CH 2 & 5 Flashcards
Biology, Behavior, and Learning
What is an Electroencephalogram (EEG)?
a record of brainwave activity made from placing electrodes on various places of the scalp that detects electrical activity of the brain.
What is a Micro-electrode?
Small wire inserted near or into single neuron to monitor its activity or stimulate it.
Why are imaging techniques important?
Aside from diagnosing abnormalities, tumors, injuries, and diseases, brain imaging is important to understand how all parts of the brain connect.
What is a CT scan?
Scan that uses large donut structure and x-rays to create cross-sectional images of the brain to show tumors and other abnormalities.
What are MRIs?
Magnetic resonance imaging, gives clearer more detailed images than CT scans without the use of potentially harmful x-rays.
What are PET scans?
Positron-emission tomography, shows patterns of blood flow, oxygen use, and glucose metabolism in the brain. Useful to see action of drugs in the brain and other organs.
What are Functional MRIs (fMRI)?
Uses magnetic impulses making it quicker and more accurate than PET scans and doesn’t require injections.
What is the Neuron?
Specialized cells that conduct impulses through nervous system.
What are Neurotransmitters?
Chemicals that facilitate or inhibit transmission of impulses from one neuron to the next. Released into synaptic cleft from axon terminal of sending neuron.
Ex. Dopamine, Epinephrine, Serotonin, Glutamate, Endorphins
What is the structure of a neuron?
-Cell body(Nucleus, respb. for metabolic f. of neuron)
-Dendrites(receive messages from cell bodies & other neurons)
-Axon(transmits messages to other neurons and parts of body)
-Glial cells(support neurons’ vital functions, remove waste from brain)
What is a Afferent Neuron?
Sensory- Relays messages from the sense organs and receptors to brain or spinal cord.
What is a Efferent Neuron?
Motor- signals from central NS to glands.
What are Interneurons?
Carry information between neurons.
What are Synaptic Clefts?
Tiny, fluid-filled gaps that separate the axon terminal from the dendrites.
What is a Synapse?
Connection point where the axon terminal of a sending(presynaptic) neuron communicates with a recieving(postsynaptic)neuron. (Are not physically connected)
What is Resting Potential?
When at rest, axon membrane has negative charge of -70millivolts. Once impulse reaches a neuron, ion channels open in membrane of axon to allow positive ions to flow in.
What is Action Potential?
Sudden reversal(from a negative to positive value) of resting potential on cell membrane that initiates firing of a neuron.
What are Synaptic vesicles?
Small, sphere-shaped containers with thin membranes inside axon terminals that hold neurotransmitters.
What is the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)?
Includes all nerves that are not encased in bone, outside of the skull and backbone.
Splits into Somatic and Autonomic nervous systems, Autonomic splits into Sympathetic and Parasympathetic nervous systems.
What is the Central Nervous System(CNS)?
Includes all neural tissues inside skull and backbone.
What is the Somatic Nervous system?
Controls skeletal muscles; interacts w external environment.
What is the Autonomic Nervous system?
Regulates body’s internal environment, including organs, glands, and blood vessels. Not consciously controlled.
What is the Sympathetic Nervous System?
Prepares body for action; mobilizes energy resources. Fight or flight.
What is the Parasympathetic Nervous System?
Conserves body’s energy; returns body to normal quiet state after emergency.
What 3 sections is the brain divided into?
Hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain.
The hindbrain consists of what 5 components?
-Brain stem
-Medulla
-Pons
-Reticular formation(RAS- reticular activating system)
-Cerebellum
The midbrain consist of?
-Substantia nigra
The forebrain consists of what 5 areas?
-Thalamus
-Hypothalamus
-Limbic system (Amygdala and Hippocampus)
-Cerebral cortex
-Corpus Callosum
What is the Hypothalamus?
Part of forebrain; helps control hunger,thirst, body temp and endocrine system; involved in emotion.
What is the Cerebrum?
Part of forebrain; thinking part of the brain
What is the Cerebral Cortex?
Upper part of brain; convoluted gray matter covering cerebral hemispheres responsible for higher mental processes.
What is the Corpus Callosum?
Part of Forebrain; Band of nerve fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain.
What is the Limbic system?
Part of forebrain; Group of structures involved in emotional expression, memory, and motivation.
What is the Thalamus?
Part of forebrain; Relay station between cerebral cortex and lower brain centers.
What is the Substantia Nigra?
Part of midbrain; Controls unconscious motor actions.
What is the Pons?
Part of hindbrain; relays motor messages between cerebellum and motor cortex; exerts influence on sleep and dreaming.
What is the Medulla?
Part of hindbrain; Control center of heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure, swallowing, and coughing.
What is the Spinal Cord?
Part of hindbrain; Extension of the brain; controls simple reflexes; connects brain to peripheral nervous system.
What is the Reticular formation?
Part of hindbrain; Arousal system; activates cerebral cortex.
What is the Cerebellum?
part of hindbrain; Coordinates skilled movement; regulates muscle tone and posture; plays a role in motor learning and probably cognition.
The most outer layer of brain hemispheres, known as Cerebral Cortex, is composed of what 3 areas?
The Sensory input, Motor, and Association areas.
2 functional divisions:
a) Left/right side of cortex
b) lobes; Frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital
Define Left Hemisphere.
Controls right side of body.
Coordinates complex movements, handles most language functions, mathematic, logical, and analytical thought.
Define Right Hemisphere.
Controls left side of body.
Focuses on visual-spacial perception, interpretation of nonverbal behavior, and recognition and expression of emotion.
Define the Split Brain condition.
When corpus callosum is absent or surgically modified. Shown to reduce seizures in patients with epilepsy*
Only to be a last option
What are the 4 Cerebral Cortex’s lobes?
Frontal lobes
Parietal lobes
Occipital lobes
Temporal lobes
Define the Frontal lobe.
Largest lobe; in front; motor cortex and broca’s area
What is Broca’s area?
La boca
Part of frontal lobe; Controls production of speech sounds.
What is the motor cortex?
Part of frontal lobe; Controls movements
What is the Somatosensory Cortex?
Part of Parietal lobe; Interprets touch, pressure, temperature, pain.
What is the Parietal lobe?
Upper back part of cerebral cortex
Receives information relevant to body awareness, spatial orientation; includes somatosensory cortex.
What is Wernicke’s area?
Part of temporal lobe
Interprets language; controls comprehensibility of speech.
What is the Temporal lobe?
Middle bottom of brain
Receives auditory information from the ears; primary auditory cortex and Wernicke’s area.
What is the Primary auditory cortex?
part of temporal lobe; interprets sounds.
What is the Occipital lobe?
Receives visual information from the eyes; includes primary visual cortex.
What is the Primary visual cortex?
Part of occipital lobe; Interprets visual input.
What is plasticity of the brain?
It’s the brain’s capacity to adopt to changes such as brain damage, maintained throughout life.
Allows synapses to strengthen and re-organize interconnections when stimulated by experience and practice.
Greatest in young children.
What is the Endocrine system?
A series of ductless glands, located in various parts of body that manufacture and secrete hormones. Hormones released into bloodstream and affect changes in certain parts of body.
-Pituitary gland
-Pineal gland
-Thyroid gland
-Thymus gland
-Pancreas
-Adrenal glands
-Gonads(Testes or Ovaries)
What is Classical conditioning?
Organisms learn to associate one stimulus with another.
What is a Stimulus/Stimuli?
Any change in environment to which organism responds.
What was Pavlov’s Studies of Classical Conditioning?
His experiments established the basis of classical conditioning. Dogs were played a tone before food was given and paired the stimuli resulting in salivation by the tone itself–the salivation had become a conditioned response.
What is an Unconditioned Response?
An unconditioned stimulus elicits reflexive response.
ex. dogs salivating response to food.
What is a Conditioned Response?
A conditioned stimulus elicits learned response.
ex. dogs conditioned to salivate to paired stimulus of tones played while given food.
What is Higher-Order Conditioning?
A chain of cues that become conditioned stimuli.
ex. getting a shot at doctor’s office.
What is Extinction in classical conditioning?
Ex. Pavlov played tone for dogs but removed food. Eventually, conditioned response went away.
What is Spontaneous Recovery in classical conditioning?
Weakened form of conditioned response, typically after time interval.
What is Generalization in classical conditioning?
Similar stimuli produces the same responses.
ex. little Albert and anything cute and cuddly, elicited a conditioned fear response.
What is Discrimination in classical conditioning?
Learning to distinguish between similar stimuli.
Ex. Similar tones played for the dogs.
Explain Watson’s “Little Albert” Experiment.
Theory of behaviorism; Infant was shown rat while Watson made a loud, frightening noise. Soon, child came to fear the rat.
Showed fear can be conditioned; also conditioned fear generalized to other animals and objects.
What is Operant Conditioning?
Consequences increase or decrease frequency of a behavior.
What is the Law of Effect?
Consequences strengthen or weaken likelihood of same response in the future.
ex. Thorndike’s puzzle box.
What are Reinforcers?
A consequence that reinforces a voluntary behavior(operant).
Positive Reinforcers: add stimulus.
Negative Reinforcers: remove an undesired stimulus.
What is Shaping in Operant Conditioning?
Learning in small steps as opposed to all at once.
What is discrimination in operant conditioning?
Learning to distinguish between reinforced stimulus and similar stimulus.
Generalization and Spontaneous Recovery in operant conditioning
Just like classical conditioning; Similar stimuli produce same response; and a weakened form of conditioned response.
What is Punishment in Operant conditioning?
Opposite of reinforcement; Leads to decrease in behavior because of a consequence.
Pos. punishment: Adds consequence to reduce frequency of behavior.
Neg. Punishment: Removes desired stimulus to decrease frequency of behavior.
Can promote aggression and hostility; believed better to avoid rewarding undesirable behavior rather than punish.
What is Observational learning in Cognitive learning?
Learning by watching behaviors and consequences of others.
Called “social-cognitive learning”
Different types of learning from models called “effects”
Explain Modeling Effect of Observational learning.
Learn by demonstration.
Explain Facilitation Effect of observational learning.
Improve by imitation.
Explain Inhibitory Effect of observational learning.
Avoid behavior seen to receive undesirable consequence.
ex. slow down when seeing another driver getting a ticket.
Explain Disinhibitory Effect of observational learning.
Mimic undesirable behavior of others due to lack of consequences or added reinforcement of said behavior.
ex. slacking off at work due to no reprimanding.
How does learning from media impact learning?
Bandura’s Experiment: Children who watched aggressive behavior were more likely to be aggressive themselves.
the aggressive learned behaviors last for years. L. Rowell Huesmann found that watching aggression is correlated with a likelihood to engage in violence as young adults.
What is a primary reinforcer?
Consequences that satisfies basic needs.
ex. food, water, shelter.
What is a secondary reinforcer?
Consequences that have some association to the primary reinforcer.
Ex. tokens earned to purchase said basic needs
