Unit 1 AP Psych

Evolutionary perspective

Examines how natural selection may have shaped behaviors and mental processes that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce

Nature (genes)

The inherent biological genetic factors that influence psychological development, traits, behaviors, and cognitive ability

Nurture (environment)

Influences and experiences that shape an individuals psychological development, behavior, and cognitive processes

Heredity

Transmission of genetic info from biological parents to offspring

Heritability

Helps determine how much of our traits come from genes and how much comes from our environment

Genetic predispositon

The inherited likelihood of developing specific traits or conditions due to genetic factors

Eugenics

The belief in improving the genetic quality of a human population by controlling reproduction to increase desirable traits and decrease undesirable ones.

Cerebral cortex

Outer layer of brain responsible for higher-level cognitive functions, including thinking, perceiving, and decision making

Lobes of the brain

The 4 main regions in which the cerebral cortex is divided

Association areas

Parts of the brain that take info from all over- like what we see, hear, smell, and touch- and put it together to help understand the world around us

Frontal lobe

Located at the front of the brain and is involved in higher-level cognitive functions, including decision-making, problem solving, planning, and personality expression

Prefrontal cortex

Located at the front of the frontal lobe, responsible for higher-level cognitive functions and executive functioning (planning, organizing, impulse control, regulating emotions, managing time, strategizing, and personality expression

Motor cortex

Located in back of frontal lobe, responsible for planning, controlling, and executing voluntary movements of the body (walking, talking, etc)
-Left side of motor cortex controls right side of body and vice-versa

Parietal lobes

Located at top of brain and primarily responsible for processing sensory info from the body such as touch, temperature, and spatial recognition

Somatosensory cortex

Located at front of parietal lobe, responsible for interpreting sensations from skin, muscles, and joints, such as touch, pressure, temperature, and pain

Occipital lobes

Located at back of brain and are responsible for processes visual info received from eyes
-contain primary visual cortex

Temporal lobes

Located on sides of brain, involved in processing auditory info, language comprehension, and memory formation

-Contain auditory cortex which interprets sound signals from ears

Corpus Collosum

Thick band of nerve fibers that connect the left and right hemispheres of brain, facilitating communication and info sharing between hemispheres

Brain stem

The oldest and most primative of the brain. Responsible for basic life-sustaining functions such as breathing, heart rate, and sleep-wake cycles

Reticular Activating System

A mesh-like network of neurons located within the brainstem. Regulates arousal, attention, and consciousness

Medulla

Located at base of brainstem, regulating essential automatic functions such as heartbeat, breathing, and blood pressure

-Serves as a relay station for nerve signals, traveling between brain and spinal cord

Cerebellum

Located at back of brain, responsible for coordinating voluntary movements, balance, and posture

Limbic system

Located beneath the cerebral cortex, is a set of brain structures involved in emotion, memory, and motivation

Reward center

Network of brain structures, primarily in limbic system, involved in pleasure and reinforcement. Makes rewarding behaviors more likely to happen again

Thalamus

A relay station in the brain that processes and relays sensory info (sight, touch, sound, taste -no smell-) to cerebral cortex

-Serves as a gateway for sensory input, directing signals to appropriate area of brain for further processing

Hypothalamus

Small structure located below thalamus responsible for regulating various essential bodily functions, including hunger, thirst, body temperature, and sleep-wake cycle

Pituitary gland

Pea-size gland located at base of brain, often referred to as ‘master gland’ due to its central role in regulating hormone production and secretion in body

Hippocampus

Curved structure located within the brains temporal lobes, responsible for forming and consolidating how memories form

-If you saw a hippo on campus, you wouldn’t forget it

Amygdala

A small, almond-shaped structure, located deep in the temporal lobes, involved in processing emotion, particularly fear and aggression

-Central role in threat-detection (fight-or-flight)

The nervous system

the body's communication

network, consisting of

a complex system of

nerves, neurons, and

specialized cells.

The central nervous system

consists of the brain and spinal cord. It

serves as the command center of the body,

responsible for processing information,

coordinating responses, and regulating bodily

functions.

Peripheral nervous system

consists of all the nerves and ganglia outside

the brain and spinal cord.

Autonomic nervous system

division of the

peripheral nervous system that

regulates involuntary bodily

functions, It operates

automatically, without conscious

control.

Sympathetic nervous system

responsible for activating the body's "fight or

flight" response in times of stress or danger.

Parasympathetic nervous system

responsible for promoting relaxation and

restoring the body to a calm state after

experiencing stress or danger.

Somatic Nervous system

division of the

peripheral nervous system responsible for

controlling voluntary movements and

relaying sensory information from the body

to the central nervous system.

Nuerons

specialized cell that serves as the

building block of the nervous system,

transmitting electrical and chemical signals

throughout the body.
consists of three main parts: the cell

body (soma), dendrites, and axon.

Glial cells

the "support cells" of the

nervous system, provide structural support,

insulation, and nourishment to neurons.

Motor nuerons

nerve cells that transmit

signals from the central nervous system

(brain and spinal cord) to muscles, glands,

and organs, initiating and controlling

voluntary and involuntary movements

Sensory Nuerons

specialized nerve cells

that transmit sensory information from

sensory receptors, such as those in the skin,

muscles, and organs, to the central nervous

system (brain and spinal cord).

Internuerons

nerve cells that serve as

connectors within the central nervous

system, relaying signals between sensory

neurons and motor neurons.

Reflex acr

neural pathway that controls

reflex actions, allowing for rapid, automatic

responses to sensory stimuli without

conscious thought (primitive reflexes)

Homunculus mapper

A visual map

of the human body drawn over the brain's

cortex. The size of each body part is

proportional to its sensory or motor

connection density (resulting in giant hands

and lips).

Neural transmission

the process by

which neurons communicate with each

other through electrical and chemical

signals.

Threshold

the level of stimulation required

to trigger an action potential in a neuron. It

is the minimum amount of stimulation

necessary to produce a response.

Action Potential

brief electrical impulse

that travels along the axon of a neuron.

● It occurs when the neuron receives a

stimulus that causes the inside of the

cell to become more positively charged

than the outside.

All-or-None Principle

states that once a

neuron reaches its threshold of excitation, it

will fire an action potential at full strength.

● If the stimulus is strong enough to

trigger an action potential, the neuron

will respond with a full-strength

impulse.

● If the stimulus is below the threshold,

the neuron will not fire an action

potential at all.

Depolarization

phase of action potential

where the inside of the neuron becomes

less negative compared to the outside due

to the influx of positively charged ions, such

as sodium ions, through ion channels in the

cell membrane.

Refractory Period

brief period following

an action potential during which a neuron is

unable to generate another action potential.

Resting Potential

the stable, negative

electrical charge that exists across the cell

membrane of a neuron when it is not

actively transmitting signals.

Reuptake

process in which

neurotransmitters that have been released

into the synapse are reabsorbed by the

presynaptic neuron from which they were

originally released.

Multiple Sclerosis “MS”

chronic

autoimmune disease that affects the central

nervous system, including the brain and

spinal cord.

It occurs when the immune system

mistakenly attacks the protective myelin

sheath, a fatty substance that surrounds and

insulates nerve fibers, causing inflammation

and damage.

● Symptoms can be cognitive, sensory or

motor

Myasthenia Gravis

chronic

autoimmune disorder that affects the

neuromuscular junction, where nerve

impulses are transmitted to muscles.

● It occurs when the immune system

produces antibodies that block or

destroy the receptors for

acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter

that stimulates muscle contraction.

● Symptoms are muscle weakness