Psychology Exam 2

The hind brain

the lower area that initiates basic survival functions and hundles the unconscious stuff

The Limbic system

the emotion area of the brain the source of strong feelings

The cortex

the wrinkly outer area is the wise thinking part of the brain

what are the three basic areas of the brain?

The hind brain, the limbic system, the cortex

What is this called?

the hind brain

what is another name for the hindbrain

Rhombencephalon and “ reptilian brain”

What does the limbic system do

where emotions begin, helps in the formation of memories, and communicates with the hindbrain & the cortex

What are the parts in the Limbic system

Amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, reticular activating system (ras), ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbent, thalamus

Amygdala

The emotional alarm system in the brain

Hippocampus

plays a role in learning and memory

Hypothalamus

controls the body’s physical responses like sweating, hunger, fatigue, and energy levels

Pituitary Gland

A squirt bottle of chemicals messages working for the hypothalamus

Reticular activating system (RAS)

filter information that goes into your conscious mind

Ventral tegmental area & Nucleus accumbens

work in the reward system of the brain and use dopamine neurons

Thalamus

helps pass along sensory signals from the cortex

What is the cortex

is the biggest part of the brain and makes up two-thirds of the brains total mass

What are the four parts of the cortex?

The frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the temporal lobe, the occipital lobe

where is the prefrontal lobe located at

behind the forehead right above the eyes at the front of the brain

Prefrontal cortex

produces your personality, goals, and your values more than any other part of the brain. It also works with the limbic system to help process emotions and is the last part of the brain to mature

Neurotransmitter

chemicals that come out of the synapse at the end of the neurons

Hormones

chemicals that come out of the glands into the blood stream

type of neurotransmitters

Endorphins, oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine, adrenaline, noradrenaline, GABA, acetylcholine, glutamate, cortisol

reaction hormones

Adrenaline(also known as epinephrine), and Cortisol

where are the reaction hormones secreted from

the adrenal glands

Cations

positively charged ions

anions

negatively charged ions

The composition of intracellular and extracellular fluid is similar to salt water, containing:

sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), chloride (Cl-), and anions (A-)

Diffusion

The force on molecules to move from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration.

Electrostatic pressure

The force on two ions with similar charge to repel each other; the force of two ions with opposite charge to attract to one another.

resting membrane potential

The voltage inside the cell relative to the voltage outside the cell while the cell is a rest (approximately -70 mV).

action potential

A transient all-or-nothing electrical current that is conducted down the axon when the membrane potential reaches the threshold of excitation.

Axon

Part of the neuron that extends off the soma, splitting several times to connect with other neurons; main output of the neuron.

Dendrite

Part of a neuron that extends away from the cell body and is the main input to the neuron.

Excitatory postsynaptic potentials

A depolarizing postsynaptic current that causes the membrane potential to become more positive and move towards the threshold of excitation.

Inhibitory postsynaptic potentials

A hyperpolarizing postsynaptic current that causes the membrane potential to become more negative and move away from the threshold of excitation.

Ion channels

Proteins that span the cell membrane, forming channels that specific ions can flow through between the intracellular and extracellular space.

Ionotropic receptor

Ion channel that opens to allow ions to permeate the cell membrane under specific conditions, such as the presence of a neurotransmitter or a specific membrane potential.

Terminal button

The part of the end of the axon that form synapses with postsynaptic dendrite, axon, or soma.

Threshold of excitation

Specific membrane potential that the neuron must reach to initiate an action potential.

Concrete operations stage

Piagetian stage between ages 7 and 12 when children can think logically about concrete situations but not engage in systematic scientific reasoning.

Conservation problems

Problems pioneered by Piaget in which physical transformation of an object or set of objects changes a perceptually salient dimension but not the quantity that is being asked about.

Formal operations stage

Piagetian stage starting at age 12 years and continuing for the rest of life, in which adolescents may gain the reasoning powers of educated adults.

Object permanence task

The Piagetian task in which infants below about 9 months of age fail to search for an object that is removed from their sight and, if not allowed to search immediately for the object, act as if they do not know that it continues to exist.

Phonemic awareness

Awareness of the component sounds within words.

Piaget’s theory

Theory that development occurs through a sequence of discontinuous stages: the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages.

Preoperational reasoning stage

Period within Piagetian theory from age 2 to 7 years, in which children can represent objects through drawing and language but cannot solve logical reasoning problems, such as the conservation problems.

Qualitative changes

Large, fundamental change, as when a caterpillar changes into a butterfly; stage theories such as Piaget’s posit that each stage reflects qualitative change relative to previous stages.

Quantitative changes

Gradual, incremental change, as in the growth of a pine tree’s girth.

Sensorimotor stage

Period within Piagetian theory from birth to age 2 years, during which children come to represent the enduring reality of objects.

Sociocultural theories

Theory founded in large part by Lev Vygotsky that emphasizes how other people and the attitudes, values, and beliefs of the surrounding culture influence children’s development.

Neuron image

what is a neuron

a specialized cell that functions as messengers through the nervous system

Afferent neurons

Sensory messages

Efferent Neurons

motor signals

Interneurons

Carry information between neurons in the brian and neurons in spinal cord

Glial Cells

Specialized supports cells in the brain and spinal cord

what are the glial cells roles?

remove waste, in the spinal cord they are involved with the sensation of pain, help maintain homeostasis

What are the two types of Glial cells

oligodendrocytes and schwann cells

Synapse

junction where the axon terminal of a sending (pre-synaptic) neuron communicates with a receiving (post-synaptic) neuron across the synaptic cleft/gap

synaptic cleft

fluid-filled gaps between

myelin shealth

a white, fatty coating wrapped around most axon that acts as insulation

Neurotransmitter notes

chemicals that can facilitate or inhibit the transmissions of impulses from one neurons to the next

synaptic vesicles

contains with thin membranes that holds neurotransmitter

receptors

“locks” that specific neurotransmitter are the “keys” for

Synaptic gap

Adrenaline

fight or flight neurotransmitter

noradrenaline

concentration neurotransmitter

Dopamine

pleasure neurotransmitter

serotonin

mood neurotransmitter

GABA

calming neurotransmitter

Acetylcholine

learning neurotransmitter

Glutamate

memory

Endorphins

euphoria

the peripheral nervous system

All nerves outside of brain and spinal cord

parts of the The Peripheral nervous system

Somatic Nervous System and Autonomic Nervous System

Somatic Nervous System

all sensory and motor nerves (a part of the peripheral nervous system that controls voluntary muscle movements and processes sensory information

Autonomic Nervous System definition

messenger between CNS and the glands, cardiac muscle and smooth muscles

in the Autonomic Nervous System

Sympathetic Nervous System and Parasympathetic Nervous System

Parasympathetic Nervous System

brings body back to normal the part of your autonomic nervous system that controls your body's ability to relax, slow down, and conserve energy

Sympathetic Nervous System

a part of the autonomic nervous system that controls the body's rapid, involuntary "fight-or-flight" response to danger or stress

The Central Nervous System

The Brain and Spinal Cord

Neuroplasticity

the brain changing how cells are structured or function

(A traumatic experience can “rewire” the brain)

Neurogenesis

when neurons are formed in a developing brain

Somatic

Sensory Pathway – five senses messages (afferent)

Motor Pathway – voluntary movement message (efferent)

Autonomic

Sympathetic – fight or flight

Parasympathetic - rest

Frontal

Prefrontal cortex- executive and personality functioning

Motor Cortex – voluntary body movements

Broca’s Area – directs muscle movements that produce speech sounds

Parietal

Somatosensory Cortex – touch, pressure, temperature, pain and spatial and body awareness

Occipital

Primary Visual Cortex – site where vision registers

Temporal

Primary Audio Cortex – receives sound input
 Wernicke’s area – language area for understanding speech and formulating writing and speaking

Left Hemisphere

Controls the right side of the body, coordinates complex movements, and, in most people handles most of the language functions including speaking, writing, reading, and understanding the written and the spoken word

Right Hemisphere

Controls the left side of the body and, in most people, is specialized for visual-spatial perception, the interpretation of nonverbal behavior, and the recognition and expression of emotion

Cerebral Hemispheres

Body movement and feeling

Corpus Callosum

Information transfer

Brain Stem

Life support functions

Jean Piaget

studied cognitive development

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational

Sensorimotor

• Birth to 2 yr old

• learning through senses and movement

• object permanence

preoperational

• ages 2 to 7 yr old

• language development

• learning how to think

concrete operational

• ages 7 to 11 yr old

• more logic development

• thinking is primarily concrete

• conservation

Formal operational

• Ages 12 and up

• even more logic development

• new ways thinking