Unit 1: Biological Bases of Behavior

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173 Terms

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Sensation

the process of the sensory organs transforming physical energy into neurological impulses the brain interprets as the five senses of vision, smell, taste, touch, and hearing

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Transduction

the process of converting outside stimuli, such as light, from a sensory signal into neural activity

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Absolute threshold

the minimum intensity of stimulation needed to detect a sensation 50 percent of the time

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Just-noticeable difference

the amount a stimulus must be changed in order for a difference to be noticeable

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Sensory adaptation

tendency of sensory receptor cells to become less responsive to a stimulus that is unchanging

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Weber's law

to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage

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Sensory interaction

the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste

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Synesthesia

a neurological condition in which information meant to stimulate one of your senses stimulates several of your senses (e.g., hearing the word "cat" but perceiving the color green)

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Retina

the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

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Blind spot

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there

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Visual nerve

the optic nerve; comprised of millions of nerve fibers that send visual messages to the brain

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Lens

the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

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Sensorineural deafness

deafness that usually results from damage to the inner ear or to the auditory nerve

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Olfactory system

the sensory system for smell

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Thalamus

the brain's sensory control center, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

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Pheromones

chemical signals released by an animal that communicate information and affect the behavior of other animals of the same species

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Gustation

the sensation of taste resulting from the action of chemicals on the taste buds

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Taste receptors

chemical receptors on the tongue that decode molecules of food or drink to identify them (sweet, salty, bitter, oleogustus (oily, fatty), and umami)

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Supertasters

people with the most number of tastebuds and have the highest sensitivity to all tastes, as well as mouth sensations in general

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Medium Tasters

people with an average number of taste buds; they represent 50% of the population

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Nontasters

people with fewer tastebuds who are not so sensitive to taste; they prefer sweeter or fattier foods to maximize taste

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Warm/cold receptors

thermoreceptors are able to detect heat and cold and are found throughout the skin in order to allow sensory reception throughout the body

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Gate control theory

theory that explains how spinal nerves block or allow pain signals to pass to the brain

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Phantom limb

perceived sensation, following amputation of a limb, that the limb still exists

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Vestibular sense

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

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Semicircular canals

three tiny, fluid-filled tubes in the inner ear that help a person maintain balance

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Kinesthesis

the sense that provides information about the position and movement of individual body parts

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Accommodation

the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

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Nearsightedness

a condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because distant objects focus in front of the retina

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Farsightedness

a condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the image of near objects is focused behind the retina

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Photoreceptors

rods and cones in the eye; they respond to light

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Rods

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond

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Cones

three types of photoreceptors (blue, green, red) responsible for color vision and color sensitivity

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Trichromatic theory

the theory that human eyes only perceive three colors of light: red, blue, and green

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Opponent-process theory

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision (e.g., some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green)

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Afterimages

images that occur when a visual sensation persists for a brief time even after the original stimulus is removed

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Ganglion cells

specialized cells behind the bipolar cells whose axons form the optic nerve which takes the information to the brain

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Dichromatism

when only two of the three cone types are present or functional; red and green, for example, may appear the same

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Monochromatism

when only one of the three cone types is present or functional; no color can be perceived (colorblindness)

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Prosopagnosia

inability to recognize faces (face blindness)

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Blindsight

the ability of individuals with blindness to detect and respond to visual stimuli despite lacking awareness of having seen anything

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Wavelength

the distance between two corresponding parts of a wave

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Pitch

the highness or lowness of a sound, as determined by the frequency of the sound waves

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Amplitude

the height of a wave's crest

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Loudness

how strong or soft a sound seems to a listener; determined by the intensity or amount of energy

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Pitch perception

the aspect of hearing that allows us to tell how high or low a given tone is

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Place theory

the theory that a person hears different pitches because of vibrations in specific places on the basilar membrane of the cochlea

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Volley theory

the theory that groups of neurons of the auditory system respond to a sound by firing action potentials slightly out of phase with one another so that when combined, a greater frequency of sound can be encoded and sent to the brain

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Frequency theory

the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone (e.g., a tone measuring 600 hertz will be transduced into 600 nerve impulses a second)

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Sound localization

when the brain locates the direction a sound originated from based on which ear the sound strikes first

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Conduction deafness

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

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Consciousness

awareness of unique thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations, and environments

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Circadian rhythm

the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle

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Jet lag

a disruption of circadian rhythms due to crossing time zones

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Shift work

a pattern of work in which a person sometimes works during the day and sometimes during the night

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REM sleep

characterized by rapid eye movements and a high level of brain activity; accounts for about 25% of a person's total sleep

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REM rebound

the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep)

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NREM stage 1

a transition period between wakefulness and sleep ("nodding off") characterized by relaxation and easy arousal

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NREM stage 2

characterized by continued slowing of heartbeat, breathing, muscle activity, and eye movements; accounts for about half of a person's total sleep

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NREM stage 3

characterized by muscle relaxation, lowered blood pressure, and slower breathing; deepest sleep occurs in this stage

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Hypnagogic sensations

imaginary images or sensations (e.g., falling or floating) that seem real and occur as a person is falling asleep

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Activation-synthesis (dreams)

the theory that dreams are the result of the cerebral cortex interpreting and organizing random flashes of brain activity, originating in the lower brain structures, especially the pons

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Consolidation theory (dreams)

the theory that during sleep, the brain is best able to integrate newly encoded memory into long-term store and that dreaming is influenced by this process

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Restoration of resources

the theory that people need rest to recover energy lost throughout the day in order to be productive and healthy

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Insomnia

recurring problems in falling or staying asleep. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 238)

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Narcolepsy

a sleep disorder characterized by unmanageable drowsiness and/or uncontrollably falling into REM sleep during the day

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REM sleep behavior disorder

a disorder in which a person physically acts out vivid, often unpleasant dreams with vocal sounds and sudden, often violent, arm and leg movements during REM sleep

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Sleep apnea

a disorder in which a person stops breathing for brief periods while asleep

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Somnambulism

the condition of walking or performing some other activity without awakening; also known as sleepwalking

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Cerebral cortex

outermost part of forebrain; controls voluntary muscular movements as well as sensation, movement, memory, emotions, and executive function

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Corpus callosum

a thick band of nerve fibers that connects large areas of the cerebral cortex on each side of the brain and supports communication of information across the hemispheres

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Frontal lobes

a region of the cerebral cortex that has specialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgement

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Motor cortex

an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

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Prefrontal cortex

part of frontal lobe responsible for thinking, planning, and language

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Broca's area

the language expression area in the frontal lobe (usually in the left hemisphere) that directs the muscle movements involved in speech

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Parietal lobes

upper middle part of the cerebral cortex lying behind the frontal lobe that is specialized for touch and perception

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Temporal lobes

lower part of cerebral cortex involved in hearing, understanding language, and memory

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Wernicke's area

part of the temporal lobe involved in understanding speech

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Occipital Lobes

back part of cerebral cortex specialized in visual perception, including colour, form and motion

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for vision

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Limbic system

emotional center of brain that also plays roles in smell, motivation, and memory

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Thalamus

a forebrain structure that processes sensory information for all senses, except smell, and relays it to the cerebral cortex

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Hypothalamus

a structure below the thalamus responsible for maintaining a constant internal state

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Amyglada

part of limbic system involved in

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fear, excitement, and arousal

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Hippocampus

a part of the brain that helps with learning, memory, and spatial navigation. It is a part of the limbic system, which regulates emotions, smells, and other behaviors.

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memory

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Cerebellum

part of the brain involved in balance for walking, standing, and other complex motor function

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Brain stem

contains the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata; connects the cerebrum to the spinal cord and cerebellum

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Reticular activating system (RAS)

network of neurons in the brain stem involved in mediation of behavior and arousal

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Medulla

part of brain stem involved in basic functions, such as heartbeat, breathing, and blood pressure

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Pituitary gland

makes, stores, and releases several important hormones including those for growth and metabolism

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Electroencephalograph (EEG)

a test that measures electrical activity in the brain. This may help diagnose brain conditions such as epilepsy and other seizure conditions.

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surface of the skull

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fMRI

a type of MRI scan that can show which areas of your brain are most active during specific functions

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Split-brain research

study of patients with a severed corpus callosum; demonstrates right and left brain specialization; has been used to treat epilepsy

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Brain stem

connection to spinal cord that filters information flow between peripheral nervous system and the rest of the brain

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Reward center

a dopamine-rich pathway in the brain that produces feelings of pleasure when activated

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Association areas

areas of the cerebral cortex responsible for the coordination and interpretation of information, as well as higher mental processing

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Somatosensory cortex

area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations