AP Psych Terms Unit 2

Autonomic nervous system

controls actions of internal organs/glands

Axons

transmits information to other neurons, muscles, and glands

Dendrites

receive information from other neurons

Glial cells

attached to neurons, support system, facilitate transmission and repair/protect neurons

Motor neurons

information exits CNS to rest of body through PNS

Myelin Sheath

along axon, insulating layer of fatty material, glial cells, helps with transmission and the gaps in between are nodes of Ranvier

Neuron

individual cells that provide communication within the nervous system

Parasympathetic nervous system

calming, phew!

Sensory neurons

arrive through PNS/incoming to CNS

Soma (cell body)

contains nucleus with chromosomes

Somatic nervous system

controls voluntary movements

Sympathetic nervous system

arousing, oh shoot!

Acetylcholine

excitatory, enables muscle control/movement, learning and memory

Low: paralysis, alzheimer's, dementia, memory impairment
High: muscle contractions, convulsions, death

Action Potential

neural firing, changes to electric potential that activate transmission

Adoption Studies

comparing adopted child's behaviors to both their biological and adoptive parents

Adrenaline

A hormone released into the bloodstream in response to physical or mental stress

Agonists

unnatural, drugs that excite by mimicking a particular neurotransmitter or blocking reuptake

All-or-nothing principle

Cells will either fire or they won't. always at same charge of -55mv or -70mv

Amygdala

emotion center at the tip of hippocampus, controls emotional processes, emotional memories, fear/reward

when damaged, decrease in fear, aggression, sexual desire

when stimulated, increases fear and aggression

Antagonists

unnatural, substances that inhibit or block neurotransmitter action

Broca's Aphasia

damage to Broca's Area makes speech slowed/slurred, producibility affected

Wernicke's Aphasia

damage to Wernicke's Area makes speech incomprehensible

Association Areas

integrate information from different receptors or sensory areas and relate the information to past experiences

Brain Stem

connects brain to the spinal cord

Broca's Area

left hemisphere, responsible for expressive communication

Central Nervous System

center, brain, spinal cord, processing through interneurons that receive and send out messages, CNS

Cerebellum

coordinates voluntary movements, enables non-verbal learning

damage can make walking hard

Cerebral Cortex

consists of frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes

Contralateral hemispheric

opposite sides control opposite body parts, smaller intricate movements

Organization

which biological factors impact behavior, genetics, hormones, nervous system

Corpus Callosum

fibrous network connecting both hemisphere, contralateral

CAT (CT) Scan

compiles x-ray images to form overall image of brain and can detect tumors

depolarization

axon chambers open up

Dopamine

excitatory, reward, pleasure, movement, learning, and attention

Low: parkinson's and muscle rigidity
High: schizophrenia and addiction

Electroencepalogram (EEG)

measures electrical activity in the brain to show abnormalities and brain activity

Endorphins

euphoria, natural pain killer, inhibits substance P, morphine, natural opiates, pain control and pleasure

Low: pain
High: body may not give pain signals

Eugenics

selective breeding to create ideal specimens

Evolutionary perspective

perspective that focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics that all humans share by examining cognition and behavior

Excitatory neurotransmitters

excite connecting neurons cause them to fire

Executive functioning

the cognitive abilities and processes that allow humans to plan or inhibit their actions

fMRI

detects un/oxygenated blood to identify areas in brain most active

Frontal lobes

latest portion to develop/myelinate present in both hemispheres, deep processing, perception, complex emotions

GABA

calming, balances excitatory messages, regulates anxiety, deep sleep, wake cycles

Low: anxiety/tremors
High: sleep/eating disorders

genetic predisposition

to be susceptible to it or more likely to encounter it due to inherited genes

Glial cells

attached to neurons, support system, facilitate transmission, repair/protect neurons

Glutamate

memory, opposite of GABA, thinking, memory, learning, strengthening, neural connections

Low: panic attacks, anxiety, depression
High: agitation, memory loss, sleeplessness, low energy level

Hemispheric specialization

The control of distinct neurological functions by the right and left hemispheres of the brain

Heredity

genetics, predisposed, characteristics, nature/internal

Higher-order-thinking

composed of a range of sophisticated thinking skills

Hippocampus

creates new memories and integrates and stores memories

Hormones

chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues

Hypothalamus

regulates body temperature, sleep-wake cycles, helps govern endocrine system, reward centers, and maintains functions of eating/drinking

inhibitory neurotransmitters

prevent next neuron from firing

interneurons

Central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

Lesioning

destroys brain tissue, burns and disables targeted tissue

Limbic system

neural structures associated with emotion, motivated behavior, learning and memory functioning

Linguistic processing

The cognitive activities involved in understanding and producing language. It encompasses various processes such as perceiving speech sounds, comprehending word meanings, constructing grammatically correct sentences, and conveying thoughts through speech or writing

Medulla

controls heartbeat, breathing, and damage to the medulla can cause paralysis and breathing problems

Motor cortex

back of frontal lobe, topographical and contralateral, smaller intricate movements require more of the motor cortex, right controls left

MRI

uses magnets to create an image

Multiple sclerosis

myelin sheath destruction. disruptions in nerve impulse conduction

Myasthenia gravis

immune system destroys muscles receptor sites for acetylcholine

Natural selection

desired qualities selected for environmental pressure and adapt

Nature v Nurture

Nature: heredity, genetics, predisposed, internal, characteristics
Nurture: environmental factors, experience, family interactions, education, external

Neural transmission

electrochemical communication within and between neurons and the final destination

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that transmit information

Norepinephrine

alertness, arousal, adrenaline, learning, eating, memory and increased heartbeat

Low: depression
High: anxiety

Occipital lobes

vision processing, different parts process different areas of our vision, connected to eyes through fiber

Parietal lobes

touch and pain perception, spatial awareness/navigation, left helps with mathematics/reading/symbolism, contains sensory cortex

Peripheral nervous system

organs, away from center, incoming and outputs

Pituitary gland

master gland, part of endocrine system, attached to the hypothalamus, receives signals from hypothalamus and releases hormonal signals

Plasticity

brains can change and work around an issue where other parts of brain will compensate for

Polarization

the passage of small constant direct currents through the brain

Prefrontal cortex

higher order thinking, executive functions and contains mirror neurons

receptor sites

receiving neuron dendrites, post sypnatic

reflex arc

the nerve pathway involved in a reflex action including at its simplest a sensory nerve and a motor nerve with a synapse between

refractory period

membrane channels return to original state and prevent another action potential

resting potential

polarized, outside more + ions, - inside, waiting at a charge of -70mv

Reticular Activating System (RAS)

regulates sleep, wakefulness and arousal levels, sends messages to thalamus and hypothalamus and cortex, damage can lead to coma

Reuptake

neurotransmitters reabsorbed back into presypnatic neuron, information only travels in 1 direction in form of electrical impulses

reward center

An area of the hypothalamus that, when stimulated, provides pleasure to the organism

Serotonin

inhibitory, mood, hunger, sleep, pain perception and arousal

Low: anxiety, depression, and mood disorders
High: shivering seizures, and hallucinations

Somatosensory (sensory) cortex

topographical, contralateral, registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

Split-brain research

separation of corpus callosum

Substance P

Excitatory, neuromodulator, sends pain signals, released from sensory nerve fibers in skin, muscles, joints

Low: reduced pain sensitivity and motor control
High: inflammation, depression

Synaptic cleft/gap

the space between neurons at a nerve synapse across which a nerve impulse is transmitted by a neurotransmitter

Temporal lobes

next to ear, helps with hearing/language, contains auditory cortex and wernicke's area

Terminal/buttons/axon terminal

end points on the neuron and release neurotransmitters to signal next neuron

Thalamus

relay station/center, processes and relays information from sensory receptors except smell to other parts of the body, damage can lead to coma, loss of sensation of the body

Threshold

point which the neuron fires

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

alters magnetic fields and affects to see how brain processes "reset", pinpoint less engaged areas, noninvasive

Twin studies

a common method of investigating whether nature or nurture affects behavior

Vesicles

store neurotransmitters

Wernicke's area

left hemisphere, language comprehension