AP Psych Unit 2 Test

circadian rhythm

24 hour clock

stage 1 sleep

• alpha —> theta waves

• few minutes

• drifting off

• breathing irregular to rhythmic

• hypnagogic sensations

stage 2 sleep

• theta waves

• muscle movements stop

• sleep spindles

• K-Complex

stage 3-4

• deep sleep

• delta waves

• hard to wake

• decreases as night goes on

• sleepwalking, night terrors

REM sleep

• rapid eye movements

• shallow breathing

• paradoxical sleep (brain is active, muscles paralyzed)

• increases as night goes on

• dreaming

sleep theories

• sleep protects (evolutionary)

• sleep helps recuperation (biological)

• memory storage / consolidation (cognitive)

• sleep and creative thinking (insight)

• sleep and growth (biological)

sleep deprivation effects

• mild to moderate

  • alertness, short-term memory, problem-solving

  • emotional disregulation

• Severe

  • all of the above + hallucinations & delusions

• prolonged

  • big health issues, death

sleep disorders

• insomnia

• narcolepsy

• sleep apnea

• night terrors

• sleepwalking

freud dream interpretation

• wish fulfillment

• manifest content: remembered storyline

• latent content: underlying meaning

carl jung dream interpretation

• revolved around collective unconscious, universal information & explanations for dreams

rosalind cartwright dream interpretation

• dreams reflect important events

• opportunity to problem solve

hobson dream interpretation

dreaming was an attempt of the brain to make sense of neural activity during REM sleep

corpus callosum

• lets both sides of the brain communicate with one another

• communicates visual and spatial information across both sides, coordinating memory and language

reticular formation

involved in alertness, sensory filtering, and motor control.

amygdala

process emotions, activates the fight-or-flight response, and forms memories.

hippocampus

• turning short-term memories into long-term storage

• help navigate physical space

thalamus

• relays information from all senses (besides smell)

• motor control

• regulates sleep cycles

hypothalamus

heostasis, keeps the body stable by regulating temperature, hunger, thirst, sleep, hormones

cerebellum

muscles movements coordinations, balance, posture, muscle memory

frontal lobe

voluntary movement, planning, organizing, decision making

parietal lobe

body position & spatial awareness

motor cortex

voluntary muscle movements, preps body to move with external clues

sensory cortex

receives & interprets info send from senses

occipital lobe

seeing

temporal lobe

hearing, language comprehensions, memory, learning, emotion

broca’s area

speech production, grammar, language

wernicke’s area

understanding language, connects words into concepts

sensory neurons vs motor neurons

sensory: carries info from sensory organs to CNS

motor: from CNS to rest of body

parts of neuron

• dendrite: receive signals from neighboring neurons, carry back to cell body

• soma (cell body): relays all info down to the axon

• axon: transmits signals from soma to axon terminal

• axon terminals: last step, has synaptic vesicles full of nerve vessels

neuron communications

electrical communication: resting potential (neuron at rest & negative charge) —> action potential (current sent down axon)

chemical communication: ions go in and out of axon until threshold is reach & neuron fires

synaptic transmission

• info must be transmitted across synapse to other neurons via neurotransmitters

• neurotransmitters released from vesicles & attach to postsynaptic neuron

• neurotransmitters in contact w/ dendrite of postsynaptic neuron briefly

neurotransmitters

• chemical substances in axon terminals

• communicate to other neurons, binds to receptors on neighboring neurons

agonists vs antagonists

• agonist: mimc/facilitate actions of neurotransmitters

• antagonist: oppose actions of neurotransmitters

Acetylcholine

• activates motor neurons to control muscles

• attention, arousal, learning, memory

• agonist

GABA

• slows brain activity

• neutralize sleep

• antagonist

Serotonin

• regulates sleep, mood, appetite

• agonist

Dopamine

• rewards & pleasure

• motivation

• agonist

norepinephrine

• fight or flight

• alertness, focus

• agonist

Endorphins

• mitigate pain through turning on euphoria

• pain reduction & pleasure

• agonist

glutamate

• learning & memory

• excitatory relative of GABA

• agonist

Substance P

• pain

• agonist

4 functions of nervous system

• sensing world

• transmitting info

• processing info

• producing response

CNS

receieves, interprets, sends signals to PNS (brain = main control center, spinal cord connects/relays nerve impulses)

PNS

connects CNS to all organ systems

sensory neurons: detect stimuli

motor neurons: carry signal to stimulate response

2 subsystems: somatic (voluntary movement) autonomic (involuntary procuesses)

autonomic nervous system

2 divisions

sympathetic (responds to fight or flight, ramps up body)

parasympathetic (restores body to relaxed, calm state)

old school brain study

lesioning, destruction of brain tissue (naturally or experimentally)

EEG

• measures overall electrical activity of the brain

• external

• shows brain activity in certain psychological states

• useful to diagnose medical problems

• can’t provide data on substructures

PET

• makes display of brain to detect where is active

• tracer substance w/ radioactive glucose

CT

• combines a ton of 2D x-rays to make a 3D x-ray

• detect damage & changes in cerebral blood flow

• used for trauma, tumors

MRI

• strong magnets

• produces very clear/detailed pictures of brain

• cross-sectional slices

FMRI

• detects changes with blood flow

• shows where the brain “lights up”

endocrine system

• sends hormones as messages through bloodstream

• messages goes to brain & other tissues

• controlled by hypothalamus

• a lot slower than nervous system

pituitary gland

• master gland of endocrine system

• produces hormons that regulate other glands

pineal gland

• secretes melatonin

thyroid gland

• secretes hormones that control metabolism

adrenal glands

• sympathetic nervous system responds to stress by sending signals to adrenal glands

• linked w/ aggression

pancreas

• regulates blood sugar levels

gonads

secrete estrogens & testosterone