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MCAT > concept 6b part 2 > Flashcards

concept 6b part 2 Flashcards

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MCAT flashcards
1
Q

consciousness-altering drugs

A

4 different groups: depressants, stimulants, opiates, and hallucinogens
marijuana has depressant, stimulant, and hallucinogenic effects and considered separately

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2
Q

depressants

A

reduce nervous system activity
resulting in sense of relaxation and reduced anxiety
alcohol is most common type, but also include barbiturates and benzodiazepines

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3
Q

alcohol

A

has several effects on the brain
increases activity of the GABA receptor, a chloride channel that causes hyper polarization of the membrane
causes brain inhibition, resulting in diminished arousal
increases dopamine levels, causing sense of euphoria
logical reasoning and motor skills are affect and fatigue may result
often measured using blood alcohol levels

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4
Q

alcohol myopia

A

main effects of alcohol on logical reasoning
the inability to recognize consequences of actions
this creates a short-sighted view of the world

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5
Q

alcoholism

A

rates are higher for those in lower socioeconomic status, but low-SES alloys enter recovery sooner and at higher rates
tends to run in families
long-term consequences include cirrhosis and liver failure, pancreatic damage, gastric or duodenal ulcers, gastrointestinal cancer, and brain disorders including Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome

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6
Q

Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

A

caused by a deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1)

characterized by sever memory impairment with changes in mental status and loss of motor skills

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7
Q

barbiturates

A

historically used as anxiety-reducing (anxiolytic) and sleep medications
have been replaced by benzodiazepines
include amobarbital and phenobarbital

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8
Q

benzodiazepines

A

replace barbiturates
are less prone to overdoes
include alprazolam, lorazepam, diazepam, and clonazepam
increase GABA activity, causing sense of relaxation
highly addictive

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9
Q

stimulants

A

cause an increase in arousal in the nervous system
each drug increases the frequency of action potentials
amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy

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10
Q

amphetamines

A

cause increased arousal by increasing release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin at the synapse and decreasing their reuptake
increases arousal, causes reduction in appetite and decreased need for sleep
increase heart rate and blood pressure
psychological effects include euphoria, hyper vigilance (being “on edge”), anxiety, delusions of grandeur, and paranoid

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11
Q

cocaine

A

originates from the coca plant, grown in high-altitude regions of South America
decreases repute of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin
effects and withdrawal are similar to amphetamines
have anesthetic and vasoconstrictive properties

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12
Q

crack

A

form of cocaine that can be smoked
with quick and potent effects
highly addictive

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13
Q

ecstasy

A

acts as a hallucinogen combined with an amphetamine
mechanism and effects similar to amphetamines
causes increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, blurry vision, sweating, nausea, and hyperthermia
causes feelings of euphoria, increased alertness, and overwhelming sense of well-being and connectedness

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14
Q

opium

A

derived from the poppy plant

numerous drugs derived from this that are used recreationally and therapeutically

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15
Q

opiates

A

naturally occurring forms of opium
morphine and codeine
bind to opioid receptors in the peripheral and central nervous system
causing a decreased reaction to pain and a sense of euphoria
overdoes can cause death by respiratory suppression, brain stops sending signals to breathe

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16
Q

opioids

A

semisynthetic derivatives of opium
oxycodone, hydrocodone, and heroin
bind to opioid receptors in the peripheral and central nervous system
causing a decreased reaction to pain and a sense of euphoria
overdoes can cause death by respiratory suppression, brain stops sending signals to breathe

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17
Q

heroin

A

originally created as a substitute for morphine
once injected body rapidly metabolizes heroin to morphine
usually smoked or injected
was the most widely abused opioid, but now it is prescription opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone

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18
Q

hallucinogens

A

include drugs such as lysergic acid diethyl amide (LSD), peyote, mescaline, ketamine, and psilocybin-containing mushrooms
exact mechanism is unknown, but thought to be complex interaction b/w various neurotransmitters especially serotonin
cause distortions of reality and fantasy, enhancement of sensory experiences, and introspection
increased heart rate and blood pressure, dilation of pupils, sweating, and increased body temperature

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19
Q

marijuana

A

leaves and flowers of 2 plane species: Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica
active chemical is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
exerts effects by acting at cannabinoid receptors, glycine receptors, and opioid receptors
has depressant, stimulant, and hallucinogenic effects
THC increases GABA activity, causing neural inhibition, and dopamine activity, causing pleasure
cause eye redness, dry mouth, fatigue, impairment of short term memory, increased heart rate, increased appetite, and lowered blood pressure

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20
Q

drug addiction

A

highly related to the mesolimbic reward pathway, 1 of 4 dopaminergic pathways in brain
addiction pathway is activated by all substances that produce psychological dependence

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21
Q

mesolimbic reward pathway

A

highly related to drug addiction, is the addiction pathway
includes the nucleus accumbens, the ventral tegmental area, and the connections b/w them called the medial forebrain bundle
normally involved in motivation and emotional response
activation accounts for the positive reinforcement of substance abuse
gambling and falling in love also activate this pathway

22
Q

attention

A

concentrating on one aspect of the sensory environment or sensorium
understanding of how attention works and the mechanism by which we can shift our attention from one set of stimuli to another is unclear

23
Q

selective attention

A

focusing on one part of the sensorium while ignoring other stimuli
acts as a filter b/w sensory stimuli and our processing systems
probably a filter that allows us to focus on one thing while allowing other stimuli to be processed in the background
cocktail party phenomenon

24
Q

cocktail party phenomenon

A

at a party and talking to a friend
your ears perk up when you hear your name spoken across the room
even though you were engaged in conversation you were able to perceive your name being mentioned
evidence of different interpretation of selective attention

25
Q

divided attention

A

ability to perform multiple tasks at the same time
familiar or routine actions can be performed with automatic processing which permits the brain to focus on other tasks with divided attention

26
Q

components of language

A 
phonology
morphology
semantics 
syntax 
pragmatics
27
Q

phonology

A

refers to the actual sound of language
about 40 phonemes (speech sounds) in English
ability to recognize the difference b/w different speech sounds and other sounds in the environment

28
Q

categorical perception

A

ability to make the distinction b/w different pronunciations of a word
recognizing the difference b/w language and environmental sounds and other human sounds (coughing)

29
Q

morphology

A

refers to the structure of words
building blocks of words
many words are composed of these building blocks that are called morphemes
each morpheme has a particular meaning

30
Q

semantics

A

refers to the association of meaning with a word
a child must learn that certain combinations of phonemes represent certain physical objects or events
each word means a different specific thing

31
Q

syntax

A

refers to how words are put together to form sentences

proper order of words in a sentence that make sense

32
Q

pragmatics

A

refers to the dependence of language on context and preexisting knowledge
the manner in which we speak may differ depending on the audience and our relationship
affected by prosody–> the rhythm, cadence, and inflection of our voices

33
Q

timeline of language acquisition

A

9-12 months- babbling
12-18 months- about 1 word per month
18-24 months- “explosion of language” and combining words
2-3 years- longer sentences (3 words or more)
5 years- language rules largely mastered

34
Q

errors of growth

A

child applies a grammatical rule in a situation where it does not apply
when a child says runned instead of ran
as child creates longer sentences grammatical errors increase as the child internalized the complex rules of grammar

35
Q

nativist (biological) theory

A

Noam Chomsky
advocates for the existence of some innate capacity for language
study of transformational grammar

36
Q

transformational grammer

A

a linguistic theory that focuses on how changes in word order can affect meaning
syntactic transformations-changes in word order that retain the same meaning
Chomsky found that children learn to make these transformations effortlessly at an early age and therefore it is innate (LAD)

37
Q

language acquisition device (LAD)

A

theoretical pathway in the brain that allows infants to process and absorb language rules
innate ability

38
Q

critical period

A

a time during development during which expose to language is essential for eventual development of the effective use of language
occurs b/w age 2 and puberty
nativists believe this

39
Q

sensitive period

A

a time during which environmental input has a maximal impact on the development of a particular ability
this may be the case for language rather than a critical period
for language this is before the onset of puberty

40
Q

learning (behaviorist) theory

A

B.F. Skinner
explained language acquisition by operant conditioning and reinforcement
parents repeat and reinforce sounds that are most like the language spoken and the infants perceives certain sounds that have value and are reliably reinforced
this theory cannot fully explain the explosion of vocab during childhood

41
Q

social interactionist theory

A

focuses on the interplay b/w biological and social processes
language acquisition is driven by the child’s desire to communicate and behave in a social manner
allows for role of brain development in language acquisition

42
Q

Whorfian hypothesis

A

aka linguistic relativity hypothesis
suggests that our perception of reality is determined by the content of language
language affects the way we think rather than the other way around

43
Q

brain areas in speech production

A

Broca’s area- speech production
Wrenches’ area- language comprehension
these areas are connected by the arcuate fasciculus

44
Q

Broca’s area

A

located in the inferior frontal gyrus of the frontal lobe
controls the motor function of speech via connections with the motor cortex
ability to form words and speak

45
Q

Wernicke’s area

A

located in the superior temporal gyrus of the temporal lobe
responsible for language comprehension
ability to understand the meaning of speech and being able to understand what is being said

46
Q

arcuate fasciculus

A

a bundle of axons that allows appropriate association b/w language comprehension and speech production

47
Q

aphasia

A

deficit of language production of comprehension

caused by damage to one of the brain areas that pertain to language

48
Q

Broca’s aphasia

A

expressive aphasia
damage to the Broca’s area
speech comprehension is intact, patient will understand what is being said
reduced or absent ability to produce spoken language, they can not form words
stuck with the sensation of having every word on he tip of the tongue

49
Q

Wernicke’s aphasia

A

receptive aphasia
motor production of speech is maintained, patient can form words
comprehension of speech is lost
patients speak nonsensical sounds and inappropriate word combinations with no meaning
word salad
patients believe that the are speaking and understanding perfectly well but people around them don’t know what is being said

50
Q

conduction aphasia

A

damage to the arcuate fasciculus
Broca’s and Wernicke’s are unaffected
speech production and comprehension are intact
patients are unable to repeat something that has been said bc the connection b/w the 2 areas is lost

MCAT (18 decks)

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