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MCAT > Psych/Soc Chapter 1 > Flashcards

Psych/Soc Chapter 1 Flashcards

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MCAT flashcards
1
Q

Franz Gall

A

Phrenology

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2
Q

Pierre Flourens

A

Ablation on animals, discovered specific function in specific regions of the brain

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3
Q

William James

A

Functionalism: studied how mental process help individuals adapt to their environments

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4
Q

John Dewey

A

Reflex arc and focus on studying an organism as a whole as it functions to adapt in its environment

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5
Q

Paul Broca

A

Examined behavioral deficits of people with brain damage, demonstrated that specific functional impairments would be linked to specific brain lesions.

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6
Q

Hermann Von Helmholz

A

Measured the speed of a nerve impulse to generate reaction time

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7
Q

Sir Charles Sherrington

A

Discovered synapses

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8
Q

Which division of the nervous system are cranial, spinal, optic and olfactory nerves classified as?

A

PNS

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9
Q

Which of the following is NOT a sympathetic nervous system effect?
A) Dilates pupils
B) Stimulates glucose production and release
C) Inhibits bladder contraction
D) Constricts bronchi
E) Secretion of Epi and NE

A

D) RELAXES bronchi not constrict

We want to get more air into lungs in “fight or flight”

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10
Q

What 5 regions of the brain are included in the forebrain?

A

1) Cerebral cortex
2) Basal ganglia
3) Limbic system
4) Thalamus
5) Hypothalamus

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11
Q

Which 2 structures make up the midbrain?

A

1) Superior colliculi

2) Inferior colliculi

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12
Q

Which 3 structures make up the hindbrain?

A

1) Cerebellum
2) Medulla Oblongata
3) Reticular formation

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13
Q

During embryonic development, which 2 divisions of the rhombencephalon (hindbrain) give rise to which structures?

A

1) Myelencephalon (medulla oblongata)

2) Metencephalon (pons and cerebellum)

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14
Q

Which structure of the hindbrain lies above the medulla and contains sensory and motor pathways between the cortex and medulla?

A

Pons

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15
Q

What is the function of the superior and inferior colliculi?

A

Superior colliculus: receives visual sensory input

Inferior colliculus: receives sensory info from the auditory system

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16
Q

The telencephalon and diencephalon are divisions of the forebrain (prosencephalon) that branch into which brain regions?

A

Telencephalon: cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, limbic sys
Diencephalon:

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17
Q

All sensory info is relayed to the thalamus EXCEPT which sense?

A

smell

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18
Q

Which structure of the brain coordinates muscle movements as it receives sensory info from the cortex and relays it to other regions of the brain and spinal cord via the extrapyramidal system?

A

Basal ganglia

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19
Q

What are 3 key structures of the limbic system with their main function?

A

Septal nuclei: pleasure center
Hippocampus: memory and learning processes
Amygdala: aggression, fear and anger

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20
Q

Which region of the frontal lobe initiates involuntary motor movements by sending neural impulses down the spinal cord and toward the muscles?

A

Primary motor cortex

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21
Q

Describe the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia?

A

Argues that delusions, hallucinations and agitation assoc with schizo arise from either too much dopamine or from an oversensitivity to dopamine in the brain

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22
Q

Parkinson’s disease

A

Loss of dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia causing disruptions of dopamine transmission leading to resting tremors and jerky movements as well as postural instability

23
Q

How does glycine serve as a inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS?

A

Increases Cl- influx into the neuron to hyperpolarize the postsynaptic membrane (similar to the function of GABA)

24
Q

What is the difference between neuromodulators/neuropeptides and neurotransmitters?

A

Neuromodulators are slow and have long term effects on the post-synaptic cell than NT’s

25
Q

Which hormones are released from the anterior pituitary

A

FSH, LH, ACTH, TSH, PL, endorphins, GH

26
Q

Which hormones are released directly from hypothalamic secretory cells into the posterior pituitary?

A

Oxytocin and vasopressin

27
Q

What are the stages of pre-natal development of the nervous system?

A

1) Neurulation: ectoderm overlying the notochord begins to furrow, forming a neural groove surrounded by two neural folds
2) Neural crest cells migrate throughout the body to form disparate tissues including the dorsal root ganglia, melanocytes and calcitonin producing cells
3) Formation of Neural tube = remainder of furrow closes to form the CNS
4) Neural tube has 2 plates
- alar plate = differentiates into sensory neurons
- basal plate = differentiates into motor neurons

28
Q

Rooting reflex

A

Automatic turning of the head in the direction of the stimulus that touches the cheek

29
Q

Moro reflex (until 4 mo)

A

Infants react to abrupt movements by flinging out their arms and then slowly retracting their arms and crying

30
Q

Babinski reflex

A

Causes the toes to spread apart automatically when the sole of the foot is stimulated

31
Q

Grasping reflex (in adults what does this mean?)

A

Occurs when the infant closes his or her fingers around an object placed on his/her hand
In adults - indicates neurological disease that causes demyelination

32
Q

What are the 2 main themes that dictate the stages of motor development in early childhood?

A

Gross motor development proceeds from head to toe and from core to periphery

33
Q

Absolute threshold

A

Minimum of stimulus energy that is needed to activate a sensory system

34
Q

Subliminal perception

A

Perception of a stimulus below a given threshold

35
Q

Just noticible difference (JND)/ Difference Threshold

A

Minimum difference in magnitude between 2 stimuli before one can perceive this difference

36
Q

What is the most important factor when determining or interpreting the JND?

A

Ratio between the change in stimulus and the original value (don’t care about the actual difference between the frequencies)

37
Q

Weber’s Law

A

States that there is a constant ratio between the change in stimulus magnitude needed to produce a JND and the magnitude of the original stimulus

38
Q

Signal Detection Theory

A

Focuses on the changes in our perception of the same stimuli depending on both internal (psych) and external (environmental) factors (i.e. how loud someone calls your name)

39
Q

Response Bias

A

Refers to the tendency of subjects to systematically respond to a stimulus in a particular way due to nonsensory factors

40
Q

Trace the pathway of visual input from the visual fields to the brain:

A

Optic nerves –> optic chiasm –> optic tract –> LGN of thalamus –> visual cortex in occipital lobe and superior colliculus

41
Q

Parallel Processing

A

Ability to simultaneously analyze and combine info regarding color, shape and motion

42
Q

Which structures of the ear detect linear acceleration?

A

Utricle and Saccule (Vestibule)

43
Q

Which structures of the ear detect rotational acceleration?

A

Semicircular canals

44
Q

List the structures in an auditory pathway from where sound enters the pinna to the auditory projection areas in the brain

A

External auditory canal –> tympanic membrane –> middle ear (ossicles) –> oval window –> perilymph cochlea –> basilar membrane –> hair cells semicircular canals –> vestibulochochear nerve –> brainstem–> medial geniculate nucleus (MGN) –> auditory cortex in the temporal lobe for sound processing –> superior olive which localizes the sound and the inferior colliculus which is involved in the startle reflex

45
Q

How does the organization of the cochlea indicate the pitch of an incoming sound?

A

The basilar membrane is tonotopically organized: high-pitched sounds cause vibrations at the base of the cochlea whereas, low-pitched sounds cause vibrations at the apex of the cochlea

46
Q

Bottom up (data driven) processing

A

refers to object recognition by parallel processing and feature detection

47
Q

Top-down processing

A

Driven by memories and expectations that allow the brain to recognize the whole object and then recognize the components based on these expectations

48
Q

5 Gestalt principles

A 
Law of proximity 
Law of similarity 
Law of continuation
Subjective contours
Closure
49
Q

Law of proximity

A

Objects close to one another will be perceived as a unit

50
Q

Law of similarity

A

Objects that are similar seem to be grouped together

51
Q

Law of continuation

A

Elements that appear to continue along the same pathway tend to be grouped together

52
Q

Subjective contours

A

Perceiving contours and shapes that are not actually present in the stimulus

53
Q

Closure

A

when a space is defined by a contour (even if it is unfinished) it will still be perceived as a complete figure

MCAT (5 decks)

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