Brain Anatomy, States of Consciousness, and Introductory Psychology Concepts Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes covering brain structures, states of consciousness, sleep physiology, and foundational psychology concepts.

Brainstem (Hindbrain)

The brain region that controls fundamental life-sustaining functions, maintains basic biological viability, and is fully formed during the first trimester (8 to 12 weeks) of embryonic development.

Medulla Oblongata

The specific brainstem structure located as the first large swelling at the top of the spinal cord where central nervous system nerve signals fan out to upper brain structures.

Cerebellum

The brain structure responsible for muscle memory, motor balance, body posture, and physical coordination.

Cerebral Cortex

The brain structure that governs higher-order cognitive processing, individual decision-making, and unique personality traits, subdivided into four lobes across two hemispheres.

Frontal Lobe

The cerebral cortex lobe responsible for logic, reasoning, complex decision-making, and personality, exercising contralateral control over body movements.

Parietal Lobe

The cerebral cortex lobe located at the crown of the head responsible for spatial orientation and processing tactile sensory input including pain, physical pressure, heat, and cold.

Occipital Lobe

Also known as the visual cortex, this lobe contains the highest concentration of neurons in the cerebral cortex and inverts the visual field 360° prior to neurological processing.

Temporal Lobe

The lobe located bilaterally near the ears that contains the auditory cortex and functions as the primary processing center for language and hearing.

Somatosensory Cortex

A central cortical strip situated in the middle of the skull associated with the parietal lobe that processes somatic sensory sensations via contralateral mapping.

Motor Cortex

The cortical area situated adjacent to the somatosensory cortex and associated with the frontal lobe that directs voluntary motor movements.

Consciousness

The active awareness of everything occurring both internally inside the body and externally within the surrounding environment.

Waking Consciousness

A normative state of mental activity in which thoughts, feelings, and sensations are organized, clear, and alert.

Altered State of Consciousness

A distinct shift in the quality or pattern of mental activity relative to waking consciousness, such as daydreaming, intoxication, or sleep.

Sleep Hygiene

Refers to an individual's overall sleep quality and behavioral sleep habits.

Hypothalamus

A structure sitting beneath the cerebral cortex that regulates core biological drives, including hunger, thirst, and sleep.

Circadian Rhythm

The internal biological sleep-wake clock.

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)

An internal biological clock located within the hypothalamus that directs the secretion of hormones like melatonin to signal sleepiness and alertness.

Mental Processes

In psychology, explicitly refers to internal covert processes.

Prediction

The goal of psychology fulfilled by administering employment screening tests to evaluate optimal job placement.

Introspection

The historical psychological methodology primarily associated with foundational psychologist Wilhelm Wundt.

Humanism

A psychological perspective centered on free will, self-determination, and self-actualization.

Cognitive Psychology

A domain of psychology focused on the internal mechanisms of perception, learning, and memory.

Single-Blind Study

An experimental design where only the experimenter knows which participants are assigned to the control group and the experimental group.

Double-Blind Study

An experimental design where neither the experimenter nor the participants know group assignments, used to control for the experimenter effect.

Psychiatrist

A specialized medical doctor/therapist licensed to prescribe medication.

Soma

The central cell body of a neuron that contains the nucleus and maintains cellular viability.

Nerve

A structural bundle of individual axons grouped together in the peripheral nervous system.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical substances packaged inside synaptic vesicles that facilitate neural signaling across receptor sites.

Sensory Neurons

Afferent neurons that transport incoming sensory information from body receptors to the spinal cord.

Interneurons

Neurons within the central nervous system that receive input from sensory neurons and translate commands to motor neurons.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Comprises all neurological structures and pathways existing outside of the brain and spinal cord.

Endorphins

Neuropeptides that act as natural pain-controlling neurotransmitters.

Reuptake

The active reabsorption mechanism by which released neurotransmitters are sucked back into presynaptic vesicles.

Serotonin

A key neurotransmitter heavily implicated in mood disturbances and appetite regulation.

Hormones

Chemical messengers produced by endocrine glands and secreted directly into the bloodstream.

Stage 4 Sleep

Categorized as the deepest stage of sleep.

Sleep Apnea

A sleep disorder characterized by interrupted breathing, clinically treated using a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine.

REM Behavior Disorder

A neurological motor parasomnia where dream physical actions are enacted, historically used as a legal defense for murder.

Narcolepsy

A neurological disorder involving sudden, uncontrollable lapses into deep sleep during active waking hours (transcribed as Dark epilepsy).

Manifest Content

In Freudian dream analysis, the actual narrative events of the dream.

Latent Content

In Freudian dream analysis, the hidden, symbolic psychological meaning of the dream.

Psychoactive Drugs

Chemical substances capable of altering perception, mood, cognition, or physical behavior.

Drug Tolerance

The physiological state where increasingly larger doses of a drug are required to achieve the initial high experienced at first use.

Withdrawal

A cluster of painful or dangerous physical symptoms experienced when a drug-dependent individual abruptly ceases substance use.

Barbiturates

Drugs that pose severe lethal toxicity risks when combined with alcohol due to synergistic drug interactions.

Opiates

Narcotics such as morphine and heroin that relieve pain by directly duplicating the molecular action of natural endorphins.