PSYC 358 1/2 Flashcards
temporal resolution
the accuracy with which one can measure when an event is occuring
spatial resolution
the accuracy with which one can measure where an event is occuring
invasiveness of a method
whether or not the equipment is located internally or externally
mental chronometry
defined as the study of the time-course of information processing in the human nervous system
speed-accuracy trade-off
If people are required to respond faster, they will tend to be less accurate
performance measures advantages
They reflect actual behaviour; they are simple to analyze and interpret
performance measures disadvantages
They are hard to link directly to neural substrates (unless combined with other measures)
There is not always a clear relationship between lab tasks and real-world behaviour
preferential looking
in infant research, a number of stimuli (normally 2) are presented and the amount of time that infant spends looking at each of them is scored
habituation
in infant research, the same stimulus (or the same kind of stimulus) is presented repeatedly and the infant’s attention towards the stimulus (measured in terms of looking time) diminishes
inter-rater (or inter-observer) reliability
the extent to which two independent observers generate the same answers
blind scoring
the observer is unaware of the status of the event that is being scored
emotions
states associated with stimuli that are rewarding or punishing
reward
an outcome that one is willing to work to obtain
punishment
an outcome that one is willing to work to avoid
mood
an emotional state that is extended over time (anxiety is a mood and fear is an emotion)
interoception
the brain’s ability to sense the current state of its internal organs
hedonic value
the subjective liking/disliking of a stimulus/event
expressions
external motor outcomes in the face and body associated with emotional states
motivation
states in which rewards are sought and punishers are avoided
id (freud)
unconscious motivations that represent primitive urges from our non human ancestry
ego (freud)
the conscious self operating according to reason rather than passion
cannon-bard theory
a theory centered on the hypothalamus’ role in emotions in which bodily responses occur after the emotion itself
superego (freud)
the ideal self, such as ou cultural norms and our aspirations
James-Lange theory
the self-perception of bodily changes produces emotional experience
papez circuit
a limbic-based circuit that was once thought to constitute a largely undifferentiated emotional brain
primary reinforcers
stimuli that act as rewards or punishers without any prior learning
secondary reinforcers
learned rewards or punishers
basic emotions
different categories of emotions assumed to be independent of culture and with their own biological basis
happy
sad
disgust
anger
fear
surprise
social referencing
use of emotional cues in others to learn the rewarding/punishing nature of initially neutral stimuli
moral emotions
emotional states that arise following a comparison of actual behaviour (own behaviour, other’s behaviour) relative to a normative or ideal behaviour
amygdala
collection of nuclei buried bilaterally in the anterior temporal poles
Kluver-Bucy syndrome
behaviours associated with lesions in the amygdala region of primates, including an unusual tameness, emotional blunting, a tendency to examine objects with the mouth, and dietary changes.
second order conditioning
a form of learning in which a stimulus is first made meaningful through an initial step of learning and then that stimulus is used as a basis for learning about some new stimulus
masking
the presentation of junk visual material after a stimulus (to eliminate persistence of a visual image)
advantages of observational measures
they can be used when it’s impossible or inappropriate to give instructions to a participant; they can be used in naturalistic settings
disadvantages of observational measures
there are difficulties associated with scoring and observer biases (although methods such as eye tracking can limit this)
left off W2 reading
fill in after this
what is developmental social neuroscience
study of neural mechanisms behind social behaviour
- social perception
- emotional perception
- cognition
- behaviour
social processing involves
- perception of other’s cues
- emotions felt
- regulation of behaviour
who’s phinneas gage
guy with pole through brain, personality changed due to pole in frontal lobe
early example of lesion studies
reliability
the extent to which the same measure would yield the same results if repeated
acquiescence bias
a tendency to respond affirmatively in surveys, irrespective of the content of the question
factor analysis
a statistical method for reducing a data set
external validity
the extent to which a measure relates to something useful in ‘real life’
type I error
getting a significant result when there is no real effect
type II error
getting a nonsignificant result when there is a real effect
whereas observational methods measure ____, survey methods ask ___
observational methods measure how ppl actually behave, survey methods ask ppl how they think they might behave
may have lower external validity then (surveys)
advantages of survey measures
they can be used in situations where an experimental manipulation is not possible or unethical; they measure thoughts and attitudes rather than behaviour
disadvantages of survey measures
participants’ self-reports may not reflect their true behaviour; and a significant amount of social cognition occurs unconsciously
neurons
a type of cell that makes up the nervous system
dendrites
branching structures that receive info from other neurons
axon
a branching structure that carries info away from the cell body towards other neurons and transmits action potentials
synapse
the small gap between neurons in which neurotrans,itters are released, permitting signaling between neurons
neurons consist of 3 components
cell body (soma), axon, dendrites
action potential
a sudden change in the electrical properties of the neuronal membrane in an axon
when a pre-synaptic neuron is active….
an electrical current (AP) is propagated down the length of the axon
neurotransmitters
chemical signals that affect the synaptic functioning of neurons
when the AP reaches the axon terminal…
chemicals are released into the synaptic cleft (neurotransmitters released)
what creates a synaptic potential
when neurotransmitters bind to receptors on dendrites or cell body of the post-synaptic neuron
autonomic nervous system (ANS)
a set of nerves located in the body that controls the activity of the internal organs
what does the CNS consist of
brain and spinal cord
peripheral NS consists of?
nerves sending and receiving signals to other parts of the body
peripheral NS divided into
autonomic nervous system (ANS)
somatic nervous system ()
somatic nervous system
part of the peripheral nervous system that coordinates muscle activity
sympathetic system
a division of the ANS that increases arousal (increased heart rate, breathing, pupil size) but decreases functions such as digestion
the somatic NS coordinates ____ whereas the autonomic NS controls and monitors _____
muscle activity
bodily functions
parasympathetic system
a division of the ANS that has a resting effect (decreased heart rate, breathing, pupil size) but increases functions such as digestion
skin conductance response (SCR)
small changes in conductivity as a result of mild sweating
common way of measuring increased activity of the sympathetic NS (heightened arousal can lead to more sweat)
measured by applying a weak electrical current to the skin
electromyography (EMG)
a method for assessing electrical activity associated with muscle movement
eyeblink startle response
a motor response (measured via EMG) that is normally elicited by a loud unexpected sound but is further modulated by the participant’s emotional state
EMG is a measure of
electrical activity associated with muscle contraction
these changes come about bc of an increase in the number of action potentials in muscle fibers during muscle contraction
interoceptive awareness
the ability to report on one’s own heart rate
advantages of measures of bodily responses
bodily responses are often present in the absence of awareness of a stimulus and may occur in the abasence of a specific task; they’re easy to record and analyze
single cell recording
method of recording the electrical activity (APs) of neurons
disadvantages of measures of bodily responses
not straightforward to link bodily responses to brain and cognition
single cell recordings can be obtained by
implanting a very small electrode either into the axon itself or outside the membrane and counting the number of times that an AP is produced in response to a given stimulus
invasive method!
impossible to do non invasively bc signal from single neuron to weak to read on scalp
advantages of single cell recording
directly related to neural activity; has excellent spatial and temporal resolution
disadvantages of single cell recording
invasive so rarely performed on humans; info limited to regions probed, not whole brain
EEG
electroencephalography
records electrical signals generated by the brain through electrodes placed at different points on the scalp
event related potentials (ERPS)
an averaged set of EEG recordings that are time locked to a particular event
advantages of ERPs
excellent temporal resolution; direct measure of neural activity
N170
an ERP (negative peak at 170 ms) that has been linked to face perception
strongest over right posterior temporal electrode sites
disadvantages of ERPs
poor spatial resolution; some subcortical brain regions are impossible to investigate
phylogenetic development
the development of the species over an evolutionary timescale
ontogenetic development
the development of an individual from conception to death
behavioural genetics
a field concerned with studying the inheritance of behaviour and cognition
neural tube
a set of cells arranged in a hollow cylinder in an embryo from which the NS derives
magnetoencephalography (MEG)
a noninvasive method for recording magnetic fioelds generated by the brain at the scalp
parallel method to EEG
gray matter
tissue of the nervous system consisting primarily of neuronal cell bodies
white matter
tissue of the nervous system consisting primarily of axons and support cells (glia)
gyri
raised folds of the cotex
sulci
grooves of the cortex
basal ganglia
regions of the subcortical gray matter involved in aspects of motor control and skill learning
emotion
states associated with stimuli that are rewarding or punishing
limbic system
a region of subcortex involved in relating the organism to the environment; includes the amygdala, hippocampus, etc.
mood
an emotional state that is extended over time
hedonic value
the subjective liking/disloking of a stimulus/event
The James-Lange theory
the self-perception of bodily changes produces emotional experience (one is sad bc one cries)
Papez circuit
a limbic based circuit that was once thought to constiute a largely undifferentiated emotional brain
The Cannon-Bard theory
a theory centered on the hypothalamus’ role in emotions in which bodily responses occur after the emotion itself
the insula
region of the cortex lying beneath the temporal lobes
anterior portion considered to be involved in interoceptive awareness and bodily feelings in general
some evidence of a preferential involvement in disgust
the amygdala
collection of nuclei buried bilaterally in the anterior temporal poles
receives connections from overlying temporal lobes (involved in higher stages of processing and conceptual knowledge)
involved in learning and the emotional value of stimuli
orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)
located on the ventral surface of the frontal lobes, above the eye sockets
computes the motivational value of rewards (do I want chocolate now rather than whether I like chocolate)
the emotional brain (parts)
amygdala
insula
anterior cingulate cortex
OFC
ventral striatum
the anterior cingulate cortex
located around the anterir corpus callosum on the medial surface of the brain
involved in the production of certain bodily responses elicited by an emotional stimulus
ventral striatum
part of the basal ganglia
responds to rewards and the anticipation of rewards
basic emotions
different categories of emotions assumed to be independent of culture and with their own biological basis
happy, angry, sad, fearful, disgust (and surprise?)
Kluver-Bucy syndrome
behaviours associated with lesions in the amygdala region of primates including an ususual tameness, etc.
social bonds
hypothetical links between known people that induce a sense of happiness or well-being in the presence of the bonded other and a sense of wanting or longing (perhaps even distress) in their absence
love
the emotion that is associated with being in an attachment relationship
triangular theory of love
an explanation of love in terms of a combination of three factors
- passion
- intimacy
- commitment
imprinting
the process by which animals (particularly birds) recognize and seek proximity with a mother figure
attachment
a powerful type of social bond that tends to be limited to particular kinds of relationships (infant-parent, romantic partners)
oxytocin
a hormone involved in attachment formation that acts on certain receptors in the brain
vasopressin
a similar attachment forming hormone to oxytocin for which males have greater sensitivity than females
medial pre-optic area (MPOA)
a region of the hypothalamus that in many mammalian species triggers parental behaviours by responding to pregnancy- related hormonal changes
strange situation test
a measure of attachment during infancy in which the infant experiences separations and reunions with a stranger and with an attachment figure
Adolescence
The period between onset of puberty and adulthood, characterized by signifcant hormonal changes and changes to physical appearance.
