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MCAT-PSYCHOLOGY > Biological Foundations of Behaviour Part II > Flashcards

Biological Foundations of Behaviour Part II Flashcards

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1
Q

exteroceptors

A

sensory receptors that detect stimuli from the outside world

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2
Q

interoceptors

A

receptors that respond to internal stimuli

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3
Q

mechanoreceptors

A

respond to mechanical disturbances (ex. Pacinian corpuscles, auditory hair cell, vestibular hair cell)

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4
Q

chemoreceptors

A

respond to particular chemicals (ex. olfactory receptors, gustatory receptors)

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5
Q

nociceptors

A

pain receptors, stimulated by tissue injury, consists of a free nerve ending

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6
Q

referred pain

A

the illusion of pain on the skin created by nociceptors when their nerves cross paths with somatic afferents from the skin

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7
Q

thermoreceptors

A

stimulated by changes in temperature

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8
Q

electromagnetic receptors

A

stimulated by electromagnetic waves (photoreceptors)

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9
Q

what are four properties of sensory information that need to be communicated to the CNS?

A

1) modality (type of stimulus-based on which receptor is firing)
2) location (communicated by the receptive field of the sensory receptor sending the signal)
3) intensity (frequency of action potentials)
4) duration

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10
Q

tonic receptors

A

fire action potentials as long as the stimulus continues (subject to adaptation, frequency of action potentials decrease as stimulus continues at the same level)

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11
Q

phasic receptors

A

only fire action potentials when the stimulus beings, do not explicitly communicate the duration of the stimulus

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12
Q

adaptation

A

decrease in firing frequency when the intensity of a stimulus remains constant

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13
Q

which receptors do not adapt under any circumstances?

A

nociceptors

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14
Q

proprioception

A

awareness of the self (body position), aka: kinesthetic sense, ex. muscle spindle, Golgi tendon organs, joint capsul receptors

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15
Q

pitch

A

(frequency of sound), distinguished by which regions of the basilar membrane vibrate, stimulating different auditory neurons

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16
Q

where do low frequency wavelengths vibrate the basilar membrane?

A

near the apex of the cochlear duct, farthest away from the oval window

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17
Q

where do high frequency wavelengths vibrate the basilar membrane?

A

at the base of the cochlea, near the oval window

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18
Q

loudness

A

distinguished by amplitude of vibration, larger vibrations cause more frequent action potentials in auditory neurons

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19
Q

auditory cortex

A

located in the temporal lobe of the brain, processes sound

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20
Q

what does the vestibular complex consist of?

A

3 semicircular canals, the utricle, the saccule, and the ampullae

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21
Q

what does the vestibular complex monitor?

A

static equilibrium and linear acceleration to contribute to balance

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22
Q

rods and contes contain photopigments called opsin which is bound to one molecule and contains one molecule of retinal, what is its conformation in the dark?

A

several trans double bonds and one cis double bond: keeps sodium channels open, cell remains depolarized, release glutamate to bipolar cells (inhibitory), prevents optic nerves from depolarizing

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23
Q

what is the conformation of retinal upon absorption of light?

A

all-trans: closes sodium channel, cell is hyperpolarized, does not release glutamate to bipolar cells, bipolar cells depolarize, optical nerve signals to CNS

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24
Q

emmetropia

A

normal vision

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25
Q

myopia

A

nearsightedness, caused by too much refraction (short focal length) or abnormally long eyeball, corrected by concave lens

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26
Q

hyperopia

A

farsightedness, caused by too little refraction (long focal length) or an abnormally short eyeball, corrected by convex lens

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27
Q

feature-detection theory

A

visual cortex fires in response to very specific information, this info is then passed on to other neurons that begin to assimilate these distinct features into more complex objects

28
Q

parallel processing

A

many aspects of a visual stimulus are processed simultaneously instead of in a step-by-step fashion

29
Q

depth perception

A

the ability to see objects in three dimensions, determined by binocular and monocular cues

30
Q

binocular cues

A

depth cues based on information received from both eyes, most important for perceiving depth when objects are close to us in our visual field

31
Q

retinal disparity

A

a binocular cue whereby the brain compares the images project onto the two retinas in order to perceive distance

32
Q

converge

A

binocular cue that describes the extent to which the eyes turn inward when looking at at object

33
Q

monocular cues

A

depth cues that depend on information that is available to either eye alone and are important for judging distances of objects that are far from us since the retinal disparity is only slight

34
Q

what are some monocular cues?

A

relative size, interposition, relative clarity, texture gradient, relative height, relative motion, linear perspective, light and shadow

35
Q

absolute threshold

A

the minimum stimulus intensity required to activate a sensory receptor 50% of the time (and thus detect the sensation)

36
Q

difference threshold

A

the minimum noticeable difference between any two sensory stimuli, 50% of the time (aka just noticeable difference JND)

37
Q

Weber’s law

A

two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion in order for their difference to be perceptible, the exact proportion varies by stimulus

38
Q

signal detection theory

A

attempts to predict how and when someone will detect the presence of a given sensory stimulus amidst all of the other sensory stimuli in the background

39
Q

Gestalt

A

refers to the idea that the whole exceeds the sum of its part; describes perceptual organization but not how this perception occurs

40
Q

Gestalt Laws of Groupings

A

several laws meant to help explain how we tend to perceive things

41
Q

law of proximity

A

things that are near each other seem to be grouped together

42
Q

law of continuity

A

perceive smooth, continuous lines and forms rather than disjoined ones

43
Q

law of closure

A

perceive things as a logical entity because brain will fill in the gaps in the information

44
Q

gestalt law of common fate

A

objects moving in the same direction or moving in synchrony are perceived as a group or unit

45
Q

law of connectedness

A

things that are joined or linked or grouped are perceived as connected

46
Q

bottom-up processing

A

begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the complex integration of information occurring in the brain; more used when we have no or little experience with a stimulus

47
Q

top-down processing

A

when the brain applies experience and expectations to interpret sensory information; more used when stimuli is familiar

48
Q

hormone

A

a molecule which is secreted into the bloodstream by an endocrine gland, and which has its effects upon distant target cells possessing the appropriate receptor

49
Q

endocrine gland

A

a ductless gland whose secretory products are picked up by capillaries supplying blood to the region

50
Q

exocrine glands

A

secrete products into the external environment by way of ducts, which empty into the gastrointestinal lumen or to the external world

51
Q

hormone receptor

A

a polypeptide that possesses a ligand-specific binding site

52
Q

what determines tissue-specificity of hormone action?

A

whether the cells of a tissue have the appropriate receptor

53
Q

autocrine

A

describes activity of some signalling molecules that are able to modify the activity of the cell which secreted them

54
Q

what are the two classes of hormones?

A

hydrophilic hormones (peptides, amino acid derivatives that bind to receptors on the cell surface) and hydrophobic hormones (steroid hormones that bind to receptors in the cellular interior)

55
Q

peptide hormones

A

synthesized in the rough ER, modified in the Golgi, stored in vesicles until needed (release by exocytosis), dissolve in plasma, the first messenger which must bind to a cell-surface receptor, initiates a second messenger cascade causing signal amplification and changing the activity of many enzymes in the cytoplasm

56
Q

steroid hormones

A

synthesized from cholesterol in the smooth ER, diffuses into bloodstream as soon as made (not made if not needed), sticks to proteins in the plasma through hydrophobic interactions, diffuses through plasma membrane to bind with a receptor in the cytoplasm, steroid hormone-receptor complex acts as a sequence-specific regulator of transcription to change the amount/type of proteins in the cell

57
Q

tropic hormones

A

hormones that regulate hormones

58
Q

feedback regulation applies to:

A

tropic hormones as well as to direct regulators of physiological endpoints

59
Q

negative feedback/feedback inhibition

A

the result of hormone secretion inhibits further secretion

60
Q

which portion of the brain controls much of the endocrine system?

A

hypothalamus, controls by releasing tropic hormones (releasing and inhibiting factors/hormones) that regulate other tropic hormones

61
Q

hypothalamic-pituitary control axis

A

the hypothalamus exerts control of the pituitary by secreting hormones into the bloodstream (a unique circular miniature circulatory system) to transport hypothalamic releasing and inhibiting factors to the anterior pituitary

62
Q

hypothalamic-pituitary portal system

A

the blood supply between hypothalamus and pituitary: consists of two capillary beds in sequence that allows for direct communication between structures

63
Q

hypophysis

A

another name for pituitary gland

64
Q

anterior pituitary

A

adenohypophysis; normal endocrine gland, controlled by hypothalamic tropic hormones

65
Q

posterior pituitary

A

neurohypophysis; composed of axons which descend from the hypothalamus

66
Q

neuroendocrine cells

A

neurons which secrete hormones into the bloodstream, ex. the hypothalamic neurons that send axons down to the posterior pituitary

67
Q

what are the hormones of the posterior pituitary?

A

ADH and oxytocin

MCAT-PSYCHOLOGY (11 decks)

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