected areas at the base of the forebrain. There is substantial evidence that the basal ganglia are the central site at which decisions are made: the basal ganglia exert a sustained inhibitory control over most of the motor systems in the brain; when this inhibition is released, a motor system is permitted to execute the action it is programmed to carry out. Rewards and punishments function by altering the relationship between the inputs that the basal ganglia receive and the decision-signals that are emitted. The reward mechanism is better understood than the punishment mechanism, because its role in drug abuse has caused it to be studied very intensively. Research has shown that the neurotransmitter dopamine plays a central role: addictive drugs such as cocaine, amphetamine, and nicotine either cause dopamine levels to rise or cause the effects of dopamine inside the brain to be enhanced.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: A set of interconnected areas at the base of the forebrain is called what?
A: basal ganglia', '
Q: The basal ganglia is thought to be the central location at which what are made?
A: decisions', '
Q: Which neurotransmitter plays a large role in drug abuse?
A: dopamine', '
Q: Which of the two systems, reward or punishment is better understood?
A: The reward mechanism']
Almost all animals are capable of modifying their behavior as a result of experience—even the most primitive types of worms. Because behavior is driven by brain activity, changes in behavior must somehow correspond to changes inside the brain. Theorists dating back to Santiago Ramón y Cajal argued that the most plausible explanation is that learning and memory are expressed as changes in the synaptic connections between neurons. Until 1970, however, experimental evidence to support the synaptic plasticity hypothesis was lacking. In 1971 Tim Bliss and Terje Lømo published a paper on a phenomenon now called long-term potentiation: the paper showed clear evidence of activity-induced synaptic changes that lasted for at least several days. Since then technical advances have made these sorts of experiments much easier to carry out, and thousands of studies have been made that have clarified the mechanism of synaptic change, and uncovered other types of activity-driven synaptic change in a variety of brain areas, including the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and physical activity appear to play a beneficial role in the process.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: In what year did Tim Bliss and Terje Lomo publish a paper about long-term potentiation?
A: 1971', '
Q: BDNF is an abbreviation for what term?
A: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor', '
Q: Learning and memory expressed as changes in the synaptic connections was first theorized by whom?
A: Santiago Ramón y Cajal']
The field of neuroscience encompasses all approaches that seek to understand the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Psychology seeks to understand mind and behavior, and neurology is the medical discipline that diagnoses and treats diseases of the nervous system. The brain is also the most important organ studied in psychiatry, the branch of medicine that works to study, prevent, and treat mental disorders. Cognitive science seeks to unify neuroscience and psychology with other fields that concern themselves with the brain, such as computer science (artificial intelligence and similar fields) and philosophy.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What field of science studies the brain and the central nervous system?
A: neuroscience', '
Q: What scientific field tries to understand the mind and behavior?
A: Psychology', '
Q: What field of science strives to diagnose and treat diseases of the nervous system?
A: neurology', '
Q: Psychiatry is the branch of science that does what?
A: study, prevent, and treat mental disorders', '
Q: Cognitive science seeks to join what two branches of science with other fields?
A: neuroscience and psychology']
The oldest method of studying the brain is anatomical, and until the middle of the 20th century, much of the progress in neuroscience came from the development of better cell stains and better microscopes. Neuroanatomists study the large-scale structure of the brain as well as the microscopic structure of neurons and their components, especially synapses. Among other tools, they employ a plethora of stains that reveal neural structure, chemistry, and connectivity. In recent years, the development of immunostaining techniques has allowed investigation of neurons that express specific sets of genes. Also, functional neuroanatomy uses medical imaging techniques to correlate variations in human brain structure with differences in cognition or behavior.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: The oldest known method of studying the brain is what?
A: anatomical,', '
Q: What do neuroanatomists study?
A: the large-scale structure of the brain', '
Q: What type of study uses medical imaging techniques to correlate changes in brain structure?
A: neuroanatomy', '
Q: Until what century was brain studying mostly anatomical?
A: the middle of the 20th century,']
Neurophysiologists study the chemical, pharmacological, and electrical properties of the brain: their primary tools are drugs and recording devices. Thousands of experimentally developed drugs affect the nervous system, some in highly specific ways. Recordings of brain activity can be made using electrodes, either glued to the scalp as in EEG studies, or implanted inside the brains of animals for extracellular recordings, which can detect action potentials generated by individual neurons. Because the brain does not contain pain receptors, it is possible using these techniques to record brain activity from animals that are awake and behaving without causing distress. The same techniques have occasionally been used to study brain activity in human patients suffering from intractable epilepsy, in cases where there was a medical necessity to implant electrodes to localize the brain area responsible for epileptic seizures. Functional imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging are also used to study brain activity; these techniques have mainly been used with human subjects, because they require a conscious subject to remain motionless for long periods of time, but they have the great advantage of being noninvasive.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What do neurophysiologists study?
A: the chemical, pharmacological, and electrical properties of the brain', '
Q: The most common tools that neurophysiologists use are what?
A: drugs and recording devices', '
Q: What type of receptors does the brain lack?
A: pain receptors', '
Q: Electrodes are often glued to what like in EEG studies?
A: the scalp']
Another approach to brain function is to examine the consequences of damage to specific brain areas. Even though it is protected by the skull and meninges, surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid, and isolated from the bloodstream by the blood–brain barrier, the delicate nature of the brain makes it vulnerable to numerous diseases and several types of damage. In humans, the effects of strokes and other types of brain damage have been a key source of information about brain function. Because there is no ability to experimentally control the nature of the damage, however, this information is often difficult to interpret. In animal studies, most commonly involving rats, it is possible to use electrodes or locally injected chemicals to produce precise patterns of damage and then examine the consequences for behavior.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: The brain is surrounded by what type of fluid?
A: cerebrospinal fluid', '
Q: The brain is separated from the bloodstream by what feature?
A: the blood–brain barrier', '
Q: The two main structures that protect the brain are what?
A: the skull and meninges', '
Q: What type of disease if often studied to understand damage to the brain?
A: strokes', '
Q: What type of animal is most commonly used to study brain damage?
A: rats']
Computational neuroscience encompasses two approaches: first, the use of computers to study the brain; second, the study of how brains perform computation. On one hand, it is possible to write a computer program to simulate the operation of a group of neurons by making use of systems of equations that describe their electrochemical activity; such simulations are known as biologically realistic neural networks. On the other hand, it is possible to study algorithms for neural computation by simulating, or mathematically analyzing, the operations of simplified "units" that have some of the properties of neurons but abstract out much of their biological complexity. The computational functions of the brain are studied both by computer scientists and neuroscientists.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Computational neuroscience is concerned with what two studies?
A: the use of computers to study the brain; second, the study of how brains perform computation.']
Recent years have seen increasing applications of genetic and genomic techniques to the study of the brain  and a focus on the roles of neurotrophic factors and physical activity in neuroplasticity. The most common subjects are mice, because of the availability of technical tools. It is now possible with relative ease to "knock out" or mutate a wide variety of genes, and then examine the effects on brain function. More sophisticated approaches are also being used: for example, using Cre-Lox recombination it is possible to activate or deactivate genes in specific parts of the brain, at specific times.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What is the most common test subjects for studying of the brain?
A: mice']