PSYC Midterm Flashcards
OPEN ENDED Monozygotic vs. dizygotic twins. What is the difference and how does twin research tell us about the heritability of traits and disorders?
Monozygotic twins share the same genes (one sperm, one egg) and are identical twins. Dizygotic twins have two separate eggs and two sperm and are fraternal twins. Twin studies compare the concordance rates between monozygotic and dizygotic twins.
OPEN ENDED Dorsal and visual streams - know the functions and disorders associated with damage to each
Dorsal - processes info about movement and location
Disorder associated w/ Dorsal Stream: Akinetopsia (motion blindness) * can see but cannot use objects*
Ventral - Object recognition, color perception, and long-term memory
Disorder associated w/ Ventral stream - prosopagnosia (face blindness)
- OPEN ENDED* Describe how sound waves are converted from affecting air, to affecting bones, to affecting fluid in the ear
1) Sound enters the outer ear and hits eardrum
2) Sound vibrates your eardrum and then the bones start to vibrate
3) Fluid in Cochlea moves
4) Nerve carry energy to brain, brain interprets as frequency, turning into sound
Psychophysiologist
interested in brain activity (physiology) and behavior
- They most often employ human participants and recording devices that measure, for example, heart rate (electrocardiogram, ECG), specific brain waves (electroencephalography, EEG), or deep brain activity (functional MRI)
Psychopharmacologist
effects of medication on thoughts, emotions, and behaviors
Neurology
The medical field that specializes in neurological disorders such as brain injury and diseases of the brain and nervous system
Clinical neuroscience
interested in the underlying causes of and treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders
Psychiatry
Speciality in medicine in which you understand and treat neuropsychiatric disorders (MD)
Behavioral neuroscience:
field interested in biological principles of behavior. This field uses research techniques in physiology, genetics, computer science, biology, behaviorism, and chemistry to understand behavior in humans and other animals.
Applied VS Basic Careers
Applied: Apply the information to help others
Ex: psychiatrist, psychologist, neurologist, etc
Basic: research based, in a lab, looking at the brain
Ex: Social/Behavioral Neuroscientists, Physiologist
Neural Dust
Able to control their environment using a tiny computer
Central Nervous System and Peripheral Nervous System (what do they consist of)
Central Nervous System (CNS) carries information to the body through nerves
- Brain and Spinal Cord
Peripheral Nervous System
-Connects to the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body
- Somatic and Autonomic Nervous System
Parts of a neuron and functions of each part
Soma: Cell body
Dendrites (dendron/ tree): receive messages from other neurons
Axon: tube that carries the message received from soma to dendrites to terminal buttons
Dedo: finger
Terminal buttons
Myelin sheath: layer of fat that surrounds the axon, helps message to be transmitted quickly bc the electrical impulse jumps between the nodes of Ranvier and bc it jumps; it moves more quickly
Nodes of Ranvier: allow for ions to diffuse in and out of the neuron, propagating the electrical signal down the axon.
Myelin – what is it and what’s the function:
Myelin helps to insulate and protect the axon while speeding up the signal of nerve cells
- Allows electrical impulses to transmit quickly and efficiently along the nerve cells
Saltatory conduction
The jumping of action potential from one node to another
Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems (when would each one become active):
Sympathetic Nervous System is involved in arousal and responses to stressors
- Is active when one gets stressed or scared
Parasympathetic Nervous System
- Is active when body is relaxed
Lobes of the brain and functions of each: Frontal, occipital, parietal, temporal:
Frontal: Motor planning and actions
Occipital: Vision and memory
Parietal: Sensation, Spatial Navigation, Imagination
Temporal: Auditory processing, language comprehension, Short term memory, Categorizing
Functions of brain regions: Prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus
Prefrontal Cortex: Higher order thinking
(Ex: Working memory, Decision making, Language production, Planning goals, Focusing attention, Regulating behavior and emotions)
Amygdala: plays an important role in fear and aggression
- is a small structure within the temporal lobe just anterior to the hippocampus. It also plays a role in memory, especially emotional memories.
Hippocampus: is a twisted structure found in the temporal lobe, which helps convert short-term to long-term memory and also is vital in spatial and contextual memory
Membrane potential
difference in charge between inside and outside of neuron
Types of glial cells and functions of each one:
Astrocytes: Reaches out and provides support & nutrients for neurons
Stores Glycogen
Disposes dead neurons by digesting them
Oligodendrocytes: Forms the myelin sheath
Microglia: Act as a phagocytes- engulf dead neurons
Destroys foreign bodies
Schwann Cells: Wrap around the axon and become the myelin sheath
Resting potential (describe it and know that it is -70 mV):
The electric potential across the plasma membrane of a neuron when it is in the non excited, or resting, state
- Membrane potential of -70mV millivolts; when neuron is at rest
Directions of the brain (ventral, dorsal, anterior, posterior, inferior, superior):
Dorsal: toward the top of the brain or the back of the spine
Ventral: toward the bottom of the brain or stomach
Anterior: toward the head, toward the face
Posterior: toward the feet , back of the head
Lateral: outside to the left or right of another structure
Medial: toward the middle or center
Contralateral
The opposite side
Ipsilateral
To stay on the same side
Sulcus and gyrus (and sulci and gyri):
Sulcus/sulci: Small depression grove
Gyrus/gyri: The bumps of cerebral cortex
Depolarization:
difference in charge between inside and outside of neuron becomes smaller
Basic action of cocaine
- Cocaine and Methamphetamine are agonists
- Increases Dopamine
Excitatory
increase likelihood that action potential will occur
Inhibitory
decreases likelihood that action potential will happen
Agonist – what is it and name one example:
Increases activity of a neurotransmitters
Examples of agonists: Adderall, Serotonin, Dopamine, Zoloft, etc
Antagonist - what is it and name one example:
decreases the activity of a neurotransmitters
Examples of antagonists: Chlorpromazine (which blocks dopamine receptors)
Acetylcholine: basic function
Involved in muscle contractions
Dopamine: basic function and name two agonists; what disorder is it involved in?
A neurotransmitter involved in movement, motivation, reward, learning
- Cocaine and Methamphetamines are dopamine agonists
- Parkinson’s disease, ADHD, addiction, and schizophrenia
Serotonin: basic function and name one agonists; what disorder is it involved in?
A neurotransmitter involved in mood, sleep, hunger, and pain
- Example of agonist: Prozac, Paxil
- In addition to depression, serotonin may play a role in other brain and mental health disorders, including anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), phobias, and even epilepsy.
GABA: definition and one agonist
- Blocks neural activity
- Alcohol and benzodiazepines are GABA agonists
Glutamate: definition
Is the most common excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system
Steps of Scientific Method:
Empiricism- observation of the natural world
Hypothesis- a prediction
Experimentation
Ex: Measuring brain activity, brain structure, measuring the activity of neurotransmitters, measuring pupil size
Theory
Replication
Meta-analysis
Electroencephalography (EEG):
Records electrical activity (action potentials) and synaptic activity of the cerebral cortex
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI):
Uses large magnet and radio waves to create 3D images of the brain
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI):
Measures water diffusion in white matter tracts
Tractography
The technique of modeling white matter using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) – describe it, what it’s used for, and how it works:
Applies low frequency electrical stimulation to certain parts of the brain (Non-invasive)
- Was designed to help people recover from traumatic brain injury
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) – What is it and what does it do?:
Uses electromagnetic fields to activate or deactivate regions of the brain
- Alters brain activity (Non-invasive)
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) – what is it and what has it been used to treat?:
Electrodes are surgically implanted into the brain, which run through electrodes
- Treats depression, chronic pain, and Parkinson’s disease
Biofeedback (describe how it works, what it can be used for, and give some examples):
Method for changing physiological activity that are typically beyond conscious control
-A computer monitors the physiological activity and provides feedback to the person
Knockout mice
Removing a gene from a mouse may help look for effects of certain diseases and disorders
Transgenic mice
An animal model for research where genes from one organism is spliced into a mouse. Transgenic mice are often used to investigate specific neurological diseases
Nature & Nurture
Influence of genetics vs environment
Heritability
a statistical estimate of how much of the measured variance (difference) is attributable to genetics
Genotype
An organism’s genetic makeup
Allele
A form of a gene
Epigenetics
the study of stable changes in gene expression that are mediated by the environment
Optogenetics
A genetic engineering technique where genes for photosensitive receptors are spliced into neurons using viruses. The neurons can then be activated or deactivated by light
Transduction
The process of converting physical stimuli into neural activity
Order of Visual Processing
- light enter eye at cornea
- passes through liquid until reaches pupil
- iris controls pupil which dilates and constricts
- light enters eye through pupil
- light passes through lens
- retina (thin layer of nerve tissue that lines back of eye)
- image hits retina upside down
- photoreceptor cells - process light (rods and cones)
Sensation
stimulation of our sense organs by the outer world
Perception
the subjective interpretation of what we sense
Photoreceptor cells- rods and cones:
Photoreceptor cells-first cells to absorb light (photons of light cause action potentials)
- Rods-sensitive to night vision
- Cones- color vision (also sensitive to light)
Basic parts of the eye
Cornea: outer layer of the eye
Pupil: The pupil is the opening at the center of the iris through which light passes
Iris: colored muscle tissue
Retina: Thin layer of nerve tissue that lines the back of the eye
Convert light energy into neural energy
Optic Nerve: Optic nerve transmits signals from eye to brain
Photoreceptor Cells: Process light (rods and cones)
Chemoreceptors
Chemoreceptors can help detect changes in the surrounding environment (smell and taste).
Odorants
chemical signals in the air
Tastants
chemicals in food that bind to the chemoreceptors on the tongue
Olfactory bulb:
structure located in the forebrain of vertebrates that receives neural input about odors detected by cells in the nasal cavity
Basilar Membrane
different frequencies (tones) cause different regions to vibrate
Hair cells
auditory receptor cells
Na+ ion channels
Higher concentration in extracellular fluid; causes depolarization
Depolarization
A reduction of membrane potential of a neuron caused by Na+ channels opening and Na+ enters the neuron.
McGurk effect;
Auditory illusion where one perceives different sounds depending on whether the sound is played alone or when watching a person speak sounds
Broca’s area
involved in speech production
Broca’s aphasia
Agrammatical (lacking grammar)
Anomia (word-finding difficulties)
Wernicke’s area: Language comprehension
WERNICKE’S APHASIA:
etain parody of speech (intonations, stress, rhythms)
Hemispheric lateralization
the left and right cerebral hemispheres are specialized in their behavioral and cognitive functions
Left hemisphere – main function:
language
Right hemisphere- main functions
Timing and rhythm of speech
Split brain patients:
Patients can verbally identify objects shown to their right visual field (or held in their right hand), but not to their left visual field
- can perform two different tasks with left and right hands
Corpus callosum
a white matter tract connecting the two hemispheres
Hemispatial neglect syndrome:
Patients neglect the whole left hemisphere
Frequency: (Hz)-number of cycles per second, involves pitch / pitch perception
Amplitude: size of the pressure change, corresponds to loudness
Pitch: our perception of the wave’s frequency (high or low notes)
Volume: our perception of the amplitude
Nociception: The perception of pain
Proprioception: the sense of knowing where your limbs are in relationship to your body
Mechanoreceptors: skin receptors that respond to pressure and vibration
