quiz 1 Flashcards
what are axons
axons carry messages for other neurons
what are dendrites
dendrites receive messages from other neurons
what are glial cells
glial cells act as support as well as provide nourishment, insulate and help repair damage
what is myelination
myelination is the process in which neurons are insulated, occurring during major periods of development and corresponds with language development
what are synapses
synapses are the spaces between two neurons where an active axon communicates with an active dendrite using chemical messages
what are synaptic vesicles
synaptic vesicles travel down the axon until they burst, and contain neurotransmitters
what is resting potential
the state in which the neuron has a negative charge
what is action potential
an electric nerve impulse that travels through a neuron’s axon when it is set off by a trigger
what are neurotransmitters
chemicals that carry messages across the synapse to the dendrite of a receiver neuron
what are some of the methods of measuring brain activity
- MRIs take images from multiple angles from pulses from a large electromagnet to detect various substances
- fMRI’s can be used to track blood flow in the brain as blood flow can be associated with brain activity
- PET scans show biochemical activity in the brain at any given moment, and can be used to pick up on memory problems and brain tumours
- TMS scans expose a tiny region of the brain to a strong magnetic field which causes a temporary pause in electrical activity, and has the potential to treat psychological disorders such as depression and schizophrenia
what are the different lobes of the brain and what are they responsible for
- the frontal lobe is responsible for voluntary movement
- the parietal love is responsible for the aility to perceive touch and pressure
- the temporal lobe is responsible for hearing
- the occiptal lobe is responsible for vision
what are some consequences for each lobe if they were to be damaged
frontal lobe: speech may become extremly difficult to complete
parietal lobe: ability to feel pain or pressure may be affected
temporal lobe: understanding others’ speech and production of language may be affected
occiptal lobe: seeing and processing images may become difficult
what are the two central nervous systems and what do they consist of
the central nervous system is composed of the brain and the spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system consists of all parts of the nervous system that are not the brain or spinal cord
what are the functions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems
- the sympathetic system is responsible for preparing the body in stressful, emergency situations
- the parasympathetic system is responsible for calming the body down after the emergency situation that activated the sympathetic system
what are split brain patients
people who have had their corpus callosum surgically cut to stop seizures
what is neuroplasticity
the brain’s ability to rewire itself
what is the limbic system
controls eating, aggression and reproduction, and includes the hippocampus and amygdala
what are hormones
hormones are chemicals that circulate through the blood and regulate the functioning and growth of the body
how do hormones differ from neurotransmitters
- neurons take seconds to reach their destination, while hormones may take minutes
- neurons move in specific lines, while hormones travel through the body
what is structuralism
uncovering the fundamental mental components of consciousness, thinking, and other kinds of mental states and activities
what is functionalism
concentrates on what the mind did, rather than what the mind is
what are the 5 major perspectives in psychology and what are they about
- neuroscience views behaviour from the perspective of biological functioning
- psychodynamic believes behaviour is motivated by unconscious forces over which an individual has little control
- behavioural focuses on observable behaviour
- cognitive examines how people view and think about the world
- humanistic believes that people can control their behaviour and that they naturally try to fulfill their full potential
what is scientific skepticism
having the ability to determine what news is authentic and trustworthy and what isn’t
who are the founding women of psychology and what are their accomplishments
- Washburn, first woman to receive a doctorate in psychology
- Calkins, first female president of the APA and was denied her PhD due to her gender
- Horney, focused on personality
- Downey, first woman to head a psychology department at an American university
- Clark, studied how children of colour grew to recognize racial differences
what are hypotheses
if/then statements
what are the warning signs of pseudoscience
- exaggerated claims
- overreliance on anecdotes
- no connection to research or peer review
- lack of self-correction
- use of words that sound scientific but aren’t
- proof rather than evidence
what are theories
broad explanations for observable and true facts
what are the principles of scientific thinking
- ruling out rival hypotheses
- correlation vs causation
- falsifiability
- replicability
- extraordinary claims
- occam’s razor
what is operationalization
the process of turning something into a specific procedure that can be measured
what is an independent variable
the variable that is manipulated by the experimenter