AP Psychology Unit 1.1 Vocab

nature-nurture issue

longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors

evolutionary psychology

study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

behavior genetics

study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

environment

every non-genetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to our experiences of the people and things around us

genome

complete instructions for making an organism

interaction

interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as hereditary)

epigenetics

study of the molecular mechanisms by which environments can influence genetic expression (without DNA change)

adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)

traumatic events that happen between the ages of one and seventeen that affect the child’s brain and health

central nervous system (CNS)

body’s decision maker (brain and spinal cord)

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body

sensory (afferent) neurons

neurons that carry incoming information from the body’s tissues and sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

motor (efferent) 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; they communicate internally and process information between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

somatic nervous system (skeletal nervous system)

division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles

autonomic nervous system (ANS)

part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs (such as the nerves)

sympathetic nervous system

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

parasympathetic nervous system

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

dendrites

neuron’s often bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body

axon

segmented neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands

myelin sheath

fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; it enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next

glial cells

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they may also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory

action potential

brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

threshold

level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

refractory period

brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; subsequent action potentials cannot occur until the axon returns to its resting state

all-or-none response (all-or-nothing principle)

neuron’s reaction of either firing

synapse

junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

reuptake

neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

acetycholine (ACh)

enables muscle action, learning, and memory

ex of malfunctions: with Alzheimer’s disease, ACh-producing neurons deteriote

dopamine

influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

ex of malfunctions: oversupply = schizophrenia, undersupply = tremors and decreases mobility in Parkinson’s disease

serotonin

affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

ex of malfunctions: undersupply = depression, oversupply = hep with depression

norepinephrine

helps control alertness and arousal

ex of malfunctions: undersupply can depress mood

gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)

major inhibitory neurotransmitter

ex of malfunctions: undersupply = seizures, tremors, and insomia

glutamate

major excitatory neurotransmitter, involved in memory

ex of malfunctions: oversupply = overstimulate the brain producing migraines or seizures

endorphins

neurotransmitters that influence the perception of pain or pleasure

ex of malfunctions: oversupply with opioid drugs can suppress the body’s natural endorphin supply

substance P

involved in pain perception and immune response

ex of malfunctions: oversupply = chronic pain

agonist

molecule that increases a neurotransmitter’s action

antagonist

molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter’s action

endocrine system

body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands and fat tissue that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

reflex

involuntary and nearly instantaneous movement in response to a stimulus

reflex arc

controls a reflex

psychoactive drugs

chemical substance that alters the brain, causing changes in perceptions and moods

substance use disorder

disorder characterized by continued substance use despite resulting life disruption

tolerance

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

depressants

drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

barbiturates

drugs that depress the CNS activity, reducing activity but impairing memory and judgement

opioids

depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety

hallucigens

psychedelic drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input

near-death experience

altered state of consciousness

excitatory

neurotransmitters that increases the likelihood of neuron firing

inhibitory

neurotransmitters that decrease the likelihood of neuron firing

neuroplasticity

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

lesion

tissue destruction

electroencephalogram (EEG)

amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain’s surface

magnetoencephalography (MEG)

brain-imaging technique that measures fields from the brain’s natural electrical activity

position emission tomography (PET)

technique for detecting brain activity that displays where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task

functional MRI (fMRI)

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

hindbrain (medulla, pons, and cerebellum)

directs essential survival functions (e.g. breathing, sleeping, wakefullness, coordination, and balance)

midbrain (atop the brainstem)

connects the hindbrain with forebrain (controls some motor movement, transmits auditory and visual information)

forebrain (cerebral cortex, thalamus, and hypothalamus)

manages complex cognitive activities, sensory and associative functions, and voluntary motor activities

brainstem

central core of the brain; responsible for automatic survival functions

medulla

controls heartbeat and breathing

thalamus

forebrain’s sensory control center; directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

reticular formation

nerve network that travels through the brainstem into the thalamus; filters information and plays an important role in controlling arousal

cerebellum

processes sensory input, coordinates movement output and balance, and enables nonverbal learning and memory

limbic system

neural system located mostly in the forebrain that includes the amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus, thalamus, and pituitary gland; associated with emotions and drives

amygdala

two lima-bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion

hypothalamus

directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temp), helps govern the endocrine system and is linked to emotion and reward

hippocampus

neural center in the limbic system that helps process explicit (conscious) memories for storage

cerebral cortex

intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the forebrain’s cerebral hemispheres; body’s ultimate control and information processing center

frontal lobes

enables linguistic processing, muscles movements, higher order thinking, and executive functioning

parietal lobes

receives sensory input for touch and body position

occipital lobes

receives information from the visual fields

temporal lobes

receives information primarily from the opposite ear and enables language processing

motor cortex

controls voluntary movements

somatosensory cortex

processes body touch and movement sensations

association areas

not involved in primary motor or sensory functions, but rather higher mental functions like learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking

grey matter

contains cell bodies, dendrites, and axon terminals of neurons

white matter

axons connecting different parts of grey matter to each other

glial cells

cells in central and peripheral nervous system that:

• hold neurons in place

• supply nutrients and oxygen to neurons

• insulates neurons from one another

• destroy pathogens and remove dead neurons

• assist neurons in forming synaptic connections between each other

neurogenesis

formation of new neurons

split brain

separates the two hemispheres by cutting the fibers connecting them (usually happens to try and lessen epilepsy seizures)

gyrusli

bumps on brain

sulcusli

caves on brain

longitudinal fissure

corpus colossum

corpus colossum

connect left and right hemispheres

Broca’s Area

part of frontal lobe (left hemisphere) associated with speech production

brain damage (e.g. strokes) and genetics can lead to non-fluent/expressive aphasia: good comprehension, bad production

Werincke’s Area

part of temporal lobe concerned with comprehension of language

brain damage (e.g. strokes) and genetics can lead to fluent/receptive aphasia: bad comprehension, good production

fusiform facial area (FFA) or fusiformgyrus

recognition of faces

prosopagnosia

inability to recognize faces

sensation

process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

perception

process by which our brain organizes and interprets sensory information, enabling us to recognize objects and events as meaningful

sensory receptors

sensory nerve ending that respond to stimuli

bottom-up processing

information processing that begins with the sensory receptors and works its way up to the brain’s integration of sensory information

top-down processing

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

transduction

conversion of one energy into another

example: in sensation, the transforming of physical energy (e.g. sights, sounds, and smells) into neural impulses the brain can interpret

psychophysics

study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

absolute thresholds

maximum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

signal detection theory

theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) and background stimulation (noise)

subliminal

below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness