Psych U3 AOS1 Flashcards

1
Q

CNS

A

major division of the NS comprising the brain and spinal cord, which receives neural messages and transmits neural messages to the peripheral nervous system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Brain

A

complex organ that coordinates mental processes and behaviour, and regulates bodily activity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Spinal cord

A

cable of nerve tissue that extends from the brain, connecting it to the PNS
- Route via which neural info travels between the brain and body

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

PNS

A

major division of the NS comprising every neuron in the body outside of the CNS
- Send sensory info to CNS, receive info from CNS to enact behaviour

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Somatic NS

A

transmits neural messages related to voluntary movement
- Comprised of motor and sensory neurons

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Autonomic NS

A

regulates visceral muscles, organs and glands, and transmits neural messages to the CNS about their activity
- Connects CNS to internal organs and provides feedback to brain

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Sympathetic NS

A

activates visceral muscles, organs and glands, and prepares the body to respond to a threat or stressor

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Neurotransmitter

A

Chemical substance manufactured by the neuron that binds to receptor sites

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Neuromodulator

A

chemical released by neuron to alter overall effectiveness of neural transmission in entire brain areas

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Dopamine

A

responsible for voluntary motor movement, experience of pleasure and reward-based learning (primarily excitatory)
- linked with addictive behaviour

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Serotonin

A

responsible for regulation of sleep and mood (primarily inhibitory)
- 90% of serotonin found in gut

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Similarities between neurotransmitters and neuromodulators

A
  • both released into synapse by presynaptic neuron
  • both must bind to specific receptor sites to have effect on post synaptic neuron
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Differences between neurotransmitters and neuromodulators

A
  • neuromodulators influence neural activity on a larger and slower scale than neurotransmitters (longer lasting diffuse effect)
  • neuromodulators have effects on multiple postsynaptic neurons, neurotransmitters only have effects on one the adjacent post synaptic neurons
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Sprouting

A

dendrites grow new dendritic spines and axon terminals grow new filigree appendages to increase reach of neuron and enable new connections

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Rerouting

A

neuron connected to damaged neuron creates alt synaptic connection with an undamaged neuron

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Pruning

A

elimination of underused/inadequately activated synaptic connections to accommodate stronger and more essential synaptic connections

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

LTP

A

long lasting strengthening of synaptic connections that are regularly coactivated

18
Q

LTD

A

long lasting weakening in strength of synaptic connections that aren’t repeatedly stimulated

19
Q

Stress

A

Physiological and psychological arousal to internal/external stressors that demand our ability to cope

20
Q

Eustress

A

stress characterised by a positive psychological state
- Energises us to meet demands of challenge

21
Q

Distress

A

stress characterised by a negative psychological state
- Impedes coping ability

22
Q

Fight-flight-freeze response in acute stress

A

involuntary and automatic response to a threat or stressor that takes the form of either escaping it, confronting it, or freezing in the face of it

23
Q

Cortisol

A

important stress hormone released by adrenal glands to aid body in initiating and maintaining heightened arousal in short/long stress responses

Short term – energise body, increase energy
- increase blood sugar
- improve metabolism
- energise body
- reduce inflammation
Long term – excessive levels in bloodstream impair immune system function
- positive in acute stress, negative in chronic
- immunosuppression

24
Q

Gut-brain axis

A

bidirectional means of communication between the enteric and central NS which occurs via the vagus nerve
- 80-90% of messages sent from enteric NS, 10-20% from CNS (Breit et al., 2018)

25
Vagus nerve
connects cognitive and emotional regions of the brain to the intestinal tract via a collection of sensory and motor neurons
26
Enteric NS
network of nerves in embedded in the walls of the gastrointestinal tract
27
Microbe/microorganism
microscopic living thing in body (bacteria, fungus, viruses)
28
Microbiome
genes/genetic makeup of all microbiotas in gut
29
Microbiota
entire population of microorganisms that live in the gut that maintain gut health and functioning - involved in production of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators (dopamine, serotonin, GABA) - collection of millions of microorganisms - impacted by chronic stress and cortisol - influenced by food, alcohol, antibiotics, stress, genes, toxins
30
Selye's GAS
tracks physiological reactions to stress over time
31
Shock
- Ability to deal with stressor falls below normal level - Parasympathetic dominance - Body acts as if injured (blood pressure + body temperature drops)
32
Countershock
- Sympathetic NS activated, body’s ability to deal with stressor rises above normal level - Adrenaline and cortisol released (via HPA axis)
33
Resistance
- Physiological arousal remains above normal level - Sustained release of cortisol into the blood stream to energise body and repair damage - Cortisol brings immunosuppressing effects
34
Exhaustion
- Resistance to stressor falls below normal level - Body’s resources are depleted, unable to maintain heightened physiological arousal - Individual can’t function properly; develops serious disease/illness
35
Evaluating GAS
Strengths - Acknowledges relationship between chronic stress and disease and illness - Identifies biological process involved in stress - Idea that body eventually runs out of resources if stress persists was previously not fully understood Weaknesses - Research based mostly on rats; low generalisability - ‘one size fits all’ model, doesn’t account for individual differences - Ignores psychological stress responses
36
L&F Transactional Model of Stress and Coping
- stress involves an encounter (transaction) between individual and environment - stress response depends on an individual’s interpretation (appraisal) and ability to cope with it - stress occurs when there’s a perceived imbalance of stressor’s requirements and available coping resources
37
Primary appraisal
- judge significance of a situation - decide if stimulus is stressful
38
Secondary appraisal
- evaluate coping resources - coping strategies: emotion-focused and problem-focused
39
Evaluating Lazarus and Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping
Strengths - focus on psychological influences - emphasises personal nature and individuality of human stress response - reappraisal stage acknowledges stressors, and their demands, can change over time Weaknesses - difficult to test/quantify, very subjective, lack of empirical evidence - doesn’t acknowledge biological aspects of the human stress response, when in practice stress is a combo of biological and psychological factors - people aren’t necessarily aware of why they feel certain kinds of stress, as suggested by primary appraisal.
40
Coping
cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage specific internal and/or external stressors that are appraised as demanding or exceeding the resources of a person in a stressful situation
41
Context-specific effectiveness
when there’s a match or good fit between a stressful situation and the chosen coping strategy
42
Coping flexibility
ability to effectively modify one’s coping strategy to meet the unique demands of a stressful situation