MCAT Quick Sheets: Comprehensive Review

This set of flashcards is designed to cover a wide range of biological and psychological concepts essential for the MCAT exam, emphasizing the structure and functions of the nervous system, memory types, learning theories, psychological disorders, and basic genetic principles.

Nervous System

The organization of the nervous system includes motor (efferent), sensory (afferent), and interneurons.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Focused on 'rest-and-digest' responses, conserves energy.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Focused on 'fight-or-flight' responses, prepares the body for stressful situations.

Cerebral Cortex Lobes

Consists of frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes, each with specific functions.

Threshold

The minimum stimulus necessary to cause a change in signal transduction.

Weber's Law

States that the just-noticeable difference of a stimulus is proportional to the original intensity of the stimulus.

Signal Detection Theory

Explains how nonsensory factors (like experiences and expectations) impact perceptions of stimuli.

Adaptation

A decrease in response to a stimulus after prolonged exposure.

Vision

The process by which the eye detects light in the form of photons.

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals in the nervous system that transmit signals across synapses.

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter associated with voluntary muscle control, attention, and alertness.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter that influences movement, learning, and emotion.

Memory Types

Includes sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory, implicit and explicit memory.

Cognitive Development Stages

Includes sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages (Piaget's theory).

Decision Making Techniques

Include trial-and-error, algorithms, deductive and inductive reasoning.

Conformity

Changing beliefs or behaviors to fit in with a group or society.

Attribution Theory

Focuses on inferring causes of behavior, distinguishing between dispositional and situational attributions.

Classical Conditioning

A learning technique where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus.

Cognitive Dissonance

The mental discomfort experienced when holding two or more contradictory beliefs.

Psychological Disorders

Conditions that affect mood, thinking, and behavior, classified in the DSM.

Genetic Mapping

The process of determining the location of genes on a chromosome.

Hardy-Weinberg Principle

Describes the genetic equilibrium within a population, stating that allele frequencies will remain constant in the absence of disturbance.