Unit 1 Vocab AP Psych Nervous System and Senses - Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the lecture notes on the nervous system, brain structures, senses, sleep, and psychoactive drugs.

Turner syndrome

Only 1X chromosome and characterized by short stature, webbed neck, and possible learning difficulties.

Klinefelter syndrome

Extra X chromosome making XXY pattern. Characterized by less developed sexual development and diff personality traits like extreme extroversion.

Down syndrome

Extra X chromosome on 21st pair causing distinct facial features and mild to moderate intellectual disability.

Psychodymanic

Role of early childhood expirences,unconsious processes, and infernal conflictos shaming behavior and personality

Humanistic

views individuals as having an innate drive for personal growth, freedom, and self-fulfillment, leading to self-actualization

Neural transmission

The process by which neurons communicate via electrical impulses and neurotransmitters.

Resting potential

The voltage difference across a neuron's membrane when it is not firing.

Threshold

Enough neurotransmitters received

Action potential

A rapid rise and fall in electrical charge across a neuron's membrane that propagates along the axon.

All-or-nothing principle

A neuron fires at full strength or not at all once threshold is reached.

Central nervous system (CNS)

The brain and spinal cord; the main control center of the nervous system.

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

All nerves outside the CNS that connect the CNS to the rest of the body.

Somatic nervous system

Part of the PNS that controls voluntary muscle movements and sensory information.

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

Part of the PNS that controls automatic body functions; divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.

Sympathetic nervous system

makes your body stress more

Parasympathetic nervous system

cools down your body’s stress levels

Afferent (sensory) neurons

take info from senses to brain

Efferent (motor) neurons

Take info from brain to body

Interneurons

Neurons that connect other neurons within the CNS.

Amygdala

involved in emotion and fear.

Midbrain

Part of the brainstem involved in vision, hearing, and motor functions.

Hypothalamus

Regulates body temperature, hunger/thirst, circadian rhythms, and the endocrine system via the pituitary.

Cerebral cortex

Outer layer of the brain responsible for higher-order processes like thought, perception, and language.

Hemispheric specialization

Differing specialized functions for the left and right brain hemispheres.

Broca's area

Frontal-lobe region involved in speech production.

Split brain patient

Patients who’s left and right have been cut off and believed that oppositing sides control the other.

Wernicke's area

Temporal-lobe region involved in language comprehension.

Motor cortex

Frontal lobe area that controls voluntary movements.

Somatosensory cortex

Parietal lobe area that processes tactile information and body sensation.

Frontal Lobe

Critical role in directing thought processes like Predicting conquences,pursuing goals, maintaing emocional control, and engaging in abstract thought.

Parietal lobe

Brain region processing sensory information and spatial relationships.

Occipital lobe

Brain region responsible for visual processing.

Temporal lobe

Brain region involved in auditory processing and language, also memory.

Visual cortex

Occipital lobe area where visual information is first processed.

EEG

records brain electrical activity via scalp electrodes.

FMRI

Can show details of brain structure with info abt blood flow in the brain

CAT/CT scan

X-ray imaging to visualize brain structure.

MRI

detailed brain structure imaging without ionizing radiation.

PET scan

Positron emission tomography; shows brain activity by measuring metabolic processes.

Cerebellum

Coordinates movement, balance, and motor learning.

Trichromatic theory

Color vision explained by three types of cones sensitive to red, green, and blue.

Opponent-process theory

Color vision theory proposing opposing color channels (red-green, blue-yellow) and explaining afterimages.

Afterimage

A visual image that persists after the stimulus has ended.

Dichromatism

Color vision deficiency where one of the three cone types is absent or not functioning.

Monochromats

Individuals who see only one color channel or grayscale vision.

Place theory

Idea that pitch is encoded by the location of hair cells along the cochlea responding to different frequencies.

Frequency theory

Idea that pitch is encoded by the rate of auditory nerve firing.

Amplitude

Wave height; in sound, related to loudness.

Sound localization

Ability to identify the source of a sound.

Gate-control theory

Theory that pain is modulated by neural gates in the spinal cord.

Conduction deafness

Hearing loss caused by mechanical problems in the outer or middle ear preventing sound from reaching the inner ear.

Sensorineural deafness

Hearing loss caused by damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve.

Taste receptors

Sensor cells in taste buds that detect sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami(meaty taste).

Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami

The five basic tastes detected by taste receptors.

Super-tasters

People with heightened sensitivity to tasting certain compounds.

Non-tasters

People with reduced sensitivity to certain tastes.

Semicircular canals

Inner ear structures that help sense balance and head rotation.

Kinesthesis

Sense of body position and movement.

Vestibular sense

Sense of balance maintained by inner ear structures.

Circadian rhythm

Biological 24-hour cycle regulating sleep-wake patterns.

Activation-synthesis theory

Dream theory proposing dreams result from brain activity during sleep, synthesized into story-like narratives.

Consolidation theory

Dream theory proposing dreams help consolidate memories from waking life.

REM sleep

Sleep stage with Rapid Eye Movement and vivid dreams; brain activity resembles wakefulness.

NREM sleep

Non-REM sleep with stages I–III; less dreaming and slower brain activity.

Theta waves

Brain waves associated with light sleep (N1 stage).

Sleep spindles

Brief bursts of rapid brain waves occurring during N2 sleep.

Insomnia

Chronic difficulty falling or staying asleep.

Narcolepsy

Sleep disorder with irresistible daytime sleepiness and sudden sleep attacks.

Sleep apnea

Sleep disorder where breathing stops temporarily during sleep.

Somnambulism

Sleepwalking; person engages in activities while asleep.

Stimulants

Drugs that increase CNS activity and arousal (e.g., caffeine, cocaine).

Depressants

Drugs that slow CNS activity (e.g., alcohol, sedatives).

Opiates

Narcotic drugs (e.g., heroin, fentanyl) that relieve pain and produce euphoria.

Hallucinogens

Psychoactive drugs that distort perception and thought.

Agonists

Drugs that mimic neurotransmitters at receptors.

Antagonists

Drugs that block or reduce neurotransmitter receptor activation.

Norepinephrine

Alertness, arousal

Glutamine

Excitatory neurotransmitter, involved in memory

Endorphins

Pain control

Substance P

Pain perception

Acetylcholine

Motor movement

GABA

Important inhibitory neurotransmitter