AP Psychology PT 1

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering the biological bases of behavior, including genetics, brain anatomy, neural communication, consciousness, sleep, and the sensory systems based on the provided lecture transcript.

Genes

The basic units of heredity that influence traits, behaviors, and predispositions.

Turner's syndrome

A chromosomal abnormality in females who have only one X chromosome, characterized by a webbed neck, lack of ovaries, and failure to develop secondary sex characteristics at puberty.

Klinefelter's syndrome

A chromosomal abnormality in males having an XXY pattern, where male secondary sex characteristics fail to develop but breast tissue does.

Down syndrome

A condition caused by having 3 copies of the 21st chromosome, typically resulting in mental retardation, a round head, and a flat nasal bridge.

Heritability

The proportion of variation in a trait that can be attributed to genetic factors.

PKU (Phenylketonuria)

A condition resulting in severe, irreversible brain damage unless fed with a special diet low in Phenylalanine due to the inability to process a certain amino acid.

Genotype

The genetic makeup of an individual.

Phenotype

The observable expression of genes, influenced by the environment.

Polygenic Traits

Traits that are influenced by multiple genes, such as intelligence and personality.

Natural Selection

Darwin's theory that traits increasing an organism's chances of survival and reproduction are more likely to be passed down.

Instrumental Aggression

Aggression that has a goal to meet for some type of benefit, such as Christmas shopping.

Hostile Aggression

Aggression resulting from pain, anger, or frustration, also known as the frustration-aggression principle.

Social Script

Culturally provided mental files for how to act in novel situations.

Monozygotic Twins

Identical twins who share 100% of their genes, used to study the role of heredity in behavior.

Dizygotic Twins

Fraternal twins who share about 50% of their genes, like regular siblings, used for nature vs. nurture studies.

Epigenetics

The study of how environmental factors can influence gene expression without altering the DNA sequence.

Methylation

A chemical modification of DNA that can turn genes on or off, influenced by environmental factors like diet and stress.

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to change in response to experience and environment, such as through learning or recovery from injury.

Biopsychosocial Model

A framework that integrates biological, psychological, and social factors in understanding health, illness, and behavior.

Dendrite

Part of the neuron that receives messages from other cells.

Axon

Part of the neuron that passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands.

Myelin Sheath

A layer of fatty tissue covering the axon that helps speed up neural impulses.

Action Potential

A brief electrical charge that travels down the axon when a neuron is stimulated.

Threshold

The minimum intensity required to trigger an action potential in a neuron.

All-or-none response

The principle that a neuron's reaction either fires completely or doesn't fire at all.

Reuptake

The process by which the sending neuron reabsorbs excess neurotransmitters from the synapse.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

A neurotransmitter that enables muscle action, learning, and memory; deterioration of producing neurons is linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Dopamine

Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion; oversupply is linked to schizophrenia and undersupply to Parkinson's disease.

Serotonin

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal; undersupply is linked to depression.

GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid)

A major inhibitory neurotransmitter; undersupply is linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia.

Glutamate

A major excitatory neurotransmitter involved in memory; oversupply can overstimulate the brain and produce migraines or seizures.

Agonists

Drugs that mimic the effect of a neurotransmitter.

Antagonists

Drugs that inhibit the effect of a neurotransmitter.

Afferent Neurons

Sensory neurons that carry messages from the body's tissues inward to the brain and spinal cord.

Efferent Neurons

Motor neurons that carry instructions from the Central Nervous System to the body's muscles.

Sympathetic Nervous System

The part of the autonomic nervous system that arouses and expends energy, often associated with "Fight or Flight."

Parasympathetic Nervous System

The part of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body and conserves energy, maintaining homeostasis.

Pituitary Gland

The "Master Gland" of the endocrine system that secretes hormones affecting other glands, controlled by the hypothalamus.

Lesions

The intentional destruction or removal of part of the brain for treatment or study.

EEG (Electroencephalogram)

A device that detects brain waves, widely used to study sleep stages and dreaming.

PET (Positron Emission Tomography)

A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a task.

Medulla

Part of the hindbrain that controls heartbeat and breathing.

Cerebellum

Known as the "Little Brain," it controls voluntary movements, posture, balance, and equilibrium.

Reticular Formation

Part of the midbrain responsible for being aroused and alert; damage can lead to a deep coma.

Hippocampus

Part of the forebrain responsible for processing conscious memories.

Amygdala

Part of the forebrain responsible for processing emotion.

Thalamus

The brain's sensory control center responsible for processing information from all senses except smell.

Cerebral Cortex

The brain's ultimate control and information-processing center that distinguishes humans from animals.

Corpus Callosum

A wide band of axon fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres and carrying messages between them.

Broca's area

Located in the left frontal lobe, it is responsible for producing speech.

Wernicke's area

Located in the left temporal lobe, it is responsible for understanding speech.

Occipital Lobe

The lobe at the back of the brain responsible for vision and interpreting messages from the visual cortex.

Circadian Rhythm

The biological clock that regulates bodily rhythms on a 24-hour cycle, or 25 hours if environmental cues are blocked.

Sleep Spindles

Short bursts of rapid brain waves occurring during Stage 2 sleep.

REM sleep

Also known as paradoxical sleep, where brain waves appear active and dreams usually occur.

Sleep Apnea

A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessation of breathing and repeated momentary awakenings.

Manifest Content

According to Freud, the apparent and remembered content of a dream.

Latent Content

According to Freud, the hidden, underlying meaning of a dream.

Activation Synthesis

The theory that dreams are the brain's attempt to make sense of random neural activity erupting from the brainstem.

Dissociation Theory

Ernest Hilgard's theory that hypnosis divides consciousness into one part that responds to the hypnotist and a "hidden observer" aware of reality.

Tolerance

The diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring larger doses to achieve the desired effect.

Sensory Transduction

The process of converting one form of energy into neural impulses that the brain can process.

Accommodation

The process by which the eye's lens changes its curvature and thickness to focus incoming light rays on the retina.

Fovea

The retina's area of central focus where cones are concentrated.

Feature Detectors

Special neurons in the visual cortex that respond to specific features of a scene like edges, lines, and movement.

Opponent Process Theory

The theory that color vision is enabled by three sets of opponent retinal processes (red/green, yellow/blue, white/black).

Cochlea

A fluid-filled tube in the inner ear where sound waves trigger nerve impulses.

Place Theory

The theory that we hear different pitches based on the specific location where the cochlea's basilar membrane is stimulated.

Frequency Theory

The theory that the brain reads pitch by monitoring the frequency of neural impulses traveling up the auditory nerve.

Gate-Control Theory

The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological gate that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass to the brain.

Olfaction

The chemical sense of smell.

Vestibular Sense

The sense that monitors the head's position and movement to maintain balance.

Kinesthesis

The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts through sensors in joints, tendons, and muscles.