Psychology Biopsychology Study Guide Notes

What is biopsychology?

The study of the brain (the command center) and how it influences behaviors, thoughts, and emotions.

Who explored the concept of inheritance traits?

Charles Darwin explored the concept of inheritance of traits (genes) throughout generations in his theory of evolution through natural selection.

What is the theory of evolution?

The organisms that are better suited for their environment will survive and reproduce over time, while those that are poorly suited for their environment will die off.

What are characteristics and behaviors that impact survival and reproduction?

Those that help protect against predators; those that increase access to food; those that help to offspring alive

What is genetic environmental correlation?

View of gene-environment interaction that asserts our genes affect our environment, and our environment influences the expression of our genes.

What are genes?

It influence the development and function of the brain and the nervous system

What does the brain and nervous system control?

Our behaviors, thoughts and emotions

What is the nervous system?

The biological system that underlies all mental processes, including thoughts, emotions, behaviors, learning, memory, and perception. It uses neurons to transmit signals throughout the body.

What is the central nervous system?

A network of nerves that facilitates communication between different regions of the brain and the spinal cord.

What is the peripheral nervous system?

It consists of the nerves that branch out from the brain and spinal cord. These nerves form the communication network between the CNS and the body parts

What is the autonomic nervous system?

Controls involuntary body functions (e.g. heart rate, breathing, digestion) and includes the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

What is the somatic nervous system?

Controls voluntary movements processes sensory information (e.g. sound, taste, smell)

What is the parasympathetic system responsible for?

Body's relaxation response when it's resting, feeding, or relaxed and to balance out the responses of the sympathetic nervous system

What are examples of what the parasympathetic system does?

Digestion, salivation, urination

What is the sympathetic system responsible for?

Preparing the body for action during stressful situations

What are examples of what the sympathetic system does?

Increasing heart rate and breathing, dilating pupils, and inhibiting digestion

How are the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems related to anxiety?

Sympathetic system is in overdrive and parasympathetic is not able to balance it out

What are neurons?

the fundamental units of the nervous system and brain, and are responsible for sending and receiving signals from the brain and other parts of the body

What are neural pathways?

Neural pathways are connections between individual neurons across different areas of the brain.

How are neural pathways created and reinforced?

Neural pathways are created when we learn or do something (i.e. learning to walk, responding to danger, reading) and reinforced when we learn or do something repeatedly.

How can the environment and life experiences play a part in someone predisposed to depression?

Individuals with a specific genetic variation might be more likely to suffer with depression when exposed to stressful environments or experience of trauma.

What is the limbic system?

Helps regulate emotion, behavior, memory, motivation, threat detection and stress response

What is the hippocampus?

Helps with memory formation of new information and retrieval of past information received

What is the amygdala?

It is instinctive part of brain, reactive to stimuli, process fear and emotion, detects threats

What is the thalamus?

It relays and processes information from body to the brain

What is the prefrontal cortex?

It is the emotional regulation, attention, impulse control

What is the anterior cingulate cortex?

It handles the pain perception and decision making

What is the basal ganglia?

It controls voluntary movements

What is the amygdala's threat and danger response?

Determines if a threat is life or death. It's always on the lookout for danger and is responsible for processing and expressing emotions, especially fear and anger.

What is the hippocampus' threat and danger response?

Stores and refers to past behavioral experiences to decide how to respond.

What is the thalamus' threat and danger response?

Takes information from environment, past experiences and decides what to do with this information

What is the primitive brain?

Reactive and responds to threats by fighting, fleeing, or freezing.

What is the modern brain or frontal cortex responsible for?

Problem solving, memory, language, judgment, impulse control, and reasoning.

What are two things that can affect the frequency of use of the body's stress response system?

Chronic Stress and Trauma

How does the overuse of this system impact the brain's ability to function properly?

Decrease the size of the prefrontal cortex and increase the size of the amygdala

Why are brains considered plastic?

The brain has the ability to change (flexible)

What are periods of heightened brain plasticity?

When the brain is particularly sensitive to the environment (i.e. experiences of trauma) but also able to acquire new information(treatment and interventions)

Why is pruning occurring during these periods?

Eliminating little used connections (neural pathways) and strengthening the efficiency of those that are used most frequently