Psychology/Sociology Chapter 2: Biological Basis of Behavior Flashcards
Discriminatory stimuli
Allow an organism to tell whether an appetitive stimulus or an aversive stimulus is forthcoming in an operant conditioning situation.
Signaling stimuli
are neutral stimuli that may potentially become conditioned stimuli.
All signaling stimuli start as neutral stimuli, but not all neutral stimuli become signaling stimuli.
A neutral stimulus becomes a signaling stimulus when it starts being associated with an unconditioned stimulus.
A signaling stimulus is just a neutral stimulus that is part of a conditioning process.
nucleus accumbens
a center for reward sensitivity that is often implicated in addiction research.
activation-synthesis theory
deals with the differences in neuronal activity of the brainstem during waking and REM sleep, and the hypothesis proposes that dreams result from brain activation during REM sleep.
GABA
the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system, and generally is not highly involved in skeletal muscle movement
Broca’s area is for
language production
Memory trick (think how you can really annunciate BRO-CA)
Wernicke’s area is for
Language comprehension
Memory trick (think how you wernicke is a hard word to comprehend)
What is the experience of people with Broca’s aphasia?
- Difficulty with language production
- Can comprehend language
(think how you can really annunciate BRO-CA)
What is the experience of people with Wernicke’s aphasia?
- Difficulty with language comprehension and expressing meaning
- No problems with speaking
Which type of psychoactive drug has the lowest risk of dependence?
Hallucinogens
Freud stages of development
left cerebral hemisphere in humans is most often linked with which cognitive function
Vocabulary skills tend to be lateralized to the left hemisphere,
brain areas that process linguistic information (both production and comprehension) are lateralized in the
linguistic information (both production and comprehension) are lateralized in the left hemisphere for most individuals, especially right-handed people.
Key Brain Regions:
Broca’s area (Left Frontal Lobe) – Responsible for speech production and language expression.
Wernicke’s area (Left Temporal Lobe) – Responsible for language comprehension.
These areas are connected by the arcuate fasciculus, which allows for communication between language production and comprehension regions.
Sound to brain pathway
Sound from the left ear → first processed in the right brain
Sound from the right ear → first processed in the left brain
Since language is in the left brain, info from the right ear goes straight to the language center, while info from the left ear must be sent over to the left brain for language processing.
Thalamus
sensory relay station that regulates attention and processes sensory input.
Grey matter vs white matter
White Matter is myelinated
involves perceiving tactile information while ignoring stimuli immediately surrounding it.
Surround suppression
rapidly adapting mechanoreceptors located in the dermal papillae of glabrous (hairless) skin, responsible for detecting light touch and texture changes
Meissner’s corpuscles
Temporal lobe
Temporal Lobe (Processing & Integrating Signals)
🧠 Primary function: Processes auditory signals, memory, and language comprehension.
✅ Auditory processing: Contains the primary auditory cortex (processes sounds).
✅ Language comprehension: Wernicke’s area (understanding speech and language).
✅ Memory & recognition: Linked to the hippocampus, crucial for memory formation.
✅ Emotional processing: Works with the limbic system to process emotions.
Example: Recognizing someone’s voice, understanding a spoken sentence, or recalling a memory.
Parietal lobe
Parietal Lobe (Sensation & Spatial Processing)
🧠 Primary function: Processes sensory information (touch, pressure, pain, temperature) and spatial awareness.
✅ Somatosensory cortex: Receives input from the skin and body (e.g., touch, pain).
✅ Spatial reasoning & perception: Helps with depth perception, navigation, and object recognition.
✅ Mathematical & logical thinking: Involved in numerical cognition.
Example: Feeling the texture of a surface, knowing where your hand is in space without looking.
is one form of neurosyphilis, an infection of the brain or spinal cord. It usually occurs in persons who have had untreated syphilis for many years.
general paresis
refers to the degree to which males and females resemble each other
Sexual dimorphism
A species with low sexual dimorphism contains males and females that look mostly identical. High sexual dimorphism signals intense competition for mates, while animals from species with low sexual dimorphism typically form pair bonds and mate for life.
What are these structures part of?
Limbic system
how social realities are connected to contemporary social conditions and are subject to change along with social conditions.
Social construction
How early life events and developments affect later health outcomes
A life course perspective on health behavior
is an imaging technique that uses radioactive tracers to visualize metabolic activity in the body, often for detecting diseases like cancer, brain disorders, and heart conditions.
PET
captures brainwave data
EEG
Difference between MRI and CT
MRI - soft tissue
CT - cross sectional (no soft tissue)
An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to create detailed images of soft tissues, while a CT (Computed Tomography) scan uses X-rays to produce fast, cross-sectional images of bones, organs, and tissues.
Why would you use a CT over an Xray?
A CT scan is chosen over an X-ray when more detailed, cross-sectional images are needed to diagnose conditions that a standard X-ray cannot fully capture. Here are some key reasons:
More Detail & 3D Imaging – CT scans provide high-resolution, cross-sectional images, whereas X-rays only offer a flat, 2D view.
Better for Complex Structures – CT is ideal for brain, chest, abdomen, and pelvic imaging, as well as detecting small fractures, tumors, or internal bleeding that may not be visible on an X-ray.
Detects Soft Tissue and Organs – While X-rays are mainly used for bones and dense structures, CT scans show organs, blood vessels, and soft tissues with greater clarity.
Emergency Situations – CT is preferred in trauma cases, stroke evaluation, or internal bleeding detection because it is fast and provides a more comprehensive view.
Does diffusion speed influence neuron excitability?
NO Diffusion of neurotransmitters across the synaptic space, which tightly couples presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons, is not a major determinant of neuronal excitability. Instead, the concentration of neurotransmitters and postsynaptic receptors most strongly determines excitability.
Which NT is associated with aggression?
Serotonin is involved in the regulation of both mood (specifically, aggression) and appetite (it is also used to regulate intestinal movements).
GABA can be associated with which mood disorder?
Anxiety
