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Kaplan MCAT > Psychology Chp. 1 > Flashcards

Psychology Chp. 1 Flashcards

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MCAT flashcards
1
Q

What is the diff b/w sensory, inter, and motor neurons?

A

sensory (afferent) neurons transmit sensory info from the receptor to the CNS
interneurons - located primarily in the CNS and are linked to reflective behaviors
Motor (efferent) neurons transmit moto info from the CNS to the muscles and glands

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2
Q

What is the diff in path b/w somatic and autonomic nervous system?

A

somatic NS consists of sensory and motor neurons distributed throughout the skin, joints, and muscles
autonomic NS regulates heartbreak, breathing, digestion, sweating, and glandular secretion

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3
Q

What is the diff in path b/w sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system?

A

SNS - accelerates heart rate, inhibits digestion, increases blood glucose concentration, relaxes the bronchi
PNS - reduces heart rate, constricts bronchi and pupils, increases digestion

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4
Q

What are the layers of the meninges?

A

dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater

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5
Q

What evolutionary structures make up the brainstem?

A

the hindbrain and midbrain

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6
Q

What evolutionary structures make up the limbic system?

A

the forebrain

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7
Q

What is the role of the limbic system?

A

emotions and memory - aggression, fear, pleasure, pain

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8
Q

What is the role of the cerebral cortex?

A

language processing, problem-solving, impulse control, and long-term planning

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9
Q

What is the role of the thalamus?

A

sensory relay station for all senses except for smell

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10
Q

What is the role of the hindbrain (rhombencephalon)?

A

controls balance, motor coordination, breathing, digestion, and general arousal processes such as sleeping and waking

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11
Q

What is the role of the midbrain (mesencephalon)?

A

receives sensory and motor information from the rest of the body, and involuntary reflex responses triggered by visual or auditory stimuli

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12
Q

What is the role of the forebrain (prosencephalon)?

A

complex perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral processes, emotions, and memory

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13
Q

What are the divisions of the hindbrain?

A

myelencephalon (becomes the medulla oblongata) and the metencephalon (becomes the pons and cerebellum)

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14
Q

What is the role of the medulla oblongata?

A

regulating breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure

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15
Q

What is the role of the pons?

A

contains sensory and motor pathways between the cortex and medulla

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16
Q

What are the 2 nuclei in the midbrain?

A

superior and inferior colliculus

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16
Q

What is the role of the cerebellum?

A

helps maintain posture and balance and coordinate body movement

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17
Q

What is the role of the superior and inferior colliculus?

A

superior colliculus receives visual sensory input, whereas the inferior colliculus receives information from the auditory system

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18
Q

What are the divisions of the forebrain?

A

telencephalon - forms the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and limbic system
diencephalon - forms the thalamus, hypothalamus, posterior pituitary gland and pineal gland

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19
Q

What is the purpose of EEG?

A

Placing electrodes on the scalp to measure patterns of electrical activity

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20
Q

What is the purpose of rCBF?

A

regional cerebral blood flow detects broad patterns of neural activity based on increased blood flow in different brain parts. patients inhale a harmless radioactive gas, and a specialized machine detects the reading

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21
Q

What is the purpose of CT?

A

Multiple X-rays are taken at different angles and processed by a computer to cross-sectional slice images of the tissue

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22
Q

What is the purpose of PET?

A

Radioactive sugar is injected and absorbed into the body, and its dispersion and uptake throughout the target tissue is imaged

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23
Q

What is the purpose of MRI?

A

uses a magnetic field to interact with hydrogen and map hydrogen-dense regions of the body

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24
Q

What is the purpose of fMRI?

A

uses the same technique as MRI but specifically measures changes associated with blood flow

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25
Q

What are the roles of the hypothalamus?

A

aggressive and sexual behavior, hunger, and thirst

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26
Q

What are the roles of the lateral hypothalamus?

A

triggers hunger and thirst. when damaged, one lacks an appetite

27
Q

What are the roles of the ventromedial hypothalamus?

A

provided signals to stop eating. lesions to this center lead to obesity

28
Q

What are the roles of the anterior hypothalamus?

A

controls sexual behavior, and regulates sleep and body temperature. when this area is destroyed, one becomes asexual

29
Q

What are the roles of the posterior pituitary?

A

composed of axonal projections from the hypothalamus, and is the site of release for the hypothalamic hormone, antidiuretic hormone/vasopressin, and oxytocin

30
Q

What are the roles of the pineal gland?

A

secrete melatonin which regulates the creation rhythm when it receives the direct signal from the retina for coordination with sunlight

31
Q

What are the roles of the basal ganglia?

A

coordinates muscle movement and steady out posture when receiving information from the cortex and relates this information via the extrapyramidal motor system to the brain and spinal cord

32
Q

What disease results from damage to the basal ganglia?

A

Parkinson’s disease, and may play a role in obsessive-compulsive disorder

33
Q

What are the components of the limbic system?

A

septal nuclei, amygdala, and hippocampus

34
Q

What are the roles of the septal nuclei?

A

one of the primary pleasure centers. associated with addictive behavior

35
Q

What are the roles of the amygdala?

A

fear and rage. lesions in this area result in docility and hypersexual states

36
Q

What are the roles of the hippocampus?

A

plays a vital role in learning and memory processing, specifically helping to consolidate info to form long-term memories and can redistribute and remove memories to the cerebral cortex

37
Q

What are the roles of the cerebral cortex/neocortex?

A

has bumps (gyri) and folds (sulci) which provide increased surface area in the brain

38
Q

What results from brain injury to the hippocampus?

A

anterograde and retrograde amnesia

39
Q

What are the roles of the postcentral gyrus of the parietal lobe?

A

this projection area is the destination for all incoming sensory signals for touch, pressure, temperature, and pain

40
Q

Where is the Broca and Wernkicks area located?

A

Broca - frontal lobe
Wernick - temporal

41
Q

What are the roles of the Broca and Wernicke areas?

A

Broca - important for speech production
Wernick - associated with language reception and comprehension

42
Q

What are the roles of the dominant/left hemisphere?

A

primarily analytic in function for amazing details. for instance, language, logic, and math skills

43
Q

What are the roles of the non-dominant/right hemisphere?

A

associated with intuition, interpretation of language according to emotional tone, creativity, music cognition, and spatial processing

44
Q

What is the role of acetylcholine?

A

in the peripheral NS, it is used to transmit nerve impulses to the muscle;
in the CNS, it is linked to attention and arousal

45
Q

What disease is associated with the malfunction of acetylcholine receptors?

A

Alzheimer

46
Q

What is the role of epi and norepinephrine?

A

adrenaline and noradrenaline the main neurotransmitter of the SNS are involved in controlling alertness and wakefulness
epinephrine is secreted from the adrenal medulla to promote fight or flight

47
Q

What disease is associated with high and low levels of norepinephrine?

A

too little - depression
too much - anxiety and mania

48
Q

What disease is associated with the brain imbalances of dopamine?

A

schizophrenia and parkinson’s

49
Q

What is the role of dopamine?

A

plays an important role in movement and posture

50
Q

What is the role of serotonin?

A

plays a role in regulating mood, eating, sleeping, and dreaming

51
Q

What disease is associated with high and low levels of serotonin?

A

high level - maniac
low levels - depression

52
Q

What is the role of GABA?

A

causes hyperpolarization of the postsynaptic membrane

52
Q

What is the role of glycine?

A

an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS that increases chloride influx into the neuron, hyperpolarizing the postsynaptic membrane

53
Q

What is the role of glutamate?

A

an excitatory neurotransmitter in the CNS

54
Q

What is the role of endorphins/enkephalins?

A

natural painkillers produced in the brain

55
Q

What is the role of the anterior pituitary gland?

A

releases hormones that regulate the endocrine system, and is under the control of the hypothalamus

56
Q

What is the role of the adrenal cortex?

A

produces corticosteroids like cortisol, and sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone

57
Q

What are the 4 divisions of the cerebral cortex?

A

frontal, occipital, temporal, and parietal lobes

58
Q

What is the role of the frontal lobe?

A

control executive functions, impulse control, long-term planning, motor function, and speech production

59
Q

What is the role of the parietal lobe?

A

controls sensations of touch, temperature, pressure, and pain, spatial processing, orientation, and manipulation

60
Q

What is the role of the occipital lobe?

A

visual processing

61
Q

What is the role of the temporal lobe?

A

controls sound processing, speech perception, memory, and emotion

62
Q

What is the diff between family, twin, and adoption studies?

A

Family - look at the relative frequency of a trait within a family compared to the general population
Twin - compare concordance rates between identical and fraternal twins
Adoption - compare similarities between adopted children and their adoptive parents, relative to similarities within their biological parents

63
Q

What is the diff between the creation of the neural tube and the crest?

A

The neural tube becomes the CNS
Crest - cells spread throughout the body, differentiating into many tissues

64
Q

What are the primitive reflexes?

A

rooting - infant turns his or her head towards anything brushing its cheeks
more - infant extends arms, then slowly retracts them and cries in response to a sensation of falling
Babinski - the big toe is extended and the other toes fan in response to the brushing of the sole of the foot
grasping - the infant gras anything placed in his or her hands

65
Q
A

Kaplan MCAT (52 decks)

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