Chapter 3 Slides Flashcards
Neurons
Individual nerve cells that make up the nervous system
Nerves
Large bundles of axons
Central nervous system (CNS)
Brain and spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
Intricate network of nerves carries information to and from the CNS
Somatic nervous system
Automatic nervous system
Spinal Cord (how many of what nerves)
Spinal nerves (31 pairs) [sensory/motor] Cranial nerves (12 pairs) [direct from brain]
Somatic nervous system (SNS)
Controls voluntary behavior like dancing or throwing a frisbee
Automatic nervous system (ANS)
Controls automatic functions like internal organs and glands
Sympathetic nervous system
Parasympathetic nervous system
Sympathetic nervous system
“Fight or flight”
Longed-for job interview
Dilated pupil, inhibits tears, inhibits salivation, activated sweat glands, increase heart rate, increase respiration, inhibits digestion, release of adrenaline, release of sugar from liver, relaxes bladder
Parasympathetic nervous system
Quiets body
Produces opposite effects of sympathetic nervous system
Constricts pupil, stimulates tears, stimulates salivation, inhibits heart rate, constricts respiration, constricts blood vessels, stimulates digestion, contracts bladder
Parts of a neuron
Dendrites
Soma
Axon
Axon terminals
Three complementary perspectives on behavior
Biological
Psychological
Sociocultural
Biological perspective on behavior
All our behavior can be explained through physiological processes
Biopsychological view: behavior is the result of internal physical, chemical, and biological processes
Evolutionary view: behavior is the result of evolution
Psychological perspective on behavior
Behavior is shaped by individual psychological processes including behaviorism, cognitive behaviorism, cognition, humanism, and psychoanalysis
Behaviorist view: behavior is shaped and controlled by ones environment
Cognitive view: behavior results from mental processing of information
Psychodynamic view: behavior is directed by unconscious forces
Humanistic view: behavior is guided by self-image and the need for personal growth
Sociocultural perspective on behavior
Sociocultural view: behavior is influenced by ones social and cultural context
cultural relativity: behavior must be judged relative to values of the culture in which it occurs
social norms: rules that define acceptable and expected behavior
Acetylcholine (main mode of action, function in the brain, effects of imbalance)
Excitatory
Participates in movement, autonomic, function, learning, and memory
Deficiency may play a role in Alzheimer’s
Dopamine (main mode of action, function in the brain, effects of imbalance)
Excitatory
Participates in motivation, reward, planning of behavior
Deficiency may lead to Parkinson’s disease, reduced feelings of pleasure, excess may lead to schizophrenia
GABA (main mode of action, function in the brain, effects of imbalance)
Inhibitory, major inhibitory effect in the central nervous system; participates in moods
Deficiency may lead to anxiety
Glutamate (main mode of action, function in the brain, effects of imbalance)
Excitatory
Major excitatory effect in the central nervous system; participates in learning and memory
Excess may lead to neuron death and autism; deficiency may lead to tiredness
Norepinephrine (main mode of action, function in the brain, effects of imbalance)
Excitatory
Participates in arousal, vigilance, and mood
Excess may lead to anxiety
Seratonin (main mode of action, function in the brain, effects of imbalance)
Inhibitory
Participates in mood, appetite, and sleep
Deficiency may lead to depression and/or anxiety
Hebb’s rule
The capacity of our brains to change in response to experience
Neurogenesis
Production of new brain cells
Biopsychology
Locate parts of the brain that control particular mental or behavioral functions
Computed tomographic scanning (CT)
Specialized x-ray
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Strong magnetic field (not an X-ray)
Electroencephalograph (EEG)
Detects, amplifies, and records electrical activity in the brain
Positron emission tomography (PET)
Provides more detailed images of activity both near the surface and below
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
Makes brain actively visible
Gray matter
Spongy tissue made up mostly of cell bodies
70% of the neurons in the CNS
Corticalization
Increase in size and wrinkling of the cortex
What connects the cerebral hemispheres
Corpus callosum
Which hemisphere of the brain?
Language, speech, writing, calculation, time sense, rhythm, ordering of complex movements
Analysis (breaking info into parts), processes information sequentially
Left brain
Which hemisphere of the brain?
Nonverbal, perceptual skills, visualization, recognition of patterns, faces, melodies, recognition and expression of emotion, special skills, simple language comprehension
Process information holistically and simultaneously
Right brain
What is a lobe?
An area borders by major grooves or fissures of defined by their functions
Frontal lobe
Sense of self, motor control, and higher mental abilities such as reasoning and planning
Primary motor cortex (direct muscles)
Mirror neurons (may explain autism spectrum disorder)
Parietal lobe
Sensation such as touch, pain, temperature, and pressure
Primary somatosensory cortex
Sensitivity versus size
Occipital lobe
Vision
Temporal lobe
Hearing and language
Primary auditory area
Cerebellum
Posture, coordination, muscle tone, and memory of skills and habits
Muscle memory, body balance
Subcortex
Underneath cerebral hemispheres
Divided into: hindbrain(brain stem), midbrain, forebrain
Hindbrain (brainstem)
Vital life functions, breathing, heart rate, swallowing (medulla)
Sleep/arousal (pons)
Cerebellum
Reticular formation and Reticular activating system
Forebrain
Reticular formation (RT) - Reticular Activating System - attention to redirect thoughts for survival
Cerebral cortex
Voluntary movements; sensations, learning, remembering, thinking, emotion, consciousness
Hypothalamus
Control of hunger, thirst, temperature, and other visceral and bodily functions
Medulla
Centers for control over breathing, swallowing, digestion, heart rate
