MCAT Prep (Behavioral Sciences)

What is the medulla oblongata formed from?

Myelencephalon —> comes from the rhombencephalon

What are the pons and cerebellum formed from?

Metencephalon —> comes from the rhombencephalon

What is the hindbrain formed from?

Rhombencephalon

What is the midbrain formed from?

Mesencephalon

What does the super colliculus process?

Visual inputs

What does the inferior colliculus process?

Auditory inputs

What is the forebrain formed from?

Prosencephalon

What is the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and limbic system formed from?

Telencephalon —> comes from the prosencephalon

What is the thalamus, hypothalamus, posterior pituitary gland, and pineal gland formed from?

Diencephalon —> comes from the prosencephalon

What does EEG stand for?

Electroencephalogram

What are the layers that comprise the meninges?

Dura mater, arachnid mater, and pia mater

What type of movement does contralateral indicate in the brain hemispheres?

Between the two hemispheres

What type of movement does ipsilateral indicate in the brain hemisphere?

Within the same hemisphere

What part of the cardiovascular system delivers blood to the sclera?

Choroidal vessels

What are the neurons which communicate between rods and cones?

Bipolar cells

What are the neurons which communicate between the rods & cones & the optic nerve?

Ganglion cells

Where is visual information first processed in the brain?

Lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) —> part of the thalamus

What is the name of the neurons that exist in the LGN that detect still stimuli?

parvocellular cells

What is the name of neurons that exist in the LGN that detect moving stimuli?

magnocellular cels

What cells are responsible for depth perception and where?

Binocular neurons located in the visual cortex

What are the cells responsible for perceptual learning and where?

Feature detectors in the visual cortex

What is the outer part of the ear?

Pinna or auricle

What are the bones of the inner ear?

Stapes, incus, and malleus

What connects the ear to the nose?

Eustachian tube

What is found within the membranous labyrinth?

Endolymph

What is found between the membranous and bony labyrinth?

Perilymph

What is the cochlea divided into?

3 scalae

What does the middle scalae house?

Organ of Corti, basilar membrane, and tectorial membrane

What are the cells located in the utricle and saccule and what are their purpose?

Ololith cells that resist linear acceleration

What part of the thalamus filters auditory stimuli?

Medial geniculate nucleus (MGN)

Where is sound localization processed?

Superior olive

What is the olfactory pathway?

Olfactory nerves —> olfactory bulb —> olfactory tract

What are the structures of the tongue that allow for taste?

Papillae

What is proprioception?

The sense of determining where one’s body is in space

What is classical conditioning?

Utilize an unconditioned stimulus & innate response to turn a neutral stimuli into a conditioned stimuli & response

What is operant conditioning?

Changing frequency in behavior due to reinforcement or punishment

What is latent learning?

A behavior spontaneously occurs after a reward has been established

What is observational learning?

A new behavior is acquired after watching others

What is method of loci?

Placing each item in a list along a specific path which is already known

What is the peg-word system?

Assigning numbers which rhyme or have a strong resemblance to items

What is retrograde memory?

Previously formed memories

What is anterograde memory?

Formation of new memories

What is the division of long-term memory?

Implicit & explicit memory

What is the division of implicit memory?

Procedural memory

What is the division of explicit memory?

Declarative memory

What is the division of declarative memory?

Episodic and semantic memory —> autobiographical is a combo of both

What is the confabulation?

Process of creating vivid and fabricated memories

What is reproductive memory?

The accurate recall of past events

What is controlled processing?

Means by which information can be intentionally stored within long-term memory

What is representational thought?

Mental representations of external objects and events

What are Piaget’s four stages of development and when do they occur?

Sensorimotor (birth - 2 yrs); preoperational (2 yrs - 7 yrs); concrete operational (7 yrs - 11 yrs); formal operational

What is functional fixedness?

An inability to think about the uses of an object in a nontraditional manner

What are heuristics?

Simplified principles which are used to make a decision

What is the base rate fallacy?

Ignoring numerical values for stereotypical or prototypical factors

What is confirmation bias?

An individual focuses only on the information that fit their beliefs & rejects contradictions

What is intuition?

The ability to act on perceptions which may not yet be backed by evidence

How does one stay awake?

Neurons in the prefrontal cortex communicate with the reticular formation to maintain awakeness

Rank the brain activity waves from most frequent to least

Beta, alpha, theta, and delta waves

What is the cortisol pathway?

Hypothalamus releases CRF to anterior pituitary which releases ACTH to the adrenal cortex which releases cortisol (negative feedback)

What is dyssomnia?

Having difficulty falling, staying, or avoiding sleep

What is parasomnia?

Abnormal behaviors or movements during sleep

What is somnambulism?

Sleepwalking

What do depressants do?

Reduce the activity of the nervous system and quell anxiety

What do sedatives do?

Depress the CNS and results in a sensation of being relaxed and drowsy

What are stimulants?

Used to increase the activity of the nervous system through increased frequency of action potentials

What are opiates and opioids?

Used as painkillers

What are hallucinogens?

Can cause introspection, create false realities, and enhance sensory perception

What is part of the mesolimbic rewards system?

nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area, and medial forebrain bundle

What is phonology?

The actual sounds of language

What is morphology?

The actual structure of the words

What is semantics?

The association of word with a meaning

What is syntax?

The placement of words to form a sentence

What is pragmatics?

The dependence of language upon a context specific situation

What are the stages of language acquisition?

9 to 12 months: babbling; 12 to 18 months: one word per month; 18 to 20 months: language explosion and combining words; 2 to 3 years: longer sentences; 5 years: language mastery

What connects Broca’s area to Wernicke’s area + type of aphasia?

arcuate fascicules —> causes conduction aphasia

What connects the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary?

Hypophyseal portal system

What is Weber’s law?

just-noticeable difference for a stimulus depends on the proportion of change, which has a constant magnitude

What is signal detection theory?

the study of non-sensory effects on perception

What techniques are used during problem solving?

trial & error, algorithms, deductive (only info presented) reasoning, and inductive (use outside info) reasoning

What are drives?

Internal states of tension that cause particular goal-focused behaviors

What are Maslow's hierarchy of needs in order?

Physiological, safety/security, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization

What is emotion and its components?

The instinctive state of mind derived from a person’s circumstance or mood (behavioral, physiological, and cognitive)

What is evolutionary perspective?

Everything that is thought or felt relies on functional programs designed to tackle any problem faced

What is the James-Lange theory of emotion?

The thought that a stimulus will cause physiological arousal, which is then followed by an emotion

What is the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion?

The thought that the stimulus will simultaneously cause a physiological response & an emotion

What is the Schachter-Singer theory of emotion?

The belief that a physiological changes happens, followed by cognitive appraisal, and then an emotional response

What is part of the limbic system?

fornix, septal nuclei, and corpus callosum

What is emotional memory?

A type of implicit memory that derives from the actual emotion experienced after an event

What does the prefrontal cortex do and what comprises it?

Responsible for cognition, decision-making, and controlling emotional responses (vPFC, dPFC, & vmPFC)

What does the secondary appraisal of stress consist of?

Damage caused, potential future threat, and potential to overcome —> all related to stress

What is a stressor?

Biological factor, external condition, or event that lead to a stress response

What are the stages of the general adaptation syndrome? (ARE)

alarm, resistance, and exhaustion

What is primary appraisal?

The classification of a stressor as positive or negative

What is the self-concept and self-schema?

Self-schema refers to self-given labels that carry certain attributes, with self-concept also including past + future

What is identity?

Components of the self-concept related to groups we belong in, and can change across social settings

What is hierarchy of salience?

Dictates which of a person’s identities should be emphasized in a particular social situation

What is self-discrepancy theory?

The theory that we have 3 selves whose disparities can cause negative feelings

What is self-efficacy?

Belief that a person is capable of succeeding

What is neurosis?

The inability for a child to leave a psychosexual stage that leads to it becoming their personality (fixation)

What are Freud’s psychosexual stages in order?

Oral, anal, phallic. latency, and genital