Biological Psychology Flashcards
What do Dualist believe (Descartes)
Dualist believed that the mind and body are separate
What did Descartes believe
Descarte believed that they were separate things but a connection point between the soul, spirit, mind and body
What is the pineal gland
Pineal Gland believed to be the connection between body and soul
Tegmentum and Tectum (Midbrain)
Oriented organism in environment looking for threats
Cerebellum (Hindbrain)
motor coordination/ control (movement)
Medulla (Hindbrain)
Coordinates heart rate, circulation, respiration
Reticular Formation (Hindbrain)
Regulates sleep, wakefulness, and arousal
Pons (Hindbrain)
Relays information from cerebellum to the rest of brain
Thalamus (Forebrain)
In charge of sensory information such as all of your senses except smell relays information to the brain
Hypothalamus (Forebrain)
Regulates the body’s temperature and other functions such as fighting, fleeing, fornication, and feeding
Amygdala (Forebrain)
Role in the emotional process
Hippocampus (Forebrain)
Critical for creating and integrating new memories
Basal Ganglia (Forebrain)
Directions intentional movement; plays a role in reward processing
What happens if there is degeneration in Basal Ganglia
Degeneration in this area can cause parkinson disease
Occipital lobe (Left side of the brain)
Processes visual information
Temporal lobe (Left side of brain)
Important place to process auditory information
Parietal lobe (Left side of brain)
Process touch information or sense of touch
Somatosensory Cortex
Process incoming sensory information
What happens when a body area is more sensitive
If a body area is more sensitive a larger of the somatosensory cortex is devoted to it
When does the pre frontal cortex develop
Not fully developed until 20-25 years of age
Motor cortex
Initiates motor movements
What does damage to Broca’s area do (Language production)
causes language impairment
What side of the brain is language
Language is in the left side of the brain
What does aphasia in Wernickkes area cause (speech comprehension)
causes a lack of comprehension but not production of speech
Aphasia
The loss of ability to understand speech/language
Contralateral organization
Left hemisphere controls right side of the body and vice versa
Cell body (Neurons)
Coordinates information processing and keeps cell live
Dendrites (Neurons)
Receives information from other neurons and relays it to the cell body
Axon (Neurons)
Long slender projection that conducts electrical impulses away from cell body
Synapse (Neurons)
The region between the axon of one neuron and dendrite of another
Myelin Sheath (Neurons)
Fatty sheath that insulates axon resulting in increased speed of and efficiency of neural communication
How do neurons send and receive messages
When a neuron is at rest / resting potential
What happens when the axon is stimulated
Depolarization when stimulated sodium channels open and + ions rush in
Repolarization
After the sodium gates closes. Potassium moves out
Actional potential
An electrical signal is conducted along the length of a neuron’s axon to synapse
Synaptic Cleft
When the action potential reaches the terminal buttons it causes the release of neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft
Excitatory
increase the likelihood of an action potential (by causing the membrane potential to be less negative)
Inhibitory
decrease the likelihood of an action potential (by causing the membrane potential to be more negative)
Acetylcholine
Involved in a number of functions including voluntary motor control
Dopamine
Regulates motor behavior, motivation, pleasure and emotional arousal
What happens if there is degeneration in Dopamine
Degeneration of these neurons in a particular part of brain linked to parkinson’s disease
Serotonin
Involved in regulating sleep and wakefulness and eating behavior
Agonist
drug that increases the action of neurotransmitter
Antagonist
Drugs that diminishes the function of neurotransmitter
