AP Psych Unit 1 Review

Glutamate

Involved in various brain functions, including learning, memory, and neural plasticity.- if you are "up against the wall/deadline"

GABA

Promotes relaxation and reduces anxiety

Dopamine

Regulating mood, reward, motivation, and movement

Serotonin

Regulating mood, sleep, appetite, and stress

Endorphins

Acts as a natural pain reliever and mood enhancer

Released in response to stress, pain, or intense physical activity

Substance P

transmitting pain signals in the nervous system

Acetylcholine

Involved in muscle contraction, memory, and learning

Hormones

Regulate various physiological processes and behaviors

Ghrelin

Hormone produced primarily by the stomach - stimulates appetite and promotes hunger

Leptin

Regulates energy balance and appetite- suppress appetite and increase energy expenditure

Melatonin

Regulates the sleep-wake cycle and circadian rhythms in the body

Oxytocin

Plays a key role in social bonding

Adrenaline

Referred to as the "fight or flight" response

Surge during times of stress, fear, or excitement, helping the body adapt to challenging circumstances

Norepinephrine

Involved in the body's "fight or flight" response

Increasingly alertness and focus during times of stress or danger

Psychoactive Drugs

Are substances that alter brain function, leading to changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior

Agonists

Enhance neural activity

Antagonists

Block/dull neural activity

Reuptake Inhibitors

Block the reabsorption of neurotransmitters enhancing neurotransmission

Stimulants

Drugs that increase neural activity and arousal

Caffeine

A natural stimulant found in coffee, tea, and some sodas.

Cocaine

Works by blocking the reuptake of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine

Depressants

Drugs that slow down neural activity and bodily functions

Alcohol

Slows down neural activity in the central nervous system.

Hallucinogens

Alters perception, mood, and cognitive processes - Serotonin

Marijuana

Alters mood, perception, and cognition

Opioids

Producing pain relief, euphoria, and sedation

Heroin

Intense euphoria, pain relief, and sedation

Tolerance

Increasing amounts are needed to achieve the same effects. It occurs due to the brain's adaptation to the drug.

Addiction

Compulsive drug seeking and use. It involves changes in brain structure (frontal cortex)

Withdrawal

When a person stops using a substance- physical discomfort, psychological distress

Consciousness

Able to perceive one's thoughts, feelings, sensations, and surroundings

Circadian Rhythm

The natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle - repeats roughly every 24 hours.- influences mental and physiological processes.

Jet Lag

A temporary disruption of the body's circadian rhythm due to rapid travel across many time zones.

Shift Work

Employment schedules that require working outside of typical daytime hours, disrupting the body's natural circadian rhythm

NREM Stage 1

Drifting in and out of sleep

NREM Stage 2

Light sleep

NREM Stage 3

The deepest stage of NREM sleep

REM (Rapid Eyelid Movement) Sleep

Rapid eye movements, vivid dreams, and muscle paralysis

REM Rebound

The phenomenon where the body increases the time spent in REM sleep after a period of REM deprivation

Activation-Synthesis (Dreams)

A theory that dreams result from random neural activity during REM sleep, which is then interpreted and synthesized into a narrative or story.

Transduction

The conversion of sensory stimuli into neural impulses that can be understood by the brain

Perception

The brain interprets sensory information to make sense of the world

Feedback Loops

The brain sends signals back to the sensory organs making physical adjustments (focusing eyes on a particular object, increasing sensitivity to sounds in a quiet environment)

Isolation from Direct Contact

It can lead to the brain being fooled - illusions/hallucinations

The absolute threshold

the minimum amount of stimulation required to be detected

The Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

the smallest change in a stimulus that can be detected

Weber's Law

the more intense the stimulus is, the more change is needed to notice the difference.

Sensory adaptation

sensory receptors become less responsive to constant stimuli over time

Synesthesia

stimulation of one sensory pathway leads automatic, involuntary experiences in another sensory pathway

Vision (sight)

Retina (rods and cones)

Hearing

Cochlea (hair cells of the Organ of Corti)

Smell (olfaction)

Olfactory epithelium (nasal cavity)

Taste (gustation)

Taste buds (tongue, roof of mouth, throat)

Touch (tactile)

Various receptors in the skin (Merkel cells)

Afterimages

Visual images that persist after the stimulus is removed.

Opponent-process theory

Theory suggesting color perception is controlled by opposing color pairs (red-green, blue-yellow).

Prosopagnosia

Inability to recognize faces due to brain damage.

Monochromatism

Complete color blindness, where only one or no cone types function.

Pitch

The perceived frequency of a sound, determining how high or low it is.

Amplitude

The height of sound waves, determining loudness.

Place theory

Theory stating that different parts of the cochlea are activated by different frequencies.

Conduction deafness

Hearing loss caused by damage to the middle ear, preventing sound waves from reaching the inner ear.

Thalamus

acts as an information hub receiving sensory information from all senses except smell and it relays the info to processing centers.

Nature

"Genes" inherent biological and genetic factors that influence a person's psychological development

Nurture

"Environment" experiences that shape a person's psychological development

Adoption Studies

Investigates similarities between adopted children and their biological and adoptive families

Family Studies

Analyze family members, to understand the interplay of genetics and environment in shaping behaviors.

Central Nervous System

The (CNS) consists of the brain and spinal column- command center of the body: processing information, coordinating a response, and regulating bodily functions

Peripheral Nervous System

Communication network- transmitting sensory information from the body to the central nervous system

Sympathetic Nervous System

Activates body's fight or flight response in times of stress or danger

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Promotes relaxation and restoring the body to a calm state after experiencing stress or danger

Cerebellum

responsible for non-verbal and skill learning, and contributes to voluntary movement coordination.

Hippocampus

responsible for your memory and learning

Amygdala

It's a major processing center for emotions. It also links your emotions to many other brain abilities, especially memories, learning and your senses.

Sensory Cortex

all of the areas in a brain that lets humans process sensory input.

Broca's area

Regulates speech production and articulation

Wernicke's area

Involved in comprehension.

Plasticity

the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience

fMRI

Neuroimaging technique used to measure brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow and oxygen levels