AP Psych Rapid Review Terms Unit 2

Biological Bases of Behavior

Neuropsychologists

they explore the relationships between brain/nervous systems and behavior (studying patients with brain damage/loss of function)

Lesions

precise destruction of brain tissue; allows to study the brain functions easier

CAT/CT Scan

creates computerized images using X-rays passed through the brain to show structure and/or the extent of a lesion

MRI

creates better images and shows pulses of radio waves that cause emission of signals that depend upon the density of tissue

EEG

amplified tracing of brain activity through electrodes placed over the scalp transmit signals about brain activity (brain waves)

Evoked potentials

EEGs resulting from a specific stimulus

PET Scan

shows brain activity when radioactivity tagged glucose rushes to active neurons and emits positrons

fMRI

shows brain activity at higher resolution than the PET scan when changes in oxygen concentration near active neurons alter magnetic qualities

Central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

includes all of the sensory and motor neurons and subdivisions called the autonomic and somatic nervous system

Autonomic nervous system

sub division of pns that includes involuntary movements: sympathetic and parasympathetic

Sympathetic nervous system

fight-or-flight; responds to stressful situations

Parasympathetic nerves system

cools down the body after sympathetic stimulation

Somatic nervous system

subdivision of PNS that has motor nerves that stimulate skeletal (voluntary) muscles

Spinal cord

portion of the central nervous system below the level of the medulla

Brain

portion of the central nervous system above the spinal cord

Evolutionary Model

Reptilian brain → old mammalian brain → new mammalian brain

Developmental Model

hindbrain → midbrain → forebrain

Convolutions

folding-in and out of the cerebral cortex that increases surface of the brain

Contralaterlity

control of one side of your body by the other side of your brain

Medulla Oblongata

regulates heart rhythm, blood flow, breathing rate, digestion, and vomiting

Pons

includes portion of reticular activating system or reticular formation critical for arousal and wakefulness

Cerebellum

controls posture, equilibrium, and movement

Basal ganglia

regulates initiation of movements, balance, eye movements, and posture, and functions in processing of implicit memories

Thalamus

relays visual, auditory, taste, and somatosensory information to/from appropriate areas of the cerebral cortex

Hypothalamus

controls feeding behavior, drinking behavior, body temp, sexual behavior, threshold for rage behavior, activation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, and secretion of hormones of the pituitary

Amygdala

influences emotions such as aggression, fear, and self-protective areas

Hippocampus

enables formation of new long-term memories

Cerebral Cortex

center for higher-order processes such as thinking, planning, judgement; receives and processes sensory information and directs movement

Association areas

do not have specific sensory or motor functions but are involved in higher mental functions such as thinking, planning, and communicating

occipital lobes

primary area for processing visual information

parietal lobes

processes sensory information (touch, temp, pain); its association areas perceive objects

Frontal lobes

interprets and controls emotional behaviors, makes decisions, and carry out plans

Motor Cortex

initiates movements and skeletal muscles; produces speech (Broca’s area)

Temporal lobes

primary area for hearing, understanding language (Wernicke’s area), understanding music/tonality, and processing smell

Aphasia

the inability to understand language

Glial cells

supportive cels of the nervous system that guides the growth of developing neurons, gets rid of waste neurons, and forms an insulating sheath around neurons that speeds conduction

Neuron

the basic unit of structure and function of the nervous system; receives information, processes it, and transmits it to the rest of the body

Cell Body

also called the cyton or soma; part of the neuron contains cytoplasm and the nucleus, which directs synthesis of neurotransmitters

Dendrites

branching tubular processes of a neuron that have receptor sites for receiving information

Axon

single conducting fiber extending from the cell body of a neuron that transmits an action potential

Myelin Sheath

fatty substance covering the axon made by glial cells; speeds up conduction of the action potential

Terminal buttons

tips at the end of axons that secrete neurotransmitters when stimulated by the action potential

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers released by the terminal buttons of the neuron into the synapse

ACh

neurotransmitter that cause contraction of skeletal muscles, helps regulate heart muscles, involved in memory, and also transmits messages between the brain and spinal cord (lack of ACh is Alzheimer’s disease)

Dopamine

neurotransmitter that stimulates the hypothalamus to synthesize hormones and affects alertness, attention, and movement (lack = parkinson’s disease; too much = schizophrenia)

Glutamate

neurotransmitter that stimulates cells throughout the brain, mostly the hypothalamus; memory and information formation/processing

Serotonin

neurotransmitter associated with arousal, sleep, appetite, mood, and emotions (lack = depression)

Endorphin

neurotransmitter similar to the opiate morphine that relieves pain and induces pleasure

GABA

neurotransmitter that inhibits firing of postsynaptic neurons

Action Potential

the firing of the neuron

All-or-none principle

a neuron either generates an action potential when the stimulation reaches threshold or doesn’t fire when stimulation is below threshold

Nodes of Ranvier

spaces between segments of myelin on the axons of neurons

Saltatory conduction

rapid conduction of impulses when the axon is myelinated since depolarizations jump from node to node

Synapse

region of communication between the transmitting presynaptic neuron and receiving postsynaptic neuron, muscle, or gland

Excitatory neurotransmitter

chemical secreted at terminal button that causes the neuron on the other side of the synapse to generate an action potential to fire

Inhibitory neurotransmitter

chemical secreted at terminal button that reduces or prevents neural impulses in the postsynaptic dendrites

Reflex

the simplest form of behavior

Reflex arc

the path that reflexes travel

sensory receptor

cells typically in organs that initiates action potentials, which travel along sensory/afferent neurons to the CNS

Afferent Neuron

nerve cell in your PNS that transmits impulses from sensory or interneurons to muscle cells that contract or gland cells that secrete

Interneuron

nerve cell in the CNS that transmits impulses between sensory and motor neurons

Efferent neuron

nerve cell in your PNS that transmits from sensory or interneurons to muscle cells that contract or glands that secrete

Effector

muscle cell that contracts or gland cell that secretes

Endocrine system

ductless glands that typically secrete hormones directly into the blood, which helps regulate body and behavioral processes

Hormone

chemical messenger that travels through the blood to a receptor site on a target organ

Pineal gland

endocrine gland in the brain that produces melatonin that helps regulate circadian rhythms

Hypothalamus

portion of brain part that acts as endocrine gland and produces hormone that stimulate or inhibit secretion of hormones by the pituitary

Pituitary gland

“master gland”; gland in brain that produces stimulating hormones

Thyroid gland

endocrine gland in neck that produces thyroxine, which stimulates and maintains metabolic activities

Parathyroids

endocrine glands in neck that produce parathyroid hormones, which help maintain calcium ion level in blood necessary for normal functioning neurons

Adrenal glands

produce steroid hormones; prepares the body for fight or flight

Pancreas

gland near stomach that secretes the hormones insulin and glucagon, which regulates blood sugar that fuels all behavioral processes

Ovaries and Testes

gonads in males and females that help with reproduction

Behavioral geneticists

study our genes and our environment in mental ability, emotional stability, temperament, personality, interests; look at the causes of our individual differences

zygote

fertilized egg

identical twins

monozygotic twins; two individuals who share the same genes because they develop from the same zygote

fraternal twins

dizygotic twins; siblings that share about half of the same genes because they develop from 2 different zygotes

heritability

the proportion of variation among individuals in a population that is due to genetic causes

gene

each DNA segment of a chromosome that determines a trait

Chromosome

structure in the nucleus of cells that contains genes determined by DNA sequences; everyone has 46

Turner syndrome

females with only one X sex chromosome who are short, often sterile, and have difficulty calculating

Klinefelter’s syndrome

males with XXY sex chromosomes

Down Syndrome

caused by 3 copies of chromosome 21 in their cells

Genotype

the genetic makeup of an individual

Phenotype

the expression of the genes

Homozygous

both genes for a trait are the same

Heterozygous

genes for a trait are different

Dominant gene

gene expressed when the genes for the trait are different

Recessive gene

gene that is hidden/not expressed when the genes for a trait are different

Tay-Sachs syndrome

recessive trait that produces progressive loss of nervous function and death in a baby

Albinism

recessive gene that produces lack of pigment, quivering eyes, and the inability to perceive depth with both eyes

Phenylketonuria (PKU)

recessive trait that results in severe brain damage, unless the baby is fed a special diet

Huntington’s disease

dominant gene defect that involves degeneration of the nervous system, characterized by tremors, jerky motions, blindness, and death

Sex-linked traits

recessive genes located on the X chromosome with no corresponding gene on the Y chromosome, which result in expression of a recessive trait

Color blindness

sex-linked trait with individual cannot see certain colors

Consciousness

our awareness of the outside world and of ourselves

Attention

a state of focused awareness

Preconcious

level of consciousness that is outside of awareness but contains feelings and memories that can easily be brought to conscious awareness

Unconcious

level of consciousness that includes often unacceptable feelings, wishes, and thoughts not directly available to conscious awareness