lesson 3 the human brain Flashcards
what are neurons
cells in the nervous system that communicate with each other to perform information processing tasks
ramon y cajal
used golgi staining to come up with neuron doctrine
neuron doctrine
neurons are discrete cellular units
parts of a neuron
cell body (soma), dendrite, axon
what does soma have
Organelles like mitochondria and ribosomes, nucleus with dna/genes
what do dendrites do
take in information (post synaptic neuron) and relay to soma
what does axon do
carries information to other neurons muscles or glands (can be very long or short)
what are axons covered with
myelin sheath (why white matter is white)
what makes myelin
supporting glia cells (astrocytes, myelin making, or microglia)
why is myelin important
increases communication between neurons (without it, can cause multiple problems)
synapse
junction between axon of one neuron and dendrites/soma of another neuron
types of neurons
sensory, motor, interneurons
what do motor neurons do
carry signals from spinal cord to muscles to produce movement
what do sensory neurons do
receive information from external world and convey to the brain via spina cord (have specialized ending on dendrites to receive signals for senses)
what do interneurons do
connect all types of neurons
types of specialized neurons
purkinje (interneuron in cerebellum), pyramidal (cerebral cortex), bipolar (sensory neuron found in retina)
what is conduction
movement of an electric signal within neurons
what is transmission
movement of a signal from one neuron to another as a result of chemical signal across the synapse
resting potential
difference in electric charge between outside and inside of neuronal cell membrane
consciousness
a person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind
phenomenology
how things seem to the conscious person (in their understanding of mind and behaviour)
problem of other minds
difficulty of perceiving consciousness of others
what do people judge minds according to
capacity for experience (pleasure, pain, hunger) and agency (self control, planning, memory)
why is consciousness a problem for psych science?
the scientific method requires that any observation made by one scientist should be available for observation by any other scientist but other minds arent observable
mind body problem
the issue of how the mind is related to the brain
and body
Turing test
having a person observe a conversation between a person and a computer. The machine/computer is said to
have passed the test if the observer is unable to accurately determine which is the machine/computer and which is the human
four properties of consciousness
intentionality (directed toward an object), unity (can integrate senes into a whole), selectivity (include some objects and not others), and transience (tendency to change)
dichotic listening
in which people wearing headphones hear different messages in each ear
cocktail-party phenomenon
people tune in one message even while they filter out others nearby (like talking to someone and not listening to a conversation but hearing you name and your ears prick)
minimal consciousness
a low-level kind of sensory awareness and responsiveness that occurs when the mind inputs sensations and
may output behavior (you see a light, you turn toward it)
full consciousness
know and are able to report your mental state (are aware of pain and not just reacting to it)
self-consciousness
distinct level of consciousness in which the person’s attention is drawn to the self as an object (like when you’re embarrassed or the focus of attention)
experience-sampling or ecological momentary assessment (EMA)
in which people are asked to report their conscious experiences at particular times
daydreaming
a state of consciousness in which a seemingly purposeless flow of thoughts comes to mind
mental control
the attempt to change conscious states of mind
thought suppression
conscious avoidance of a thought (try not to think of a polar bear and you will think of it every minute)
rebound effect of thought suppression
the tendency of a thought to return to consciousness with greater frequency following suppression