Final Exam Flashcards
Sources of stress
Social Readjustment
Death of spouse, Divorce, Marital separation, jail, death of close family, major injury/illness, marriage, fired, take out a loan, change in living conditions
Criticisms of the Social Readjustment Rating Scale
- Assumes a given event is equally stressful for all people
- Data is correlational
- Males and females tend to cope with stress differently
- Many of major life events are infrequent it fails to account for daily life stressors
Types of stress
ECEP
Extreme negative stress-traumas (war, crimes)
Chronic stressors (illness, financial)
Everyday “hassles” (running late)
“Positive” stress (holiday)
Acute stress
lasts minutes to hours
Engagement of sympathetic nervous system
Adrenal glads release adrenaline and noradrenaline
Acute stress causes increases in…
rate of breathing, heart rate, blood pressure
Locus Coeruleus
Mediates sympathetic response to stress.
Synthesizes noradrenaline and increase its secretion during stress.
Helps increase arousal, attention, and memory.
Acute stress temporarily shuts down…
Reproduction, digestion, growth processes, immune response
Why do body systems shut down during stress?
To preserve energy to use in order for us to survive stressful situation.
Yerkes-Dodson curve
too little stress (inactive, laid back) –> optimum stress –> too much stress (exhaustion) –> burn-out (anxiety/panic, breakdown)
Chronic stress
Lasting days to years.
Run-away stress response/ stress response not turned off.
Chronically elevated levels of cortisol.
Negative health implications.
HPA axis
Hormonal pathway of stress in the body.
Stressful stimuli cause the hypothalamus to activate adrenal cortex via hormonal signals.
Adrenal cortex secretes mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids.
What are long-term effects of chronic stress and cortisol?
Ulcers, Impaired immune function, Cardiovascular disease, Kill brain cells, Increase weight gain, Alter chromosomes
What affects cellular damage?
Excitotoxicity/Neurotoxicity- ability of glutamate/related compounds to destroy neurons due to excessive activation of NMDA receptors
PTSD results in…
changes in thoughts/emotions,
arousal,
avoidance,
intrusive memories and flashbacks
What are some ways to reduce stress?
Exercise, Meditation, Mindfulness, Healthy eating, Sleep, Set attainable goals, exposure to sunlight, social engagement, pleasant activities
What is the James-Lange Theory of emotion?
Situation causes a physiological reaction, which is then interpreted as an emotion.
Event–Specific Arousal–Interpretation–Emotion
What is the Cognitive Theory (Schacter and Singer) theory of emotion?
Cognitive appraisal determines the emotion.
Physiological arousal determines the intensity.
Event–General arousal/Cognitive appraisal–Emotion
The Limbic System
Anterior cingulate cortex, hypothalamus, septal, amygdala, insular cortex and basal ganglia
Anterior cingulate cortex
combine emotional, attentional, and bodily info to bring about conscious emotional experience
Hypothalamus
Control over the autonomic nervous system.
Produces a variety of emotional expressions.
Septal
Simulation produces a sense of pleasure, accompanied by sexual fantasies and arousal.
Amygdala
Involved in negative emotions.
Participates in memory formation, especially emotional ones.
Insular cortex and basal ganglia
Disgust
What is the prefrontal cortex role in emotion?
Processes emotional info before action is taken.
Judgments about behavior and its consequences.
Left frontal area deals with…
positive emotions
Right frontal area deals with…
negative emotions
Anterior cingulate cortex
Emotional pain.
Pain is translated into emotion within the limbic system.
Dopamine and aggression
High in prefrontal cortex, accumbens and in aggressive psychiatric patients
GABA and aggression
Inhibits aggression and impulsivity
Serotonin and aggression
Low activity and aggression, impairs prefrontal cortex
What do mirror neurons do in emotion?
Respond while observing a specific act.
Also respond performing the same act.
This may be why observing emotions in others activates our own brain’s emotional areas.
How is sleep measured?
EEG and PSG
PSG
“Gold standard” for sleep measurement.
brain activity, muscle tone, eye movements, oxygen levels
These help determine sleep stage.
Stages of sleep cycle
We tend to stay in Stage 2.
We experience REM sleep less in the beginning and more later on during the cycle of sleep.
SWS seems to occur earlier on in the sleep cycle and diminish later on.
What are the characteristics of REM sleep?
Paradoxical sleep Beta waves- low amplitude, high frequency waves Atonia-Motor neurons being inhibited High EOG activity (eye movement) Higher heart rate and blood pressure Vivid dreams
Homeostatic sleep drive
How long has it been since you have last slept?
How much sleep did you get last night?
Circadian signals
A pattern of behavioral, biochemical, or physiological fluctuation that has a 24-hr period.
Light and body temp
Zeitgebers (Time Givers)
Environmental stimuli that regulate sleep/wake cycle.
Entrain Circadian Rhythm
Lack of cues can lead to 25 hr wake cycle with -8 hrs of sleep.
Role of SCN
suprachiasmatic nucleus
Part of anterior hypothalamus.
Pacemaker
Regulates the pineal gland secretion of melatonin.
Pons is responsible for ___ in REM.
atonia
Factors contributing to sleep
decreased light> retina> SCN
SCN releases melatonin which has built up during the day. Body temp is lowered.
Adenosine inhibits arousal neurons in Basal Forebrain causing drowsiness.
Factors contributing to wake/arousal
light> retina> SCN
SCN signals to raise body temp, release S cortisol and inhibits melatonin.
Orexin also released.
REM sleep promotes what?
childhood neural development
Why is Non-REM sleep important?
Responds to temp and may promote cerebral recovery
How does the body recover during sleep?
Toxins carried out in cerebral spinal fluid.
Growth hormones released during SWS.
Memory consolidation
Insomnia
Difficulty initiating and/or maintaining sleep resulting in non-restorative sleep
Insomnia treatment
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-I) Stimulus control Sleep restriction Mindfulness-based stress reduction Medication
Narcolepsy
Fall into REM sleep suddenly during waking hours.
Many have mutation of HLA-DQ6 gen (reduces orexin)
Sleep apnea
Progressive relaxation of muscles in the chest, diaphragm, or throat.
Snoring, choking, gasping for air during sleep
Excessive daytime sleepiness
Treatments for sleep apnea
Weight loss, surgery, CPAP machine
What 2 items are part of sense of self?
anterior cingulate and insula
How mirror neurons contribute to sense of self?
responsible for social understanding intentions of others
Immediate memory
Lasts less than a second.
Memories used to stitch together our surroundings.
Fades quickly.
Working memory
Memories stored long enough for them to be useful.
Gone after use.
Long-term memory
Info that can remain in our brains indefinitely.
Memories we have made special effort to commit to long-term.
Anterograde amnesia
unable to form new memories
Can remember long-term memories but struggle with recent memories.
Retrograde amnesia
Can form new memories.
Have very few memories from the past.
Glutamate is required for ___ and ___.
consolidation and retrieval
How does the prefrontal cortex work with memory?
Integrates long-term memory with other info.
Manages strategies and decision making.
Directs working memory traffic in brain.
Coordinates sensory and motor systems.
Hebb rule
When two neurons fire together, the synapse between them strengthens
(Cells that fire together wire together)
LTP
Forming and recalling memories
synapse becomes stronger over time;
strengthened through induction
LTD
Forgetting, deleting incorrect info, making space for new memories
LTP versus LTD
High frequency stimulation elicits LTP.
Low frequency stimulation elicits LTD.
During LTP
Postsynaptic nitric oxide release triggers increased presynaptic neurotransmitter release
Structural changes from LTP include…
- Increased number, enlargement, and growth of dendritic spines.
- Transport of additional AMPA receptors into the spines.
LTP initiated growth of ___.
hippocampus
Consolidation takes place during ___.
sleep
What happens during consolidation?
Neurons in hippocampus and cortical areas repeat firing patterns that occurred during awake learning.
Extinction
Eliminates useless memories through new learning.
Requires activation of NMDA receptors.
Forgetting
Active, adaptive biological process
Enzyme PP1, Rac protein encourage memory loss.
Reconsolidation
During memory retrieval.
Opportunity to refine memory and create memories that never happened.
How do amyloid plaques contribute to Alzheimer’s?
interfere with neural transmission
How do neurofibrillary tangles contribute to Alzheimer’s?
associated with neural death
Reserve Hypothesis
Mind’s resistance to damage in the brain.
High idea density in early life delays onset of symptoms.
___ increases cognitive capacity and neurogenesis.
Life-long learning
Korsakoff’s syndrome
Progressive, irreversible brain deterioration almost always caused by chronic alcoholism.
Deficiency in vitamin B1
Confabulation
due to confusion between reality and memory
Problem of measuring intelligence
Debate whether intelligence is a single capability or a collection of abilities
Evidence for genetic contribution to intelligence
Identical twins raised apart have more similar IQ scores than adopted environments
Evidence for environmental contribution to intelligence
APA task force found no direct evidence of IQ differences between African Americans and Caucasian Americans.
Socioeconomic status a stronger factor than ethnicity.
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Social deficits, communication difficulties ad repetitive behaviors.
Lack a theory of mind
Lack of empathy
Theory of mind
infer another’s thoughts based on experience
Brain differences in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Lack of amygdala and vmPFC coordination, decreased white matter, abnormal levels of serotonin, glutamate, GABA, and oxytocin
Characteristics of ADHD
Reduced dopamine pathway activity
Reduced Prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, and right caudate nucleus of the striatum
How does the James-Lange theory differ from the Schacter and Singer theory?
SnS theory includes cognitive appraisal.
ex.-JL: See bear, the react by sweating and running. After we start running, we start to feel emotion of fear.
SnS: React by moving away and sweating, then realize what is going on, then feel fear.
