Chapters 1 and 2 Flashcards
neuropsychology
study of the connection between the nervous system and behavior
3 types of neurons
sensory: afferent, receptors to the brain
motor: efferent, brain and spinal cord to the muscle
interneurons: reflex arcs, found in brain and spinal cord
Franz Gall
phrenology: part of brain would expand in correspondence with a specific trait
Pierre Flourens
first to study functions of major sections of the brain
did extirpations on rabbits
William James
father of psychology, functionalism: studied how mental processes help an individual adapt to their environments
John Dewey
believed that psychology should study the organism as a whole as it functions to adapt to the environment
central nervous system
brain and spinal cord
peripheral nervous system
nerve tissue and fibers outside brain and spinal cord
31 pairs of spinal nerves
12 pairs of cranial nerves
connects CNS to the rest of the body
somatic nervous system
sensory and motor neurons distributed throughout the skin, joints, and muscles
voluntary
autonomic nervous system
regulates heartbeat, respiration, digestion, and glandular secretions
involuntary
parasympathetic nervous system
aim is to conserve energy
rest and digest: reduce heart rate, constrict bronchi, increase peristalsis and exocrine secretions
Ach is neurotransmitter
sympathetic nervous system
activated by stress
fight, flight, fright, fornication: increase heart rate, redistribute blood to muscles for locomotion, increase blood glucose concentration, relaxes bronchi, decrease digestion and peristalsis, dilates eyes, release epinephrine
layers of meninges
duramater, arachnoid mater, pia mater
brainstem
hindbrain + midbrain
cerebral cortex
language processing, problem solving, impulse control, long-term planning
limbic system
emotion and memory
aggression, fear, pleasure, pain
forebrain
cerebral cortex: complex perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral processes
basal ganglia: smooth and coordinated movement
limbic system: emotion and memory
thalamus: sensory relay station
hypothalamus: hunger and thirst, emotion; overall homeostasis
midbrain
inferior and superior colliculi: sensorimotor reflexes
hindbrain
cerebellum: refined motor movements
medulla oblongata: vital functioning – breathing and digestion
reticular formation: arousal and alertness
cortical maps
sensory locations on the brain
CT (computed tomography)
multiple X-rays are taken at different angles and processed by computer to cross-sectional slice images of tissue
PET (positron emission tomography) scan
radioactive sugar is injected and absorbed into the body and its path is imaged
MRI 9magnetic resonance imaging)
uses magnetic field to interact with hydrogen and map out hydrogen dense regions in the brain
fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)
measures changes related to blood flow
hypothalamus
lateral: hunger and thirst center, triggered by LH
ventromedial: “satiety center”
provides signals to stop eating
anterior: sexual behavior, sleep, body temperature
posterior pituitary
ADH and oxytocin
pineal gland
melatonin, regulates circadian rhythms
basal ganglia
coordinates muscle movement and relays this back to the brain and spinal cord via extrapyramidal system
its destruction can lead to Parkinson’s Disease
limbic system
emotion and memory
septal nuclei: primary pleasure center in the brain
amygdala: fear and rage
hippocampus: learning and memory processes, communicates with other parts of the system via the fornix
cerebral cortex
frontal lobe: prefrontal cortex and M1 (located on precentral gyrus)
parietal lobe: somatosensory cortex is located on the postcentral gyrus
occipital lobe: visual cortex/striate cortex
temporal lobe: auditory cortex and Wernicke’s area, memory, emotion, language
association area
area that integrates input from diverse brain regions, like prefrontal cortex
projection area
performs more rudimentary perceptual and motor tasks
further analyze sensory input
contralaterally
brain communicating with opposite side of the body
ipsilaterally
brain communicating with same side of the body
dominant hemisphere
usually the left, primarily analytic, good for managing details
nondominant hemisphere
usually the right, intuition, creativity, music cognition, spatial processing (geometry, sense of direction)
acetylcholine
neurotransmitter found in both CNS (in ganglia for innervating sweat glands) & PNS transmit nerve impulses)
catecholamines
epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine: important for experiencing emotions
epinephrine(adrenaline) and norepinephrine(noradrenaline)
involved in controlling alertness and wakefulness
dopamine
movement and posture, too much is believed to be tied with scizophrenia, too little=Parkinson’s
serotonin
mood, eating, sleep, dreaming
too much=manic states
too little=depression
GABA
inhibitory postsynaptic potential, stabilizes brain
glycine
inhibitory in CNS, increases chloride influx into the neuron, stabilizes brain
glutamate
CNS, excitatory
endorphins
natural painkillers
hormones
chemical messengers
hypophyseal portal system
how hypothalamus links endocrine and nervous systems
anterior pituitary
master gland, releases hormones that regulate the activity of endocrine glands
adrenal medulla
epinephrine and norepinephrine
adrenal cortex
glucocorticoids and sex hormones (testosterone and estrogen)
innate behavior
programmed as a result of evolution
learned behaviors
based on experience and environment
adaptive value
extent to which a trait or a behavior positively benefits a species
nature
heredity and its influence on behavior
nurture
influence of environment and physical surroundings on behavior
family studies
rely on assumption that genetically related individuals are more similar genotypical than unrelated individuals
twin studies
comparing concordance rates: likelihood that both twins exhibit the same trait
MZ: monozygotic twins: identical
DZ: dizygotic twins: fraternal
adoption studies
help to understand environmental influences and genetic influences on behavior
neurulation
process by which ectoderm overlying notochord begins to furrow, forming neural groove surrounded by two neural folds
neural crest
cells at leading edge of the neural fold
migrate to form dorsal root ganglia, melanocytes, and calcitonin producing cells of the thyroid
neural tube
forms the CNS
alar plate: will become sensory neurons
basal plate: will become motor neurons
umbilical cord
connects fetus to uterine wall and placenta(food, O2, and H2O
reflex
behavior that occurs in response to a given stimulus without higher cognitive input
primitive reflexes
what infants have, should disappear with age
rooting reflex: autonomic response of tuning head in direction that stimulation touches cheek
moro reflex
infants react to abrupt movements of their heads by flinging out arms, then slowly retracting arms and crying
Babinski reflex
toes spread apart when sole of foot is stimulated
grasping reflex
occurs when infant closes his or her fingers around an object placed in the hand
sensory receptors
respond to stimuli and trigger electrical signals
distal stimuli
originate from outside of the body, like campfire
proximal stimuli
directly interact with and affect the sensory receptors, like photons from the campfire
psychophysics
relationship between the physical nature of stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they evoke
ganglia
collection of neuron cell bodies found outside the cns
threshold
minimum amount of a stimulus that renders a difference in perception
absolute threshold
minimum amount of stimulus energy that is needed to activate a sensory system
subliminal perception
perception of stimulus below a given threshold
threshold of conscious perception
psychophysical discrimination testing
ways to analyze limit in human perspective ability
difference threshold
AKA just-noticeable difference : minimum difference in magnitude between two stimuli before one can perceive this difference
Weber’s Law
ratio between the change in stimulus and its original valu
difference/original
signal detection theory
changes in our perception of the same stimuli depending on psychological and environmental factors
encompasses notion of false alarm
response bias
tendency of subjects to systematically respond to a stimulus in a particular way due to nonsensory factors
hair cell
respond to movement of fluid in inner ear structures
photoreceptors
respond to electromagnetic waves in the visible spectrum
nociceptors
respond to painful or noxious stimuli
thermoreceptors
respond to changes in temperature
osmoreceptors
respond to osmolarity of the blood
olfactory receptors
respond to smell
taste recptors
respond to taste
sclera
thick structural layer, the white part of the eye
choroidal and retinal vessels
supply the eye with nutrients
retina
contains actual photoreceptors that transduce light into electrochemical info
duplexity theory of vision: light and dark photoreceptors (cones and rods)
cornea
where light enters, gathers and focuses the light
anterior chamber
in front of the iris
posterior chamber
between the iris and the lens
iris
colored part of the eye composed of dilator pupillae (opens, sympathetic) and constrictor pupillae (constricts, parasympathetic)
ciliary body
produces the aqueous humor that bathes the front part of the eye before draining into the Canal of Schlemm
lens
behind iris, controls refraction of light
accomodation
as ciliary muscle contracts, it pulls on the suspensory ligaments and changes the shape of the lens
vitreous
transparent gel that supports the retina
rods
more functional in reduced illumination, contain rhodopsin
fovea
contains only cones, visual acuity is best here
bipolar cells
rods and cones connect with them to synapse with ganglion cells that group together to form the optic nerve
visual pathways
refer to both the physical anatomical connections between the eyes and the brain and the flow of visual information
optic chiasm
where fibers from the nasal half of each retina cross paths
flow of visual info
optic chiasm–lateral geniculate nucleus(LGN)–thalamus–temporal and parietal lobes–visual cortex–occipital lobe
parallel processing
ability to simultaneously analyze and combine info regarding color, shape, and motion
feature detection
specialization in the detection of color, shape, or motion
parvocellular cells
detect shape, have high spatial resolution, have low temporal resolution
magnocellular cells
detect motion, have very high temporal resolution
vestibular sense
rotational and linear accleration
pinna/auricle
where a sound wave first reaches, channels sound waves to external auditory canal, which directs sound waves to the tympanic membrane (eardrum)
intensity
amplitude of the vibration
ossicles
3 of the middle ear: malleus/hammer, incus/anvil, and stapes/stirrup
eustachian tube
connects middle ear to nasal cavity, helps to equalize pressure between the middle ear and the environment
inner ear
bony labyrinth, cochlea, vestibule, semicircular canals
membranous labyrinth
bathed with endolymph, is suspended within the bony labyrinth by a thin layer of fluid called perilymph, which transmits vibrations from outside world
cochlea
spiral shaped organ divided into scalae
organ of Corti
actual hearing apparatus, at the top is the tectorial membrane, bathed in endolymph
basilar membrane
thin, flexible membrane
round window
permits perilymph to move within the cochlea
auditory nerve
carries electrical signal to the brain
vestibule
portion of the bony labyrinth that contains the utricle and saccule, which coordinate balance and orientation and are covered by otolith hair cells
sensitive to linear acceleration
semicircular canals
sensitive to rotational acceleration
arranged perpendicular to each other, each end results in a swelling called an ampulla
auditory pathway
sound info passes through the vestibulocochlear nerve–brain stem–medial geniculate nucleus (MGN)–auditory cortex–also sent to superior olive for localizing sound and inferior colliculus for startle reflex
stereocilia
hair cells
place theory
location of a hair cell on the basilar membrane determines the perception of pitch when that hair cell is vibrated
tonotopical organization
hair cells that are vibrating gives the brain an indication of the pitch of the sound
olfactory pathway
odor molecules are inhaled–olfactory bulb–olfactory tract–higher regions of the brain
somatosensation
touch: pressure, vibration, pain, temperature
pacinian corpuscles
deep pressure and vibrattion
meissners corpuscles
light touch
merkel cells/discs
deep pressure and texture
ruffini ending
stretch
free nerve endings
pain and temperature
two-point threshold
minimum distance necessary between two points of stimulation on the skin such that the points will be felt as two distinct stimuli
physiological zero
normal temperature of the skin
nocireceptors
for pain perception
gate theory of pain
special gating mechanism that can turn pain signals on or off, affecting whether or not we perceive pain
proprioception
kinesthetic sense, ability to tell where your body is in space
bottom up processing
data driven, object recognition via parallel processing and feature detection
top down processing
conceptually driven, driven by memories and expectations
perceptual organization
ability to use both top down and bottom up processing to create complete picture
depth perception
rely on both monocular and binocular cues
form
determined by parallel processing and feature detection
constancy
idea that we perceive certain characteristics of objects to remain the same, despite differences in the environment
Gesttalt principles
ways for the brain to infer missing parts of a picture when picture is incomplete
law of proximity
elements close to one another tend to be perceived as a unit
law of similarity
objects that are similar tend to be grouped together
law of good continuation
elements that appear to follow the same pathway tend to be grouped together
subjective contours
perceiving shapes that aren’t actually present in the stimulus
law of closure
when a space is enclosed by a contour it tends to be perceived as a complete figure
