Unit 2: Reading & Notes Flashcards
Biological Psychology
Analyze the links between biology and psychological processes
All or none response
The neuron will fire everything down it completely
Agonist
Drug that will bind to a receptor site, like a key to a lock
Antagonist
Will block receptor sites
Synapse
Open space between two neurons at which neurotransmitters cross
Neurotransmitters
Chemical substance that crosses the synapse to the next neuron
Endorphins
“morphine within” - natural opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and plesure
Central Nervous System vs. Peripheral Nervous System
CNS is the brain and spinal cord and PNS is everything else
How does the brain send messages?
Through neurons
Knee-Jerk Response
Sudden uncontrollable jerk of the leg when it gets hit in a certain spot
Nerves
The basic building block of the nervous system
Sensory Nerves
Afferent - Carries incoming messages/information from the sense receptors to the CNS
Motor Neurons
Carries outgoing information from the CNS to the peripheral nervous system and muscles
Interneurons
Efferent - The only neurons in the CNS, acting as messengers between sensory and motor neurons
Somatic Nervous System
controls the body’s skeletal muscles
Automatic Nervous Systems
Controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs
Sympathetic Nervous System
Arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations
Parasympathetic Nervous System
Calms the body, conserving its senses
Endocrine System
Uses a set of gland to secrete hormones into the bloodstream
Endocrine vs. Nervous system
Endocrine is slower, they both change how you act but the endocrine does this with chemical signaling and the nervous system does it with electrical signaling
Adrenal Glands
Arouse the body in a time of stress
Pituitary Gland
Regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands
Afferent vs. Efferent `
Afferent neurons carry information from the senses to the CNS and efferent neurons carry information from the CNS to the muscles
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
Recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain’s surface from electrodes placed on the scalp
Computed Tomography (CT)
Series of x-rays taken from different angles and combines by a computer into a composite representation of a slice of the brain’s structure
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a specific task
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
A technique that uses magnetic fields to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue
Functional MRI (fMRI)
A technique for revealing blood flow and therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans
Brainstem
Responsible for automatic survival functions
Medulla
Controls heartbeat and breathing
How is the body wired?
Nerves from the left are linked to the right and vice versa
Thalamus
The brain’s sensory control center, like a bus station where traffic passes en route to various destinations
Cerebellum
Little brain, processes sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance, enables nonverbal learning and memory
Limbic system
Associated with emotions and drives, houses the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus
Hypothalamus
Maintenance activities, regulates thirst and hunger, emotion and reward, body temperature, and sexual behavior
Cerebral Cortex
Last ‘layer’ of the brain and information-processing center
Glial Cells
Like worker bees while the neuron is the queen bee. Provide nutrients and ‘mop up’ ions
Frontal Lobe
Involved in speaking, muscle movement, and making judgment
Parietal Lobe
Controls touch and body position
Occipital Lobe
Processes visual information
Temporal lobe
Receives information from the opposite ear
Motor Cortex and somatosensory Cortex
For movement - allows more space in the brain for body parts that require precise control
Phenieas Gage
Got frontal lobe damage, no motor control or memory loss but he did experience a personality change
Plasticity
Brain’s ability to reorganize neurons. Ex. Blind people’s visual cells go to touch, which is why blind people can read braille
Corpus Callosum
Allows the right and left hemispheres to work together.
Split-Brain person
Able to complete two different tasks simultaneously
Consciousness
Our awareness of ourselves and our environment
Cognitive Neuroscience
The interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with cognition
Dual Processing
Information that is processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks
Genes
What makes up chromosomes, which are segments of DNA capable of synthesizing proteins
Behavior Genetics
The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior
Enviorment
Every external influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us
Chromosomes
Threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain genes
DNA
A complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes
Genome
The complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all genetic material in that organism’s chromosomes
Identical vs. Fraternal
Identical have the exact same genes and fraternal are like brothers or sisters
Heritablity
The extent to which differences among people can be related to their genes
Epigenetics
When environmental or behavioral factors can affect someones genes
Evolutionary Psychology
Uses idea of natural selection to understand the roots of behavior and mental processes
Male vs. Females sex drive
Males approach to sex is recreational, while females is more relational
Mutations
A random error in gene replication that leads to a change
Occam’s razor
The principle that we should prefer the simplest of competing explanations
Consciousness in psychology’s history
Used to be the core of psychology, around the 60s it turned to only the study of behavior, then psychologists started studying consciousness again
Different states of consiousness
We have a consciousness “stream of consciousness”, with each moment flowing to the next
Reasons for hypnosis
Relieve pain and trauma
Stroop Effect
delay in reaction time between congruent and incongruent stimuli
Hypnosis
A social interaction in which one person responds to another person’s suggests that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur
Posthypnotic suggestions
A suggestion made during a hypnosis session to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired behaviors
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotic procedure can sometimes help people overcome stress-related ailments and cope with pain
Dissociation
A split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others
Circadian Rythm
Internal biological clock synchronized with the cycle of night and day
Sleep Cycle
We go through 4 stages of sleep in 90 minutes
REM sleep
Rapid Eye Movement - heart rate rises, internal arousal, breathing becomes more rapid and irregular. Most dreaming occurs here
Alpha Waves
Relatively slow brain waves of an awake, relaxed state. When you are trying to sleep
NREM
Non-rapid eye movement sleep, encompasses all sleep stages except for REM
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
A pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that control the circadian rhythm
What are sleep’s functions?
To restore and repair damaged neurons and encode memories
Effects of sleep-loss
Makes up feel drained of energy and without feelings of well-being
How is sleep loss related to obesity?
Increases hunger arousing proteins, causes you to eat more and exercise less
How is sleep loss related to viral infections?
Immune cell production can be supressed
Insomnia
Happens in 1/4 of people, persistent problems with falling or staying asleep
Narcolepsy
Sudden attacks of overwhelming sleepiness
Sleep apnea
Intermittently stops breathing during sleep
Night terrors
High arousal and appearance of being terrified
What do we dream?
Our dreams mostly consist of at least one negative event, which can be vivid, emotional, or bizarre
Tolerence
The diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug
When is drug use a disorder?
When the person craves and uses the substance despite its adverse consequences
Addiction
Compulsive craving of drugs or certain behaviors despite known consequences
Psychoactive Drug
A chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods
Effects of alcochol
Slows the sympathetic nervous system and suppresses REM sleep
Stimulant vs. Depressant
Depressants slow neural activity and stimulants excite it
