Chapter 2: Biological Foundations of Mental Health Flashcards
What regulates wakefulness/arousal?
Reticular Formation
What regulates our physiological activity?
brainstem, and midbrain
How does arousal and physiological activity relate to mental health?
we can regulate some of it through drug intervention and the use of psychoactive drugs
What controls our sensation and perception?
the somatosensory homunculi
What controls our movement?
the sensory-motor loop
How does sensation and movement relate to mental health?
exercising often is a good way to optimize our mental health
How does thought relate to mental health?
good mental health allows for people to think and reason clearly
Emotion
our feeling states
how we deal with fluctuations fo emotions
Mood
a longer period assessment of a person’s emotional state
Memory
store, retain and retrieve information
What brain structures regulate our memory?
hippocampus and the amygdala
Conditioning related to memory
overtime if people are continually exposed to certain conditions, they may began to manifest it within their physiology (neuroplasticity)
What is the main INFLUENCE on our personality?
Environmental factors
What is personality?
behavioural traits and characteristics of an individual
What DETERMINES our personality?
genetics
epigenetics
even if we inherit genes for certain traits, we may not develop the condition
What fuels the brain
glucose
How is the brain protected?
meninges
cerebrospinal fluid
blood-brain barrier
Impact of hormones on our mental health
- change mental activity
- women can experience mood changes caused by hormones
- illness can cause hormone levels to be too high or too low
- testosterone in males can impact mental function and behaviour
Seasonal Affective Disorder
common in the winter months (canada)
difficulty sleeping and depression symptoms
light can relieve depression
Plasticity and regenertivity of the brain
functions of the brain may be taken over by different areas if there is damage
brain cells can regenerate throughout life
