Units 1 & 2 AP psych

Paul Broca

(1861) performed an autopsy on the brain of a patient, nicknamed Tan, who had lost the capacity to speak, although his mouth and his vocal cords weren’t damaged and he could still understand language.

Broca’s area

is a region in the left frontal lobe associated with speech production and language processing.

Expressive Aphasia

Loss of the ability to speak through the Broca’s area

Carl Wernicke

similarly found another brain area involved in understanding language in the left temporal lobe.

Wernicke’s area

the ability to comprehend written and spoken language

Receptive aphasia

Results in loss of the ability to comprehend written and spoken language, known as receptive aphasia.

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.

Roger Sperry and Michael Gazzaniga

of patients with these “split brains” have revealed that the left and right hemispheres do not perform exactly the same functions (brain lateralization) that the hemispheres specialize in

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.

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

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

EEG (electroencephalogram)

is 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.

evoked potentials

when the recorded change in voltage results from a response to a specific stimulus presented to the subject.These potentials are used to assess sensory pathways and brain function.

Positron emission tomography (PET)

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

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 fMRI scannerto create detailed images of brain activity.

magnetic source image (MSI), which is produced by magnetoencephalography (MEG scan)

is similar to an EEG, but the MEG scans are able to detect the slight magnetic field caused by the electric potentials in the brain.

Central nervous system

consists of your brain and your spinal cord.

Peripheral nervous system

includes two major subdivisions: your somatic nervous system and your autonomic nervous system.

Somatic nervous system:

has motor neurons that stimulate skeletal (voluntary) muscle.

Autonomic nervous system:

has motor neurons that stimulate smooth (involuntary) and heart muscle. the antagonistic sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system.

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.

Parasympathetic stimulation

calms your body following sympathetic stimulation by restoring digestive processes (salivation, peristalsis, enzyme secretion), returning pupils to normal pupil size, stimulating tear glands, and restoring normal bladder contractions.Spinal cord

Spinal cord

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

The reptilian brain

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

new mammalian brain

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

Association areas

are 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.

Medulla oblongata

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

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.

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 cerebral cortex.

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.

Hippocampus

enables formation of new long-term memories.

Cerebral cortex

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

Plasticity:

Although specific regions of the brain are associated with specific functions, if one region is damaged, the brain can reorganize to take over its function.

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.

neuron

is the basic unit of structure and function of your nervous system.

cell body

(a.k.a. cyton or soma) contains cytoplasm and the nucleus, which directs synthesis of such substances as neurotransmitters.

dendrites

are branching tubular processes capable of receiving information

axon

emerges from the cyton as a single conducting fiber (longer than a dendrite) that branches

terminal buttons

Tips of the axon

Neurogenesis

the growth of new neurons, takes place throughout life.

Neurotransmitters

are chemicals stored in structures of the terminal buttons called synaptic vesicles.

Dopamine

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

Glutamate

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

Serotonin

is associated with sexual activity, concentration and attention, moods, and emotions.

Opioid peptides

such as endorphins are often considered the brain’s own painkillers. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) inhibits firing of neurons

Norepinephrine,

also known as noradrenaline, is associated with attentiveness, sleeping, dreaming, and learning.

Agonists

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

Antagonists

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

resting potential of the neuron

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.

action potential of the neurons

When sufficiently stimulated (to threshold), a net flow of sodium ions into the cell causes a rapid change in potential across the membrane

all-or-none principle.

If stimulation is not strong enough, your neuron doesn’t fire. The strength of the action potential is constant whenever it occurs

nodes of Ranvier

Spaces between segments of myelin

saltatory conduction.

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

Reflex

involves impulse conduction over a few (perhaps three) neurons

Interneurons,

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

efferent neurons

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

Endocrine glands

include the pineal gland, hypothalamus, and pituitary gland in your brain; the thyroid and parathyroids in your neck; the adrenal glands atop your kidneys; pancreas near your stomach; and either testes or ovaries.

Pineal Gland:

endocrine gland in brain that produces melatonin that helps regulate circadian rhythms and is associated with seasonal affective disorder.

Pituitary Gland:

endocrine gland in brain that produces stimulating hormones, which promote secretion by other glands including TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone); ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone), which stimulates the adrenal glands; FSH (follicle stimulating hormone), which stimulates egg or sperm production; ADH (antidiuretic hormone) to help retain water in your body; and HGH (human growth hormone)

nature-nurture controversy

deals with the extent to which heredity and the environment each influence behavior.

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.

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.

Identical twins

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

Fraternal twins

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

Heritability

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

Chromosomes

carry information stored in genes to new cells during reproduction.

Turner syndrome

have only one X sex chromosome (XO).

Klinefelter’s syndrome

arise from an XXY zygote.

genotype

arise from an XXY zygote.

phenotype

The expression of the genes

dominant gene

the expressed gene that masks the effect of a recessive gene.

Tay-Sachs syndrome

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

Albinism

arises from a failure to synthesize or store pigment and also involves abnormal nerve pathways to the brain, resulting in quivering eyes and the inability to perceive depth or three-dimensionality with both eyes.

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.

Huntington’s disease

is an example of a dominant gene defect that involves degeneration of the nervous system

Preconscious

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

Nonconscious

is 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.

Unconscious

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

Dual processing

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

Unconsciousness

is characterized by loss of responsiveness to the environment, resulting from disease, trauma, or anesthesia

Circadian rhythm

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

Hypnagogic state

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

NREM-1

sleep show theta waves, which are higher in amplitude and lower in frequency than alpha waves.

NREM-2

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

NREM-3

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

REM sleep

(Rapid Eye Movement sleep) about 90 minutes after falling asleep.

Lucid dreaming

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

Insomnia

is the inability to fall asleep and/or stay asleep

Narcolepsy

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

Sleep apnea

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

Night terrors

are 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.

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.

Hypnosis

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

dissociation theory

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

Psychoactive drugs

are chemicals that can pass through the blood-brain barrier into the brain to alter perception, thinking, behavior, and mood, producing a wide range of effects from mild relaxation or increased alertness to vivid hallucinations.

Psychological dependence

develops when the person has an intense desire to achieve the drugged state in spite of adverse effects.

Tolerance

decreasing responsivity to a drug

Physiological dependence

or addiction develops when changes in brain chemistry from taking the drug necessitate taking the drug again to prevent withdrawal symptoms.

Withdrawal symptoms

include intense craving for the drug and effects opposite to those the drug usually induces.