Alex Lopez AP Psychology Review

Acetylcholine

Muscle movement, attention, and memory

Dopamine

Reward, pleasure, motivation, and movement

Serotonin

regulates mood, sleep, and appetite.

Norepinephrine

influences attention, response actions, and stress.

GABA

Primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, reduces excitability and helps to regulate anxiety.

Glutamate

The primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, involved in learning and memory.

Adrenaline

neurotransmitter that increases heart rate, muscle strength, and energy supply during stress.

Occipital lobe; processes visual information and sight

Parietal lobe; sensory processing

Frontal lobe; Planning, organizing, COGNITIVE, and emotional control. Broca’s area.

Temporal lobe; processes auditory information and memory. Wernicke’s area.

medulla

controls automatic functions like breathing heart rate etc

pons

voluntary movements/dreams

cerebellum

balance and coordination

amygdala

involved in processing emotions, particularly fear, and in forming emotional memories

EEG

a test that measures electrical activity in the brain, often used to diagnose conditions such as epilepsy or sleep disorders.

CT

uses cross sectional scans to create detailed images of internal organs and structures.

MRI

Uses magnetic fields to create detailed images of the brain and other soft tissues.

PET

Uses radioactive tracers to measure processes in the body.

fMRI

Uses magnetic fields and blood flow to create dynamic images of brain activity.

NREM Stage 1

Theta waves; Initial stage of sleep where you're easy to wake and in a dream like state

NREM Stage 2

Theta waves; A deeper sleep stage, where body temperature decreases and heart rate slows.

NREM Stage 3

Delta waves; The deepest stage of sleep, crucial for restorative processes in the body.

REM Sleep

Beta waves; A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movement, increased brain activity, and vivid dreams.

CNS

The central nervous system, consisting of the brain and spinal cord, responsible for processing and transmitting information throughout the body.

PNS

The peripheral nervous system, which includes all the nerves outside the central nervous system and connects the CNS to the limbs and organs.

sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system

Sympathetic is fight or flight. Parasympathetic is calming

Split brain research

Split brain research involves the study of patients who two hemispheres of the brain which cannot communicate.

Opponent-process theory

A psychological theory that suggests emotional responses to stimuli are followed by opposite emotional responses, helping to explain feelings of motivation and behavior.

Rods and cones in the eye

rods detect light and dark, while cones detect colors.

Retina

light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye that contains rods and cones responsible for converting light into neural signals.

Transduction

The process by which sensory receptors convert stimuli from the environment into neural impulses that can be interpreted by the brain.

James-Lange

Stimulus-Response-Emotion

Cannon-Bard

Emotion and Physiological response happens at the same time

Schacter-Singer

Physiological response and then cognitive interpretation leads to emotion.

Kohlberg

Preconventional, conventional

Avoid punishment, social reciprocity,take punishment if its the right thing to do,

Piaget’s

Sensorimotor, preconven, concrete op, formal

object permanence, egotism, learn conservation, abstract thinking

Erikson

Big question for each part of your life.