AP Psych Unit 1A

Antagonists

Blocks chemical

Agonists

Mimics chemical

Depressants

Alcohol, barbituates, opiates

Stimulants

Amphetamines, meth, nicotine, caffeine, cocaine

Hallucinogens

LSD, shrooms, weed

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Brain and spina cord

Nervous system

Nerve cells, electrochemical communication system

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Amplified reocrding of the electrical waves sweeping across the brains surface, measured by mini electrodes placed on the scalp

Positive emission tomagraphy (PET scan)

Depicts brain activity by tracing where radioactive glucose goes: active neurons use a lot of glucose

Computerized axial tomography (CT/CAT scan)

builds a 3d picture of the brain based on differential absorption of x

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Strong magentic field in the scanner. Radio wave pulses are used to disorient the atoms and when they return to normal they release signals giving very detailed thin slice pictures: a structural image of the brain

fMRI

combines with pet scans to look for changes in blood flow

Transcranial magentic stimulation (TMS)

Induces weak electrical currents to cause activity in parts of the brain, allowing functioning of motor cortex and muscles to be studies

Cerebrum

controls concious thought, sensory processing, voluntary movements and language

Corpus callosum

connects left and right hemispheres of the brain, allowing them to communicate and share info

Thalamus

Relay station pathways carrying visual, auditory, taste, and sensory info to/from cerebral cortex

Cerebellum

coordinate and fine tune voluntary muscle movements, maintain balance, and support motor learning

Reticular formation

Regulates consciousness, arousal, and essential involuntary body functions

Brainstem/Spinal cord

Includes medulla, pons, and cerebellum; fibers cross hemispheres here

Pons

Key role in sleeping/dreaming: connects upper and lower parts of the brain

Medulla

Where most fibers cross resulting in control of heart rythym, blood flow, breathing rate, and digestion

Pituitary

Produces vital hormones and controls other glands in the endocrine system

Hypothalamus

Maintains homeostasis

Amygdala

Processes emotions, detects threats, and coordiantes survival responses

Hippocampus

Turns short term memories into long term memories and builds mental maps for spatial navigation

Acetylcholine (Ach)

Enables muscle action, learning and memory

Dopamine (DA)

Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion (The happiness chemical)

Serotonin

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

Norepinephrine (NE)

Helps control alertness and arousal

GABA

Sleep and wake cycles:Inhibitory neurotransmitter

Endorphins

Pain and positive feelings

Glutamate/MSG

excitatory neurotransmitter, memory

Substance P

pain perception and immune response

frontal lobe

manages decision making, personality, planning, and voluntary movement

parietal lobe

Processes sensory signals like touch, taste, temperature, and spatial awareness

Occipital lobe

Acts as the primary visual processing center for decoding sight

Temporal lobe

Interprets auditory input hearing, language comprehension, and memory storage

Motor Cortex

Generates neural impluses that directly control voluntary muscle movements

Somatosensory cortex

Registers bodily sensations including touch, pain, pressure, and temperature

Visual cortex

Processes specific visual features like color, shape, and depth

Wernickes area

Controls the comprehension and understanding of written and spoke language

Broca's area

Coordinates the muscle movements necessary for speech production

Heritability

Measures what percent of difference is due to genetics versus environment

Nature vs Nurture

How much of who we are is determined by biology?

Twins studies

Studies in fraternal vs identical twins

Right hemisphere

Spatial/Perceptual tasks

Left hemisphere

Speaking, logic, language

Narcolepsy

Fall asleep without control

Insomnia

Goes without sleep for days or weeks

Sleep apnea

Symptons of major snoring

Sleepwalking/Somnambulism

Deep sleep and cannot wake

Night terrors

Deep sleep/REM, does not remember screaming or flailing

REM

Rapid eye movement

Neuron

transmit info to the body

Dendrite

Recieve messages

Glial cells

Provide structure, waste, and insulation

Soma

Cell body

Axon

Pass messages away from cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands

Myelin Sheath

Fatty substance that speeds up transmission

Terminal buttons

Place where neurotransmitters are released

Synapse

Neurtransmitters are released into here

Acetylcholine surplus

Muscle Spasms

Acetylcholine deficit

Alzheimers

Dopamine deficit

Parkinsons

Dopamine surplus

Schizophrenia and drug addiction

Serotonin Deficit

Depression and mood disorders

Serotonin surplus

Autism

Norepinephrine deficit

Depression and mental disorders

Norepinephrine surplus

Anxiety

GABA deficit

Anxiety, seizures, tremors, insomnia

GABA surplus

Sleep and eating disorders

Endorphins deficit

More pain

Endorphins surplus

Unaware of injuries, less pain

Glutamate/MSG surplus

epileptic seizures

Substance P surplus

Chronic pain

Serotonin synthetic

LSD

Endophins synthetic

Opiates

Sensory neuron (Afferent)

Carry messages from body to brain

Motor neuron (efferent)

Carry messages from brain to body

Interneuron

Information processed

Action potential

Neural/Electrical impulse

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers

Excitatory synapse

Neurons will fire

Inhibitory synapse

Neurons are less likely to fire

Refractory period

Brief recovery time after neurons fire an action potential

Peripheral nervous system

Sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of our body

Parasympathetic nervous system

Rest and digest, calming

Sympathetic nervous system

Fight or flight, arousing

Reflex action

Doesn’t require interneurons

Endocrine system

Slower, uses hormones as messengers

Pineal Gland

Prevents early puberty, lowers body temperature

Thyroid gland

Affects metabolism

Parathyroids

Helps regulates levels of calcium in the blood

Thymus

helps with growth and t-cell production

Adrenal gland

Helps trigger fight or flight

Pancreas

Regulates level of sugar in the blood

Ovaries

Secretes estrogen

Testes

Secretes testosterone

Limbic system

Hippocampus, Amygdala, Hypothalamus, Pituitary

Dual processing

Our everyday behaviors, prejudices, thoughts, feelings may be controlled by automatic processes of which we are not consciously aware