AP Psychology Unit 1 Biological Bases of Behavior (2024/2025) Part 1 (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4)

heredity

heredity

Passing of traits from parents to offspring

nature

the influence of our inherited characteristics on our personality, physical growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions

nurture

external factors that one experiences, such as family interactions or education.

Genetic predisposition

an inherited genetic pattern that makes one susceptible to a certain disease or behaviors

evolutionary perspective of psychology

explores how natural selection affects the expression of
behavior and mental processes to increase survival and reproductive success.

natural selection

A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.

eugenics

study of factors that influence the hereditary qualities of the human race and ways to improve those qualities

twin studies

a common method of investigating whether nature or nurture affects behavior

family studies

researchers assess hereditary influence by examining blood relatives to see how much they resemble one another on a specific trait

adoption studies

assess hereditary influence by examining the resemblance between adopted children and both their biological and their adoptive parents

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord; interacts with all processes in the body.

peripheral nervous system

relays messages from the central nervous system
to the rest of the body and includes the autonomic and somatic nervous systems.

Autonomic nervous system

governs processes that are involuntary and includes
the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.

sympathetic nervous system

the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

parasympathetic nervous system

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

somatic nervous system

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles; governs processes that are voluntary.

neurons

neural cells that transmit information

Glial cells

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons

reflex arc

in the spinal cord; demonstrates how neurons within the central and peripheral nervous systems work together to respond to stimuli. Three types of neurons work together: sensory, motor, and interneurons.

sensory neurons

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

motor neurons

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

interneurons

neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

neural transmission

electrochemical communication within and between neurons and the final destination

action potential

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

all-or-nothing principle

Once action potential reaches threshold, either fires or doesn't

depolarizaiton

change in charge when neuron fired positive ions through the cell membrane

refractory period

the time following an action potential during which a new action potential cannot be initiated

reuptake

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron

neural threshold

The minimum level of stimulation required to get a neuron to fire.

multiple sclerosis

A chronic disease of the central nervous system marked by damage to the myelin sheath. Plaques occur in the brain and spinal cord causing tremor, weakness, incoordination, paresthesia, and disturbances in vision and speech

Myasthenia gravis

a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the neuromuscular junction and produces serious weakness of voluntary muscles

excitatory neurotransmitters

chemicals released from the terminal buttons of a neuron that provoke the next neuron into firing

inhibitory neurotransmitters

chemicals released from the terminal buttons of a neuron that prevent the next neuron from firing

dopamine

A neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention and learning and the brain's pleasure and reward system.

Serotonin

Affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal. Undersupply linked to depression.

Norepinephrine

A neurotransmitter involved in arousal, as well as in learning and mood regulation

Glutamate

A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory

GABA

a major inhibitory neurotransmitter; regulates sleep and wake cycles

Endorphines

natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

Substance P

A neurotransmitter that is involved in the transmission of pain messages to the brain.

Acetylcholine

enables muscle action, learning, and memory

Hormones

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

Adrenaline

a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, especially in conditions of stress, increasing rates of blood circulation, breathing, and carbohydrate metabolism and preparing muscles for exertion.

Leptin

A hormone produced by adipose (fat) cells that acts as a satiety factor in regulating appetite.

Ghrelin

A hunger-arousing hormone secreted by an empty stomach

Melatonin

A hormone manufactured by the pineal gland that produces sleepiness.

Oxytocin

A hormone released by the posterior pituitary that stimulates uterine contractions during childbirth and milk ejection during breastfeeding.

Psychoactive Drugs

Chemicals that affect the nervous system and result in altered consciousness

Agonist

a molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, stimulates a response

Antagonists (drugs)

These drugs block the actions of neurotransmitters

Reuptake inhibitors

Drugs that interfere with the reuptake of neurotransmitters in the synapse so that a greater amount remains in the synapse

Stimulants

Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

Caffeine

a mild stimulant found in coffee, tea, and several other plant-based substances

Cocaine

a powerful and addictive stimulant, derived from the coca plant, producing temporarily increased alertness and euphoria

Depressants

drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

Alcohol

Depressant

Hallucinogens

psychedelic drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input

Marijuana

a drug, often smoked, whose effects include euphoria, impairment of judgment and concentration and occasionally hallucinations; rarely reported as addictive

Opioids

synthetic opiates that are prescribed for pain relief

Heroin

narcotic drug derived from opium that is extremely addictive

Tolerance

the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect

Addiction

compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequences

withdrawal

the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug

Brain Stem

Connection to spinal cord. Filters information flow between peripheral nervous system and the rest of the brain.

Medulla

the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

reticular activating system

Located in the upper brain stem; responsible for maintenance of consciousness, specifically one's level of arousal.

Reward Center

An area of the hypothalamus that, when stimulated, provides pleasure to the organism

Cerebellum

the "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance

Cerebral Cortex

The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.

Limbic System

neural system located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives

Thalamus

the brain's sensory switchboard, 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

Hypothalamus

A neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward.

Pituitary Gland

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

Hippocampus

A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.

Amygdala

A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression.

Corpus callosum

the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

Occipital lobes

regions of the cerebral cortex - at the back of the brain - important for vision

temporal lobes

portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear

parietal lobes

portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position

association areas

areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking

somatosensory cortex

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

frontal lobes

the portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments

linguistic processing

Using knowledge of meanings of words, grammar, rules of language to put together an utterance. • Generate verbal symbols • Symbols organized according to the rules of language

higher-order thinking

A level of thinking that requires the student to think critically. These levels would be at the application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation levels on the Bloom's taxonomy scale.

executive functioning

the cognitive abilities and processes that allow humans to plan or inhibit their actions

prefrontal cortex

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

motor cortex

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

split brain research

-study of patients with severed corpus callosum
-involves sending messages to only one side of the brain
-demonstrates right and left brain specialization

hemispheric specialization

The control of distinct neurological functions by the right and left hemispheres of the brain.

Broca's area

Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.

Wernicke's area

controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

Aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).

Contralateral hemispheric organization

left side of brain controls right side of body while right brain controls left body except smell

Plasticity

the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience

EEG

An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.

fMRI

A technique for revealing blood flow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans.

Lesioning

removal or destruction of part of the brain