unit 1 ap psych: biological bases of behavior

Nature

genes, hereditary inherited, natural, evolution

Nurture

Exposure, influence, norms, learning

Natural selection

Principal that inherited traits will most likely be passed down to new generations

Survival of the fittest

Inherited traits that allow people to thrive in environment

Eugenics

Selective breeding humans to promote certain traits

Twin studies

Same genes and same environment

Adoption studies

Different genes same environment

Family studies

Shows gene and environment

Central nervous system

Body’s decision maker: Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system

Responsible for gathering information and transferring central nervous system decisions to other body parts

Automatic nervous system

Controls glands, internal organ, and muscles; glandular activity, heartbeat, and digestion

Parasympathetic nervous system

Part of ANS that calms body; conserves energy, rest and digest

Sympathetic nervous system

Expends energy (fight or flight); accelerates heartbeat, raises, blood pressure, slow digestion, and raises blood sugar

Somatic nervous system

Enables control of skeletal muscles

Motor neurons (efferent)

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

Sensory neurons (afferent)

Carry messages from tissue and sensory receptors inward to brain and spinal cord for processing

Interneurons

inside brain and spinal cord; communicate internally and process information between sensory and motor outputs

Reflex Arc

Composed of a single sensory neuron and motor neuron which communicate through spinal cord (kneejerk reaction)

Dendrite

Receives info from neurotransmitters

Soma

Cell body; maintains health of neuron

Axon

Waiting for info; send electrical impulse through

Axon terminals / Terminal Buttons

Contain neurotransmitters and release chemicals into synapse

Myelin Sheath

Covers axon; makes impulses fast well protecting the axon

Nodes of Ranvier

Gaps of myelin sheath

Schwann cells

Produce myelin for myelin sheath

Glial cells

Support cells for nervous system structure, insulation, communication, and waste transport

Threshold

Minimum intensity needed in order for message to be sent

Action potential (depolarization)

A brief rapid electrical impulse that travels down a cell membrane to send signals between cells

Resting potential

The stable electrical charge difference across a cell membrane when the cell is not actively sending signals

Refactory period

A brief recovery time after cell, organ or body system response to a stimulus, during when it cannot immediately make a second response

All or nothing principal

A nerve or muscle cell that responds completely to a stimulus at maximum strength, or doesn’t respond at all

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that carry signals from one nerve cell (neuron) to another cell across a small gap across a synapse

Synapse

A specialized junction that allows A neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell

Reuptake

The process where a nerve cell absorbs a chemical messenger after it finishes sending a signal across a synapse

Multiple sclerosis

Break to myelin sheath leads to diminished control and reaction time

Myasthenia gravis

Neurons mistake, healthy cells for bad ones and attack them

Inhibitory

Makes neurons less likely to fire

excitatory

Makes neurons more likely to fire

Acetylcholine

Function: Enables muscle action learning in memory Malfunction(s): Alzheimer’s disease

Dopamine

Function: influences movement, learning attention, and emotion Malfunction(s): overly schizophrenia, undersupply Parkinson’s

Serotonin

Function: affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal Malfunction(s): Undersupply linked to depression

Norepinephrine

Function: helps control alertness, and arousal. Malfunction: under supply can depressed mood

GABA

Function: calms (a major inhibitory neurotransmitter) Malfunction: under supply linked to seizures, tumors, and insomnia

Glutamate

Function: memory (A major excitatory neurotransmitter). Malfunction: oversupply can overstimulate the brain producing migraines or seizures

Endorphins

Function: perception of pain or pleasure Malfunction: over supply with opioid drug drugs, can suppress the body’s natural endorphin supply

Substance P

Function: Involved in pain, perception, and immune response malfunction: Oversupply can lead to chronic pain

Adrenaline

Triggers the bodies “flight or fight” response during time of stress, danger or excitement

Ghrelin

Hunger arousing hormone

Leptin

Hunger suppressing hormones

Melatonin

Sleep inducing hormone

Agonists (excitatory)

Molecule that increases a neurotransmitters action

Antagonist (Inhibitory)

Molecule that inhibits neurotransmitter

Hallucinogens (etc. LSD, marijuana)

Psychedelic drug that distorts perception and evoke sensory images

Depressant (etc. alcohol, heroin)

Drug reducing neural activity and slows body functions

Stimulant (etc. caffeine, cocaine)

drugs, excitatory neural activity and speeds up brain function

Opioids (etc. fentanyl)

Pain reliever

Tolerance

Body builds up resistance to the drug due to constant intake

Withdrawal

Would not using drugs your body cannot function without them

Neuroplasticity

Younger neuropathways can change/blind (etc. like how they say little kids bones are like plastic)

Lesion

Destroys brain cells in order to observe their effect on the brain

Electroencephalograph

Amplified recordings of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain surface in order to observe the brain as it works

functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer generated images of soft tissue done to show specific brain structures

Brain stem

Extension of spinal cord that controls automatic survival functions

Medulla (Medal over your heart)

Base of brain stem that controls heart rate and breathing

Pons (bridge goes over the pond)

Controls coordination and sleep

Rarticular activating system (wake your RAS up)

Filters into and controls, arousal awareness, and focus

Cerebellum “little brain”

Coordination, voluntary movements, processing sensory input and enables nonverbal learning and memory (muscle memory)

Thalamus

Boring century control center, replies to cerebellum and direct messages to sensory receiving areas in cortex and transmits

Amygdala

Related to adversity emotions; anger and fear

Hypothalamus

Structure in the forebrain region that is responsible for drives such as sex, hunger, thirst, and temperature

Hippocampus

Structure in the limbic system that plays a role in the creation of new memory

Corpus Callosum

Connects the 2 hemispheres of the brain

Frontal lobe

Lobe in the brain that includes association areas for motivation, impulse thinking, and future planning

Motor cortex (efferent)

Cortex in the frontal lobe that controls voluntary muscle movement; both fine and gross

Parietal Lobe

Lobe in the brain that houses the sensory cortex, and helps us register our sense of touch and pain

Sensory Cortex (afferent)

Cortex located in the parietal lobe which is responsible for information from the senses

Occipital Lobe

Lobe in the back of that brain that is involved with vision (eyes in the back of my head)

Temporal lobe

Lobe that contains receptors for auditory stimuli

Broca’s area

Controls muscles in the mouth while speaking

Wernicke’s Area

Understands language

Neurogenesis

New neurons are formed in the brain

Left hemisphere of the brain

Written and spoken language, math, logical decision-making/reasoning

Right hemisphere of the brain

Understand language, non-literal thinking, spatial awareness, facial recognition, and imagination

Contralateral Control

Each hemisphere of the brain controls and processes signals from the opposite side of the body