Unit 2 Vocab

Modules 9-18

Sleep Spindles

Brief bursts of brain activity in NREM-2

Psychoactive Drug

DEF: Any chemical substance that alters percepts/moods (most ppl come in contact without it becoming a problem)

Substance Use disorder

DEF: disorder characterized by continued substance craving/use of a drug despite risks

EX: Alcoholism (Alcohol use disorder)

Tolerance

To experience the same effect, users require larger & larger doses, increasing the risk of being addicted

Withdrawal

DEF: When trying to quit a specific drug results in extreme discomfort/distress

Depressants

Drugs that reduce neural activity/SLOW DOWN body functions

EX: Barbiturates, Alcohol, Opiates

Stimulants

Drugs that excite neural activity & SPEED UP body functions

EX: Cocaine, Meth, Ecstasy, Caffeine

Hallucinogens

DEF: Drugs that distort perception & evoke sensory input/hallucinations

EX: LSD (Acid), Marijuana

Near-death experience

Altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush w/death

EX: Cardiac arrest and person wakes up

Alcohol

Depressant that is a general disinhibitor that produces an initial high followed by relaxation

R: Alcohol use disorder, brain shrinks, poor memory

Bartiturates

Depressant that mimics GABA (slow NS) and causes lessened anxiety/increased sleepiness

R: Lethal when mixed with other depressants (alc)

Opiates (Heroin)

Depressant that mimics endorphins, causes reduced pain/anxiety and lethargy

R: stops making endorphins, overdose as withdrawal is EXCRUCIATING

Nicotine

Stimulant that makes CNS release epinephrine, norepinephrine, & dopamine, quick bursts of energy/happiness

R; highly addictive and kills you

Cocaine

Simulant that floods then depletes the brain of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine; more energy, euphoria, decreased appetite

R: aggression, cardiac arrest, emotional episodes

Methamphetamine (Meth)

Stimulant that releases dopamine causing more energy and euphoria

R: violent outbursts, depression, seizures

Ecstasy (MDMA/Molly)

Stimulant that releases stored serotonin/blocks reuptake; results in euphoria, social intimacy

R: can result in dehydration which leads to death

LSD (Acid)

Hallucinogen where serotonin receptors/visual cortex are affected causing altered perception

R: can cause either euphoria or panic/paranoia

Marijuana (THC)

Mild hallucinogen that releases dopamine that amplifies sensations

R: Impairs judgment, stays in body very long

Caffeine

Stimulant that releases dopamine & glutamate causing boosted alertness/energy

R: jitters, insomnia, heart problems

Alpha waves

The relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake brain state

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

DEF: Pair of cell clusters in hypothalamus that control our circadian rhythms - responds to light by adjusting melatonin production

Manifest Content

DEF: Symbolic, remembered storyline of a dream (easily seen)

Latent Content

DEF: The underlying meaning of a dream (hidden meaning)

REM rebound

DEF: the tendency for REM sleep to increase after REM sleep deprivation

NREM sleep

Non Rapid Eye Movement sleep

includes all other sleep stages (except REM)

Hypnagogic Sensations

DEF: Bizarre experiences while transitioning into sleep

EX: The feeling of falling right before going to sleep

Delta Waves

Large, slow brain waves associated with the deep sleep of NREM-3

Five reasonings behind sleep?

Sleep protects - it was better for ancesetors to be asleep during the night than out in the open

Sleep helps recuperate - restores immune system

Sleep restores/builds memories

Sleep fosters creative thinking

Sleep supports growth/muscle development

What does sleep deprivation do?

Increases ghrelin (hunger hormone)

Decreases metabolic rate

increases cortisol (stress hormone that retains fat)

increases brain response to food & reduces the ability to resist that temptation

REM sleep

Rapid Eye Movement sleep

Vivid dreams commonly occur, muscles are relaxed by the brain, but other systems are still active

Insomnia

Recurring problems either falling or staying asleep

Narcolepsy

Sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks - may lapse directly into REM, at bad times

Sleep apnea

Sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

Night terrors

Sleep disorder characterized by high arousal & an appearance of being terrified - occur during REM-3, rarely remembered

Dreams

Sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind

Circadian Rhythm

biological clock - regular body rhythms that occur on a 24 hour rotation

Sleep

periodic, natural loss of consciousness

Social Learning Theory

DEF: We all learn SOCIAL SCRIPTS (culture’s guide for how to act in different situations)

EX: Women learn strangers can be dangerous and casual sexual encounters don’t provide much pleasure, while men may feel complied to say yes because that’s what a “real man” would do

Lateralization

DEF: left & right brain hemispheres perform different functions

Consciousness

DEF: Subjective awareness of ourselves & our environments

Cognitive Neuroscience

DEF: Interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with mental processes

Dual Processing

DEF: Principle that occurs in often processed simultaneously on a conscious, deliberate “high road” & and unconscious, automatic “low road”

EX: Identifying a bird - uses much more complex thought processes than we realize

Blindsight

DEF: A condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it

Parallel Processing

DEF: UNconsciously processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously - used to process well-learned info or solve easy problems

EX: Driving all the time so it becomes easy even though at first there was a lot going on at first

Sequential processing

DEF: Consciously processing one aspect of a problem at a time - used to process new info or to solve difficult problems (creates focus)

Heritability

DEF: Proportion of variation among individuals in a group that we can attribute to genes

EX:

Corpus Callosum

DEF: large band of neural fibers connecting the two hemispheres & carrying messages between them (severing this can improve epilepsy)

Split brain

DEF: Isolation of the brain’s two hemispheres

What does left brain specialize in?

Speaking/math (not all but generally)

What does right brain specialize in?

Nonverbal/recognition (not all but general)

Neurons

DEF: A nerve cell, the basic building block of the nervous system

Cerebral Cortex

DEF: Outer surface layer of interconnected neural cells, the body & brain’s ultimate control & INFO PROCESSING CENTER

Cell-body

DEF: The part of the neuron that contains the nucleus, the cell’s life-support center

Dendrite Fibers

DEF: (often bushy looking) branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body

Axon Fibers

DEF: Neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons, muscles, or glands

Relationship between dendrites and axon fibers?

Dendrites listen to the body while axons speak (to other parts like muscles)

Myelin Sheath

DEF: Fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop form one node to the next

Similar to the way home electrical wire is insulated

Glial Cells

DEF: Also known as “glue cells”, they support, nourish, and protect neurons; they also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory

Action Potential

DEF: A brief electrical charge that travels down its axon

Resting Potential

DEF: The positive outside/negative inside of a neuron

Depolarization

DEF: The loss of the inside/outside charge difference

Excitatory Neural Signals

DEF: Increase likelihood that a neuron will fire

EX: A class takes a vote on something and those who are in favor raise their hand, these people are like excitatory neural signals

Inhibitory Neural Signals

DEF: Prevent a chemical message from being passed any further

EX: Taking a vote in class, the people who vote against doing the thing are like inhibitory neural signals

Refractory Period

DEF: short period of time where the neuron must return to its resting state before it will fire again

EX: Someone taking a break after studying for Spanish before they begin studying for math

All-or-none response

Neurons either fire, or they don’t

Synapse

DEF: Junction between the axon tp of the sending neuron and the dendrite/cell body of the receiving neuron (tiny gap between is called synaptic gap/cleft)

EX: If women didn’t want to mess up their makeup, so they opt to air-kiss instead of actually touching

Neurotransmitters

DEF: Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gap and bind to receptor sites to influence this new neuron to generate a neural impulse

Reuptake

DEF: When excess neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by the sending neuron

Acetylcholine (ACh)

DEF: A neurotransmitter that enables muscle action, learning, and memory

MAL: Alzheimer’s disease

Dopamine

DEF: Neurotransmitter that influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

MAL: Oversupply of this is linked to schizophrenia, undersupply linked to tremors and decreased mobility in Parkinson’s

Serotonin

DEF: Neurotransmitter that affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal

MAL: Undersupply linked to depression

Norepinephrine

DEF: A neurotransmitter that helps control alertness and arousal

MAL: Undersupply depresses mood

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

DEF: Is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

MAL: Undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia

Glutamate

DEF: A major excitatory neurotransmitter involved in memory

MAL: Oversupply can overstimulate the brain, leading to migraines and seizures

Endorphins

DEF: Neurotransmitters that influence the perception of pain or pleasure

MAL: Oversupply with opiate drugs can suppress the body’s natural endorphin supply

Agonist molecules

DEF: a molecule that increases the neurotransmitter’s action either through mimicking a neurotransmitter and binding to a receptor, or blocking reuptake in the synapse

Antagonist molecules

DEF: A molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter’s action

Nervous System

DEF: Communication network that consists of all the nerve cells in the peripheral and central nervous systems

Central Nervous System

DEF: The brain and spinal cord portion of the nervous system

Peripheral Nervous System

DEF: The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body

Sensory neurons

DEF: Neurons that carry INCOMING information from body tissues and sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cords - AFFERENT

Motor Neurons

DEF: Neurons that carry outgoing info from the brain/spinal cord to the muscles and glands - EFFERENT

Interneurons

DEF: Neurons within the brain/spinal cord that communicate internally and process info between the sensory and motor outputs

Somatic Nervous System

DEF: Division of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) that controls the body’s skeletal muscles - AKA the skeletal nervous system

EX: Typing on a keyboard - you have to mentally trigger this event

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

DEF: Part of the PNS that controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs - sympathetic division arouses, while the parasympathetic division calms

EX: The heart beats on its own - you don’t have to mentally trigger it

Sympathetic Nervous System

DEF: Division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing is energy

EX: Fight-or-flight response will accelerate your heartrate, raise your blood pressure, slow your digestion, raise your blood sugar, and cool you with sweat

Parasympathetic Nervous System

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

EX: After the fight-or-flight response and the stress subsides, it will allow you to rest - think “rest & digest”

Reflexes

DEF: A simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus

EX: A knee-jerk response

Endocrine System

DEF: The body’s “slow” communication system, a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Hormones

DEF: Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissues

EX: Testosterone

Adrenal Glands

DEF: Pair of endocrine glands that sit right above the kidneys and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress

EX: Epinephrine and Norepinephrine - these are what induce the fight-or-flight response

Pituitary Glands

DEF: Most influential gland; under the influence of the hypothalamus, these glands regulate/control other adrenal glands

EX: releases growth hormones, oxytocin,

EEG (electroencephalogram)

DEF: Amplified recording of soundwaves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain’s surface - measured through electrodes put on scalp

EX: like studying a car based on the hum of the engine

MEG (magnetoencephalography)

DEF: brain imaging technique that measures magnetic fields from the brain’s natural electrical activity

CT (Computed tomography) scan

DEF: series of X-ray photos taken from angles & combined by a computer into a composite representation of a slice of the brain’s structure - also known as a CAT scan

PET (positron emission tomography) scan

DEF: visual display of brain activity that detects radioactive form of glucose that goes while the brain performs a given task

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

DEF: uses magnetic fields/radio waves and produces computer-generated images of soft tissues/brain anatomy

fMRI (functional MRI)

DEF: reveals bloodflow and brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans

EX: someone looks at an image and the bloodflow goes to the back of the brain, where the brain processes visual info

Brainstem

DEF: oldest and central part of the brain - cord swells as it enters the skull - responsible for survival functions

Medulla

DEF: base of the brainstem - controls heartbeat and breathing