Ap Psych Unit 1 Vocab

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Evolutionary psychology

How natural selection, passing down genes, and behaviors, came from ancestors

Natural Selection

organisms who are the survivors of the fittest and passed on their traits to their offspring

Nature

Its about inherited genes that influences a person's psychological behavior

Nurture

The environment, like family relationships and cultures, shaping behaviors and human psychological development

Twin studies

Examine similarities and differences between identical and fraternal twins ti access the relative genes and environment

Adoption studies

Compare an adopted person’s behavior to both their biological and adoptive parents’ behavior.

Family studies

It focuses on research that examines how individuals grow when interacting within the family

Heredity

The intended characteristics that influences a person’s traits and genetics

Genetic Predisposition

The likelihood of developing a particular trait or condition due to genetics

Eugenics

Promoting selective breeding on humans to ‘improve the genetic quality’ for the desirable traits and rejecting the unsuitable traits.

Cerebral Cortex

The outer layer of the brain that is made of gray matter. It’s responsible for higher cognitive functions and divided into two hemispheres and 4 lobes

Lobes of the brain

The 4 divisions of that brain that includes the Frontal, Parietal, Temporal, and Occipital lobes

Association Areas

The regions of the cerebral cortex that are responsible for higher mental functions like learning and remembering

Frontal Lobe

Located behind the forehead. The main function for this is higher order thinking like problem solving and critical thinking.

Prefrontal Cortex

Located in front of the frontal lobe that specializes in memory, predictions, and judgement (MINOS PRIME REFERENCE RAHHHH)

Motor Cortex

Located at the back of the frontal lobe which controls voluntary movement like walking or writing.

Executive Functioning

Cognitive processes that involves a person to plan, adapt and improvise in situations, and organize

Parietal Lobes

Located at the top of the head behind the frontal lobe. It’s responsible for receiving sensory information.

Somatosensory Cortex

Part of the Parietal lobe that processes sensory information that involves touch, temperature, pain, and pressure.

Occipital Lobes

Located in the back of the brain that is responsible for processing vision.

Temporal Lobes

responsible for hearing and mindful speech

Corpus Callosum

A thick band of neural fibers that connects the left & right hemispheres of the brain to communicate with each other

Brainstem

The oldest part of the brain and connects it to the spinal cord

Medulla

Part of the brain stem that controls autonomic functions like digestion, heart rate, and breathing without thinking about it

Reticular Activating System

Bundle of nerves in the brainstem. It controls the sleep-wake cycle and alertness.

Cerebellum

Coordinates voluntary movement and balance

Limbic System

Includes the thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus and amygdala. It’s responsible for memory, emotion, learning, and motivation.

reward center

It’s responsible for what makes an individual feel satisfied and pleasure

Thalamus

receives sensory information except smell and sends it to the right areas of the brain.

hypothalamus

part of the brain that maintains homeostasis, temperature, thirst and hunger, and sexual behavior

Pituitary Gland

Known as the master gland as it regulates the rest of the body’s glands and it’s controlled by the hypothalamus. Its responsible for regulating stress, growth, and reproduction.

Hippocampus

responsible for forming long term memories and retrieving them.

amygdala

triggers fear and survival instincts. Basically controls the body's emotions

The Nervous System

A network of neurons connected to the brain and spinal cord that sends messages throughout the body.

Central Nervous System

It consists of the brain and spinal cord where information is sent

Peripheral Nervous System

It consists of nerves outside the brain and spinal cord. It connects the CNS to the body

Autonomic System

It’s important for maintaining the body’s non-voluntary functions like breathing or pumping blood

sympathetic nervous system

responsible for activating the ‘fight or flight’ response in terms of increased blood pressure and breathing

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Responsible for calming the body down by lowering blood pressure and breathing, helps digestion, and conserves energy

Somatic Nervous System

It allows the brain to communicate with the muscles that are involved with voluntary movement.

Neurons

Basic building blocks for the nervous system. They communicate using electrical impulses and chemical systems

Glial Cells

A type of glial cells that provide nutrition and protection for the neurons

Motor neurons

Responsible for controlling muscle movement. They transmit signals FROM the brain and spinal cord to the muscles.

Sensory neurons

Carries messages relating to sensory input to the brain. The signals are transmitted TO the brain and spinal cord.

Interneurons

Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that connects sensory neurons to motor neurons

Reflex arc

It allows the body to react instantly to a stimuli without thinking.

Neural Transmission

Occurs when a neuron fires a signal to communicate

Threshold

The amount of stimulation needed to fire an action potential

Action Potential

Brief electrical pulses that travels along the axon

All-or-nothing principle

A neuron either sends an impulse or it does not.

depolarization

Positive sodium ions flood in the neuron and makes it positive

Refractory period

A resting pause, where neurons pump positively charged sodium ions back outside of the cell.

Resting potential

When a neuron does not have an action potential

Polarized charge

The state of a resting neuron; the outside of the membrane is positively charged while the inside of the membrane is negatively charged.

Reuptake

reabsorbtion of a neurotransmitter to recycle and use for future purposes

Multiple Selerosis ‘MS’

The loss of muscle control resulting from a deterioration of myelin sheath. The body’s immune system attacks the protective cover of the myelin. It can result in muscle weakness.

Myasthenia gravis ‘MG’

a chronic autoimmune disorder that affects the neuromuscular junction, where nerves communicate with muscles. It causes muscle weakness that worsens with activity.

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers in the nervous system that sends messages between neurons

Excitatory Neurotransmitters

sends signals that stimulate the brain.

Inhibitory Neurotransmitters

Sends signals that calms the brain down.

Glutamate

the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the CNS. It is involved in learning, memory, and adaptation

GABA

a neurotransmitter that acts as the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. It promotes relaxation and reduces anxiety

Dopamine

neurotransmitter that plays a role in regulating mood, reward, motivation, and movement

Serotonin

neurotransmitter that plays a vital role in regulating mood, sleep, appetite, and Stress

Endorphins

neurotransmitters produced by the brain that act as natural pain relievers and mood enhancers

Substance P

neurotransmitter involved in transmitting pain signals in the nervous system

Acetylcholine

neurotransmitter that plays an important role in the CNS and PNS. It is involved in various functions, including muscle contraction, memory, and learning.

Hormones

chemical messengers from the endocrine system that travel through the bloodstream

Ghrelin

hormone that increases hunger. Produced by the stomach and small intestines

Leptin

Hormone that balances energy by signalling the body’s full and decreases hunger

Melatonin

hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle

Adrenaline

hormone and neurotransmitter that is part of the fight or flight response when threatened. It’s usually released when the person is stressed, in danger, or has anxiety.

Norepinephrine

a neurotransmitter and a hormone in the body. It is involved in the body's 'fight or flight' response, regulating arousal, attention, and stress

Plasticity

The brain’s ability to adapt and repair even after it’s injured. It can formed new neurons and strengthened existing ones

Split Brain Research

studies people who got their corpus callosum removed which disconnects the two hemispheres of the brain.

Contralateral Hemispheric Organization

the phenomenon where each hemisphere of the brain controls the opposite side of the body

Hemispheric Specialization

explored through split brain research, refers to the concept that each hemisphere of the brain has specialized functions and abilities

Linguistic Processing

cognitive processing that involves in understanding and producing a language

Broca's Area

located in the left hemisphere of the brain, specifically in the frontal lobe, that is responsible for speech production and language processing

Broca's Aphasia

Damage to Broca's area in the left hemisphere of the brain, often resulting from stroke or brain injury. People who has this have trouble producing speech

Wernicke's Area

region located in the left hemisphere of the brain, specifically in the temporal lobe, that is involved in language comprehension and understanding spoken and written language

Wernicke's Aphasia

Damage to Wernicke's area in the left hemisphere of the brain, typically resulting from stroke or brain injury. A person may speak words that do not make sense and unable to understand what others are saying.

Electroencephalogram 'EEG'

non-invasive neuroimaging technique used to record the electrical activity of the brain

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging 'fMRI'

neuroimaging technique used to measure brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow and oxygen levels

Lesioning

a research technique where scientists purposely destroy specific areas of a test animals’ brain to study brain functions

Conciousness

refers to one’s awareness and the environment, along their thoughts and emotions

Circadian Rhythm

It regulates the sleep and wakefulness cycle. There are multiple factors that involves sleep patterns, hormone release, body temperature, and blood pressure

Jet Lag

A person’s internal clock feels out of sync with the current local time as they switch different timezones during travel.

Shift Work

Work schedules that requires working outside of daytime hours, which disrupts the circadian rhythm and therefore poses certain health risks

NREM Stage 1

light stage of sleep that lasts about 5-10 minutes, The body relaxes as the heart rate slows. Sensations are involved and Alpha brain waves are present

NREM Stage 2

Brain activity continues to slow where there are sleep spindles and K Complexes in the Theta waves which protects from waking up.

NREM Stage 3

The body enters one of the deepest stages of sleep that lasts 30 minutes. It is dominated by the Delta wave and the body releases growth hormones and repairs itself

REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep

During this stage, external muscles become paralyzed. This stage is where dreams and nightmares are experienced as well as rapid eye movement occurs.

REM Rebound

The body sleeps more to make up for the hours it missed.

Activation-Synthesis (Dreams)

Suggests that dreams are the brain’s attempts to make sense of random neural activity, creating a narrative or story in a dream.

Consolidation Theory (Dreams)

Proposes that dreaming is part of the process when the brain reorganizes and therefore strengthens memory.

Insomnia

A condition of having trouble falling asleep caused by stress, pain, and horrible sleep schedules (cough cough OrlandoMCO if you see this cough cough)

Narcolepsy

A person struggles to sleep at night but uncontrollably sleep during the day

Sleep Apnea

Disorder where breathing repeatedly starts and stops during sleep, causing to snore and waking up a lot.

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

Condition where a person may act out of their dreams during REM sleep.