Unit 3 - Biological Bases of Behavior

Nature VS nurture

Whether human behavior personality and development are shaped by genetic inheritance or environmental factors like experience.

Natural selection.

The process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive.And produce more offspring

Nervous system

The bodies command centre regulating mental activity, homeostasis(maintaining stable internal conditions like temperature)and motor functions

The central nervous system

Compromises the brain and spinal cord acting as the control sensor for processing memory and emotional responses.

Peripheral nervous system

Connects the central nervous system to limbs and organs, carrying sensory information to the brain and motor commands back

Autonomic nervous system.

Regulates involuntary body functions like heart rate, digestion and breathing.

Somatic nervous system

Controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles.

Sympathetic nervous system

Triggers fight or flight responses during emergencies

Parasympathetic system.

Manages rest and digest functions to conserve energy

Afferent neurons

Carries sensory info into central nervous system

Efferent neurons

Carries commands out (motor)

Interneurons

regulates brain activity, manage reflex actions and facilitate higher-order functions like memory learning and cognition

Neuron.

Specialized cells that transmit messages throughout the body via electrical signals.

Dendrite.

Highly branch tree, like extensions of a neuron cell that function as the primary input zone for receiving information. They act as receivers for electrochemical signals.

Soma

central component of a neuron, maintains cell health and processes info

Axon

A long slender projection of a nerve cell that acts as the primary communication cable of the nervous system.

Axon terminals.

Axon terminals are that part of a nerve cell that makes synaptic connections with another nerve cell or with an effector cell.

Myelin sheath.

Allows electrical impulses to travel quickly and efficiently, ensuring fast communication throughout the nervous system

Glial cells.

Non neuronal cells in the nervous system that provide essential support, protection and maintenance for neurons.

Threshold

The minimum intensity or change in a stimulus required to trigger a conscious response or perception.

Action potential

A rapid temporary and electrical signal that travels along a neuron's axon, enabling communication within the nervous system

Resting potential.

Stable negative charge of a neuron's membrane when it is not actively firing or sending a signal

Refractory period

A brief recovery time immediately after a nerve muscle or cell has fired an impulse.

All or none response

When a neuron or muscle fiber is stimulated, it either fires completely or not at all

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers in the body that carry signals between nerve cells across a tiny gap called a synapse.

Synapse

Tiny gap between 2 neurons where they communicate, allowing nerve impulses to pass from one cell to the next.

Reuptake

Presynaptic neuron reabsorbs, neurotransmitters from the synaptic gap after signaling recycling them for future use and stopping the signal.

Acetylcholine

Neurotransmitter in CNS and PNS that enables muscle action, learning, memory and attention

Dopamine

Brains reward system. “feel good” hormone regulates pleasure

Serotonin

Neurotransmitter and hormone that regulates mood, sleep, appetite and digestion. mood stability

Norepinephrine

It increases alertness, attention and energy, preparing the brain and body to respond to danger

GABA

Neurotransmitter in the CNS functioning as the brain's main calming agent by reducing neuronal excitability. helps regulate anxiety, stress and fear to prevent neural overload.

Glutamate.

Increases, brain activity and enables long-term potentiation. Essential for neural communication, learning, memory and synaptic plasticity.

Endorphins

Neurotransmitters released by pituitary gland in CNS during stress. Pain or pleasurable activities. block pain signals and create feelings of euphoria.

Agonist

A substance or muscle that triggers a specific action or response in the body. (endorphins, methadone, fentanyl, heroin)

Antagonist

A substance such as a drug or toxin that binds to brain receptors, but does not activate them (caffeine

Endocrine system.

Releases hormones into the bloodstream to regulate bodily functions, including mood growth, metabolism and sexual development.

Psychoactive drugs

Chemical substances that change the function of the brain, resulting in alterations to mood thinking, perceptions and behavior

Chart of psychoactive drugs

Hallucinogens psychoactive drugs that alter a person's perception of reality

Depressants

Drugs that slow down CNS reducing brain activity, decreasing neuron stimulation and promoting relaxation.

Stimulants

Psychoactive drugs that increase activity in CNS in the body. hightened alertness, energy and focus

Tolerance

A fair objective and permissive attitude toward individual whose opinion belief practices or identities differ from one's own

Withdrawal

A collection of physical and mental symptoms that occur when a person suddenly stops or reduces the use of an addictive substance.

Neurogenesis

Process by which the brain produces new neurons from stem cells

Neuroplasticity

Brains lifelong ability to reorganize its structure functions or connections in response to internal or external factors

Studying the brain

Hind brain

Lowest part of the brain, located at the base of the skull, responsible for controlling autonomic survival functions.And vital bodily processes

Midbrain

Topmost part of the brainstem, acting as a crucial relay center, connecting the four rain in hind bra

Forebrain

Largest and most advanced ford, most part of the brain. complex thought memory emotion, volunteer movement and sensory processing

Brainstem

Connects brain to spinal cord

Thalamus

Regulates consciousness sleep and alertness

Reticular formation

Regulate, sleep, wake cycles. Keeps the brain awake and alert.

Medulla

Involuntary functions necessary for survival like breathing heart rate.Blood pressure swallowing and sneezing

Pons

Regulate sleep.

Cerebellum

Voluntary movements, balance posture and fine motor control

Hypothalamus

Regulates vital autonomic functions, including hunger, thirst sleep, body temperature.

Corpus colossum

Nerve fibers that connect the left and right cerebral hemispheres

Pittuitary gland

Growth hormones.

Pineal gland

Produce and release the hormones melatonin.

Frontal lobe

High level cognitive skills, largest part of the brain, located directly behind the forehead.

Motor cortex: voluntary muscle movements.

Brocas area: speech production.

Parietal lobe.

Located behind the frontal lobe, responsible for processing bodily sensations and managing spatial awareness

somatosensory cortex: receives input regarding touch pressure and pain

Temporal lobe

Second largest lobe, located behind the ears, critical for processing auditory information.

Auditory cortex: processing sound

Wernickes area: speech comprehension

Ocipital lope

Smallest of the four main lobes, visual processing

Visual cortex:

Phineas gage

A rare world four man who survived a iron rod blasting through his brain.

split brain

The nerve bundle connecting the two brain hemispheres has been severed to treat severe epilepsy

Circadian rhythm

Bodies, internal natural twenty four hour clock that regulates cycles of alertness, sleepiness and physical processes

Stages of sleep

Insomnia

Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking too early.

Narcolepsy

Sleep disorder that causes extreme daytime, sleepiness and sudden sleep attacks where you fall asleep without warning.

Sleep apnea

condition that causes breathing to stop and start several times during sleep.

Information processing

Framework that compares the human mind to a computer analyzing how people receive store, retrieve and use information

Physiological functioning

Physical and biological mechanisms like brain activity.Hormones in the nervous system that directly influence our control behavior thoughts and emotions

Activation synthesis

Dreams are not meaningful but are instead the brain's attempt to synthesize and interpret random neural activity.Occurring in the brainstem, during re m sleep

Bottom up processing

Sensory receptors pick up signals for the brain to integrate and process

Top down processing

Brain uses prior knowledge experience and expectations to interpret sensory info

Transduction.

Reasoning from specific cases to general cases, typically employed by children during their development

Difference thresholds

Minimum amount of change in stimulus that a person can detect fifty percent of the time

Weber's law

To perceive a difference between 2 stimuli, the change must be a constant proportion of the original intensity.

Cornea

Protective barrier in primary refractive surface for focusing light

Iris

Colored ring shaped muscle tissue behind the cornea that regulates the size of the pupil.

Pupil

Adjustable dark center of the iris that regulates light entering the eye

Lens

Transparent behind the iris that changes shape to focus light onto the.Retina

Retina

Converts light into neural signals acting like a camera film to produce vision

Optic nerve

Primary transmission cable between the eye and brain

Rods

detects motion in peripheral vision

Cones

Color

Fovea

Provides the highest visual equity and the sharpest color vision for detailed tasks.Like reading and driving

Ganglion cells

Projection neurons of the vertebrae retina that transmit information from other retinal neurons to the brain

Bipolar cells

Forms a bridge between photoreceptors, a k a rods and cones and ganglion cells essential for transmitting visual signals

young helmholtz theory

Human color vision is based on 3 types of cones in the. Retina, each sensitive to specific range of light wavelengths, red, green, or blue.

Opponent process theory

Explores how humans experience emotions and modify their behavior

sound waves

ear canal

A tube like pathway in the outer ear, the amplifies in direct sound waves towards the middle ear

Middle ear

Protects us from loud noise

Eardrum: acts like a drum head vibrating. When sound waves from the airstrike, it

Possible (hammer/anvil/stirrup or malleus/incus/stapes)

Inner ear

balance

Cochlea: auditory transduction converting sound vibrations into neural signals sent to the brain

semicircular canals: enable balance, spatial orientation and visual stability during movement