Psych Part 8 Flashcards
REM rebound
REM is essential and we will experience rebound if we miss REM during one night.
Essential for Dreaming
Why do we dream?
(1) Freud: plotline (manifest content) hints at unconscious desires (latent content)
(2) Can improve learning/development.
(3) Activation-synthesis theory suggests that it is simply a by-product of REM brain activity and not useful.
(4) Provides a template of conscious development to practice development.
Sleep disorders
Dysomnia
Parasomnia
Dysomnia
Insomnia: difficulty falling or staying asleep
Narcolepsy: experience periodic extreme drowsiness during wakeful periods (for longer than 5 minutes). May be a disfunction of the hypothalmus in the area that secretes Hypocretin.
Sleep Apnea: intermittently stop breathing (often accompanies obesity)
Parasomnia
Abnormal behaviours.
Somnabulism (sleep walking): usually occurs in stage 3 of sleep.
Night terrors: occur during stage 3, so not during REM like nightmares. People will be terrified but not remember in the morning.
Hypnosis
Dissociation Theory: hypnosis is just an extreme form of divided consciousness.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)
Meditators
Show increased alpha and theta waves, above baseline
Consciousness Altering Drugs
(1) depressants
(2) stimulants
(3) hallucinogens
Depressants
Examples: Alcohol, barbiturates, opiates
Biological function: Stimulate GABA and Dopamine
Alcohol and Barbiturates: Both very dangerous as can suppress sympathetic nervous system and therefore can suppress function of life-sustaining organs.
Opiates: Reduce neural functioning, mimic endorphin neurotransmitters and can result in the brain stopping to produce endorphins. Withdrawal is therefore literally painful.
Stimulants
Examples: Caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine.
Biological effect: typically increase release of neurotransmitters or slow the re-uptake.
Cocaine: release of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine
MDMA: releases dopamine/serotonin and inhibits uptake of serotonin. Mild hallucinogen.
Hallucinogen
Example: Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), mescaline, marijuana
Drug Addiction
Compulsion to use drug repeatedly.
Can be psychological or physiological.
Drug tolerance
Effect can vary.
For alcohol: increase baseline blood pressure and weakens the stress-reduction system.
Caffeine: acute effects, but no baseline changes below 600 mg. Effects are transient and reversible.
Theories of language
Behaviourists: argue that language is a conditioned behaviour. Empiricists so only assess what is directly visible.
Nativists: Argue that language is pre-wired in the brain.
Materialists: Ideas/metaphors only represent real cognitive changes. “only grey matter matters”
Rationalist so argue that certain capacities cannot come from experience. (Review this statement to determine if for Nativist or Materialist)
Language Acquisition
Skinner: Behaviourist, so argues that LA occurs through operant conditioning.
Chomsky: We possess a “language acquisition device” which allows for LA with only brief exposure at childhood. Argued that there existed a “Universal Grammar”
Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis: Cognition and Perception are determined by language one speaks.
Broca’s Area
Only present in the dominant hemisphere.
Broca’s Aphasia - results from damage to Broca’s area and causes a loss of speech. Individuals will know what to say but cannot communicate it.
Wernicke’s Area
Posterior Temporal Lobe.
Involved in comprehension of speech/language.
Wernicke’s Aphasia: Fluent syntax/rhythm, but meaningless speech.
Typically demonstrate no other ailments.
Conduction/Associative Aphasia
Poor speech repetition despite intact comprehension and fluent speech.
Recognize errors and will try to correct. More difficulty with increased phrase length.
Glial Cells
Schwann Cells
Oligodendrocytes
Micro glial cells
Ependymal Cells
Astrocytes
Monosynaptic relfexes
Constituted by two nuerons and one synapse.
Integration Simple
One interneuron.
How many nerves innervate the central nervous system?
12 Cranial Nerves, 31 spinal nerves.
Somat PNS anatomy
All somatic motor nuerons innervate skeletal muscle cells AND use ACh as the nuerotransmitter.
Cell bodies are in the brain stem or the ventral part of the spinal cord.
All somatic sensory neurons have a long dendrite that extends to the soma in the dorsal root ganglion just outside the CNS on the dorsal side. Note, that this means that they are protected by the spinal cord, but not within the meninges. Axon extends to the spinal cord so that all have the first synapse in the CNS (either spine or brain).
Autonomic PNS anatomy
Efferent sympathetic and parasympathetic have two neurons:
(1) pre-ganglionic: cell body is in the brain stem or spinal cord. Axon projects to ganglion oustide the spinal cord.
(2) post ganglionic
Autonomic pre-ganglionic neurons release
ACh
Sympathetic post-ganglionic neurons release
Epinephrine
Parasympathetic post-ganglionic neurons release
ACh
Innervation of all sympathetic efferent neurons?
Length of pre and post ganglionic efferents
Thoracic or Lumbar regions
Pre-ganglionic is short. Ganglia are large.
Post-ganglionic are long.
Innervation of all parasympathetic efferents?
Cranial/Sacral
Pre-ganglionic is long. Ganglia are smaller.
Post-ganglionic are short.
Division of the spinal cord
Cervical: C1 - C8
Thoracic: T1 - T12
Lumbar: L1 - L5
Sacral: S1 - S5
Adrenal Medulla
Ad - Above; Renal - kidney (so two of these structures)
Medulla - inner-portion is innervated by the sympathetic nervous system. In fact, embryologically derived from sympathetic post-ganglionic neurons and innervated by pre-ganglionic neurons. (Note that this is an exception to the rule that sympathetic pre-ganglionic neurons are short!!!!)
Cortex - outer portion; important endocrine gland.
Function: Releases epinephrine
Hypothalamic-pituitary Axis
Link between the nervous system and the endocrine system.
Endocrine v. Exocrine gland
Endocrine: ductless gland whose secretions are picked up by capillaries supplying blood to region.
Exocrine: Secrete products into external environment via ducts.
Peptide Hormones
Synthesized in the Rough ER and Golgi Apparatus.
Stored in vessicles.
Dissolve in plasma.
Communicate via secondary messengers. Also signal amplificaiton.
Rapid effect: minutes to hours.
Examples:
(1) Polypeptides = insulin which is secreted by Beta-cells in the pancreatic islets of langerhans in response to high blood glucose.
(2) Amino Acids (no peptide bonds obviously): Tyrosine can be modified to from
(i) Catecholemines (act like peptide hormones through secondary messenger cascade)
(ii) Thyroid hormone - acts more like a steroid insofar as it incorporates iodine and then enters the cell to bind DNA.
Steroid Hormones
Syntehsized from cholesterol in the smooth ER.
If not needed, not synthesized as cannot store in vessicles.
Cannot disolve in plasma so transit attached to blood proteins ex. Albumin.
Effects are slow (days to weeks) because they alter transcription.
Example: Steroids released from..
(1) Testes/ovaries/placenta -
(2) adrenal cortex - water balance and others
Calcitonin and [Ca2+]
Calcitonin prevents serum calcium from rising above specific levels.
Tropic hormones
Hormones that regulate other hormones.
Ex. Adrenocorticotropin Hormone (ACTH) secreted from anterior pituitary. That then results in secretion of cortisol from adrenal cortex.
Hypothalamus
Releases tropic hormones as well.
Referred to as: Release and Inhibiting Factors/hormones.
Division of the pituitary
Anterior (Adenohypophysis) is a normal endocrine gland.
Posterior (neurohypophysis) - innervated by neuroendocrine cells that secrete hormones into the blood such as Oxytocin/ADH/Vasopressin
Thyroid Hormone Chain
Anterior Pituitary releases Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
Thyroid gland releases Thyroid Hormone (one of two forms with either 3 or 4 iodine)
Effect: Increase metabolic rates, increase body temperature. In kids it stimulates growth.
