PSYCH1101 Exam 2

agonist

increases the effects of neurotransmitter activity

antagonist

decreases effects of neurotransmitter activity

SSRIs

antidepressants the inhibit the reuptake of serotonin in order to increase serotonin (agonist)

tolerance

repeated exposure causes drug’s effects to lessen, need bigger doses to get the same effect

dependence

craving or need to obtain and use a drug

withdrawal

absence of drug causes physical pain

alcohol use disorder

a problematic pattern of alcohol use leading to significant impairment or distress

1. alcohol often taken in larger amounts or over a longer period of time than intended

2. persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down alcohol use

3. significant time spent in activities necessary to obtain alcohol, use alcohol, or recover from its effects

4. recurrent use results in failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home

5. recurrent use in situations in which it’s physically hazardous

6. continued use despite knowing physical or psychological problems are caused or exacerbated by alcohol

reward pathway

VTA → nucleus accumbens → prefrontal cortex

neurotransmitter: dopamine

downregulation

continued drug use reduces number of dopamine receptors in the reward pathway (cause of tolerance)

alcohol

depressant, GABA & glutamate & dopamine agonist

anxiolytics/sedatives & hypnotics

depressant, GABA agonist

opiates/opioids

depressant, endorphin & dopamine agonist

amphetamines/methamphetamines

stimulant, dopamine & norepinephrine agonist

cocaine

stimulant, dopamine & norepinephrine & serotonin agonist

psychedelics/hallucinogens

serotonin agonist

MDMA/ecstasy/molly

part stimulant & psychedelic, dopamine & serotonin agonist

marijuana/cannabis

endocannabinoid agonist

most common drug types in overdoses

opioids & stimulants

sympathetic nervous system

stress, arousal (autonomic, peripheral)

parasympathetic nervous system

rest & digest (autonomic, peripheral)

neural tube

baby nervous system made up of stem cells, eventually forms the brain

synaptogenesis

formation of synapses between neurons

neurogenesis

formation of new neurons in the brain

brain stem

pons, medulla, cerebellum

pons & medulla

essential life functions

cerebellum

coordination, motor activity, muscle memory

limbic system

thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex

thalamus

brain’s central router

hypothalamus

hormones, stress & sleep, pituitary gland

pituitary gland

releases hormones into the bloodstream

hippocampus

long-term memory, distributes memory to store, spatial navigation

amygdala

threat management, emotion & motivation

anterior cingulate cortex

processing emotions & experiences

cerebral cortex

primary and association cortices

primary cortex

sensory and motor info

association cortex

integrate and interpret info for complex thinking

occipital lobe

visual info

temporal lobe

hearing and language comprehension

parietal lobe

sensory, somatosensory cortex

frontal lobe

planning, reasoning, complex thinking, movement, motor cortex

contralateral control

sides of the body are controlled by the opposing brain hemispheres

phantom limb

phantom limb area of the brain still firing when neighboring parts of the brain are active

retina

back of the eye that transforms light waves into action potentials, photoreceptors, bipolar cells, ganglion cells

rods

periphery, dim light

cones

day light, center of retina (fovea), color, visual clarity

optic chiasm

where the two optic nerves cross

feature detectors

neurons in primary visual cortex that fire in response to certain shapes, angles, and movements

dorsal visual stream

occipital → parietal, “where” pathway

ventral visual stream

occipital → temporal, “what” pathway, fusiform gyrus

fusiform gyrus

patch in ventral visual stream that recognizes faces

prosopagnosia

difficulty recognizing faces

top-down processing

perception based on prior experience, knowledge, assumptions, expectations

inattentional blindness

focusing on one thing makes us blind to everything else, thus the brain does not register certain things

cochlea

fluid-filled coil in the inner ear that transforms sound waves into auditory signals

hair cells

cells in cochlea that sense sound waves

taste receptor cells

sensory cells on the taste bud that detect certain tastes and send them to the brain

olfactory receptor cells

sensory cells in the nasal cavity that are activated by odors, message sent to olfactory bulb, then brain

synesthesia

perceptual experience where sensory experience overlaps and associations are made

nociceptors

pain receptors, A-delta fibers and C fibers

a-delta fibers

fast-acting, myelinated, acute pain

c fiber

slow-acting, unmyelinated, dull aching pain

pavlov

classical conditioning, dogs

watson

classical conditioning, little albert

skinner

operant conditioning, skinner’s box

unconditioned stimulus

triggers automatic, natural response

unconditioned response

unlearned, natural response

conditioned stimulus

originally neutral, paired with unconditioned stimulus repeatedly

conditioned response

response to the conditioned stimulus

generalization

after conditioning, tendency to conjure similar responses to similar stimuli

extinction

when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the conditioned stimulus, and the conditioned response diminishes

systematic desensitization

a form of exposure therapy that exposes the subject to something they are scared of little by little, working to overcome the phobia

positive reinforcement

add a stimulus to get subject to continue a certain behavior (treat, paycheck)

negative reinforcement

take away an aversive stimulus to get subject to continue that behavior (fasten seatbelt to turn off beeping)

fixed-ratio

only reinforcing after a certain # of responses (customer rewards programs)

fixed-interval

only reinforcing after a specified amount of time has elapsed (bi-weekly paycheck)

variable ratio

reinforcing after a random number of responses (gambling)

variable-interval

reinforcing after a random amount of time has elapsed (radio shows)

superstition

forms by falsely linking a behavior to a result (Skinner)

shaping

using operant conditioning & approximations to guide behaviors towards the desired behavior (rodents shaped to locate & signal land mines)

positive punishment

add a stimulus to deter a behavior (spanking)

negative punishment

taking away something to deter a behavior (revoke phone privileges, time-out)

three-stage memory model

sensory, working, long-term

sensory memory

fleeting sensory experience

working memory

actively processed info

long-term

stored info encoded for later

automatic encoding

unconscious encoding (emotional experiences, conditioned learning)

effortful encoding

requires attention & conscious effort (class material)

typical working memory capacity

7 + or - 2

hermann ebbinghaus

studied how to optimize encoding new info

retention curve

as rehearsal time increases, relearning time decreased

serial position effect

tendency to remember the first & last item in a list

spacing effect

increased retention when spacing out practices over time

massed practice

cramming, attempting to encode a lot of info in a short amount of time

daniel tammet

amazing memory and synesthesia, diagnosed with ASD

explicit memory

form of long-term memory that takes effort to retrieve

semantic memory

memory of facts & general knowledge (explicit)

episodic/autobiographical

memory of personally experienced events (explicit)

implicit memory

form of long term memory that don’t take conscious effort to recall

procedural memory

muscle memory, complex motor skills (implicit)

conditioned associations

classical & operant conditioning (implicit)