Chapter 1 - What is Biopsychology? Flashcards
Neurons
Cells of the nervous system that are specialized for the reception, conduction, and transmission of electrochemical signals
Neuroscience
The scientific sutdy of the nervous system
Thinking creatively
Thinking in productive, unconventional ways
Clinical
Pertaining to illness or treatment
Evolutionary perspective
The approach that focuses on the environmental pressures that likely led to the evolution of the characteristics (e.g. of brain and behavior) of current species
Neuroplasticity
The notion that the brain is a “plastic” (changeable) organ that continuously grows and changes in response to an individual’s environment and experiences
Epigenetics
The study of all mechanisms of inheritance other than the genetic code and its expression
Consciousness
The perception or awareness of some aspect of one’s self or the world
Biopsychology
The scientific study of the biology of behavior; a biological approach to the study of psychology
Neuroanatomy
The study of the structure of the nervous system
Neurochemistry
The study of the chemical bases of neural activity
Neuroendocrinology
The study of the interactions between the nervous system and the endocrine system
Neuropathology
The study of the nervous system disroders
Neuropharmacology
The study of the effects of drugs on neural activity
Neurophysiology
The study of the functions and activities of the nervous system
Comparative approach
The study of biological processes by comparing different species - usually from the evolutionary perspective
Between-subjects design
An experimental design in which a different group of subjects is tested under each condition
Within-subjects design
An experimental design in which the same subjects are tested under each condition
Independent variable
The difference between experimental conditions that is arranged by the experimenter; the thing you intentionally change or control
Dependent variable
The variable measured by the experiementer to asses the effect of the independent variable; the thing you measure
Confounded variable
An unintended difference between the conditions of an experiment that could have affected the dependent variable
Coolidge effect
The fact that a copulating (sexually active) male who becomes incapable of continuing to copulate with one sex partner can often recommence copulating with a new sex partner
Lordosis
The arched-back, rump-up, tail-to-the-side posture of female rodent sexual receptivity
Quasiexperimental studies
Studies of groups of subjects who have been exposed to the conditions of interest in the real world; such studies have the appearance of experiments but are not true experiments because potential confounded variables have not been controlled for
Case studies
Studies that focus on a single case, or subject
Generalizability
The degree to which the results of a study can be applied to other individuals or situations
Pure research
Research motivated primarily by the curiosity of the researcher and done solely for the purpose of acquiring knowledge
Applied research
Research that is intended to bring about some direct benefit to humankind
Translational research
Research designed to translate basic scientific discoveries into effective applications (e.g. into clinical treatments)
Physiological pyschology
The division of biopsychology that studies the neural mechanisms of behavior through direct manipulation of the brains of nonhuman animal subjects in controlled experiments
Pyschopharmacology
The division of biopsychology that studies the effects of drugs on the brain and behavior
Neuropsychology
The division of biopsychology that studies the psychological effects of brain damage in humane patients
Cerebral cortex
The layer of neural tissue covering the cerebral hemispheres of humans and other mammals
Pyschophysiology
The division of biopsychology that studies the relation between physiological activity and psychological processes in human subjects by noninvasive methods
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
A measure of the gross electrical activity of the brain, commonly recorded through scalp electrodes
Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
The part of the peripheral nervous system that participates in the regulation of the body’s internal environment
Cognitive neuroscience
A division of biopsychology that focuses on the use of functional brain imaging to study the neural mechanisms of human cognition
Cognition
Higher intellectual processes such as thought, memory, attention, and complex perceptual processes
Comparative psychology
The division of biopsychology that studies the evolution, genetics, and adaptiveness of behavior, often by using the comparative approach
Ethological research
The study of animal behavior in its natural environment
Converging operations
The use of several research approaches to solve a single problem
Korsakoff’s syndrome
A neuropsychological disorder that is common in alcoholics and whose primary symptoms include memory loss, sensory and motor dysfunctions, and, in its advanced stages, severe dementia
Scientific inference
The logical process by which observable events are used to infer the properties of unobservable events
Critical thinking
The process of recognizing the weakness of existing ideas and the evidence on which they are based
Morgan’s Canon
The rule that the simplest possible interpretation for a behavioral observation should be given precedence
Prefrontal lobotomy
A surgical procedure in which the connections between the prefrontal lobes and the rest of the brain are cut, as a treatment for mental illness
Prefrontal lobes
Areas of cortex, left and right, that are located at the very front of the brain - in the frontal lobes
Leucotome
A surgical device used in psychosurgery to cut out a core of brain tissue
Transorbital lobotomy
A prefrontal lobotomy performed with an instrument inserted through the eye socket
Psychosurgery
Any brain surgery performed for the treatment of a psychological problem (e.g. prefrontal lobotomy)
