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PSYC 351 > Chapter 1 > Flashcards

Chapter 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What is Behavioralist Tradition?

A

-the main mechanism of behavioralist learning is the pairing of (environmental) stimulus and response/behaviour
-operant conditioning (Skinner)
~other mechanisms: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, extinction, punishment
-dramatically opposed to cognitive psychology - investigates internal mental processes (attention, memory,etc.)

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2
Q

What is Empiricism?

A

-concept that all learning is derived from experience and observations

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3
Q

What is Empirical Evidence?

A

-information acquired by observation or experimentation
-used to disprove or prove some hypothesis

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4
Q

What is Ecological Validity?

A

-does test performance accurately predict behaviours in real-world settings
-do fMRI finding from sterile controlled lab setting translate into real-world learning situations? NO.

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5
Q

What is Nervism?

A

-philosophical position adopted by Pavlov
-all behavioural and physiological processes are regulated by the nervous system

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6
Q

What is Functional Neurology?

A

-how the nervous system works
-“functional neurology is the study of the inter-relationships of an individual’s neuronal systems within the context of their wider health.”

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7
Q

What is Learning?

A

-a relatively enduring change in the mechanisms of behaviour, resulting from experience involving specific stimuli and/or responses involving specific stimuli
-learning is biological and necessary for survival
-most of what we do occurs without conscious awareness

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8
Q

What is the difference between Leaning and Memory?

A

-Learning: how we adjust our behaviour based on associations between stimuli, actions, or consequences, or based on repeated exposure to stimuli
-Memory: how we acquire, store, and retrieve knowledge about facts, events, places, and skills

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9
Q

How are associations developed?

A

-associations develop through conditioning, a process in which environmental stimuli and behavioural responses become connected

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10
Q

What was Pavlov’s influence on Stimulus-Response?

A

-responses to stimuli change as a result of experience
-Pavlov experimentally showed that not all reflexes are innate
-hence, new reflexes to stimuli can be established through mechanisms of association
-modern behaviour theory is built on the concept of stimulus response (S-R)

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11
Q

What underlies behaviour?

A

-thoughts lead to emotions, emotions lead to actions or behaviours
-thoughts/beliefs vary worldwide, but emotions are virtually identical
-the majority of thoughts are subconscious
-thoughts and attitudes can be altered
-nature (genetics) and nurture (experiences) shape thoughts
-emotions are impacted by genetics, culture, and experience

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12
Q

What are the main Limbic System structures?

A

-Amygdala
-Hippocampus
-Hypothalamus
-Insula
-Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)

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13
Q

What is the Amygdala’s role?

A

-fight-or-flight response; anger and fear
-attaches emotional significance to memories which improves long-term memory for that event
-damage impairs development of conditioned fear response
-very fast response(milliseconds)
-processes emotional significance of stimuli and generates immediate emotional and behavioural reactions

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14
Q

What is the Hippocampus’ role?

A

-learning
-new memory formation
-long-term memory formation (episodic memories)
-mediates spatial navigation
-indexes memories for later access

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15
Q

What is the Hypothalamus’ role?

A

-connects to pituitary gland or hypophysis
-the main outflow to autonomic system
-regulation of blood pressure, hunger state, internal state, and sleep

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16
Q

What is the Insula’s role?

A

-receives and integrates somatosensory, emotional, cognitive, and motivational signals
-provides subjective awareness of bodily state (interception): sensing hunger, the need to urinate, etc.
-important role in experiencing emotion, especially disgust, and recognition of facial expression disgust, anger, anxiety, guilt

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17
Q

What is the Prefrontal Cortex’s role?

A

-moderates/influences limbic processing
-interplay of the limbic structures and prefrontal cortex is essential
-limbic structures above involved in motivation and emotional response; PFC involved in self-control, judgment, logical analysis, planning, decision-making

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18
Q

What are the 2 pathways

A
  1. the fast path: sensory information travels almost instantaneously through the thalamus directly to the amygdala for priority processing
  2. the slow path: sensory material travels from the thalamus to the cortex (visual or auditory), where the information is inspected in greater depth before it is passed along to the amygdala
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19
Q

What else changes behaviour?

A

-thoughts, emotions
-stimulus change (ex: lights turn on in a movie theatre)
-maturation/aging
–the frontal lobe/PFC includes neural circuitry that is in charge of executive functions such as working memory, planning and impulse control
–this neural circuitry may not be fully developed until 30 something

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20
Q

Why are animal models used to understand human behaviour?

A

-they are controlled and simple conditions
-for animal models to provide valid insight into human behaviour, similarities between animal and human behaviour must be identified
–similarities in causal factors responsible for particular behaviours requires experimental approach
-animal models play a central role in new drug development and AI

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21
Q

What is the difference between Learning and Performance?

A

-learning is a change in the mechanisms of behaviour rather than alteration in the behaviour directly
-performance is all actions of an organism at a given time; response or suppression of a prior behaviour
–can involve learning, but reflexes aren’t usually learned (baby’s suckling reflex; withdrawal reflex response)
–Pavlov showed reflexes can be learned via association

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22
Q

What are the levels of learning analysis?

A

-systems level neural mechanisms involved in learning: how neural transmitters and neural circuits are organized to produce learned responses
-cellular level of neural mechanisms: genetic and epigenetic (environment’s impact on genetics) molecular mechanisms’ influences are considered

23
Q

What is an Action Potential?

A

-all-or-none firing based on a positive charge change in voltage that surpasses the axon hillock threshold

24
Q

What is Anions?

A

-A- (organic anions), Cl-

25
Q

What is an Axon?

A

-a narrow extension of a neuron (actually white matter) by which information is transmitted to other neurons

26
Q

What is an Axon Hillock?

A

-where soma and axon connect; processes incoming signals, EPSP, ISPSP; acts like a trigger; if the summation of EPSP is sufficient, this lower threshold region will generate an action potential

27
Q

What is Cations?

A

-Ca+; Na+; K+

28
Q

What is Cell Body (Soma):

A

-the site in the neuron where information from thousands of other neurons is collected and integrated. The soma makes up most of the brain’s grey matter

29
Q

What is Dendrite?

A

-branchlike extensions of the neuron that detect information from other neurons; generally part of the brain grey matter

30
Q

What is EPSP?

A

-excitatory postsynaptic signal

31
Q

What is IPSP?

A

-inhibitory postsynaptic signal

32
Q

What is Membrane Potential?

A

-the difference in electrical charge between the inside and the outside of the neuron

33
Q

What is Myelin Sheath?

A

-a fatty material, made up of glial cells, that insulates some axons to allow for faster movement of electrical impulses along the axon

34
Q

What is Nodes of Ranvier?

A

-small gaps of exposed axon, between the segments of myelin sheath, where neural communication called action potentials take place

35
Q

What is Synapse?

A

-the gap between the axon of a “sending” neuron and the dendrites of a “receiving” neuron and the site at which chemical communication occurs between neurons

36
Q

What is Terminal Buttons?

A

-at the end of axons, small nodules that release chemical signals from the neuron into the synapse

37
Q

What are the characteristics of neurons and dendrites?

A

-neurons involved in execution or inhibition motor commands
-dendrites have receptors (ionotropic or metabotropic)
-dendritic receptors transform NT (chemical signal) to electrical signal

38
Q

What are the essential properties of neurons?

A

-lipid bilayer seperates the inside and outside of cell
-prevents random diffusion of ions across the membrane
-the inside of the cells has greater negative charge relative to the outside
-the difference in electrical charge is the electrical potential
-polarization: neuron charge on the inside of the membrane differs relative to the charge on the outside
-resting membrane potential is negative: more negative charge on the inside of the neuron; resting membrane potential is -70mV

39
Q

What happens after a NT is released into the synaptic cleft?

A

-it can bind with proteins on the postsynaptic membrane called receptors
-in binding to a receptor, the NT creates a conformation change; the receptor changes its shape.

40
Q

What happens when neurons that release the NT glutamate are termed excitatory?

A

-called excitatory given that they open channels that are permeable to Na+ sodium ions
-some influx of Na+ ions into the postsynatic membrane will cause it to become slightly depolarized

41
Q

What happens when neurons that release the NT gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are termed inhibitory?

A

-GABA binds to chloride (Cl-) channel receptors, channels are opened’
-Cl- ions are in higher numbers on the outside of the neuron
-diffusional forces drive Cl- ions inside the neuron membrane via chloride channels
-with the influx of chloride ions, the membrane potential will become more negative
–hyperpolarized is more difficult for the axon hillock to reach threshold, for the neuron to fire.

42
Q

What happens when sodium ions (Na+) and potassium ions (K+), and chloride (Cl-) contribute to a neuron’s resting membrane potential?

A

-ions pass through the cell membrane channels
-flow of ions through each channel is controlled by a gating mechanism
–receptors activated by particular NTs

43
Q

What is a sodium-potassium pump?

A

-a mechanism in the membrane that contributes to polarization
-helps stabilize the membrane potential
-increases potassium outside the neuron
-decreases sodium inside the neuron
-Na+/K+ helps maintain different charge across the membrane
-3 Na+ out of the cell and 2 K+ into the cell (3:2 ratio)

44
Q

What is the Resting state?

A

-higher concentration of K+; concentration gradient results in diffusion of K+ going out of the cell
-outward flow of K+ results in electrical potential - a differential charge across the cell membrane
-more positive outside the cell and more negative inside the cell (-A; in cell).
-two forces now across membrane: concentration gradient and electrical potential
-K+ then achieves equilibrium; outward flux of K+ driven; concentration gradient equals electrical potential due to accumulation K+ outside cell
-the resting rate equilibrium potential is -70 to -75mV

45
Q

When do Action Potentials (AP) occur?

A

-neuronal firing is determined by the number and frequency of signals the neuron receives.
–action potential occurs when the sum of excitatory and inhibitory signals leads to a positive charge in voltage that exceeds the neuron’s firing threshold.
-all-or-none principle (3:2): the principle that when a neuron fires, it fires with the same potency each time
–stronger stimulation results in higher frequency AP

46
Q

What do excitatory and inhibitory signals do?

A

-EPSP: NT glutamate is excitatory; activates ACh receptors allows K+ and Na+ into cell; increased Na+ conductance is key to depolarization
-IPSP: NT GABA released in synapse; GABA receptors open Cl- channels; Cl- influx into cell; increased Cl- conductance reduces chance of depolarization

47
Q

How do EPSPs and IPSPs impact AP?

A

-neuron axon hillock integrates all EPSPs and IPSPs
-AP will not occur if inhibition (too many IPSPs) prevail
-AP will occur if EPSPs result in sufficient depolarization; making the membrane potential sufficiently positive (-40 to -50mV)
-depolarization travels along an axon like a wave

48
Q

What is an Absolute Refractory Period?

A

-after an ion channel opens and closes, there is a short absolute refractory period (channel cannot open again).
–followed by the relative refractory period
-the refractory periods ensure that the action potentials always move away from the cell body to the terminal buttons.

49
Q

What are the neuron properties?

A

-the presynaptic terminal contains vesicles (membrane-enclosed containers that hold NTs)
-AP travels along the axon; reaches terminal; depolarization of the membrane, inner cell temporarily becomes more positive; opens voltage-gated calcium channels
-Calcium ions in the terminal: involved in fusion of vesicles with the presynaptic membrane; next, vesicles release the NT into the synaptic cleft

50
Q

How many NTs are in a neuron and what do they do?

A

-each neuron contains 1+ particular NT(s)
-NT released in cleft binds to particular postsynpatic cell receptor protein; receptor changes shape
-NT causes ion channels to open or close

51
Q

What are the 3 ways NTs are terminated?

A
  1. Autoreception
    -monitors NT in cleft
    -signals presynaptic neuron to halt releasing if in
    excess
  2. Reuptake
    -NT take back into presynaptic neuron
  3. Enzyme deactivation
    -NT destroyed
52
Q

What is the General-Process Approach?

A

-assumption that learning principles are sufficiently general to apply to several species under a wide variety of circumstances
–does not deny the diversity of stimuli and responses that different animals may learn
–does not deny there may be differing learning rates among different species

53
Q

What is an example of General-Process Approach?

A

-to teach a pigeon to turn in a circle to the right:
–a reward is given for any small movement in that direction
–soon, the pigeon catches on and makes larger movements to the right, which earns more rewards

54
Q

What did Skinner believe regarding this approach?

A

-Skinner believed that this type of learning even relates to language
–children rewarded through the praise and affection of parents’ encouragement, make a sound that resembles a certain word
–eventually, the child can say that word

PSYC 351 (6 decks)

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