AP Psych Biological Basis of Psychology

Neuroplasticity

Brain’s ability to change, rebuild, reorganize, etc after damage or experience

Lesion

Any type of damage to tissue in brain

EEG

Measures brain waves/used in sleep experiments

CT scan

3-d x ray of brain

MEG

Non invasive/measures magnetic fields in brain

PET(function)

Uses radioactive glucose to see function

FMRI

Detects blood flow in brain

MRI

Imaging of soft tissue

Old brain

Most fundamental and primitive part of the brain

Medulla

Breathing/heartbeat

Pons

Body positioning/sleep cycles/alertness/facial expressions

Reticular formation

Arousal/damage can cause a coma

Thalamus(top of brainstem)

Sensory switchboard(except smell)

Cerebellum

Balance and movement

Limbic system

Drives emotions and memory

Amygdala

Anger/fear

Hippocampus

Memories/facts/events

Hypothalamus

Homeostasis/drinking/rules pituitary gland and entire endocrine system

Cerebral cortex

The thinking cap

Frontal lobe

Thinking, planning, voluntary body movement, personality

Parietal

Processes sensory info of touch, pain, pressure

Occipital

Visual processing center

Temporal

Processes hearing and sound recognition

Corpus Callosum

Fibers that connect two hemispheres

Motor cortex

Sends signals to body— controls muscle memory

Broca’s area

Controls muscles that produce speech

Where is the Broca’s area and motor cortex located?

Frontal lobe

Somata “sensory” cortex

Takes in sensory input from corresponding body parts

Where is the Somata cortex located?

Parietal lobe

Wernicke’s Area

Language comprehension

Where is Wernicke’s area located?

Temporal lobe

Association Areas

Parts of the cerebral cortex involved in higher mental functions

Left Brain

Language/logic/math/science/analytical/right motor skills/ planning

Right brain

Creativity/emotional thoughts/intuition/remembering faces/spacial awareness/left motor skills/non verbal/imagination

Neuron

A nerve cell

Sensory Neurons

Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

Motors neurons

Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord

Interneurons

Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

Dendrite

Bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses towards cell body

Axon

The extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

Myelin sheath

Layer of fatty tissue on some axons that insulate the cell and enables transmission

Action potential

A neural impulse

Threshold

The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Synapse

Junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite of the receiving neuron

Reuptake

A neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

Excitatory neurotransmitter

Make the neuron more likely to fire

Inhibitory Neurotransmitter

Make neuron less likely to fire

ACH

Enables muscle action, learning, and memory

Deteriorating ACH producing neurons

Alzheimer’s disease

Dopamine

Movement, learning, attention, and emotion

Excess dopamine

Schizophrenia

Starved of dopamine

Parkinson’s disease

Serotonin

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

Undersupply of serotonin

Depression

SSRI

Prevent the reuptake of serotonin, raising mood

Norepinephrine

Alertness and arousal

Undersupply of norepinephrine

Can depress mood

GABA

A major INHIBITORY neurotransmitter

Undersupply of gaba

Seizures, tremors, and insomnia

Glutamate

A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory

Oversupply of Glutamate

Migraines or seizures

Agonist

Mimic a neurotransmitter’s chemical composition to bind to its receptor and mimic its effects

Antagonists

Bind to receptors but block a neurotransmitter’s function

Central Nervous System

The brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system

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

Somatic nervous system

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

Autonomic Nervous system

The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs

Sympathetic nervous system

Division of autonomic nervous system that arouses the body in stressful situations

Parasympathetic nervous system

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

Sympathetic nervous system response

Accelerated heart rate, dilates pupil, inhibits digestion, stimulates glucose release by liver, stimulates secretion of norepinephrine, epinephrine, relaxed bladder

Parasympathetic nervous system response

Contracts pupil, slows heartbeat, stimulates digestion, stimulates gallbladder, contracts bladder

Endocrine system

Body’s slow chemical communication system, releases hormones into blood stream

Hormones

Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine system and travel through bloodstream

Pituitary gland

Master gland

Adrenaline

Fight or flight

Melatonin

Helps regulate sleep/wake cycles, released by pineal gland

Oxytocin

Social bonding/love hormone

Ghrelin

“Im hungry”

Leptin

“Im full”