AP psych unit 1

What is the nature-nurture issue?

how genes(nature) and experiences(nurture) influence behavior

How do twin studies help psychologists?

they help researchers examine genetic and environmental influences on behavior

How do adoption studies help psychologists?

comparing adopted children with biological and adoptive parents helps researchers study heredity and environment

Epigenetics

the study of how the environment influences gene expression without changing the DNA sequence

How can the environment affect genes?

environmental factors can influence whether certain genes are expressed

Central nervous system (CNS)

the brain and spinal cord, communication network

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

connects CNS to the rest of the body

Sensory(afferent) neurons

carry info from sensory receptors to the CNS

Motor(efferent) neurons

carry commands from CNS to muscles and glands

Interneurons

process info between sensory and motor neurons found in CNS

Somatic nervous system

controls voluntary movement of skeletal muscles

Autonomic nervous system

controls involuntary functions, such as heart rate and digestion

Sympathetic nervous system

arouses the body, fight or flight

Parasympathetic nervous systems

calms the body rest and digest response

Reflex arc

the neural pathways that produces a reflex, often through the spinal cord without waiting for the brain to initiate the response

Cell body(soma)

contains nucleus and keeps neuron alive

dendrites vs axon

dendrites receive messages axons send messages away

Myelin sheath

insulates axons and speeds up neural impulses

action potential

electrical impulse travelling down the axon

threshold

minimum stimulation needed to trigger an action potential

neurotransitters

chemical messengers that cross the synapse between neurons

reuptake

reabsorption of neurotransmitters by the sending neuron

Agonist vs antagonist

antagonists block neurotransmitter activity while agonists increase it

Nervous vs endocrine system

nervous system communicates rapidly endocrine uses hormones in the bloodstream and is generally slower

Acetylcholine (ACh)

learning, memory, and muscle action

endorphins

pain relief and pleasure

Dopamine

influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

Serotonin

This helps regulate your daily mood. It also plays a big role in managing sleep, appetite, and digestion. [1, 2, 3]

Norepinephrine (Noradrenaline)

This boosts alertness and focus. It helps your body respond to everyday stress and keeps your blood pressure

GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid):

This is the main calming chemical in the brain. It lowers anxiety, helps you relax, and promotes sleep.

Glutamate

This is the most common activator in your brain. It helps you learn new facts and form memories.

Psychoactive drug

a substance that changes perception or mood

Tolerance

needing of more of a substance to get the same effect

withdrawal

symptoms experienced after stopping an addictive substance

depressants and ex

slow neural activity, alcohol and opioids

Stimulants and ex

increase neural activity caffeine cocaine and amphetamines

Hallucinogens and ex

distort perceptions can cause sensory experiences without external input LCD and THC(marijuana)

Neuroplasticity

the brains ability to change and reorganize through experience or after damage

Lesion

destroyed or damages brain tissue helps researchers understand brain functions

EEG

measures electrical activity in the brain

CT scan

uses x-rays to create images of brain structure

MRI

uses magnetic fields and radio waves to show brain structure

fMRI

measures changes in blood flow to show brain activity and structure

PET scan

tracks radioactive glucose to identify active brain areas

MEG

magnetic fields from brain activity

Hindbrain

controls survival functions sleep, balance, and coordination

Midbrain

helps control movement and processes visual and auditory information

Forebrain

handles complex thinking, sensory processing, and voluntary movement

Brainstem

controls automatic survival functions

medulla

controls heart rate and breathing

pons

help regulate sleep and coordinate movement

thalamus

relays sensory info to the cortex, except smell

Reticular formation

controls alertness and arousal

Cerebellum

controls balance and coordination

Limbic system

involved in emotion, drives, and memory

Amygdala

processes emotions

Hypothalamus

regulates hunger and thirst also body temp and endocrine system

Hippocampus

new memories of facts and events

Frontal lobe(cerebral cortex)

planning, judgement, speaking, and movement

Parietal

touch and body position

Occipital

vision

Temporal

hearing and aspects of memory

motor cortex

controls voluntary movement

somatosensory cortex

processes touch and body sensations

association areas

higher thinking, learning, memory, and reasoning

Neurogenesis

the formation of new neurons

corpus callosum

bundle of fibers connecting two hemispheres

Lateralization

the specialization of certain functions in one hemisphere

Left hemisphere

usually stronger in language and logical reasoning

Right hemisphere

usually stronger in spatial reasoning and facial recognition

Split brain

when corpus callosum is cut limiting communication between hemispheres

Consciousness

awareness of yourself and your surroundings

Cognitive neuroscience

studies how Brian activity relates to mental processes

Dual processing

info is processed on conscious and unconscious tracks at the same time

Bindsight

responding to visual info without consciously seeing it

Parallel processing

processing multiple aspects of info at the same time

Sequential processing

processing info one step at a time often with difficult or new problems

Circadian rhythm

your body’s 24 hour internal clock

SCN

brain area that controls circadian rhythm and responds to light

NREM 1

light sleep, you might feel like you are falling

NREM 2

sleep stage with sleep spindles(bursts of brain activity)

NREM 3

deep sleep, slow delta waves

REM sleep or paradoxical sleep

brain is active but most muscles are temporarily unable to move, eyes move rapidly, vivid dreams commonly occur

Alpha waves

waves associated with being relaxed but awake

Delta waves

large slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

Insomnia

trouble falling or staying asleep

narcolepsy

uncontrollable sleep attacks

sleep apnea

breathing repeatedly stops during sleep, waking the person

REM sleep behavior disorder

normal muscle paralysis during REM sleep doesn’t occur so person may act out dreams

Manifest vs latent content

manifest is storyline or content you remember from a dream

latent is hidden meaning Freud believed a dream had

Wish fulfillment theory

Freud, dreams express unconscious wishes

Information processing theory

dreams help process memories

Activation synthesis theory

dreams come from the brain making sense of random neural activity

Sensation vs perception

sensation receives info perception organizes and interprets it

Transduction

converting sensory energy into neural impulses

Rods vs cones

Rods dim light, black and white, peripheral vision

Cones- color, fine detail, bright light

Retina

back of eye where light is detected

Fovea

area with sharpest vision, packed with cones

Optic nerve

carries visual info from eye to brain

cornea

protects eye and bends incoming light