Ap Psych Ch 2: The Biology of Mind

Holy freshman year (so this is where the 600 psych terms came from!)

Biological Psych

The Scientific Study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes. Some biological psychologists call themselves behavioral neuropsychologist’s, behavior geneticist’s, physiologists psychologists, or biopsychologists

Ex:How the brain works to make us feel everything

Plasticity

The brains ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new patterns based on experience

Ex:Like how most plastic is flexible and durable

Neuron

A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

Ex:There are billions of them in the human body

Cell Body

The part of the neuron that contains the nucleus; the cell’s life support

Ex:Kinda like the head/skull of the neuron, protecting the nucleus

Dendrites

A neurons often bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate, conducting impulses toward the cell

Ex:Dendrites work and connect like how squirrels go from tree to tree via branches

Axon

The neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons through its branches

Ex:Telephone wires send electrical signals to each other

Myelin Sheath

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

Ex:The myelin sheath is the condom of the axon

Glial Cells (Glia)

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

Ex:Like how flex tape can stop pipes from leaking

Action Potential

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

Ex:A domino effect (positive ions get pushed into the axon, moving through the whole line til the axon terminal)

Threshold

The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Ex:In movies when a big ahh laser is being charged up to be fired at the hero’s town

Refractory Period

In neural processing, a brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron is fired; subsequent action potentials cant occurs until the axon returns to a resting state

Ex:In Fortnite after you jeep firing the mini gun, there is a cool down period before you can use it again 

All-Or-Nothing Response

A neurons reaction of either firing (with a full strength response) or not firing

Ex:When you need all the necessary items to move to the next area, but if you don’t have it you' can’t go

Synapse

The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body if the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft.

Ex:The part of the rise cue where the operator places you in different cars to go on the ride (Axon terminal is the cue, Neurotransmitter is the person, Receptor is the ride vehicle)

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether or not the neuron will generate a neural impulse

Ex:Like the riders at theme parks when they finally get on the ride, but if they get off of the ride from the cue then the ride wont start

Reuptake

A neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by sending the neuron

Ex:On the Harry Potter ride, if it breaks down, you get to go back in line and ride it again

Endorphins

“Morphine within” - natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure

Ex:Hormones that are natural painkillers for the body, released when you feel pain/stress

Agonist

A molecule that increases a neurotransmitters action

Ex:Adderall clings to receptors to help you focus

Antagonist

A molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter’s action

Ex:How poisons affect your body

Nervous System

The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system

Ex:How we are able to feel and perceive our senses

Central Nervous system (CNS)

The brain stem and spinal cord

Ex:Where sensory info is sent to (central→center of the body)

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

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

Ex:How we sense stuff

Nerves

Bundled axons that form neural cables connecting the central Nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs

Ex:Like how cables connect to the TV

Sensory (Afferent) Neurons

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

Ex:Anything you touch, that sensory info gets sent to the spinal cord and upon to the brain

Motor (Efferent) Neurons

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

Ex:Carry info from the brain through the spinal cord out to other neurons fro movement

Interneurons

Neurons within the brain and spinal cord; they communicate internally and process information between the sensory inputs and the motor inputs

Ex:Neurons inside the brain/spinal cord

Somatic Nervous System

The division of the peripheral Nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles (AKA skeletal nervous system)

Ex:When I have to use my inhaler (voluntary movements)

Autonomic Nervous System

The part of the peripheral Nervous system that controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic divisions arouses; Its parasympathetic division calms

Ex:When you digest food, your muscles are working automatically

Sympathetic Nervous System

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

Ex:Activates in stressful or exciting situations (fight or flight)

Parasympathetic Nervous System

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

Ex:Activates when we are cal (rest and digest)

Reflex

A simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as a knee jerk response

Ex:When you go to the Doctors office and they hut your knee with a hammer

Endocrine System

The body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the blood stream

Ex:They work like neurons (but way slower)

Hormones

Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the blood stream and effect other tissues

Ex:During puberty when teenagers go crazy

Adrenal Glands

A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress

Ex:Releases adrenaline into the bloodstream (adrenaline rush)

Pituitary Gland

The endocrine system’s most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

Ex: Secretes different hormones because of the hypothalamus (oxytocin, endorphins, growth hormones)

Lesion

Tissue destruction. A brain lesions is a naturally or experimentally cause destruction of brain tissue

Ex:You lose some parts of the brain to see what happens

Electroencephalograph (EEG)

An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brains surface. These waves are measured but electrodes placed on the scalp

Ex:Checks for electrical activity (doesn’t show the actual brain)

magnetoencephalography (MEG)

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

Ex: Kinda like the EEG, but it measures the brain’s magnetic levels

Positron Emission Tomography (PET scan)

A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task

Ex:When scanning you get a colored pic of the brain (cooler colors mean less activity, warmer colors mean more activity). You are also lwk radioactive

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer generated images of soft tissue. MRI scans show brain anatomy

Ex:Magnetic waves show an image of the brain

functional MRI (fMRI)

A technique for revealing blood flow and, therefore, fMRI scans show the brains function as well as structure

Ex:The exact same thing as an MRI but you have to actively be doing something for it to work

Brainstem