AP Psych Unit 1 Review

All-or-none principle

An action potential fires at full strength once threshold is reached.

Refractory period

Brief recovery period when a neuron cannot fire again or is less likely to.

Reuptake

Sending neuron reabsorbs neurotransmitters from the synapse.

Sympathetic nervous system

Activates the body for fight-or-flight responses.

Parasympathetic nervous system

Calms the body; rest-and-digest functions.

Somatic nervous system

Controls voluntary movement of skeletal muscles.

Autonomic nervous system

Controls automatic functions such as heart rate and digestion.

Sensory neurons (afferent)

Carry sensory information toward the central nervous system.

Motor neurons (efferent)

Carry commands away from the central nervous system to muscles and glands.

Interneurons

Process information and connect neurons within the central nervous system.

Action potential

Electrical impulse that travels down a neuron's axon.

Threshold

Minimum stimulation needed to trigger an action potential.

Resting potential

Electrical charge difference across a neuron's membrane at rest.

Myelin sheath

Insulating layer that speeds neural impulse transmission.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that cross the synapse between neurons.

Synapse

Junction where neurons communicate.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Involved in muscle movement, learning, and memory.

Dopamine

Involved in reward, motivation, and movement.

Serotonin

Involved in mood, sleep, and appetite.

GABA

Primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain.

Glutamate

Primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain.

Endorphins

Natural chemicals that reduce pain.

Frontal lobe

Planning, judgment, decision-making, and voluntary movement.

Parietal lobe

Processes touch, bodily sensations, and spatial information.

Temporal lobe

Processes hearing, language, memory, and face recognition.

Occipital lobe

Primarily processes visual information.

Hippocampus

Helps form new explicit memories.

Hypothalamus

Regulates homeostasis, hunger, thirst, and body temperature.

Thalamus

Relays most sensory information to the cerebral cortex, except smell.

Medulla

Controls breathing, heart rate, and other vital automatic functions.

Cerebellum

Coordinates balance, posture, and movement.

Corpus callosum

Connects the brain's left and right hemispheres.

Pituitary gland

Releases hormones and is regulated partly by the hypothalamus.

Left visual field

Visual information primarily goes to the right hemisphere.

Right visual field

Visual information primarily goes to the left hemisphere.

Split-brain research

Studies effects of cutting the corpus callosum on communication between hemispheres.

Left hemisphere

Typically dominant for language; controls the right side of the body.

Right hemisphere

Often specializes in spatial processing; controls the left side of the body.

EEG

Records electrical activity of the brain using scalp electrodes.

fMRI

Measures blood-oxygen-level changes to estimate brain activity.

PET scan

Uses a radioactive tracer to measure brain metabolic activity.

CT scan

Uses X-rays to create structural images of the brain.

Blindsight

Responding to visual information without conscious awareness of seeing it.

Dual processing

Information is processed simultaneously on conscious and unconscious levels.

Heritability

Population-level estimate of how much trait variation is associated with genetic differences.

Epigenetics

Changes in gene expression without changing the DNA sequence.

Gene

Segment of DNA that contributes to a trait or biological function.

Genome

An organism's complete set of genetic material.

Identical twins

Share nearly all their inherited DNA.

Fraternal twins

Share about 50% of their segregating genetic variants on average.

Evolutionary psychology

Studies how psychological traits may have been shaped by natural selection.

Phineas Gage

His case showed that frontal-lobe damage can alter personality and behavior.