ap psychology exam

biological psychology

the scientific study of the links bbetween biological and psychological processes

evolutionary perspective

how natural selection affects the expression of behavior and mental processes to increase survival and reproductive success

nature

genetic or predisposed characteristics that influence

nurture

environmental factors, external factors that one experinces

eugenics

a social and political philosphy that seeks to eradicate genetic defects and improve the genetic populations through selective human breeding

twin studies

comparing the characteristics of identical and fraternal twins

central nervous system

neurons, axons, and supporting tissue that consist of the brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

the portion of the nervous system that lies outside the brain and spinal cord

autonomic nervous system

the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs

somatic nervous system

division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles

sympathetic nervous system

division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body; mobilizing its energy

parasympathetic nervous system

division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

neuron

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

glial cells

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory

reflex arc

a neural circut, afferent that conducts nerve impulses from a receptor to the soinal cord where it connects directly or via an interneuron to an efferent motor neuron that carries the impulses to an effector, that is, muscle or gland

sensory (afferent) neurons

neurons that carry incoming information from the body’s tissues and sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

motor (efferent) neurons

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

interneurons

neurons within the brain and spinal cord; they communicate internally and process information between the sensory inputs and the motor outputs

all or nothing principle

all stimuli above the neurons threshold trigger action potentials trigger action portentials of identical magnitude

polarization

positive outside, negative inside- resting potential

depolarization

loss of the inside/outside charge difference, causes the next section of axon channels to open up

refractory period

a breif resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired

resting potential

the electric potential across the plasma membrane of a neuron when it is in the non excited, or resting state

reuptake

a neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

threshold

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

multiple sclerosis

inflammation and multifocal scarring of the protective myelin sheath of nerves, which damages and destorys the sheath, disrupting neural transmission

myasthenia gravis

the body produces antibodies against acetylcholine receptors, causing faulty transmission of nerve impulses at neuromuscular junctions

excitatory neurotransmitters

exert an activating downstream effect on post synaptic neurons, resulting in a greater likelihood of an action potential

inhibitory neurotransmitters

smaller likelihood of an action potential by blocking or preventing the passage of a chemical message through the neural pathway

dopamine

neurotransmitter; influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

serotonin

neurotransmitter; affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

norepinephrine

neurotransmitter; helps control alterness and arousal

glutamate

neurotransmitter; excitatory involved in memory, oversupply can stimulate the brain, producing migraines or seizures

GABA

neurotransmitter; inhibitory, undersupply is linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia

substance p

neurotransmitter; both peripheral and central nervous systems, it plays a role in the modulation of pain

endorphins

neurotransmitter; can influence the perception of pain or pleasure

acetylcholine

neurotransmitter; enables muscle action, learning, and memory

hormones

chemical messengers manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissues

adrenaline

hormone; plays a role in attnetion, focus, panic, and excitement

leptin

hormone; secreted by fat cells, when abundant, causes the brain to increase metabolism and decrease hunger

ghrelin

hormone; secreted by empty stomach; sends im hungry signalds to the brain

melatonin

hormone; produced mainly by the pineal glands as a metabolic product of the serotonin

oxytocin

hormone; enables contractions associated with birthing, milk flow during nursing, and social connectedness/bonding

agonist drugs

a drug or other chemical agent that binds to a particular receptor and produces a physiological effect, typically one similar to that of the body’s own neurotransmitter at that receptor

antagonist drugs

a drug or other chemical agent that inhibts the action of another substance that inhibits the action of another substance

stimulants

drugs (caffeine, nicotine, and more powerful drugs) than excite neural activity and speed up body functions

depressants

drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

hallucinogens

distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input

opioids

depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety

addiction

with increasing doses, users start to crave the drug and continue to use it despite adverse conseuquences

withdrawal

the discomfort and distress that follows continuing the addictive drug; can cause a person to go back on the drug

tolerance

with continued use of drugs, brain chemistry adapts to the offset of the drug effect which then users equire larger doses to feel the effect of the drug

brain stem

oldest part and central core of the brain, it is responsible for autonomic survival functions

medulla

the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

reticular activating system

part of the reticular formation thought to be particularily inovlved in the regulation of arousal, alterness, and sleep-wake cycles

cerebellum

the little brain at the rear of the brainstem; processing sensory input, coordinating movement, enabling nonverbal and memory

cerebral cortex

interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center

is divided into four lobes

right hemisphere

responsibility for spatial attention

left hemisphere

responsibility for speech and language

limbic system

amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus located below the cerebral hemipsheres; associated with emotions and drives

thalamus

the brains sensory control center located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to sensory recieving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

hypothalamus

below the thalamus, maintenance activitys and governs the endocrine system- linked to emotion and reward

piuitary gland

endocrines systems most influential gland

hippocampus

helps process for storage of explicit memories of facts and events

amygdala

linked to emotion, including fear and aggression

corpus callousm

large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

occipital lobes

generally control visual information processing and are located in the rear of the brain

temporal lobes

control auditory and linguistic processing and are located on the sides of the brain

parietal lobes

control association areas, which process and organize information, and the somatosensory cortex, which processes touch sensitivity

frontal lobes

located just behind the forhead, control lingustic processing, higher-order thinking and executive functioning

split brain research

severing the corpus callosum reveals that the right and left hemispheres of the brain may specialize in different activities and functions

Aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by damage to left hemisphere

brocas area

speech production

wernicke’s area

understanding

brain plasticity

the ability of the brain to rewrire itself throughout development

brain scans

promote understanding how the different structures of the brain work and how the brain functions together as a whole

eeg

used to study brain waves

mri

correlation between brain activity and blood property changes

sleep

a circadian state characterized by partial or total suspenstion of consciousness

wakefullness

awareness of ones surroundings, ability to communicate with others

circadian rhythm

occurs on a twenty four hour cycle

hypnagogic sensations

jerking of feelings of falling while transitioning to sleep

NREM 1

alpha waves; very light sleep, our brain is still fairly active and responsive ot sensations around us

NREM 2

theta waves; light transitional sleep

NREM 3

delta waves; gets shorter throughout the night, night terrors, sleep walking, and sleep talking

REM sleep

paradoxical sleep

gets longer throughout the night

dreaming

a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping persons mind

REM rebound

the increased occurence of REM sleep following REM sleep deprivation

activation synthesis dream theory

dreams are the brain’s attempt to synthesize random neural activity

Consolidation dream theory

dreams help us sort out the day’s events and consolidate our memories

restoration theory of sleep

our bodies wear out during the day and sleep is necessary to restore resources and re energize the body

insomnia

recurring problems in falling or staying asleep

narcolepsy

uncontrollable sleep attacks

REM sleep behavior disorder

physically act out dreams

sleep apnea

temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

somnambulism

sleepwalking

sensation

process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system recieve and represent stimulus energies from our environment

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

transduction

conversion of one form of energy into another

just noticeable difference

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time