AP Psych Unit One AP Terms (NOT IN TEXTBOOK)

vocab words that weren't found in the textbook

Acetylcholine

: A neurotransmitter involved in learning, memory, and muscle contraction.

Activation Synthesis Theory

suggests dreams are a result of random brain activity (activation) being interpreted and synthesized into meaningful experiences by the brain.

Adrenaline

Epinephrine, also called adrenaline, is a hormone that activates the sympathetic nervous system. This triggers our "fight or flight" response, which increases heart rate, dilates the pupil, increases blood flow to skeletal muscle, and reduces digestive and reproductive activity.

Afterimages

the visual illusions that occur when we continue to see an image even after it has been removed from our field of vision

Alcohol

Although an individual may seem lively with a small amount of alcohol, alcohol is actually a depressant. The liveliness comes from the fact that alcohol acts as a disinhibitor. This means it will act to slow down neural processing and brain activity responsible for judgment and inhibitions.

Amplitude

Amplitude refers to the height or depth of a wave signal such as sound or light, which correlates with perceived loudness in sound waves and brightness in light waves.

Caffeine

s a stimulant drug that blocks the action of adenosine, a neurotransmitter that promotes sleep and relaxation. It increases neural activity by binding to adenosine receptors in the brain, leading to increased alertness and decreased fatigue.

Cocaine

Cocaine is a powerful stimulant drug that increases levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and movement, in the brain's reward circuit.

Consolidation Theory

the idea that sleep plays a crucial role in the process of converting short-term memories into long-term memories by strengthening neural connections

Contralateral Hemispheric

sensory inputs (the right visual hemifield in the left hemisphere and vice versa) is a fundamental feature of primate sensorimotor organization, in particular the visuomotor system.

Depolarization

Depolarization is when there's a shift in a neuron's electrical charge that allows an action potential (nerve impulse) to occur.

Dichromatism

partial color blindness in which only two colors are perceptible.

Disorder

Abnormal behavior: Maladaptive actions or cognitive processes that defy social norms.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter involved in mood, movement, attention, and learning

EEG Patterns

EEG waves are named based on their frequency range using Greek numerals. The most commonly studied waveforms include delta (0.5 to 4Hz); theta (4 to 7Hz); alpha (8 to 12Hz); sigma (12 to 16Hz) and beta (13 to 30Hz).

Eugenics

Francis Galton was a British scientist known for his pioneering studies of human intelligence. He coined the term 'eugenics' to describe the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics.

Excitatory Neurotransmitters

Describes a neurotransmitter that causes a postsynaptic neuron to propagate more action potentials.

Farsightedness

there is too little curvature of the cornea, making the images in the distance seem much clearer (that is, you have trouble seeing things near but can see far).

GABA

Gamma amino butyric acid (GABA): The primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system

Ganglion cells

Ganglion cells are specialized neurons located in the retina at the back of the eye. They receive signals from bipolar cells and transmit them through their axons, forming the optic nerve which carries visual information to the brain.

Ghrelin

Ghrelin is a hormone produced by the stomach that stimulates hunger. It's often termed the 'hunger hormone' because it increases food intake and promotes fat storage.

Glutamate

: The main excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system; important for learning and memory

Heroin

Opiates (i.e. opium, morphine, and heroin) may be considered depressants because they depress neural functions. As the nervous system is slowed, the individual may feel a sense of pleasure. In the meantime, pupils will constrict and breathing will slow down.

Inhibitory Neurotransmitters

Inhibitory neurotransmission is when a neurotransmitter released from a presynaptic neuron binds to receptors on the postsynaptic neuron, leading to hyperpolarization of the postsynaptic membrane and reducing the likelihood of an action potential being generated.

Jet Lag

Jet lag refers to the fatigue and disorientation experienced by individuals after traveling across multiple time zones, disrupting their internal biological rhythms.

Just-Noticeable Difference

Just-noticeable difference (JND): The smallest change in stimulation that a person can detect 50% of the time.

Leptin

Leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells that signals the hypothalamus in the brain about our body fat level. When working properly, leptin helps maintain our body weight within a healthy range.

Marijuana

THC is the main psychoactive compound in marijuana that gives the high sensation. It affects areas of the brain related to memory, pleasure, movements, thinking, concentration, coordination and sensory and time perception.

Medium tasters

an average ability to sense different flavors.

Medulla Oblongata

medulla for short, is the lower part of the brainstem. It is responsible for regulating vital body functions, including heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing.

Melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in our brain that regulates sleep-wake cycles. It plays a crucial role in setting our internal body clock (circadian rhythm) which affects sleep patterns.

Monochromatism

complete color-blindness in which all colors appear as shades of one color.

Multiple Sclerosis

This disease damages myelin sheaths around nerves in central nervous system disrupting communication between brain and body, similar to how a damaged insulation would disrupt electricity flow.

Myasthenia Gravis

a chronic autoimmune disorder in which antibodies destroy the communication between nerves and muscle, resulting in weakness of the skeletal muscles. Myasthenia gravis affects the voluntary muscles of the body, especially those that control the eyes, mouth, throat and limbs.

Nature

Innate biological factors that influence development and personality

Nearsightedness

your vision is blurry when you look at something in the distance (that is, you have trouble seeing things far away but can see near). This is because of too much curvature of the cornea which causes the image in front of you to be clearer than images in the distance

Nontasters

are likely to have 15 or fewer taste buds per six-millimeter section. As the name would suggest, non-tasters often notice less flavor in their food.

Norepinephrine

: A neurotransmitter important in controlling alertness, wakefulness, mood, and attention

Nurture

External and environmental factors, including learning, that influence development and personality

Oleogustus

Oleogustus. a unique taste sensation that is attributed to the perception of fats or lipids in food.

Organization

In psychology, organization refers to the mental process of arranging information and experiences into categories or groups based on common attributes.

Oxytocin

Oxytocin is a hormone produced by the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland that plays a significant role in social bonding, sexual reproduction, childbirth, and the period after childbirth.

Perspective

a particular theoretical approach or framework used for understanding human behavior and mental processes. Each perspective offers unique explanations about why people behave the way they do.

Phantom Limb Sensation

Phantom limb pain refers to the sensation of pain or discomfort felt in a limb that has been amputated. It is experienced as if the missing limb is still present and can range from mild tingling to severe burning sensations.

Pheromones

chemical substances secreted by animals (including humans) that have an effect on behavior or physiology within their own species. They serve as signals, influencing various aspects such as mating, territoriality, aggression, and communication.

Photoreceptors

Specialized light-sensitive neurons in the retina that convert light into neural impulses; includes rods and cones.

Pituitary Gland

The pituitary gland is considered the "master gland" of the endocrine system. Hormones secreted from the pituitary gland help regulate growth, metabolism, and numerous other bodily functions and processes.

Prefrontal Cortex

The prefrontal cortex is part of frontal lobes at very front of brain. It's involved with executive functions such as self-control, planning, reasoning & abstract thought.

Prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia is classically defined as an inability to recognize faces of people known to the patient on the basis of visual perception, despite the absence of low-level visual impairments, or cognitive alterations such as mental confusion or amnesia, with a preserved ability to recognize people through other cues: voice or other visual traits such as gait, size, clothes, or even facial features (moustache, scar, blemish) or accessories (ear-rings, eyeglasses). Prosopagnosics also have access to semantic knowledge concerning people.

Reflex Arc

the sensory neuron sends a signal to the interneuron and activates it. The interneuron then relays that signal to the next neuron, a motor neuron. Motor neurons connect with interneurons in the spinal cord. They send messages from the central nervous system to the body.

Resting Potential

the imbalance of electrical charge that exists between the interior of electrically excitable neurons (nerve cells) and their surroundings.

Reticular Activating System

responsible for sensation, consciousness, attention, and the sleep-wake cycle. The RAS transmits the sensory messages to different areas of the cerebral cortex through the thalamus.

Reuptake Inhibitor

Drugs that prevent a neurotransmitter from being reabsorbed by presynaptic axons, causing greater activation of postsynaptic receptors

Semicircular Canals

a set of three looped tubular channels in the inner ear that detect movements of the head and provide the sense of dynamic equilibrium that is essential for maintaining balance.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter that regulates sleep, mood, appetite, and body temperature.

Somnambulism

also known as sleepwalking, includes undesirable actions, such as walking, that occur during abrupt but limited arousals from non-rapid eye movement (NREM) slow-wave sleep.

Sound Localization

the ability of an organism to discover the location of something producing sound waves based on things like intensity and timing

Substance P

a neuropeptide that consists of 11 amino acid residues, that is present in the nervous system and gastrointestinal tract, that causes the contraction of smooth muscle and dilation of blood vessels, and that acts as a potent neurotransmitter especially in the transmission of signals from pain receptors.

Supertasters

Individuals who have an increased number of taste buds and are highly sensitive to certain tastes

Synesthesia

a neuropsychological condition in which the stimulation of one sense triggers the involuntary trigger of another sense

Taste receptors

commonly referred to as the taste buds. The scientific term for them is papillae. They are tiny bumps on the tongue. They contain microscopic hairs called microvilli that send messages to the brain about taste. They detect sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami (savory).

Trichromatic Theory

(also called the Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic [three color] theory). This theory hypothesizes that we have three types of cones in the retina: cones that detect the different colors blue, red, and green (the primary colors of light)

Umami

a taste sensation that is often described as savory or meaty. It is one of the five basic tastes, along with sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.

Visual Nerve (optic nerve)

The optic nerve is a bundle of nerve fibers that carries visual information from the retina to the brain. It plays a crucial role in transmitting visual signals for processing and interpretation.

Volley Theory

The volley principle is the idea that groups of neurons can work together to perceive sounds at frequencies beyond their individual firing rates.

Evolutionary Perspective

The evolutionary perspective is a psychological approach that seeks to understand human behavior by examining how it has been shaped by natural selection and adaptation over time. It focuses on the idea that certain behaviors have evolved because they enhance an individual's chances of survival and reproduction.