AP Psychology Vocabulary

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Flashcards about the terminology from the lecture notes.

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183 Terms

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Paul Broca (1861)

A procedure where an autopsy was performed on a patient nicknamed Tan, who had lost the capacity to speak; connected destruction of Broca's area to loss of speech.

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Wernicke's area

Destruction of this area results in loss of the ability to comprehend written and spoken language, known as receptive aphasia.

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Lesions

Precise destruction of brain tissue, enabled more systematic study of the loss of function resulting from surgical removal (also called ablation), cutting of neural connections, or destruction by chemical applications.

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Split brains

Studies of patients with these revealed that the left and right hemispheres do not perform exactly the same functions (brain lateralization) that the hemispheres specialize in.

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Computerized axial tomography (CAT or CT)

Creates a computerized image using X-rays passed through various angles of the brain showing two-dimensional “slices” that can be arranged to show the extent of a lesion.

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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Magnetic field and pulses of radio waves cause the emission of faint radio frequency signals that depend upon the density of the tissue.

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EEG (electroencephalogram)

An amplified tracing of brain activity produced when electrodes positioned over the scalp transmit signals about the brain’s electrical activity (“brain waves”) to an electroencephalograph machine.

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Evoked potentials

Amplified tracings of brain activity recorded when the change in voltage results from a response to a specific stimulus.

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Positron emission tomography (PET)

Produces color computer graphics that depend on the amount of metabolic activity in the imaged brain region.

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Functional MRI (fMRI)

Shows the brain at work at higher resolution than the PET scanner; changes in oxygen in the blood of an active brain area alters its magnetic qualities, which is recorded by the scanner.

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Magnetic source image (MSI)

Produced by magnetoencephalography (MEG scan), similar to an EEG, but able to detect the slight magnetic field caused by the electric potentials in the brain.

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Central nervous system

Consists of your brain and your spinal cord.

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Peripheral nervous system

Includes your somatic nervous system and your autonomic nervous system.

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Somatic nervous system

Motor neurons that stimulate skeletal (voluntary) muscle.

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Autonomic nervous system

Motor neurons that stimulate smooth (involuntary) and heart muscle.

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Sympathetic stimulation

Results in responses that help your body deal with stressful events including dilation of your pupils, release of glucose from your liver, dilation of bronchi, inhibition of digestive functions, acceleration of heart rate, secretion of adrenaline from your adrenal glands, acceleration of breathing rate, and inhibition of secretion of your tear glands.

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Parasympathetic stimulation

Calms your body following sympathetic stimulation by restoring digestive processes, returning pupils to normal pupil size, stimulating tear glands, and restoring normal bladder contractions.

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Spinal cord

Starts at the base of your back and extends upward to the base of your skull where it joins your brain; protected by membranes called meninges and your spinal column of bony vertebrae.

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Reptilian brain

Maintains homeostasis and instinctive behaviors; roughly corresponds to the brainstem, which includes the medulla, pons, and cerebellum.

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Old mammalian brain

Roughly corresponds to the limbic system that includes the septum, hippocampus, amygdala, cingulate cortex, hypothalamus, and the thalamus, which are all important in controlling emotional behavior, some aspects of memory, and vision.

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New mammalian brain or neocortex

Synonymous with the cerebral cortex, accounts for about 80 percent of brain volume and is associated with the higher functions of judgment, decision making, abstract thought, foresight, hindsight and insight, language, and computing, as well as sensation and perception.

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Gyri

Peaks on the surface of your cortex.

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Sulci

Valleys on the surface of your cortex.

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Association areas

Regions of the cerebral cortex that do not have specific sensory or motor functions but are involved in higher mental functions, such as thinking, planning, remembering, and communicating.

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Medulla oblongata

Regulates heart rhythm, blood flow, breathing rate, digestion, vomiting.

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Pons

Includes portion of reticular activating system or reticular formation critical for arousal and wakefulness; sends information to and from medulla, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex.

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Cerebellum

Controls posture, equilibrium, and movement.

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Basal ganglia

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

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Thalamus

Relays visual, auditory, taste, and somatosensory information to/from appropriate areas of cerebral cortex.

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Hypothalamus

Controls feeding behavior, drinking behavior, body temperature, sexual behavior, threshold for rage behavior, activation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, and secretion of hormones of the pituitary.

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Hippocampus

Enables formation of new long-term memories.

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Cerebral cortex

Center for higher-order processes such as thinking, planning, judgment; receives and processes sensory information and directs movement.

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Plasticity

If one region is damaged, the brain can reorganize to take over its function.

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Glial cells

Guide the growth of developing neurons, help provide nutrition for and get rid of wastes of neurons, and form an insulating sheath around neurons that speeds conduction.

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Neuron

The basic unit of structure and function of your nervous system.

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Cell body (cyton or soma)

Contains cytoplasm and the nucleus, which directs synthesis of such substances as neurotransmitters.

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Dendrites

Branching tubular processes capable of receiving information.

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Axon

Emerges from the cyton as a single conducting fiber (longer than a dendrite) that branches and ends in tips called terminal buttons, axon terminals, or synaptic knobs.

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Neurogenesis

The growth of new neurons, takes place throughout life.

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Neurotransmitters

Chemicals stored in structures of the terminal buttons called synaptic vesicles.

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Dopamine

Stimulates the hypothalamus to synthesize hormones and affects alertness and movement.

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Glutamate

A major excitatory neurotransmitter involved in information processing throughout the cortex and especially memory formation in the hippocampus.

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Serotonin

Associated with sexual activity, concentration and attention, moods, and emotions.

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Opioid peptides (endorphins)

Often considered the brain’s own painkillers.

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Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)

Inhibits firing of neurons.

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Norepinephrine (noradrenaline)

Associated with attentiveness, sleeping, dreaming, and learning.

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Agonists

May mimic a neurotransmitter and bind to its receptor site to produce the effect of the neurotransmitter.

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Antagonists

Block a receptor site, inhibiting the effect of the neurotransmitter or agonist.

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Neuron's resting potential

Results from the selective permeability of its membrane and the presence of electrically charged particles called ions near the inside and outside surfaces of the membrane in different concentrations; neuron at rest is more negative inside the cell membrane relative to outside of the membrane.

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Action potential

A net flow of sodium ions into the cell causes a rapid change in potential across the membrane, known as the action potential; occurs when sufficiently stimulated (to threshold).

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All-or-none principle

The strength of the action potential is constant whenever it occurs.

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Nodes of Ranvier

Spaces between segments of myelin.

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Saltatory conduction

When the axon is myelinated, conduction speed is increased since depolarizations jump from node to node.

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Excitatory neurotransmitters

Cause the neuron on the other side of the synapse to generate an action potential (to fire).

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Inhibitory neurotransmitters

Reduce or prevent neural impulses.

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Reflex

Involves impulse conduction over a few (perhaps three) neurons; the path is called a reflex arc.

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Sensory or afferent neurons

Transmit impulses from your sensory receptors to the spinal cord or brain.

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Interneurons

Located entirely within your brain and spinal cord, intervene between sensory and motor neurons.

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Motor or efferent neurons

Transmit impulses from your sensory or interneurons to muscle cells that contract or gland cells that secrete.

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Effectors

Muscle and gland cells that are stimulated by motor/efferent neurons.

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Endocrine system

Consists of glands that secrete chemical messengers called hormones into your blood.

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Ovaries and Testes

Produce hormones necessary for reproduction and development of secondary sex characteristics.

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Nature-nurture controversy

The extent to which heredity and the environment each influence behavior.

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Evolutionary psychologists

Study how natural selection favored behaviors that contributed to survival and the spread of our ancestors’ genes and may currently contribute to our survival into the next generations.

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Behavioral geneticists

Study the role played by our genes and our environment in mental ability, emotional stability, temperament, personality, interests, and so forth; they look at the causes of our individual differences.

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Identical twins

Two individuals who share all of the same genes/heredity because they develop from the same fertilized egg or zygote; they are monozygotic.

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Fraternal twins

Siblings that share about half of the same genes because they develop from two different fertilized eggs or zygotes; they are dizygotic.

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Heritability

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

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Gene

Each DNA segment of a chromosome that determines a trait.

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Genotype

Genetic makeup for a trait.

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Phenotype

Expression of genes.

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Tay-Sachs syndrome

Produces progressive loss of nervous function and death in a baby.

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Phenylketonuria (PKU)

Results in severe, irreversible brain damage unless the baby is fed a special diet low in phenylalanine within 30 days of birth; the infant lacks an enzyme to process this amino acid, which can build up and poison cells of the nervous system.

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Huntington’s disease

An example of a dominant gene defect that involves degeneration of the nervous system.

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Preconscious

The level of consciousness that is outside of awareness but contains feelings and memories that you can easily bring into conscious awareness.

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Nonconscious

The level of consciousness devoted to processes completely inaccessible to conscious awareness, such as blood flow, filtering of blood by kidneys, secretion of hormones, and lower-level processing of sensations, such as detecting edges, estimating size and distance of objects, recognizing patterns, and so forth.

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Unconscious

The level of consciousness that includes often unacceptable feelings, wishes, and thoughts not directly available to conscious awareness; sometimes called the subconscious.

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Dual processing

Referring to processing information on conscious and unconscious levels at the same time.

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Unconsciousness

Characterized by loss of responsiveness to the environment, resulting from disease, trauma, or anesthesia.

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Hypothalamus

Systematically regulates changes in your body temperature, blood pressure, pulse, blood sugar levels, hormonal levels, and activity levels over the course of about a day.

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Circadian rhythm

A natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours.

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Electroencephalograms (EEGs)

Can be recorded with electrodes on the surface of the skull.

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Hypnagogic state

You feel relaxed, fail to respond to outside stimuli, and begin the first stage of sleep, Non-REM-1.

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Theta waves

EEGs of NREM-1 sleep show these, which are higher in amplitude and lower in frequency than alpha waves.

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NREM-2 sleep

Your EEG shows high-frequency bursts of brain activity (called sleep spindles) and K complexes.

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NREM-3 sleep

EEG shows very high amplitude and very low-frequency delta waves.

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REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement sleep)

About 90 minutes after falling asleep.

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Nightmares

Frightening dreams that occur during REM sleep.

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Lucid dreaming

The ability to be aware of and direct one’s dreams, has been used to help people make recurrent nightmares less frightening.

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Manifest content

In dream analysis, this is the remembered story line of a dream.

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Latent content

In dream analysis, this is the underlying meaning of a dream.

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Activation-synthesis theory

Dream theory that states the pons generates bursts of action potentials to the forebrain, which is activation.

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Insomnia

The inability to fall asleep and/or stay asleep.

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Narcolepsy

A condition in which an awake person suddenly and uncontrollably falls asleep, often directly into REM sleep.

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Sleep apnea

A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing that awaken the sufferer repeatedly during the night.

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Night terrors

Most frequently childhood sleep disruptions from the deepest part of NREM-3 (formerly referred to as stage 4) sleep characterized by a bloodcurdling scream and intense fear.

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Sleepwalking

Also called somnambulism, is also most frequently a childhood sleep disruption that occurs during deep NREM-3 sleep characterized by trips out of bed or carrying on complex activities.

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Hypnosis

An altered state of consciousness characterized by deep relaxation and heightened suggestibility.

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Dissociation theory

Hypnotized individuals experience two or more streams of consciousness cut off from each other.

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Meditation

A set of techniques used to focus concentration away from thoughts and feelings in order to create calmness, tranquility, and inner peace.