Midterm 1 Flashcards
Who was Hippocrates and what was his influence?
Ancient Greece physician who developed the world’s first personality classification scheme.
Socrates & Plato
Mind and body are connected
knowledge is acquired though experience
mind as a “blank slate” (tabula rasa - john locke)
Avicenna (980-1037 CE)
Human intellect at birth is a blank sheet
Knowledge comes from empirical familiarity with objects in this world
Ibn Tafail (1105-1185 CE)
Demonstrated this idea through an allegorical tale in his book Hay ibn Yaqzan
Influenced john lockes later formula of tabula rasa
The mind body problem
John locke: proposed that the mind and the body could be made of the same substance
james mill: proposed that the mind may be entirely physical, and therefore follow laws
Who was Charles Darwin and what was his influence?
Darwin developed the theory of natural selection - the genetically inherited traits that contribute to survival and reproductive success are more likely to flourish within the breeding population.
Wilhelm wundt and edward bradford titchener
- structuralism
- examined the induvidual structures of the mind through introspection
- report thoroughly on your experiences
william james
- functionalism
- focus on how mental and behavioural processes function
- what purpose do the activities of the mind serve? how can this help us survive as a species
Sir Francis Galton
Believed that hereditary (genetics) could explain the physical and psychological difference found in population.
Ivan Pavlov
Salivating puppies - observation led to research of mechanisms of learning.
John B. Watson
Believed all behaviour could ultimately be explained through conditioning.
What was B. F. Skinner’s view?
Radical behaviourism - how an organism responded to rewards and punishments
Who was Donald Hebb, and what theory did he develop?
Hebb was a Canadian neuroscientist who examined how cells in the brain change over the course of learning. He developed Hebb’s law - memory is related to activity occurring at the cellular level.
Genes
The basic units of heredity; responsible for guiding the process of creating proteins that make up our physical structures and regulate development & psychological processes
Genes are composed of DNA, which is what?
A molecule that contains 4 nucleotides (adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine) - each gene is a unique combination of these 4 which represent the code used to create the thousands of proteins in the body.
Genotype vs phenotype
Genotype - the genetic makeup of an organism (unique set of genes that comprise the individual’s genetic code)
Phenotype - the resulting physical traits & behavioural characteristics that show genetic variation
All the cells in our body contain 23 pairs of chromosomes which are?
Structures in the cellular nucleus that are lined with all the genes an individual inherits.
Behavioural genomics
refers to the study of DNA and the ways in which specific genes are related to behaviour
Behavioural genetics
the complementary field of behavioural genomics that refers to the study of how genes and the environment influence behaviour
What term refers to a statistic (between 0 & 1) that represents the degree to which genetic differences between individuals contribute to individual differences in a behaviour found in a population?
Heritability - 0 means genes don’t contribute to individual differences in a trait; 1.0 means genes account for all individual differences in a trait.
Epignetics
study of changes in gene expression that occur as a result of experience and that do not alter the genetic code
CRISPR-Cas9 (CRISPR)
refers to the technique that allows genetic material to be removed, added, or altered in specific locations of the genome
What is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and how does it help research?
A procedure in which an electromagnetic pulse is delivered to a targeted region of the brain. Results in a temporary disruption of brain activity allowing researchers to investigate a number cognitive processes.
What is structural neuroimaging, and how is it useful?
Type of brain scanning that produces images of the different structures of the brain. Used to measure the size of different brain areas and to determine whether any brain injury has occurred.
What are the 3 types of structural neuroimaging?
- Computerized tomography (CT scan)
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Tensor imaging (DTI)
What is functional neuroimaging, and how is it useful?
Type of brain scanning that provides info about which areas of the brain are active when a person performs a particular behaviour.
What are the types of functional neuroimaging?
- Electroencephalogram (EEG) - for temporal resolution
- Magnetoencephalography (MEG) - measure magnetic activity associated with cells firing
- Positron emission tomography (PET) - show activity of the whole brain
What are operational definitions? E.g.?
A clear statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables. Variable: Express anger -> Op. def: punch a punching bag
What are descriptive approaches?
Case studies, surveys, naturalistic observation that describe behaviour but don’t explain it.
What is correlational research?
Measuring the degree to which two variables co-occur or predict one another. E.g. Number of hours of sleep and number of arguments with romantic partner
Correlation coefficient
If it’s a positive relationship the +/- will tell you that, and the number will tell you the strength. r = 1.0 (the perfect positive relationship); r = 0.0 (scattered); r = -1.0 (the perfect negative relationship)
Experimental research
A means of determining the cause of events. If we think one variable causes changes in another, we manipulate that variable (independent variable IV) to determine its effects on the (dependent variable DV).
What is a drug?
Exogenous substance, not necessary for normal function, which alters the functions of cells. Can cause changes in physiology and behaviour.
AGONIST
Drugs increase or mimic effects of neurotransmitter at synapses
ANTAGONIST
Drugs block or inhibit effect of neurotransmitter at synapses
Part of the nervous system: The brain and spinal chord
Central
Part of the nervous system: Transmits info between brain & rest of body
Peripheral
Part of the nervous system: Interprets and stores info, communicates with muscles, glands, & organs
Brain
Part of the nervous system: Pathway connecting brain and peripheral nervous system
Spinal chord
Part of the nervous system: Transmits sensory info, controls movement of the skeletal muscles
Somatic
Part of the nervous system: Regulates activity of the organs, glands, & other physiological processes
Autonomic
Part of the nervous system: Prepares body to react, expend energy in times of stress
Sympathetic
Part of the nervous system: Maintains body functions; conserves resources
Parasympathetic
Which part of the brain consists of the brainstem, medulla, and cerebellum?
Hindbrain
Which part of the brain consists of the thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system, hippocampus, and amygdala?
Midbrain
Frontal lobe
planning, inhibition, personality, movement
Temporal lobe
speech production & language, auditory cortex, facial recognition
What is aphasia?
Language impairment due to damage to left temporal lobe. Result is an inability to speak and/or understand what others say
Parietal lobe
spatial attention and spatial sense
What is spatial neglect?
Attention impairment due to damage to right parietal lobe. Result is they can’t recognize that there’s stuff that exists in their left visual lobe
Occipital lobe
vision and detecting shape, colour, movement, etc.
What describes lateralization of function?
Functions are performed by distinct regions of the brain
Right: Language
Left: Spatial ability
what are the different components of the neuron
- cell body (soma)
- Dendrites - listeners
- Axon - speakers
- terminal buttons
what are the different types of neurons
- motor neurons: send messages out to body’s tissues from the brain
- interneuron: communicate with each other within brain and spinal cord
- sensory neuron: carry messages from sensory organs and tissues to brain and spinal cord
what is resting potential
inside of the neuron is more negatively charged than the outside (polarized)
what is action potential
a shift in electrical charge, starting at the base of the axon, and traveling down its length
how does neural communication occur?
- inside of cell is negative so positive ions want to rush in when they can
- action potential begins when cell reaches threshold of excitation
- sodium channel opens and positively charged sodium ions rush into the cell
- sodium channels close, and potassium channels open and potassium exits which brings charge back to resting potential
- potassium channels close after loosing too many positively charged ions and reset to prepare for next action potential
!!! ACTION POTENTIALS ARE “ALL OR NONE”
what is myelin and why is it important
- fatty myelin sheath is wrapped around each neurons axon
- only allows action potentials to occur at the unmyelinated nodes of ranveir
- signal jumps from one node to the next, allowing for faster transmission
- saltatory conduction
describe MS, symptoms, treatment, and connection to myelin
- causes the hardening of myelin insulation
- more likely if you live further from equator, an identical twin, a woman
- causes vision loss, reduced balance, motor control issues, tiredness, numbness and tingling
- no cure but to focus on treatment of symptoms
what are synapses
gaps between neurons
what are neurotransmitters
chemical messengers released after an action potential that travel across this gap (synapses)
- they are uniquely shaped
- can only bind to certain receiving dendrites
- can have either excitatory or inhibitory effects on receiving neuron
– remaining neurotransmitters in the synapse is reabsorbed by the sending neuron
what is synaptic transmission
- Action potential reaches axon terminal
- Calcium channels open
- Ca2+ causes vesticals to release neurotrasmitter
- NT crosses synapse
- NT binds to neuroreceptors
- Trigger signal in post-synaptic neuron
glutamate
excitatory NT, linked to forming memories, excessive glutamate implicated in triggering seizures
GABA
inhibitory NT, facilitates sleep, reduces arousal - epilepsy meds increase action of GABA
Acetylcholine (ACh)
found at the neuromuscular junction: controls movement, role in attention and memory
Serotonin (5-HT)
affects moods, hunger, sleep etc., serotonin levels may be linked to depression, prozac raises serotonin
Dopamine (DA)
involved in mood, movement, reward, learning, abnormal levels in schizophrenia, ADHD, and Parkinson’s
transduction
translation of physical energy from the environment to neural signals
absolute threshold
minimum stimulation necessary to detect a stimulus 50% of the time
difference threshold
the smallest difference between stimuli that can be reliably detected 50% of the time
weber’s law
its not about the amount of a stimulus that is added or taken away but its about the PROPORTION
in order to notice a difference the two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion
bottom-up processing
taking individual bits of sensory info and using them to construct a perception
top-down processing
perceptions that are influenced by our expectations or prior knowledge
McGurk effect
what we see can influence what we (think) we hear
when the see something that doesn’t align with what we hear, it changes our perception of the sound
parts of the visual system
cornea
pupil
lens
retina
brain
the retina
contains photoreceptors at the very back of the eye that convert the light into neural impulses
how is visual information processed in the brain
information crosses from the left and the right side to the opposite side at the optic chiasm
dorsal visual system
eye and head movements, reaching movements, other simple behaviours
ventral visual system
speech and thinking in words, consciousness, other simple complex behaviours
gestalt psychology
the whole is greater than the sum of the parts
○ Proximity : automatically grouping together
○ Similarity: automatically grouping together things that are similar
○ Continuity: automatically grouping together things that form a continuous line
○ Closure: we look for whole objects and fill in the gaps that aren’t there
monocular cues
○ Relative size
○ Interposition
○ Elevation
○ Relative motion
○ Linear perspective
binocular views
result from seeing with both eyes
- retinal disparity: objects closer to the face appear at increasingly different locations on your retinas (ie. ames room)
What function does the cornea have?
Focusing so that we can see clearly (bends lights to allow it to come into focus)
What function does the lens have?
Does refinement of focusing (bends light)
What function does the retina have?
Contains photo receptors that convert the light into neural impulses
Rods v. cones
Rods: high sensitivity to light (low acuity), analyze info in periphery (black/white vision);
Cones: low sensitivity to light (high acuity), analyze info in the fovea (colour vision)
Dark adaptation
when we’ve been exposed to a lot of light, our photoreceptors become depleted, cones regenerate faster than rods, so initially our cones are working which don’t allow us to see in the dark, & our rods take a second to activate
Interposition (or occlusion)
If one object blocks the view of another it’s perceived as closer
Elevation
Items that are higher in the visual field are perceived as being further away
Relative motion
Movement direction – objects in front of fixation point seem to move backwards, vice versa;
Movement speed – close objects move fast, vice versa
Linear Perspective
The more lines converge, the greater the perceived distance
Retinal Disparity
Greater the disparity between the eyes, that impacts our perception of how close or far away that object is
Visual Agnosia & Prosopagnosia
The case od Dr. P: Visual agnosia – Impairment of recognition of visually presented objects;
Prosopagnosia – inability to recognize human faces
