Biological Basis of Psychology Flashcards
central nervous system
brain and spinal cord
afferent
toward the CNS
efferent
away from the CNS
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
nerves that lie outside the central nervous system
somatic nervous system
voluntary muscles and sensory receptors
part of PNS
autonomic nervous system
controls automatic, involuntary functions
part of PNS
sympathetic nervous system
go fight or flight
parasympathetic
stop, conserve resources!
HINDBRAIN
- vital functions
medulla, pons, cerebellum
MIDBRAIN
sensory functions
dopaminergic projections
reticular activating system
-sleep, arousal, breathing, pain
FOREBRAIN
emotion, complex thought
thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system, cerebrum, cerebral cortex
CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES
two specialized halves connected by the corpus callosum
left hemisphere of the cerebrum
verbal processing: language, speech, reading, writing
right hemisphere of the cerebrum
nonverbal processing: spatial, musical, visual recognition
FOUR LOBES OF THE CEREBRUM?
occipital — vision
parietal — somatosensory
temporal — auditory
frontal — movement, executive control systems
Homonculus
the primary motor cortex
broca’s area
speech production
Wernicke’s area
language comprehension
glia cells
structural support, insulation, and communication
neurons
communicaiton
soma
cell body
dendrites
receive chemical signal (impulses) and send these to cell body
axon
transmit information away from cell to terminal buds
axon hillock
controls the firing of the neuron
myelin sheath
fatty covering over axon, insulation to help impulse travel faster
terminal button
end of axons secretes neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters
chemical messengers
synapse
point at which neurons interconnect
resting potential of neuron?
-70 millivolts
The Neural Impulse: The Action Potential
- stimulation causes cell membrane to open briefly
- positively charged sodium ions flow in
- shift in electrical charge travels along neuron
how NTs are transmitted
- when a neural impulse reaches the axon’s terminal buttons, it triggers the release of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters
- the NT molecules diffuse across the synaptic cleft and bind to receptor sites on the postsynaptic neuron
- a specific NT can bing only to receptor sites that its molecular structure will fit into
- like a key and a lock!
positive voltage shift when a NT binds
excitatory Post-synaptic potential
negative voltage shift when a NT binds
inhibitory POst-synaptic potential
- “Hebbian learning rule”
- if cell A always activates Cell B, Cell B learns quickly what to do which increases the efficiency of Cell A
Synaptic Pruning
- early in life, there are quite a lot of new connections made in the brain as one learns to walk, talk, learn
- as one gets older, these synapses are no longer required
- they prune or sever the connection
- research says that if you constantly learn how to do new things, that’s going to generate more synaptic connections!
agonist
mimics neurotransmitter action — like a mimic of the key!
antagonist
opposes the action of a neurotransmitter
- close enough fit to bind to the receptor site, but not close enough to fool the site!
how many NTs known at present?
15-20
bad levels of dopamine cause?
DA-low levels cause Parkinson’s
schizophrenia is caused by too much DA
low levels of Norepinephrine cause?
depression
what does serotonin control?
sleep and aggression
bad levels of serotonin cause?
eating disorders and OCD (low levels)
Gamma-aminobutyric acid
produce inhibitory PSP’s
Glutamate
- excitatory
- involved in learning and memory
endorphins
mimics opiates and induce pleasure
acetylcholine (ACh)
activates motor neurons controlling skeletal muscles
contributes to the regulation of attention, arousal, and memory.
some receptors are stimulated by nicotine
dopamine (DA)
contributes to the control of voluntary movement and pleasurable emotions.
decreased levels associated with Parkinson’s disease. overactivity at DA synapses is associated with schizophrenia. cocaine and amphetamines elevate activity at DA synapses
Norepinephrine (NE)
contributes to the modulation of mood and arousal. cocaine and amphetamines elevate activity at NE synapses
serotonin
involved in the regulation of sleep and wakefulness, eating, aggression. Abnormal levels may contribute to depression and OCD.
GABA
serves as a widely distributed inhibitory transmitter. Valium and similar antianxiety drugs work at GABA synapses
Endorphins
resemble opiate drugs in structure and effects. contribute to pain relief and perhaps to some pleasurable emotions
nodes of ranvier
regularly occuring gaps in myelin sheath
Action potential process
- stimulation causes cell membrane to open briefly
- positively charged sodium ions flow in
- shift in electrical charge travels along neuron
occipital lobe
vision
O looks like an eye
parietal lobe
somatosensory (touch, temperature, body position, pain)
temporal lobe
auditory (think of tempo)
frontal lobe
movement, executive control systems
