CH 6 & 7 Knowledge Check Flashcards
corpus callosum
band of axons that connect the 2 hemispheres of the brain together, allowing them to share information
conscious content
the subjective experiences of one’s internal & external world
attention
process of selecting information from the internal & external environment to prioritize for processing
selective attention
attending to one source of information while simultaneously ignoring other stimuli
active attention
attention is directed by goals & top-down processing
passive attention
bottom-up information from the external environment requires a response
stimulus salience
stimuli in environment capture attention by virtue of their physical (bottom-up) properties
- noticing a bright light in a dim room or a loud sound in a quiet room
attentional capture
attention is diverted due to salience of stimulus
cocktail party effect
describes a situation of selective attention in which a person at a party can be engaged in conversation & ignore all other information going on around them
dichotic listening task
attention task in which one message is presented to one ear & a different message is given to the other ear; the participant focuses on one message & is unable to recall the other
divided attention
a person engages in 2 or more tasks at once (multitasking)
automaticity
effortless processing of information without conscious thought
- something is automatic when performance is not impaired by other tasks
inattentional blindness
when engaged in a task, one completely misses other information
flicker task
change attention task in which participants are shown an image, followed by a white screen, the other variation of the image, then another white screen; participants are found to take a while to figure out the difference between the photos
subconscious processing
aware of info from the environment but unaware it is influencing behavior
- subvisual images
-subaudible messages
visual neglect
-disorder results from lesions on the right (inferior) parietal lobe of the cortex
- pts lose awareness of visual stimuli on the left
- some pts can report some details of color & form of visually neglected stimuli (intact visual system still evaluates some components of visual message despite pts being unaware of them)
ADHD
-impulsivity, poor planning, hyperactivity, inability to sustain attention on single task
sleep
altered state of consciousness in which the body is resting but the brain is active
fatal familial insomnia
rare, genetic disorder affecting the thalamus causing individuals to die from lack of sleep
beta waves
appear on EEG when person is alert & actively processing info
-also occur during REM sleep
-13-30 Hz
-desynchronized & erratic, indicating many neural circuits in the brain are processing info
alpha waves
appear on EEG when person is alert but relaxed
-8-12 Hz
-waves look more regular & predictable
theta waves
appear on EEG when person is deeply relaxed or falling asleep
-present throughout sleep cycle
-3.5-7.5 Hz
-firing rate across cortex becomes synchronized during stage 1 sleep (very light)
sleep spindles
brief busts of activity (12-14 Hz) that appear in transition from stage 1 to stage 2 sleep
-occur 2-5 times per min during non-REM sleep
-believed to play a role in memory consolidation
-correlation between increased sleep spindles & high IQ
K-complexes
pattern of neural excitation followed by neural inhibition during stage 2 sleep
-can be triggered by unexpected noise
-soundly asleep during the stage but likely not aware one is asleep
-waves likely prepare brain to enter delta wave activity
slow-wave sleep (SWS)
stage 3 & 4 of sleep with delta wave activity
- deepest stage of sleep
- only strong stimulus will wake someone and they will feel groggy upon waking up
-common for nightmares to occur during this stage
delta waves
occurs during SWS
-< 4Hz
-slow, regular, high-amplitude waves
-each oscillation is a biphasic wave reflecting a period of neural inhibition & period of neural excitation
REM (rapid eye movement)
stage of sleep in which vivid dreaming occurs; EEG recordings becomes highly irregular & person’s eyes will move side to side rapidly
-45 min after beginning SWS
-desynchronized beta waves
-brain is highly active & EEG looks more similar to when one is alert
-body usually becomes paralyzed during REM (REM sleep antonia)
rebound phenomenon
there is a need for a certain amount of REM sleep
-when brain is deprived of REM for several days, it will enter REM more quickly & spend proportionally more time in this stage
Sigmund Freud
among first scientists to investigate dreaming
-greater contribution to behavior is due to unconscious processes
activation-synthesis hypothesis
dreams do not serve a purpose, but rather are consequences of other processes that occur during sleep
evolutionary hypothesis of dreams
dreams have a biological significance
-dream about things directly related to survival
insomnia
inability to fall asleep or stay asleep
conditioned insomnia
going to bed becomes associated with the inability to fall asleep, creating feelings of anxiety about going to sleep
idiopathic insomnia
childhood-onset insomnia
hypersomnia
excessive sleeping or feeling of sleepiness during daytime hours
sleep apnea
patient stops breathing while asleep & the buildup of carbon dioxide wakes them up
narcolepsy
the extreme need to sleep
-uncontrolled sleep attacks
cataplexy
muscle weakness or paralysis during waking hours
-associated with narcolepsy
sensory hallucinations
hypnagogic hallucinations - occur upon onset of sleep
hypnopompic hallucinations - occur just before waking
REM sleep behavior disorder
inability of the brain to effectively paralyze the body during sleep
night terrors - frightened panicked screaming that is not remembered upon waking up
somnambulism - sleepwalking
biological clock
internal clock that prepares body for daily, seasonal, & annual rhythms
circadian rhythm
daily body clock that tells you when to go to sleep & wake up
zeitgeber
cues from the environment that set biological clocks
-presence or absence of light
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
structure in the brain next to optic chiasm that sets body’s circadian clock
-SCN sends signals to several regions of brain, such as pineal gland
-pineal gland secretes melatonin in response to light/dark cycle
psychoactive drugs
substances from environment other than food that influence behavior
dependence
individual requires drug to maintain normal functioning
-refraining taking drug will result in withdrawal
withdrawal
symptoms of distress, irritability, & restlessness associated with reduction or discontinuation of taking drug
depressant
depress the arousal of CNS
glutamate
one of primary excitatory neurotransmitters
-alcohol inhibits effectiveness of glutamate, especially in hippocampus (learning & memory)
GABA
main neurotransmitter involved in relaxed states
-alcohol increases effectiveness
dopamine
neurotransmitter implicated in reward states in the brain
-alcohol increases dopaminergic system
-many drugs are reinforcing due to their production of dopamine
barbituates
group of drugs that cause sedation & induce sleep
-usually prescribed for anxiety disorders
-increases GABA
stimulant
drugs that increase activity of nervous system
-caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines
adenosine
neurotransmitter that creates inhibitory effects in the brain
acetylcholine
neurotransmitter that creates excitatory effect in the brain
-stimulated by nicotine
serotonin
neurotransmitter implicated in mood & organization of sensory info
LSD
hallucinogenic drug
-causes vivid sensory hallucinations
-acts as agonist for serotonin (in thalamus)
thalamus
clusters of the neurons in the thalamus are responsible for routing sensory info to the cortex
-located in center of the brain
-arranged as a series of nuclei that receive specific sensory info that is sent to another part of the brain
alcohol
depressant drug
-inhibits glutamate
-increases GABA & dopamine
caffeine
stimulant drug
-blocks adenosine
nicotine
stimulant drug
-stimulates/imitates acetylcholine
-increases dopamine
cocaine
stimulant drug
-prevents reuptake of dopamine
amphetamine
stimulant drug
-inhibits reuptake
-stimulates release of dopamine
Cannabis
hallucinogenic drug
-increases anandamide (improves mood)
-inhibits norepinephrine, acetylcholine, glutamate, & GABA
learning
change in behavior due to experience
operant / instrumental conditioning
consequences of behavior affect future behavior
social / vicarious learning
learning by observing others
latent learning
learn something but is not demonstrated until there is a reason to use knowledge
-can be social, operant, or Pavlovian
Pavlovian / classical conditioning
type of learning in which seemingly insignificant event signals an important event
-conditional stimulus provides info about presence or absence of unconditional stimulus
-associates 2 events that occur together
unconditional stimulus
stimulus in Pavlovian conditioning in which one does not need to learn how to respond
unconditional response
response in Pavlovian conditioning in which one does not need to learn how to respond
-innate reflex
conditional stimulus
stimulus in Pavlovian conditioning that requires one to learn how to respond
-presented with unconditional stimulus
conditional response
a learned response due to conditioned stimulus in preparation for unconditioned stimulus
neutral stimulus
type of stimulus that does not indicate whether unconditional stimulus will occur
excitatory conditioning
Pavlovian conditioning in which there is a positive correlation between conditional & unconditional stimulus
short-delayed conditioning
excitatory conditioning in which conditional stimulus (unimportant event) is presented a few seconds before unconditional stimulus (important event)
-hear thunderclap shortly after seeing lightning
long-delayed conditioning
excitatory conditioning in which unconditional stimulus occurs after conditional stimulus has been there for a while
-hear tornado warning sirens minutes before seeing a tornado
trace conditioning
excitatory conditioning in which unconditional stimulus occurs minutes or hours after conditional stimulus has stopped
-eat gas station sushi hours before feeling the effects of salmonella
inhibitory conditioning
Pavlovian conditioning in which there is a negative correlation between conditional & unconditional stimulus
-conditional response is suppressed
simultaneous conditioning
conditional & unconditional stimulus overlap completely
backward conditioning
unconditional stimulus occurs a few seconds before start of conditional stimulus
Pavlovian extinction
conditional stimulus is presented alone & conditional response decreases
spontaneous recovery
conditional stimulus presented alone after a rest period will elicit a conditional response
stimulus generalization
an effect in which a subject notices similarities between objects & responds to them as if they were the same
stimulus discrimination
an effect in which a subject notices differences between objects & responds to them as if they were different
higher-order conditioning
an already-conditioned signal is paired with a neutral stimulus (currently meaningless event)
instrumental learning
process of interacting with some response option that has an effect on the environment
law of effect
we learn about situations & behavior that lead to something we like & do not learn to associate situations & behavior that lead to something we do not like
consequence
stimuli in which outcomes produced by behavior affect future behavior
satisfaction / stamping in
learn to repeat behaviors that lead to something we like
discomfort / stamping out
do not repeat behaviors that lead to something we do not like
antecedent
anything in the physical environment that can be detected & tell us something about the consequences of actions
positive reinforcement
behavior produces a consequence & that behavior will continue in the future
negative reinforcement
behavior removes a consequence making behavior more likely in the future
positive punishment
behavior produces a consequence & response will not continue in the future
negative punishment
behavior removes a consequence that makes response less likely in the future
escape
aversive stimulus is present & response removes or stops unpleasant stimulus
avoidance
aversive stimulus is not currently present but will occur unless a response is produced to prevent the unpleasant event
operant extinction
a consequence previously followed behavior but now no longer does, therefore, responding is less likely to occur in the future without that consequence
extinction burst
behavior that was previously enforced occurs at a higher rate without consequence in the beginning of extinction
partial reinforcement extinction effect
behavior reinforced only occasionally lasts longer without consequences than behavior reinforced every time when consequences are no longer available
shaping
selecting & reinforcing more complex responses that look like the response wanted while extinguishing simpler forms of target response
reinforcer test
determines if consequence selected is a reinforce & increases frequency of behavior
primary reinforcer
biologically important consequences make behavior more likely
secondary reinforcer
paired with primary enforcer to make behavior more likely
fixed ratio schedule
reinforcers are produced after set number of responses
variable ratio schedule
reinforcers are produced after an average number of responses
fixed interval schedule
reinforcers are produced after a set amount of time & a few responses
variable interval schedule
reinforcers are produced after average amount of time & a few responses
biological preparedness
some events serve as better conditional stimuli due to evolution
