appsy unit one vocab

nature nurture issue

is the controversy about whether genes or experience contribute more to traits/behaviors

natural selection

how organism have inherited traits that caused them to survive and reproduce

evolutionary psychology

is the study of how evolution affects the mind and behavior

behavior genetics

studies how genetics and environmental factors influence behaviors

mutation

is an error in gene replication

environment

every non genetical influence

can be positive or negative

hereditary

when genetics go from parents to offspring

genes

biochemical units of hereditary

genome

the complete instructions for making an organism

identical (monozygotic) twins

people who were slips from a single fertilized egg so they are identical

used in case studies for nature vs nurture

fraternal (dizygotic) twins

people who are developed from separate fertilized eggs

like ordinary siblings except they have the same prenatal environment

used in case studies for nature vs nurture

interaction

things that happen when two factors affect eachother

epigenetics

study of how environments influence genetic expression (w/out dna expression)

nervous system

communication system of the body

has a cns and pns

central nervous system

contains the brain and spinal cord

sends out messages and processes information

peripheral nervous system

contains sensory and motor neutrons that connect cns to rest of body

sends out messages between cns and rest of body

receives sensory input

nerves

bundled axons that connect cns to everything

sensory (afferent) neurons

neurons that send info about the body’s tissues and sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord (cns)

motor (efferent) neurons

carry’s outgoing info from brain and spinal cord (cns) to muscles and glands

interneurons

within the brain and spinal cord (cns) and they communicate between the sensory and motor outputs

somatic nervous system

division of pns

voluntary movement system

controls body’s skeletal muscles

autonomic nervous system

division of pns

non voluntary system

controls glands and the muscles of the internal organs like the heart

sympathetic nervous system

division of the autonomic nervous system

flight of flight of the body

can be a result of evolution

parasympathetic nervous system

division of the autonomic nervous system

calms the body down after fight or flight mode

reflex

automatic response to stimulus (usually sensory)

• neuron

a nerve cell slash the basic building block of the nervous system

has different types

• sensory

• motor

• inter

cell body soma

part of the neuron that contains the nucleus

the life supprt center of the cell

dendrites

part of a neuron that has branches that receive and integrate the messages

also conducts impulses to the cell body

axon

the part of a neuron that passes the messages from the dendrites

myelin sheath

insulating layer that wraps around the axon bc it allows for greater transmission speed which means faster communication

glial cells/glia

cells that nourish and protect neurons and also play a role in learning thinking and memory

more of this cell = more complex brain

action potential

a neural impulse

threshold

is how much stimulation is needed to cause a neural impulse (action potential)

all or nothing response

when the neuron fully gives an impulse or just doesn’t

increased or decreased stimulus doesn’t affect activity

synapse

is the junction of the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrite of another

its really just a gap between them

neurotransmitters

send messages through the gaps in the synapses

influences the types of response a neuron gives

endorphins

type of neurotransmitter that helps with pain control and pleasure

agonist

molecule that increases a neurotransmitters reaction

antagonist

molecule that blocks a neurotransmitters action

endocrine system

body system that takes care of chemical communication like hormones

hormones

are chemical messangers that travel through the blood

part of endocrine system

affects what other tissues do

psychoactive drug

chemical substance that alters brain activity

substance abuse disorder

disorder where someone continues to use substances even though it significantly disrupts their daily activities

type of addiction

depressants

drugs that reduce the activity of neurons and slow body functions

tolerance

when you get used to a regular dose of a drug causing you to increase the dosage to feel it’s affects

can lead to substance abuse disorder

addiction

compulsive behavior (like substance use) that is continued even though it’s disruptive to everyday life

withdrawal

distress experienced when discontinuing an addiction

barbiturates

type of depressant that depresses cns activity

reduces anxiety but impairs judgment and memory

opioids

opium and it’s derivatives

lessens pain and anxiety

depressant

stimulants

types of drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions

hallucinogens

psychedelic (mind manifesting) drugs that affects perception and creates sensory images when there is no sensory input

near death experience

type of state of consciousness after almost dying like heart attack

often can be similar to drug induced hallucinations

can alter behavior

biological psychology

study of the connection between biological and psychological processes

biopsychosocial response

when scientists incorporate biological psychological and social factors when studying something

levels of analysis

analyzing differing complementary views of for any given phenomenon

neuroplasticity

the brains ability to make new connections and change and take over for damaged areas

lesion

tissue destruction of brain

eeg

brain scan

function

shows pictures of brain waves of electrical activity

meg

brain scan

function

uses magnetic fields to measure brain activity

ct

brain scan

structure

multiple x rays of the brain are taken and combined to create a picture of if a brain was cut in half but not by hemispheres just horizontally

pet

brain scan

function

detects brain activity by injecting a radioactive glucose into someone and seeing where it goes and what happens to the brain

mri

brian scan

structure

uses magnetic fields to create a computerized picture of soft tissue of brain

fmri

brain scan

functional

uses blood flow to see brain activity

hindbrain

consists of the medulla pons and cerebellum

directs survival functions

midbrain

found on top of brain stem and connects hindbrain to forebrain

aids in motor movement and auditory and visual transmission

forebrain

consists of the cerebral cortex thalamus and hypothalamus

controls complex cognitive sensory and voluntary movement functions

brainstem

central core of the brain and it controls automatic survival functions

controls autonomic nervous system

medulla

structure of hindbrain in brainstems base

controls stuff like heartbeat and breathing and pulse

thalamus

forebrain’s sensory control center

recieves sensory information and sends replies to the cerebellum and medulla

helps in communication of nervous system

like train station

reticular formation

raise and shine is what u need to rmeber it does

network of nerves that travels through the brainstem into the thalamus

controls arousal and wakefulness and filters info

cerebellum

little brain of the hindbrain

processes sensory input and movement output coordinate movement and balance

enables non verbal learning and memory

limbic system

neural system located mostly in the forebrain

associated with emotions and drives

includes amygdala and hypothalamus and hippocampus and thalamus and pituitary gland

amygdala

two s mural clusters in the limbic system

linked to aggression and fear and emotions

hippocampus

neural center located in the limbic system

processes conscious memories and manages its storage

cerebral cortex

fabric of interconnected neurons and neural cells in the forebrain’s hemispheres

ultimate control center of body

info processing center

frontal lobes

portion of cerebral cortex

affects linguistic motor and thinking processes

takes care of executive functioning

parietal lobes

portion of the cerebral cortex

recieves info abt body position and senses (except smell)

occipital lobes

portion of cerebral cortex

receives visual information

temporal lobes

portion of the cerebral cortex

recieves auditory info and allows for langUge processing

motor cortex

at rear of frontal lobes

controls voluntary movement

part of somatic nervous system

somatosensory cortex

in front of parietal lobes

processes touch and movement sensations and processes sensory input

association areas

areas of cerebral cortex that isnt involved in motor or sensory functions

instead focus on higher mental functions like learning and speaking

neurogenesis

formation of new neurons

corpus callosum

large band of neural fibers that allows for communication between both hemispheres of the brain

without it body wing function properly

split brain

when the connecting neural fibers (corpus callosum) of the brain hemispheres is severed

stops communication between the hemispheres

however bc of neuroplasticity they’ll be fine

consciousness

persons awarenesss of themsleves and the environment around them

part of hippocampus

allows for independent thoughts

cognitive neuroscience

study of brain activity connected to cognition

focuses on info processing and thinking

dual processing

idea that information is processed conciously and unconsciously at the same time

part of info processing

part of preforontal cortex

blindsight

when someone can respond to visual stimulation even though they aren’t consciously experiencing it

relates to occipital lobe

parallel processing

when multiple parts of a stimulus are processed at once

how we do complex functioning

part of info processing

contrasts with sequential processing

sequential processing

when one part of a stimulus is processed at a time and is usually done w new info

prominent in younger ppl

contrasts w parallel processing

sleep

periodic loss of consciousness

melatonin helps w its execution

allows for diffenrt concepts like dreaming and rem

circadian rhythm

regular body rhythm that occur in a 24 hr cycle

regulates sleep wake patterns

rem sleep

rapid eye movement aka paradoxical sleep

when vid

vivid dreaming occurs muscles are relaxed but other body systems are still active

alpha waves

brain waves of a relaxed brain

stage one of sleep

beta waves

brian waves of a wakeful brain

when your awake

theta waves

brian waves for stage two of sleep

delta waves

brain waves of deep sleep

stage three of sleep

non rem

all the sleep stages except rem

hallucinations

fake sensory experiences