Unit 2

Phineas Gage Case Study

Case study that proved that everything psychological is biological

central nervous system (CNS)

brain and spinal cord

sensory neurons

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord; afferent signals/sensory input

motor neurons

neurons that carry signals from the spinal cord to the muscles to produce movement; Motor Output/Efferent Signals

Interneurons

neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs; CNS Integration/Processing/decision-making

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Connects CNS to the rest of the body

somatic nervous system

voluntary muscle/skeletal movements

autonomic nervous system

automatic stuff body does; Ex. Organs and glands

sympathetic nervous system

fight or flight (or freeze)

parasympathetic nervous system

rest and digest

biological psychologists

the scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes

neurons

nerve cells that make up the NS; receive, integrate, and transmit information

dendrites

Receive signals from other neurons; ears of the neuron

cell body (soma)

contains nucleus

axon

Long fibers that transmits information through them; wires the electrics travels on

axon terminals (terminal buttons)

transmit signals to the dendrites; mouth of the neuron

myelin sheath

fatty tissue that SOME neurons have; makes sure electrical signal does not lose charge; insulator around axon

Synapse (synaptic gap)

space between two neurons (axon terminal to dendrite) that neurotransmitters travel through

Nodes of Ranvier

gaps in the myelin sheath; dots between axons

sodium-potassium pump

a carrier protein that uses ATP to actively transport sodium ions out of a cell and potassium ions into the cell; create the electrical charge that allows brain cells (neurons) to communicate.

depolarization

Firing stage/rising part of graph; sodium ions (Na⁺) rush into the cell

action potential

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon; The neuron firing; whole graph

(incr: excitatory

Decr: inhibitory)

resting potential

Neuron's stable; negative charge when inactive; flat line of graph (-70)

Repolarization

Falling stage/decreasing part of the graph; potassium ions (K⁺) move out of the cell, while sodium channels close to stop Na⁺ from entering

hyper polarization

more negative than resting; over rest part of the graph

threshold

The point when the neuron MUST fire; at (-55) the neuron WILL fire

all-or-nothing response

Neurons either fire or they don't

Intensity

How many neurons are firing and frequent

refractory period

a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired

Reuptake of neurotransmitters

the process by which neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by the axon terminal; Neurotransmitter binds to receptor, then when it is used it goes back up into the vesicle

Vesicle

Holds neurotransmitters and recycles them

Acetylcholine (ACh)

EXCITATORY

muscle action, learning, and memory

Too much: muscle contractions, twitches, tremors

Too little: Alzheimer's disease, memory loss, cognitive decline

Dopamine

INHIBITORY

influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

too much: schizophrenia

too little: tremors and Parkinson's disease(SN)

Serotonin

INHIBITORY

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

too much: muscle twitching and Serotonin syndrome

too little: depression

Norepinephrine

EXCITATORY

helps control alertness and arousal

too much: anxiety

too little: depression mood/depression

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

INHIBITORY

a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

too much: drowsiness and impaired cognition

too little: anxiety, sleep problems, depression, and seizures

Glutamate

EXCITATORY

A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory

too much: overstimulates the brain, producing migraines or seizures

too little: memory/learning problems

Endorphins

INHIBITORY

Neurotransmitters that influence the perception of pain or pleasure

too much: taking drugs that are a fake version of this transmitter will cause the brain to stop producing its own; suppresses natural production

too little: lower pain threshold

Agonist

a molecule that increases a neurotransmitter's action

Antagonist

a molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter's action

Lesioning

destroying a piece of the brain

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

measures brain waves/electrical signals

Only shows activity/NO STRUCTURE

CANT SHOW WERE THE ACTIVITY IS HAPPENING

CAT/CT (computed tomography) scan

Uses computer processed X-rays to produce tomographic images or slices

Not high resolution

Physical structure only/NO ACTIVITY

PET (positron emission tomography) scan

Radioactive glucose to see where is the brain there is activity when person is given a task

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

Magnets/radio waves to see structure of soft tissue

SUPER high resolution

CANT show brain activity

fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)

Measures brain activity by detecting a change in blood flow

Brainstem

responsible for automatic survival functions

Pons

involved in sleep and arousal (Ex (sleep). makes you FALL asleep || cause you to have dreams)

Medulla

controls heartbeat and breathing (automatic bio. functions)

Thalamus

Relay station for sensory information; all sense EXCEPT SMELL must pass to get to the cerebral cortex (handles both Afferent and Efferent signals)

reticular formation

nerve that plays an important role in arousal and sleep (Ex (sleep). makes you FEEL sleepy) AND speeds up senses (ex. Pain/touch)

Cerebellum

Balance and coordination AND MUSCLE MEMORY

limbic system

memory and emotion

Amygdala

fear response; rage, jealously, and aggression (Also deals with understanding emotions in others)

Hypothalamus

the 4 Fs (Fighting, Fleeing, Feeding, Mating) AND Controls the pituitary gland/master gland (Ex. deals with temperature/homestasis)

Hippocampus

memory relay station; consolidated memories; involved in creating durable memory

cerebral cortex

Hemispheres of the brain that are split into the four lobes

glial cells

support cells

schwann and oligodendrocytes cells

Performs myelination (PNS and CNS)

satellite cells

surrounds and protects neurons to regulate a neural environment

Astrocytes

repairs damaged neurons

microglial cells

immune cells of CNS; immune system of the cell

ependymal cells

produce cerebrospinal fluid

Nerves

bundles of axons that are routed together in the PNS

frontal lobe

planning, reasoning, working memory, paying attention, problem solving, and performing movement (executive functions)

motor cortex

controls voluntary movements

Broca's area

speech production

Aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).

parietal lobe

receives sensory input for touch and body position

somatosensory cortex

Receive information about temperature, pressure, texture, and pain

Wernicke's area

language comprehension

occipital lobe

visual processing

visual cortex

vision

temporal lobe

auditory input, processing speech, appreciating music(only on the right side oof brain), and RECOGNIZING FACES

Hindbrain

medulla, pons, cerebellum, reticular formation (also in midbrain)

Midbrain

reticular formation (also in hindbrain), ventral tegmental area (VTA), Substantia Nigra (SN)

Forebrain

cerebral cortex (four lobes and all parts) and the limbic system and all its parts

auditory cortex

processes sound

association areas

areas of the cerebral cortex that are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking

Basal Ganglia

movement, proprioception, learning, and emotional processing (includes recognizing facial expressions in others)

Anterograde

can't form new memories

brain plasticity

the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience; changes structure of brain by making new connections between neurons (healing and learning)

gyri and sulci

the ridges and grooves of the cerebral cortex (gyri U II sulci upside down U)

central sulcus

separates frontal and parietal lobes (U shape)

lateral sulcus

separates the temporal lobe from the frontal and parietal lobes

neurogenesis

creation of new neurons (slows down a lot after 25)

Agnosia

inability to recognize objects

Prosopagnosia

inability to recognize faces

corpus callosum

Major (but not only) pathway between hemispheres

split brain

isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them (Ex. though to cure epilepsy)

Roger Sperry

studied split brain patients; showed that left/right hemispheres have different functions

Micheal Gazzaniga

Split brain research

left hemisphere functions

Language and logic; controls right side of body/eyes (Ex. Both lobes deal with math, but if one or the other on a test, pick the left)

right hemisphere functions

controls left side of body; creativity/Music appreciation/art

consciousness

our awareness of ourselves and our environment

cognitive neuroscience

the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)

dual processing

the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks

hollow face illusion

An optical illusion in which the perception of a concave mask of a face appears as a normal convex face.

endocrine system

the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

pituitary gland

master gland; secretes hormones; some affect other glands