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Psychology 102 > Psychology 102 Midterm #1 > Flashcards

Psychology 102 Midterm #1 Flashcards

1
Q

What is psychology?

A

The scientific study of the mind, brain, and behaviour.

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2
Q

Who is Wihelm Wundt?

A
  • Developed the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany
  • Marked the beginning of psychology as a science
  • Research focused on mental experiences
  • Heavily relied on a technique called introspection
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3
Q

What is introspection?

A

Method by which trained observers carefully reflect and report on their mental experiences.

Examining conscious thoughts and feelings.

Ex. Put two students in a room with snakes and record the emotions, thoughts, and feelings – they may not say the same experience, it’s subjective.

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4
Q

Who is E.B. Titchner?

A

Founder of structuralism.

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5
Q

What is structuralism?

A
  • School of psychology that aimed to identify the basic elements of psychological experience
  • What am I thinking and feeling?
  • Built on introspection, which Titchener believed could provide all of the information needed for a complete science of psychology
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6
Q

What are two major problem with Structuralism?

A

1) Highly subjective (snakes)
- Trained “introspectionists” could not agree on their reports
- Needs to be concrete, not subjective.

2) We can experience imageless thought
- This hindered structuralism because it showed that some important aspects of human psychology lie outside of conscious awareness

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7
Q

Who is William James?

A

Founder of American psychology.

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8
Q

Why is William James the Founder of American psychology?

A
  • Major role in the development of psychology in the United States
  • The first to teach a psychology course in the states
  • Coined the saying “stream of consciousness”
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9
Q

What is the stream of consciousness?

A
  • A person’s thoughts and conscious reactions to events, perceived as a continuous flow.
  • We never stop thinking.
  • One thought leads to another.
  • Ex. one thought about class, the next about you wanting to take a vacation.
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10
Q

What is William James the founder of?

A

Functionalism.

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11
Q

What is functionalism?

A

School of psychology that aimed to understand the adaptive purposes of psychological characteristics

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12
Q

Who is Charles Darwin?

A

Founder of natural selection.

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13
Q

What is natural selection?

A

Organisms that possess adaptions, survive and reproduce at a higher rate than other organisms

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14
Q

What do functionalist believe?

A
  • Functionalists believed that natural selection applied to psychological characteristics too
  • Physical and mental attributes have evolved.
  • Doesn’t exist today like it did then
  • We have evolved over time.
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15
Q

Who is John B. Watson?

A

Founder of behaviourism

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16
Q

What is behaviourism?

A

School of psychology that focuses on uncovering the general laws of learning by looking at observable behaviour.

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17
Q

Who proclaimed that psychology should be as scientific as physics, chemistry, and other “hard” sciences?

A
  • John B. Watson.
  • John changed the way of psychology.
  • This says it to be a science more than an art. (The first moment that people were not debating it as much.)
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18
Q

Who is Sigmund Freud?

A

Founder of psychoanalysis

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19
Q

What is psychoanalysis?

A
  • School of psychology that focuses on internal psychological processes of which we are unaware
  • Research focused on unconscious drives (i.e., sexuality and aggression)
  • Ex. called another adult mom or dad when you are a child, reason being.. Unconsciously the adult reminded them of their parent.
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20
Q

Why is psychoanalysis controversial?

A

Very hard task to study without technology.

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21
Q

Who is Jean Piaget & Ulric Neisser?

A

Founders of cognitivism.

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22
Q

What is cognitivism?

A
  • School of psychology that proposes that thinking is central to understanding behaviour
  • Understanding how people evaluate and interpret information is a critical component of their behaviour
  • Ex. take two students at random in class, watch how grades unfold during the semester. Both get a B, one is overjoyed and one is furious. Two separate behaviours. Why does the different behaviour occur? Maybe one wanted an A? Maybe on is used to D’s?
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23
Q

What is the thriving approach today?

A
  • Cognitivism

- Most commonly used. But may not always be the best because the world is always uncovering new information and studies.

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24
Q

What is a clinical psychologist?

A
  • Work in colleges and universities, mental health centres, or private practices
  • Assess, diagnose, and treat mental disorders
  • May also conduct research on people with mental disorders
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25
Q

In order to be a professor you must?

A

In order to be a professor, you have to teach and do research.

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26
Q

What is an Experimental Psychologist?

A
  • Work in research settings and universities

- Conduct experimental studies on memory, language, thinking, and social behaviours of humans

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27
Q

What is a Counselling Psychologist?

A
  • Work in counselling centres, hospitals, or private practices
  • Counsel people experiencing temporary or relatively self-contained life problems
  • Ex. marital conflicts, sexual difficulties, and career conflicts.
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28
Q

What is a School Psychologist?

A
  • Work in schools or universities

- Assist teachers, parents, and children to improve students’ behavioural, emotional, and learning difficulties

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29
Q

What is a Developmental Psychologist?

A
  • Work in private practices or universities
  • Study people’s emotional, physiological, and cognitive processes and how/why these change with age
  • Seeing how people change over a span of time. (Not just about children.)
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30
Q

What is a Biological Psychologist?

A
  • Most in research settings or universities

- Examine the physiological bases of behaviour in animals and humans

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31
Q

What is a Forensic Psychologist?

A
  • Work in prisons, jails, and universities
  • Assess and diagnose inmates and assist with their rehabilitation and treatment
  • Conduct research on eyewitness testimony or jury decision making
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32
Q

What is a Industrial-Organizational Psychologist?

A
  • Work in companies and businesses
  • Help hire productive employees, evaluate performance, examine the effects of different working or living conditions on people’s behaviour
  • Design equipment to maximize employee performance and minimize accidents
  • Ex. the lights designed in the university are made by these psychologists to make the brain more alert.
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33
Q

5 reasons for psychology being too challenging?

A

1) Difficult to predict
2) Psychological influences are rarely independent of each other
3) Influenced by our thinking, emotion, personality, and behaviour
4) Influenced by each other
5) Influenced by culture

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34
Q

Why is psychology difficult to predict?

A
  • We want to be able to predict behaviour but how will we know?
  • Ex. when will a sociopath hurt somebody?
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35
Q

Psychological influences are rarely independent of each other making psychology difficult because?

A

-Ex. if someone comes in with a disorder, they would love a clear cut answer to their
problem.

-But the answer is usually a lot of things. (Never just one answer.)

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36
Q

Influenced by our thinking, emotion, personality, and behaviour making psychology difficult because?

A
  • This helps explain why we respond to things differently than others.
  • Nobody is the exact same.
  • No real explination.
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37
Q

Influenced by each other makes psychology difficult because?

A
  • Ex. the saying, “you are the company you keep”. The people you surround yourself with will affect how you act/behave.
  • How do you know what is you and what is influenced?
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38
Q

Influenced by culture makes psychology difficult because?

A
  • One of the most difficult, because of your upbringing, your thoughts, feelings, and emotions could be different.
  • Ex. Price showed us 2 photos and asked what emotions we thought of. Westerners thought selfishly while the Japanese thought of the group as a whole.
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39
Q

What is Scientific Theory?

A
  • An explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world, including the psychological world
  • It generates predictions based on new data that we have not observed yet and can be tested
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40
Q

What is a hypothesis?

A
  • Testable prediction derived from a scientific theory

- The if then statement

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41
Q

What is confirmation bias?

A
  • Tendency to seek out evidence that supports our hypotheses and deny, dismiss, or distort evidence that contradicts them
  • Ex. Watson selection task.
  • Quick and easy, we fall prey to it.
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42
Q

What is belief perseverance?

A
  • The tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them
  • We as humans generally don’t want to be wrong.
  • We will ignore evidence that shows us we are wrong
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43
Q

What is pseudoscience?

A
  • Set of claims that seem scientific but are not
  • More prone to confirmation bias and belief perseverance
  • Literally means a fake science.
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44
Q

Warning Signs of Pseudoscience? (7)

A

1) Exaggerated claims (ex. self health books.)
2) Over-reliance on anecdotes
3) Absence of connectivity to other research
4) Lack of review by other scholars (called peer review) or replication by independent labs
5) Lack of self-correction when contrary evidence is published
6) Meaningless “psychobabble” that uses fancy scientific-sounding terms that don’t make sense
7) Talk of “proof” instead of “evidence”

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45
Q

What is an anecdote?

A

Ex. thinking that using yoga for 3 weeks will ride depression.

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46
Q

What is Apophenia?

A
  • Perceiving meaningful connections among unrelated and even random phenomena
  • E.g., Thinking about an old friend and then receiving a call from them the next day
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47
Q

What is Pareidolia?

A
  • Seeing meaningful images in meaningless stimuli

- E.g., Looking at clouds and perceiving it as the shape of an animal

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48
Q

What are logical fallacies?

A

Deception in thinking that can lead to mistaken conclusions

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49
Q

What is Emotional Reasoning Fallacy?

A
  • Error of using our emotions as guides for evaluating the validity of a claim.
  • Just because a scientific claim makes us feel uncomfortable or indigent does not mean it is wrong.
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50
Q

What is Bandwagon Fallacy?

A

Error of assuming that a claim is correct just because many people believe it

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51
Q

What is Not Me Fallacy?

A
  • Error of believe that we are immune from errors in thinking that afflict other people
  • Most people are unaware of their own biases but keenly aware of others’ biases
  • Ex. we have an accent but claim we don’t because we are unaware of it.
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52
Q

What is rebirthing therapy?

A
  • Believed that children’s behavioural problems it is attributed to difficulties in forming attachments to their parents (stemming from birth)
  • During rebirthing therapy, children or adolescents re-enact the trauma of birth with the assistance of one or more therapists
  • Very dangerous, someone died. (Candace)
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53
Q

What is scientific scepticism?

A

Approach of evaluating all claims with an open mind but insisting on persuasive evidence before accepting them

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54
Q

What are the scientific principle? (6)

A

1) Ruling out rival hypotheses
2) Correlation ≠ causation
3) Falsifiability
4) Replicability
5) Extraordinary claim require extraordinary evidence
6) Occam’s razor

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55
Q

What is Ruling Out Rival Hypotheses?

A

ASK YOURSELF:
Have important alternative explanations
for the findings been excluded?

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56
Q

What is Correlation ≠ Causation?

A

ASK YOURSELF:

Are you sure A causes B?

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57
Q

What is Falsifiability?

A

-ASK YOURSELF:
Can the claim be disproved?

  • “For a claim to be meaningful, it must be falsifiable – capable of being disproven.”
  • Sir Karl Popper
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58
Q

What is Replicability?

A

ASK YOURSELF:

Can the results be duplicated in other studies?

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59
Q

What is Extraordinary Claims?

A

-ASK YOURSELF:
Is the evidence as strong as the claim?

  • “The more extraordinary a claim, the more persuasive the evidence for this claim must be before we accept it.”
  • David Hume
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60
Q

What is Occam’s Razor?

A

-ASK YOURSELF:
Does a simpler explanation fit the data just as well?

-If two explanations account equally well for a phenomenon, the simplest explanation should be selected

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61
Q

What is facilitated communication?

A

Technique in which a facilitator supports the hand or arm of an individual with a communication impairment while they use a keyboard or typing device to express the individual’s thoughts

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62
Q

What is a prefrontal lobotomy?

A
  • Surgical procedure that severs fibres connecting the frontal lobes of the brain from the underlying thalamus
  • Procedure device is a ice pick
  • Considered an effective treatment for schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety
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63
Q

What is a heuristic?

A

A mental shortcuts that helps us to streamline our thinking and make sense of our world

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64
Q

What is a representative heuristic?

A

Judging the probability of an event by its superficial similarity to a prototype

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65
Q

What is an availability heuristic?

A

Estimating the likelihood of an occurrence based on the ease with which it comes to our minds

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66
Q

What is confirmation bias?

A

Tendency to seek out evidence that supports our hypotheses and deny, dismiss, and distort evidence that contradicts them

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67
Q

What is hindsight bias?

A

Tendency to overestimate how well we could have successfully forecasted known outcomes

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68
Q

What is overconfidence?

A

Tendency to overestimate the ability to make correct predictions

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69
Q

What is a hypothesis?

A

A testable prediction based on scientific theory

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70
Q

What is a confirmed hypothesis?

A

Strengthening our confidence in the theory

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71
Q

What is a disconfirmed hypothesis?

A

Revise the theory or abandon it completely

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72
Q

What is an independent variable?

A

A variable that an experimenter manipulates

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73
Q

What is a dependent variable?

A

A variable that an experimenter measures to see whether the manipulation has an effect

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74
Q

What is external validity?

A

The extent to which we can generalize our findings to real-world settings

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75
Q

What is internal validity?

A

The extent to which we can draw cause-and-effect inferences

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76
Q

What are the four research designs?

A

1) Naturalistic observation
2) Case studies
3) Correlational designs
4) Experimental designs

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77
Q

What is naturalistic observation?

A

Watching behaviour in real-world settings without trying to manipulate the situation

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78
Q

Who conducted the study on laughter?

A

Robert Provine

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79
Q

What is a case study?

A

A research design that examines one person or a small number of people in depth, often over an extended period of time

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80
Q

What is zoophilic exhibitionism?

A

A psychological condition in which one receives sexual gratification from exposing themselves to animals

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81
Q

Who conducted the case study for zoophilic exhibitionism?

A

Aaron Beck

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82
Q

What is correlational design?

A

-A research design that examines the extent to which two variables are associated

-Ex. GPA and duration studying,
Math skills and singing ability,
Alcohol and driving skills,

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83
Q

What is +1.00?

A

As one variable changes, the other variable changes in the same direction

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84
Q

What is 0.00?

A

Two variables are not related

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85
Q

What is -1.00?

A

As one variable changes, the other variable changes in the opposite direction

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86
Q

What is a perfect positive correlation?

A

+1.00

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87
Q

What is a perfect negative correlation?

A

-1.00

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88
Q

What is absolute value?

A

The strength of a correlation coefficient

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89
Q

What is illusory correlation?

A
  • A perception of statistical association between two variables where none exists
  • We fall prey to this because of confirmation bias
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90
Q

What is an experimental design?

A

A research design characterized by random assignment of participants to conditions and manipulation of an independent variable

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91
Q

What are the two components of experimental design?

A

1) Random assignment of participants to conditions

2) Manipulation of an independent variable

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92
Q

What is random assignment?

A
  • Randomly sorts participants into groups

- This cancels out pre-existing differences between the groups

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93
Q

What are the two groups in random assignment?

A

1) Control group

2) Experimental group

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94
Q

What is manipulation of an independent variable?

A
  • Helps maintain internal validity

- Must be the only difference between the groups

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95
Q

What is a confounding variable?

A

A variable other than the independent variable that differed between the experimental and control groups

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96
Q

What is the other only research design that allows to infer causation?

A

Experimental design.

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97
Q

What is the placebo effect?

A

Improvement resulting from the mere expectation of improvement

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98
Q

What is the nocebo effect?

A

Harm resulting from the mere expectation of harm

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99
Q

Who designed the placebo pill experiment?

A

Ted Kaptchuk

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100
Q

What is the experimenter expectancy effect?

A

The phenomenon in which researchers’ hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias the outcome of the study

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101
Q

How can you avoid experimenter expectancy effect?

A

Avoid this by using double-blind studies

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102
Q

What is double-blind?

A

When neither researchers nor participants are aware of who is in the experimental or control group

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103
Q

Who created the Arabian stallion experiment?

A

Wilhelm von Osten

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104
Q

Who proved Wilhelm von Osten wrong? And How?

A
  • Oscar Pfungst
  • He focused on the ones posing the questions rather than the horse
  • He found the questioners were unintentionally cuing the horse to produce the correct answers
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105
Q

What is demand characteristics?

A

A cue that participants pick up from a study that allow them to generate guesses regarding the researcher’s hypotheses

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106
Q

How can you avoid demand characteristics?

A
  • Try to disguise the purpose of the study

- Could include “distractor” tasks or “filler” items

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107
Q

Who is the research ethics boards?

A
  • Faculty members who have expertise in both research and ethics
  • A member from the community who is not involved in research or the institution who reviews the research
  • They adhere to a set of national guidelines found in the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS)
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108
Q

What is informed consent?

A

It informs research participants of what is involved in the study before asking them to participate

109
Q

What is debriefing?

A

A process whereby researchers inform participants what the study was about

110
Q

What is deception?

A

When researchers use deception, they deliberately mislead participants about the nature of the study they are going to be involved in

111
Q

Deception is justified only when?

A

A) Researchers could not have performed the study without deception

B) The use of deception or withholding the hypothesis does not negatively affect the rights of the participant

C) The research does not involve a medical or therapeutic intervention

112
Q

Which study was created for the deception towards teachers through shocking students?

A

Stanley Milgram Study

113
Q

Animal research design must?

A
  • Research must first be reviewed by animal care and use committee
  • The goal must greatly outweigh any stress or harm that could come to the animal
114
Q

What is statistics?

A

It is the application of math to describe and analyze data

115
Q

What is descriptive statistics?

A

Numerical characterizations that describe data

116
Q

What is inferential statistics?

A

Math methods that allow us to determine whether we can generalize findings from our sample to the population

117
Q

What is central tenancy?

A
  • Mean
  • Median
  • Mode
118
Q

What is mean?

A
  • The total score divided by the total sample number
  • Also known as “average”
  • E.g., (100 + 90 + 80 + 120 + 120)/5
119
Q

What is median?

A
  • The middle score in our data set
  • We obtain the median by lining up our scores in order (lowest to highest) and finding the middle one
  • E.g., 80, 90, 100, 120, 120
120
Q

What is mode?

A
  • The most frequent score in our data set

- E.g., 100, 90, 80, 120, 120

121
Q

What is variability?

A

Range and standard deviation

122
Q

What is range?

A
  • Difference between the highest and lowest scores
  • E.g., 80, 85, 85, 90, 95
  • E.g., 25, 70, 150, 125, 65
123
Q

What is standard deviation?

A
  • How far each data point is from the mean

- Less likely to be deceptive than the range

124
Q

What are peer reviews?

A
  • They identify flaws that could undermine a study’s findings and conclusions
  • Nearly all psychological journals send submitted articles to outside reviewers, who screen the articles carefully for quality control
125
Q

What is biological psychology?

A

the study of how the nervous system impacts our thoughts, emotions, and behaviour

126
Q

What is a neuron?

A

a nerve cell specialized for communication

127
Q

How man neurons does our brain have?

A
  • Our brain contains approx. 85 billion neurons.
  • Vary in size, shape, and chemical composition.
  • But, they all have the same structure
128
Q

What is a cell body?

A
  • central region of the neuron.
  • Also, called the SOMA.
  • Contains the nucleus (and DNA).
  • Integrates information and passes signal to axon
129
Q

What is a dendrite?

A
  • portion of neuron that receives signals from sensory receptors or other neurons.
  • Branch-like fibers that extend from cell body.
130
Q

What is a axon hillock?

A
  • regulates the firing of the neuron in an all-or-none manner.
  • Connects the cell body and axon.
131
Q

What is an axon?

A
  • portion of neuron that sends signals.
  • Also, known as the “transmitters”.
  • Located between the cell body and axon terminal.
  • Long extended fiber along which the neural impulse travels.
  • Specialized for sending messages to other neurons.
  • Vary in length
132
Q

What is myelin sheath?

A

glial cells wrapped around axons that act as insulators of the neuron’s signal

133
Q

What does the myelin sheath do?

A
  • Prevents cross-talk between neurons (prevents interference.)
  • Determines the speed in which a nerve impulse travels along the axon.
  • More the myelin, the faster.
134
Q

What are glial cells?

A

cells in the nervous system that play a role in the formation of myelin and the blood-brain barrier (lets things come through), responds to injury, removes debris, and enhances learning and memory

135
Q

What is the nodes of ranvier?

A
  • gaps between the myelin sheath that allows for electrical activity to take place.
  • Speeds up neuronal transmission.
136
Q

How long is the nodes of ranvier?

A

Approx. 1 micrometer in length

137
Q

What are terminal buttons?

A
  • bulb-like structures at the end of an axon that send signals to other sensory receptors or other neurons.
  • Release neurotransmitters.
138
Q

What are sensory neurons?

A
  • carry messages from sense receptors to the central nervous system (CNS).
  • Sensory allows us to experience tough, pain.
139
Q

What are motor neurons?

A
  • carry messages from CNS toward muscles and glands.
  • Motor allows us to perform movements based on the information we receive from the sensory neurons
  • ex. dress, feed ourselves, drive, walk
140
Q

What are interneurons?

A
  • relay messages from sensory neurons to other interneurons or motor neurons
  • Communicate between sensory and motor.
  • Ex. swerve the car from seeing an animal on the road
141
Q

What are mirror neurons?

A
  • a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another (programmed into neurons)
  • ex. baby copies adults faces
142
Q

What is neuronal transmission?

A

-Allows communication between neurons via neurotransmitters

143
Q

Neural transmission is produced by?

A 
Produced by the flow of electrically charged ions:
Sodium (Na+)
Calcium (Ca+)
Potassium (K+)
Chloride (Cl-)
144
Q

Two states of a cell?

A

1) Resting potential (or inhibitory stage)

2) Action potential (or excitatory stage)

145
Q

What is a resting potential?

A
  • when the neuron is not being stimulated or inhibited

- Polarized

146
Q

What is resting state?

A
  • Resting state = -60 to -70 mV
  • High concentration of chloride (Cl-) inside the cell
  • High concentration of sodium (Na+) outside the cell
  • Has the capacity to produce an action potential
147
Q

What is a action potential?

A

electrical impulse that travels down the axon, triggering the release of neurotransmitters

148
Q

What is a action potential triggered by?

A
  • Triggered by sodium (Na+) ions

- The continued rush of sodium (Na+) ions inside the cell increasing the electrical charge to a maximum of +40 mV

149
Q

Neurons can fire at rates of?

A
  • 100-1000 times/second

- Travel at speeds of approx. 350 km/hour

150
Q

Each action potential is followed by?

A

an absolute refractory period

151
Q

What is an absolute refractory period?

A
  • time during which another action potential is impossible

- Limits maximal firing rate

152
Q

Absolute refractory period reaches?

A
  • Reaches -75 to -80 mV

- Leads to a relative refractory period

153
Q

What is a relative refractory period?

A

the cell returns to resting potential (at this point it can be stimulated again.)

154
Q

What are neurotransmiters?

A

chemical messenger specialized for communication from neuron to neuron

155
Q

Types of neurotransmiters?

A

Excitatory

Inhibitory

156
Q

What is an excitatory neurotransmister?

A

increases the likelihood that neurons will fire an action potential

  • Can lead to excitotoxicity (too much firing).
  • over stimulation.
  • could lead to death of neurons if overstimulated
157
Q

Excitatory neurotransmister includes?

A
  • Glutamate
  • Acetylcholine
  • Norepinephrine
  • Dopamine
158
Q

What is an inhibitory neurotransmitter?

A

decreases the likelihood that neurons will fire an action potential

159
Q

Inhibitory neurotransmitters include?

A
  • GABA
  • Acetylcholine *
  • Dopamine *
  • Serotonin
160
Q

What is glutamate?

A
  • neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory

- Main excitatory neurotransmitter

161
Q

Glutamate plays a role in?

A
  • Brain development

- Cellular survival

162
Q

Abnormal Glutamate levels can cause?

A
  • Migraines
  • Strokes
  • Epilepsy
  • Schizophrenia
  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • Major depressive disorder
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Huntington’s disease
163
Q

What is GABA?

A

-neurotransmitter involved in regulating fear or anxiety

-fear or anxiety
Main inhibitory neurotransmitter

-Calms you down.

164
Q

What does GABA play a role in?

A
  • Sleep
  • Mood
  • Pain
  • Social skills
165
Q

Abnormal GABA levels can cause?

A
  • Epilepsy
  • Insomnia
  • Panic disorder
  • Social anxiety disorder
  • Generalized anxiety disorder
  • Attention deficit disorder
  • Major depressive disorder
  • Parkinson’s disease
166
Q

What is acetycholine?

A
  • neurotransmitter for motor neurons involving voluntary movement
  • Excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter
167
Q

First neurotransmitter ever discovered?

A

Acetylcholine

168
Q

Acetylcholine plays a role in?

A
  • Pain
  • Hormones
  • Muscle movements
169
Q

Abnormal Acetylcholine Levels can cause?

A
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Myasthenia gravis – movement disorder (rapid fatigue and weakness of the muscles), double vision.
170
Q

What is norepinephrine?

A
  • neurotransmitter involved with the control of the fight-flight-freeze response
  • Excitatory neurotransmitter
171
Q

Norepinephrine plays a role in?

A
  • Alertness
  • Attention
  • Mood
  • Sleep
172
Q

Abnormal Norepinephrine Levels can cause?

A
  • Migraines
  • Insomnia
  • Panic disorder
  • Generalized anxiety disorder
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Major depressive disorder
  • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
173
Q

What is dopamine?

A
  • involved with the control of motor function and rewarding experiences
  • Excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter
174
Q

Dopamine plays a role in?

A
  • Behaviour
  • Learning
  • Sleep
  • Mood
  • Attention
  • Immune Health
  • Pleasurable reward
175
Q

Abnormal Dopamine Levels can cause?

A
  • Addiction
  • Eating disorders
  • Attention deficit disorder
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Major depressive disorder
  • Schizophrenia
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Huntington’s disease
176
Q

What is serotonin?

A
  • neurotransmitter involved in the regulation of sleep and wakefulness (happy)
  • Inhibitory neurotransmitter
177
Q

Serotonin plays a role in?

A
  • Mood
  • Sleep
  • Anxiety
  • Sexuality
  • Appetite
178
Q

Abnormal Serotonin Levels can cause?

A
  • Seizure
  • Panic disorder
  • Social anxiety disorder
  • Generalized anxiety disorder
  • Major depressive disorder
  • Obsessive compulsive disorder
179
Q

Synaptic Transmission? (3)

A

1) Presynaptic Neuron
2) Synaptic Cleft (“synapse”)
3) Postsynaptic Neuron

180
Q

What is presynaptic neurons?

A
  • Action potential travels to the terminal button
  • Stimulates synaptic vesicles (containing neurotransmitters) to migrate to the cell membrane
  • Vesicles open and release the neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft
181
Q

What is a Synaptic Cleft?

A
  • Also, known as the “synapse”
  • Neurotransmitters travel across synaptic cleft

-Lock and key method:
Lock = Receptor
Key = Neurotransmitter

182
Q

What is a Postsynaptic Neuron?

A
  • Ion channels open on postsynaptic membrane
  • Neurotransmitters bind to appropriate receptors
  • All neurotransmitters that do not bind undergo reuptake from the presynaptic neuron
  • And, the cycle continues
183
Q

Nervous systems? (2)

A

1) Peripheral Nervous System

2) Central Nervous System (Brain and spinal cord.)

184
Q

What is the Peripheral Nervous System?

A

nerves in the body that extend outside the central nervous system (CNS)

185
Q

What is the Peripheral Nervous System composed of?

A

Composed of two primary subdivisions:

Somatic nervous system
Autonomic nervous system

186
Q

What is the Somatic Nervous System?

A
  • part of the nervous system that conveys information between the CNS and the body, controlling and coordinating voluntary movement
  • Connects the CNS to the skeletal muscles and skin
187
Q

Somatic nervous system consists of?

A
  • Afferent nerves = sensory neurons (what goes in) ex. pain

- Efferent nerves = motor neurons (what goes out) ex. motor

188
Q

What is the autonomic nervous system?

A

part of the nervous system controlling the involuntary actions of our internal organs and glands

189
Q

What does the autonomic nervous system consist of?

A
  • Efferent nerves = motor neurons

- Afferent nerves = sensory neurons

190
Q

Efferent nerves are further subdivided into?

A
  • Sympathetic nervous systems = division of ANS engaged during a crisis or after actions requiring fight or flight
  • Parasympathetic nervous systems = division of ANS that controls rest and digestion
191
Q

What is the central nervous system?

A
  • part of the nervous system containing the brain and spinal cord that controls the mind and behaviour
  • Integrates and coordinates all body functions
192
Q

Central nervous system consists of?

A
  • Cerebral cortex
  • Basal ganglia
  • Limbic system
  • Cerebellum
  • Brain stem
  • Spinal cord
193
Q

What is the cerebral cortex?

A
  • outermost part of the forebrain, responsible for analyzing sensory processing and higher brain functions
  • Allows us to perform complex brain functions (e.g., reasoning and language)
194
Q

Distinct lobes?

A
  • Frontal
  • Parietal
  • Temporal
  • Occipital
195
Q

What is the frontal lobe?

A
  • performs executive functions that coordinate other brain areas, motor planning, language, and memory
  • Also, known as the “cerebrum”
  • Most developed area of the human brain
196
Q

Largest component of cerebral cortex?

A

Frontal Lobe

197
Q

Frontal Lobe consists of how many neurons?

A

Consists of 12-20 billion neurons

198
Q

Frontal lobe is responsible for?

A
  • Language
  • Memory
  • Motor control
  • Executive functioning
199
Q

What is Executive functioning?

A

a process that oversees and organizes most other brain functions

200
Q

What is three components of Executive functioning?

A
  • Working memory
  • Inhibitory control
  • Cognitive flexibility
201
Q

What is working memory?

A
  • Responsible for processing information
  • Allows us to manage multiple chunks of information at the same time
  • Helps us understand complex tasks and deep ideas
  • Ex. studying.
202
Q

What is Inhibitory Control?

A
  • Describes our capability to concentrate
  • Regulates our emotions

-Controls our behaviour during stressful situations:
Helps stay focused.
Work under pressure.

203
Q

What is cognitive flexibility?

A

Allows us to:
Adapt to new tasks quickly
Change our perspective

204
Q

Frontal lobe has?

A
  • Motor cortex
  • Pre-frontal cortex
  • Broca’s area
205
Q

What is Motor cortex?

A

part of the frontal lobe that is responsible for body movement

206
Q

What is Pre-frontal cortex?

A

part of the frontal lobe that is responsible for thinking, planning, and language

207
Q

What is Broca’s area?

A

part of the frontal lobe that is responsible for language production

208
Q

Brroca’s area is named after?

A

Named after French surgeon Paul Broca

209
Q

Paul Broca’s most famous patient’s name?

A

Tan

210
Q

What is Broca’s aphasia?

A
  • damage to this area results in severe difficulties with speech production
  • getting the words out
  • Aphasia- damage to brain area.
211
Q

What is thee parietal lobe?

A
  • upper middle part of the cerebral cortex lying behind the frontal lobe that is specialized for touch and perceptions
  • Primary sensory cortex
212
Q

What is the parietal lobe responsible for?

A

Responsible for sensations of touch, pain, temperature, and taste.

213
Q

What is the lateral fissure>

A

long, narrow opening that separates the frontal and parietal lobes from the temporal lobe

214
Q

What is the temporal lobe?

A
  • lower part of the cerebral cortex that plays roles in hearing, understanding language, and memory
  • Primary auditory cortex
215
Q

Two components of temporal lobe?

A
  • Auditory cortex (hearing)

- Wernicke’s area

216
Q

What is the auditory cortex?

A

part of the temporal lobe that is devotes to hearing

217
Q

What is Wernicke’s Area?

A

part of the temporal lobe that is responsible for language comprehension

218
Q

Wernicke’s Area is named after?

A

Named after German neurologist Carl Wernicke

219
Q

What is Wernicke’s Aphasia?

A

damage to this area results in severe difficulties with understanding speech

220
Q

What is the occipital lobe?

A
  • back part of the cerebral cortex specialized for vision

- Primary visual cortex

221
Q

What is Prosopagnosia?

A

damage to this area results in severe difficulties in recognizing faces visually

222
Q

What is Cerebral Hemispheres?

A

-two halves of the cerebral cortex, each of which serves distinct yet highly integrates functions

-Divided into:
Left hemisphere
Right hemisphere

-Connected by the corpus callosum

223
Q

What does the left hemisphere do?

A
  • Controls the right side of our body
  • Tends to control many aspects of language and logic
Ex. Speech comprehension and production
Reading and writing
Critical thinking
Facial expressions (body language)
Motion detection (logic)
224
Q

What does the right hemisphere do?

A
  • Controls the left side of our body
  • Tends to control spatial information and visual comprehension
-Examples:
Tone of voice
Expressing and reading emotions
Recognizing faces
Creativity
225
Q

What is the basal ganglia?

A
  • structures in the forebrain that help to control movement

- Responsible for procedural learning, eye movement as well as cognitive and emotional functions

226
Q

Damage to the basal ganglia is associated with?

A
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Huntington’s disease
  • Tourette’s disorder
227
Q

What is the limbic system?

A
  • emotional center of the brain that also plays roles in smell, motivation, and memory
  • Processes information about internal states such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory, and perspiration
  • Also, plays a key role in our emotions**
228
Q

What is the thalamus?

A
  • gateway from the sensory organs to primary sensory cortex
  • The vast majority of sensory information first passes through its doors, undergoing some initial processing, before travelling on to the cortex
  • Does not regulate olfactory information (smell)
229
Q

What is the hypothalamus?

A
  • part of the brain responsible for maintain a constant internal state
  • Play various roles in emotion and motivation
  • Helps control body temperature
  • Ex. hungry, tells you to eat.
230
Q

What is the amygdala?

A
  • part of the limbic system that plays key roles in fear, excitement, and arousal
  • Helps predict when something scary is about to happen
  • Responsible for the fight-or-flight response
231
Q

What is the hippocampus?

A

part of the brain that plays a role in spatial memory

232
Q

Damage to the hippocampus causes problems with?

A

forming new memories*

233
Q

The hippocampus does not effect?

A
  • long-term memories

- it suggests that it only temporarily stores our memories before transferring them to other sites for permanent storage

234
Q

What is the cerebellum?

A
  • brain structure responsible for our sense of balance
  • Prevents us from falling over
  • Allows us to coordinate movement and learn motor skills
235
Q

Cerebellum in latin?

A

Latin for “little brain”

236
Q

Damage to the cerebellum causes?

A

balance problems

237
Q

What is the brain stem?

A

= part of the brain between the spinal cord and cerebral cortex that contains the midbrain, pons, and medulla

238
Q

Parts of brainstem?

A

1) midbrain
2) pons
3) medulla

239
Q

What is midbrain?

A

part of the brain stem that contributes to movement, tracking of visual stimuli, and reflexes triggered by sound ex. hear and loud clap.

240
Q

What is pons?

A

part of the brain stem that connects the cortex with the cerebellum

241
Q

What is the medulla?

A

part of the brain stem involved in basic functions, such as heartbeat and breathing

242
Q

What is the spinal cord?

A
  • thick bundle of nerves that conveys signals between the brain and the body
  • Extends from our brain stem and runs down the middle of our backs
243
Q

Spinal cord carries information from the body to the brain via?

A
  • Sensory nerves
  • Motor nerves
  • Interneurons
244
Q

What is the endocrine system?

A
  • a network of glands that release hormones into the bloodstream
  • These hormones differ from neurotransmitters in that they are carried through our blood vessels rather than our nerves-
245
Q

Endocrine glands?

A
  • Pituitary

- Adrenal

246
Q

What is the Pituitary Gland?

A

master gland that, under the control of the hypothalamus, directs the other glands of the body

247
Q

The Pituitary Gland releases?

A

Releases a variety of hormones that serve numerous functions, ranging from physical growth to controlling blood pressure

248
Q

The Pituitary Gland produces?

A
  • Testosterone -> male sex hormone

- Estrogen -> female sex hormone

249
Q

What is the adrenal gland?

A
  • tissue located on top of the kidneys that releases adrenalin and cortisol during states of emotional arousal
  • Adrenalin
  • Cortisol
250
Q

What does adrenaline doo?

A

Adrenalin boosts energy production in muscle cells while conserving as much energy as possible

251
Q

What does cortisol do?

A
  • Cortisol increases in response to physical and psychological stressors as well as regulates blood pressure and cardiovascular function
  • Cortisol- stress hormone.
252
Q

Ways to study the brain?

A
  • EEG (Electroencephalogram)
  • CT (Computer Tomography)
  • MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
  • PET Scan (Positron Emission Tomography)
  • Functional MRI (Magnetic -Resonance Imaging)
253
Q

What is an EEG?

A

recording of the brain’s electrical activity at the surface of the skull

254
Q

What does an EEG do?

A
  • Identifies which regions of the brain are active during specific tasks
  • Noninvasive
  • Awake or asleep
  • Does not show what is happening inside neurons
255
Q

Types of EEG Brain waves?

A
  • Beta waves
  • Alpha waves
  • Theta waves
  • Delta waves
  • LOW TO HIGH
256
Q

What are beta waves?

A
  • Alert wakefulness

- Low amplitude, high frequency

257
Q

What are alpha waves?

A
  • Relaxed wakefulness

- Low amplitude, high frequency

258
Q

What are theta waves?

A
  • Light sleep

- Medium amplitude, low -frequency

259
Q

What are delta waves?

A
  • Deep sleep

- High amplitude, low frequency

260
Q

What is a CT?

A
  • scanning technique using multiple x-rays to construct 3D images
  • Far more detailed than an individual x-ray
261
Q

What does a CT do?

A

Identifies brain structures

262
Q

What is an MRI?

A

technique that uses magnetic fields to indirectly visualize brain structure

263
Q

What does an MRI do?

A

Measures the release of energy from hydrogen atoms in biological tissues following exposure to a magnetic field

264
Q

Why is an MRI superior to a CT?

A

Superior to CT scans for detecting soft tissue, such as brain tumors

265
Q

What is a PET scan?

A

imaging technique that measures consumption of glucose-like molecules, yielding a picture of neural activity in different regions of the brain

266
Q

What does a PET scan require?

A

Requires the injection of radioactive glucose-like molecules

267
Q

What does a PET scan do?

A

Measures where in the brain most of these molecules are consumed

268
Q

What is a functional MRI?

A

technique that uses magnetic fields to visualize brain activity

269
Q

What does a functional MRI do?

A

Measures the change in blood oxygen level, which is a indirect indicator of neural activity

Psychology 102 (2 decks)

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