Psych U3 AOS1 Flashcards
CNS
major division of the NS comprising the brain and spinal cord, which receives neural messages and transmits neural messages to the peripheral nervous system
Brain
complex organ that coordinates mental processes and behaviour, and regulates bodily activity
Spinal cord
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
PNS
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
Somatic NS
transmits neural messages related to voluntary movement
- Comprised of motor and sensory neurons
Autonomic NS
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
Sympathetic NS
activates visceral muscles, organs and glands, and prepares the body to respond to a threat or stressor
Neurotransmitter
Chemical substance manufactured by the neuron that binds to receptor sites
Neuromodulator
chemical released by neuron to alter overall effectiveness of neural transmission in entire brain areas
Dopamine
responsible for voluntary motor movement, experience of pleasure and reward-based learning (primarily excitatory)
- linked with addictive behaviour
Serotonin
responsible for regulation of sleep and mood (primarily inhibitory)
- 90% of serotonin found in gut
Similarities between neurotransmitters and neuromodulators
- both released into synapse by presynaptic neuron
- both must bind to specific receptor sites to have effect on post synaptic neuron
Differences between neurotransmitters and neuromodulators
- 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
Sprouting
dendrites grow new dendritic spines and axon terminals grow new filigree appendages to increase reach of neuron and enable new connections
Rerouting
neuron connected to damaged neuron creates alt synaptic connection with an undamaged neuron
Pruning
elimination of underused/inadequately activated synaptic connections to accommodate stronger and more essential synaptic connections
LTP
long lasting strengthening of synaptic connections that are regularly coactivated
LTD
long lasting weakening in strength of synaptic connections that aren’t repeatedly stimulated
Stress
Physiological and psychological arousal to internal/external stressors that demand our ability to cope
Eustress
stress characterised by a positive psychological state
- Energises us to meet demands of challenge
Distress
stress characterised by a negative psychological state
- Impedes coping ability
Fight-flight-freeze response in acute stress
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
Cortisol
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
Gut-brain axis
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)
Vagus nerve
connects cognitive and emotional regions of the brain to the intestinal tract via a collection of sensory and motor neurons
Enteric NS
network of nerves in embedded in the walls of the gastrointestinal tract
Microbe/microorganism
microscopic living thing in body (bacteria, fungus, viruses)
Microbiome
genes/genetic makeup of all microbiotas in gut
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
Selye’s GAS
tracks physiological reactions to stress over time
Shock
- Ability to deal with stressor falls below normal level
- Parasympathetic dominance
- Body acts as if injured (blood pressure + body temperature drops)
Countershock
- Sympathetic NS activated, body’s ability to deal with stressor rises above normal level
- Adrenaline and cortisol released (via HPA axis)
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
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
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
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
Primary appraisal
- judge significance of a situation
- decide if stimulus is stressful
Secondary appraisal
- evaluate coping resources
- coping strategies: emotion-focused and problem-focused
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.
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
Context-specific effectiveness
when there’s a match or good fit between a stressful situation and the chosen coping strategy
Coping flexibility
ability to effectively modify one’s coping strategy to meet the unique demands of a stressful situation
