AP PSYCHOLOGY UNIT 1

neuron

conducts impulses through the NS and is responsible for thoughts feelings behavior

glial cells

the glue, provides nutrients to neurons and guides connections, cleans up neurotransmitters

sensory neurons

information from senses to the brain

motor neurons

neurons that transmit signals from the brain and spinal cord to muscles, enabling movement and action.

interneurons

take messages to other parts of brain or between sensory and motor neurons

all or nothing

a neurons reaction of either firing with full force or not

depolarization

neuron becomes more positive

action potential

brief electrical charge that travels down neuron

refractory period

tiny breaks between a neuron firing to return to resting state

resting potential

more negative ions are within the cell than positive

reuptake

a neurotransmitter is reabsorbed by sending neuron

threshold

level of stimulation needed to trigger a neural impulse

neurotransmitter

there are the chemical messages that fire from one neuron to another

excitatory transmitter

causes the receiving cell to fire

inhibitory neurotransmitter

causes receiving cell to stop firing

agonist

mimics and enhances the neurotransmitters

antagonist

stops the neurotransmitter form entering the neuron

multiple sclerosis

myelin sheath on neurons deteriorate; symptoms numb tingling coordination vision and fatigue

myasthenia gravis

Ach receptors are blocked and destroyed which prevents the muscle from contracting

Acetycholine

Muscle contractions, learning and memory Alzheimers disease due to little Ach

GABA

Involved in sleep, inhibitory NT, calms anxiety undersupply= Seizures. tremors, insomnia, affected by alcohol

Serotonin

Mood, control, appetite, sleep, too little-depression SSRI’s- Increase Serotonin, Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil

Dopamine

Influences movement, ability to experience pleasure too litte- Parkinson’s too much- Schizophrenia

Norepinephrine

Alertness, arousal, mood, used in fight, or flight response under supply can depress mood

Glutamate

Most common excitatory NT helps memory energy for brain cells oversupply = seizure and migranes

substance P

pain perception immune response over supply= chronic pain

endorphins

linked to pain control injury relief, runners high, natural opiate like NT

Lesion

tissue destruction; may occur naturally from disease of trauma

fMRI

scans shows brain function and structure

EEG

amplified recording of waves of electrical activity sweeping across brain’s surface; measured by placing electrodes on scalp

medulla

hindbrain structure that is the brain stems base that controls heartbeat, swallowing, and breathing

reticular activating system

arousal and attention, ignores constant information, stimulate = overly alert, destroy = death/coma

cerebellum

processing sensory input, coordinating output and balance, enabling nonverbal learning and memory

limbic system

neural system located mostly in the forebrain below cerebral hemispheres that include amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus, thalamus, and pituitary gland/ memories; associated with emotions & drives

thalamus

the forebrains sensory control center located on top of the brainstem; directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits repliers to cerebellum and medulla EXCEPT SMELL Train station= sends messages

hypothalamus

sex drive, dopamine production, body temp, influences pituitary gland, involved with fight or flight, hypothermia= body temp

hippocampus

helps process explicit (conscious) memories of facts and events for storage; navigational abilities hippoCAMPUS= map/ memories / navigation

amygdala

linked to emotion; fear response, emotional memories, anxiety, PTSD, damage = no fear Amy is scary

plasticity

brains ability to change especially during childhood by reorganizing after damage; plastic = flexible

pons

controls sleep, relay station (bridge) for motor messages Pon= pillow

frontal lobe

speaking (left), higher order thinking, judgement, impulse control, social behavior, executive functioning; contains motor cortex Frontal = Future

motor cortex

cerebral cortex at the rear of frontal lobes that controls voluntary movement Motor= Movement

broca’s area

controls production of speech broken speech

parietal lobe

contain somatosensory cortex; temp, touch, pressure, integrates sensory information pick up cup

somatosensory cortex

cerebral cortex area at the front of parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations Somany sensations

occipital lobe

visual cortex; damage = loss of vision, visual hallucinations/ distortions optical = vision

temporal lobe

controls auditory and linguistic processing Temp= tunes and talking

wernicke’s area

understanding language and making meaningful sentences Wernicke = words making sense

right hemisphere

controls left hand, nonverbal, visual-spatial perception, music and artistic processing, emotional thought and recognition, processes the whole, pattern recognition, facial recognition Right= rhythm and recognition

left hemisphere

controls right hand, spoken language, written language, math calculations, logical thought processes, analysis of detail, reading Left = language and logic

corpus callosum

band of fibers that connect right and left hemispheres; communication link CALLosum= calls across

peripheral nervous system

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body Peripheral = Perimeter connects all

somatic nervous system

controls voluntary system Somatic = Self controlled

autonomic nervous system

division of the PNS that controls the organs, glands, and involuntary muscles Autonomic= Automatic

sympathetic nervous system

arouses the body - mobilizing its energy in stressful situation; pupils bigger Sympathetic= Stress

parasympathetic nervous system

division of the ANS that calms the body, conserving its energy Parasym = Peace

pituitary gland

“mater gland” influences growth controlled by hypothalamus Pit= grow hair

adrenaline

releases stress hormones, secretes adrenaline prepares body for flight or fight