Psych unit 1 test

central nervous system

composed of the brain and spinal cord. Integral to every function on the body, directly or indirectly influencing all physiological processes

Peripheral nervous system

connects central nervous system to the rest of the body. Responsible for transmitting sensory signals to the CNS and carrying motor commands from the CNS to muscles and glands. Divided into the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.

Somatic Nervous System

Responsible for voluntary control of body movements through the control of skeletal muscles. Ex: walking, speaking, drawing, reflexive movements (like pulling your hand from something hot)

Automatic Nervous System

controls involuntary movements such as sweat production, blood pressure, pupil dilation, adrenaline release

Sympathetic Nervous System

Fight or flight response. Sweat production, Adrenaline release, Expands airways

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Resting and digesting. Salivation, Digestive secretion, Peristalsis

Neurons

nerve cells, basic building block of the nervous system

Action Potential

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down the axon

Neural Transmission

the process by which chemical messages cross the synaptic

All or nothing principle

a neuron or muscle fiber will either respond completely or not at all to a stimulus 

Firing threshold

when a neuron is strong enough to trigger an action potential

Natural selection

the biological process where organisms with helpful traits survive and reproduce more than others

Genetic predisposition

having a higher chance of developing a disease or trait based on inherited genes

epigenetics

behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work.

Twin Studies

help psychologists investigate how genes and environment influence behavior

sensory neurons

takes sensory signals and info to the brain

interneurons

moves messages between the brain

Motor neurons

takes information from the brain to the rest of the body

frontal lobe

Think front and center for planning, judgment, and movement

occipital lobe

Processes vision 

Temporal lobe

 Processes hearing and language near the ears

Parietal lobe

Processes touch and body position

Corpus callosum

nerve fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres

Amygdala

Controls fear and aggression

Hypothalamus

Regulates hunger, thirst, body temperature, sexual drive

Thalamus

The brain's sensory switchboard (routes all senses except smell)

Hippocampus

Processes new explicit memories

Cerebellum

controls voluntary movements, balance, and posture

Cerebral cortex

makes decisions and is where the cognitive functions such as thinking takes place

consciousness

The state of being aware and being able to perceive one’s thoughts, feelings, sensations, and surroundings. It involves various levels from alert wakefulness to altered states such as sleep or meditation

circadian rhythm

The natural, internal process that regulates the sleep wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours. It influences patterns of alertness, hormone release, body temperature, and other physiological processes

REM

• Rapid eye movement is a stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movement, vivid dreams, and muscle paralysis 

• Your eyes dart back and forth under your eyelids

• More brain activity 

• Memories are being consolidated 

• Processes emotions

Narcolepsy

A sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, sudden episodes of muscle weakness, sleep paralysis, and hallucination during sleep onset or awakening 

Hallucinogens

psychedelic drugs that distort perceptions and invoke sensory images

depressants

drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

psychoactive drugs

a chemical substance that alters the brain, causing changes in perceptions and moods

stimulants

drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions

Transduction

the transformation of physical energy into electrochemical signals, enabling the brain to interpret and perceive sensory information

prosopagnosia

the transformation of physical energy into electrochemical signals, enabling the brain to interpret and perceive sensory information

lens

Transparent structure in the eye that focuses light onto retina, it adjusts its shape to help the eye properly refract light, enabling clear vision at different distances

retina

The light sensitive inner surface of the eye containing photoreceptor cells that convert light into neural signals

rods

Photoreceptor cells in the retina responsible for vision in low light conditions and detecting motion. They provide black and white vision and are highly sensitive to light

cones

Photoreceptor cells in the retina responsible for color vision and detail in bright light. They enable us to perceive colors and fine visual details, such as reading text or distinguishing between different hues

amplitude

The measure of the intensity or loudness of a sound wave, represented by the heights of its peaks. Greater amplitude means louder sounds, lower amplitude means softer sounds

Frequency theory

the frequency of a sound wave directly corresponds to the rate at which auditory nerve fibers fire. Higher frequency sounds lead to faster firing rates, resulting in higher perceived pitches.

sound localization

how the brain is processing sensory info; ability to judge direction and distance of sounds

kinesthesis

the sense of body movement and position, including the awareness of muscle and joint sensations

Gustation

the sense of taste, involving receptors on the tongue that detect different flavors

umami

savory taste associated with amino acids and protein rich foods like meat and cheese

Olfactory system

Responsible for smell. receptors in the nose detect smells and send signals to the brain via the olfactory nerve.

vestibular sense

the sense of body orientation and movement, including balance and spatial awareness. relies on receptors in the inner ear that detect changes in head position and movement

oleogustus

a proposed taste sensation for detecting fat, still debated within the scientific community

Weber’s law

The perceived difference in a stimulus must be proportional to the original intensity of the stimulus

gestalt principle

Rules that your brain follows to organize sensory information. made up of 7 principles: proximity, similarity, closure, symmetry and order, figure ground, and continuity.

Dendrites

receive neurotransmitters