Phychology Flashcards
Who is Franz Gall?
developed Phrenology
What is phrenology?
The false idea that if you used a certain part of your brain more, it would grow larger. Therefor the anatomy of your brain is a direct correlation with your patterns of thinking and personality, and you could read this “map” by the bumps on the skull.
Who is Pierre Flourens?
The first man to study the functions of specific areas of the brain.
What experiment did Pierre Flourens perform?
He removed certain areas of the brain (extirpation aka ablasion) to see what behaviors would be effected.
Who is William James?
He was focused on how the brain adapts to the environment. He helped develop functionalism.
Who is John Dewey?
He was focused on how an organism adapted to a certain environment. He helped develop functionalism.
What is functionalism in psychology?
The study of how organisms mentally adapt in response to their environment
Who is Paul Broca?
the first to link specific deficits with specific brain lesions
What is Broca’s Area?
a major language center in the brain
Who is Hermann von Helmholtz?
the first scientist to measure the speed of a nerve impulse
Who is Sir Charles Sherrington?
He was the first to infer the existence of synapses.
What is extirpation?
Removing certain areas of the brain and observing differences
What is a functional impairment in psychology?
A change in behavior due to a specific brain lesion
What led to psychology becoming one of the natural sciences?
The discovery of nerve impulses
How is the PNS divided?
It’s divided into the autonomic and somatic nervous systems.
How is the autonomic nervous system divided?
It’s divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems
Are interneurons part of the CNS or PNS?
CNS
What are the key stimulated responses to sympathetic stimulation?
pupil dialation, bronchioles relax, heartbeat increase, digestion decrease, adrenal gland increased output, stimulate sweating, inhibit peristalisis, relax bladder, increase glucose production
What are the key responses to parasympathetic stimulation?
pupil contractioin, bronchioles constrict, heartbeat decrease, stimulate digestion, stimulate bile release, constrict bladder
What are the parts of the hindbrain?
Medulla oblongata, pons, and cerebellum
What does the Pons do?
relays information and regulates sleep
“Sleep-Pon the bed”
What does the medulla oblongata do?
regulate breathing, HR, and BP
What does the cerebellum do?
coordinate movements and balance
What are the parts of the adult midbrain?
Superior colliculus and inferior colliculus
What does the superior colliculus do?
Receive visual input
What does the inferior colliculus do?
Receive auditory input
What is the importance of animals for studying the brain?
Ethics do not allow stimulation or ablasion of human brains because of unknown irreversible damages.
What is the importance of electrical stimulation for studying the brain?
Placing electrodes directly on an alert patient’s brain can stimulate certain memories, sensations, and thought patterns.
What is the significance of EEG’s in studying the brain?
A cap covered in electrodes can map electrical activity throughout the brain
What is rCBF?
regional cerebral blood flow
What is the importance of rCBF in studying the brain?
detecting blood flow to certain areas of the brain as a patient is being stimulated
What parts does the telencephalon become?
cerebrum, basal ganglia, and limbic system
What parts does the diencephalon become?
Thalamus, hypothalamus, pineal gland, and posterior pituitary gland
What is the function of the thalamus?
Receive input from all senses except smell and relay the signals to the proper areas of the brain for processing
What is the function of the hypothalamus?
regulates homeostatis of water balance, temperature, and metabolism; aggressive or sexual emotions; hormone balance to regulate autonomic system
What are the 3 areas of the hypothalamus and what does each part do?
Lateral (trigger eating and drinking), Ventromedial (satiety center), and anterior (sexual behavior)
What is the function of the posterior pituitary?
Store and release the hormones ADH and oxitocin.
What is the function of the pineal gland?
regulate “Carcadian” rhythms and secrete melatonin
What does melatonin do?
Regulate sleep cycle
What is the function of the basal ganglia?
Coordinate muscle movement and smooth muscle
What brain area has been linked to the jerky movements of Parkinson’s patients?
malformations in the basal ganglia
What is the function of the limbic system?
mainly emotions and memory
What is the function of the hippocampus?
memory and learning (forming new memories)
What is the function of the amygdala?
memory and emotional reactions (aggression or passive)
What is the primary function of the frontal lobe?
To exert the executive functions over the other areas of the brain; planning, emotional coping, etc.
What is the primary function of the parietal lobe?
Spatial processing; proprioception and 3D imagining of 2D images
What is the main function of the occipital lobe?
Visual processing
What is the primary function of the temporal lobe?
Auditory processing for language and music
What is the somatosensory cortex? Were does it lie?
receives sensory stimuli for processing; parietal lobe
What is the motor cortex? Where does it lie?
sends the motor signals in response to the somatosensory cortex; frontal lobe
What is the corpus callosum?
Connects the 2 hemispheres of brain
What is a person who uses “left side” of their brain usually better at?
math, logic, language, analysis
What is a person who uses “right side” of their brain usually better at?
emotion, intuition, creativity, spacial processing
What is ipsilateral control? What sensory input is under this kind of control?
When a side of the brain controls that same side of neurons; hearing
What is contralateral control?
The left side of the brain controls right side movement and sight
What are the important neurotransmitters for the CNS?
dopamine, serotonin, GABA, endorphins, and acetylcholine
What are the important neurotransmitters for the PNS?
acetylcholine, epinephrine, and noepinephrine
What does dopamine do?
activates reward circuit
What does serotonin do?
sleep cycles, mood, appetite, dreams
What does GABA do?
it’s a regulator that inhibits over stimulation of the nerves
What do endorphins do?
kill pain over a long period of time, cause euphoria
What does epinephrine do?
aka “adrenaline”, it triggers the sympathetic responses
What does norepinephrine do?
regulates level of alertness
What does acetylcholine do in the PNS?
regulates movement of voluntary muscle
What does acetylcholine do in the CNS?
influences attention and arousal
What are the hormones released by the anterior pituitary?
FSH, LH, ACTH, TSH, prolactin, endorphins, and GH
What hormones does the adrenal medulla release?
epinephrine and norepinephrine
What hormones does the adrenal cortex release?
cortisol and sex hormones
What hormones do the gonads produce?
estrogen and testosterone
What do nocireceptors detect?
pain
What do osmoreceptors detect? Where are they located?
concentration (in the blood); hypothalamus
What is the difference between sensation and perception?
Sensation is the raw sensory input to the CNS, but perception is becoming aware of it which includes any biases and experiences
What is a sensory threshold?
The amount of difference required to detect a difference between 2 things
What is Weber’s Law?
The understanding that each individual has a different sensory threshold proportion (just noticeable difference - JND), and it stays that proportion no matter what the numerical difference is.
How do you calculate a JND (just noticeable difference)?
Take the sensory difference btw two inputs and divide by the INITIAL stimulus. This will give you your percentage or proportion.
