Unit 1 Study Guide 1

Temporal Lobe

Primarily responsible for processing auditory information.

Hippocampus

Critical for the formation of new explicit memories and spatial navigation.

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, reward, and motor control.

Broca's Area

Responsible for speech production; damage results in difficulty speaking but comprehension remains.

Wernicke's Area

Responsible for understanding language; damage leads to fluent but nonsensical speech.

Hypothalamus

Plays a key role in homeostasis, including hunger and thirst regulation.

Cerebellum

Involved in coordination of voluntary movements and balance.

Acetylcholine Blockage

Results in muscle paralysis due to inhibition of neurotransmitter release at neuromuscular junctions.

Amygdala

Critical for emotion regulation, particularly fear and aggression.

Frontal Lobes

Involved in executive functions including attention, memory retrieval, and decision-making.

Occipital Lobe

Responsible for processing visual information; damage can lead to visual deficits.

Right Hemisphere

Involved in recognizing faces and interpreting nonverbal cues.

fMRI

Used to observe blood flow and neural activity; increased activity in the hippocampus indicates engagement in the memory tasks.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter associated with mood, sleep, and appetite; commonly targeted by antidepressants.

GABA

An inhibitory neurotransmitter that reduces neural excitability often targeted for anxiety relief.

Cortisol Release

Released by the adrenal glands during stress; high levels can impair memory function.

Alcohol's Effect on Memory

Alcohol disrupts the encoding of new memories, impacting short-term recall.

Dichotic Listening

Suggests the left hemisphere's dominance in language processing.

REM Sleep

Critical for memory consolidation.

Independent Variable

The factor that researchers manipulate in a study.

Dependent Variable

The outcome measured in the experiment.

Placebo Effect

A phenomenon where changes occur due to participants' expectations rather than the treatment.

Phantom Limb Sensations

Individuals may feel sensations or pain in the area where a limb used to be after its loss.

Nociceptors

Specialized sensory receptors that detect harmful stimuli and send pain signals to the central nervous system.

Opponent-Process Theory of Color Vision

Explains color perception based on opposing pairs.

Endorphins

Natural painkillers released during stress or pain.

Melatonin

A hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles and increases production in darkness.

Dopamine Enhancers

Can lead to increased pleasure and risk of addiction.

Damage to Hippocampus

Leads to anterograde amnesia, impairing the formation of new explicit memories.

Sleep Regulation (Hypothalamus)

Regulates circadian rhythms and sleep-wake cycles; damage can lead to insomnia.

Parkinson’s Disease

Associated with the loss of dopamine-producing neurons leading to motor control issues.

Fine Motor Skills and Cerebellum

Damage to the cerebellum can result in difficulty with fine motor skills and balance.

Fear Response and Amygdala

Damage can impair fear response and difficulty recognizing emotional cues.