Textbook Terms Flashcards
Androgen insensitivity syndrome
When an individual is biologically male but is resistant to male hormones (androgens). This can affect the development of male sex characteristics
Crystallized intelligence
An individual’s accumulated knowledge. May increase with age.
Experience-dependent
A neural system that only develops typically if it receives the appropriate input. A variation in input can lead to a variation in function
Experience-expectant
A neural system whose development is critically dependent on inputs that are stable across sources
Neural Plate
A key developmental component of the nervous system. It is composed of primitive neural tissue and eventually develops into the neural tube
Ocular Dominance Columns
Columns of neurons in the visual cortex that respond preferentially to information from one eye or the other
Synaptic Pruning
Changes in neural structures that results in a reduction in the number of synapses
Cuckoldry
A mate is led to believe that another person’s child is their own
Diminishing marginal gains
A decline in the gain a person derives from the consumption of each additional unit of a product
Eusocial
Species with radical reproductive division of labour; a single female or caste produces the offspring and sterile individuals cooperate in caring for the young
Parasympathetic nervous system
Part of the autonomic nervous system; Helps to return the body to normal function after the activation of the sympathetic nervous system.
Temporal summation
A high frequency of EPSPs by a single neuron elicit postsynaptic potentials that overlap and summate with each other to create an action potential
Ablation Studies
Studies that remove part of the brain in order to study the results.
Cerebrospinal Fluid
Clear watery fluid in which the brain floats; fills the space between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mate
Extracelluar Recording
Recording taken from outside the cell to measure the electrical activity adjacent to the electrode tip
Metencephalon
Subdivision of the brain consisting of the cerebellum and the pons
Myelencephalon
Subdivision of the brain consisting of the medulla oblongata
Phrenology
Determining character and mental abilities based on the shape and size of the cranium.
Fovea
Section near the center of the retina where most cones are present and visual acuity is greatest
Interposition
A pictorial depth cue whereby one object overlaps, and thus occludes, another object
Monochromacy
Individuals with monochromacy cannot see colour. This can be due to having only one functional cone or in the case of achromatopsia, no functional cones.
Optic chiasm
Point in the brain where the optic nerve from the nasal part of each retina crosses
Carpentered world hypothesis
Our experience of living in a world of human made objects with right angles helps drive the Müller-Lyer illusio
Recognition-by-components
Proposes that all objects can be made through combining 36 geons
Olfactory Bulb
The part of the brain that receives information from the olfactory receptor cells which synapses with the glomeruli contained in the olfactory bulb
Intellectualization
defense mechanism where you deal with emotional or stressful situations by focusing on facts and logic, detaching from emotional aspects
Psychodynamic approaches
Current day applications of psychoanalytic therapy, which are modified to be feasible and appropriate for a modern understanding and context of therapy.
