ap psych - unit 2

brain stem

medulla, pons, reticular formation, cerebelllum, thalamus

medulla

functions: breathing + beating heart + other autonomic functions

pons

has nerves that help with voluntary movements and speech

reticular formation

nerve network that travels through the brainstem into thalamus + involved with arousal, alertness, and sleep-wake cycles

what is the function of the reticular formation?

controls arousal + filters incoming sensory stimuli

thalamus

relay station for incoming + outgoing sensory information
sends sensory signals to the correct part of the brain

cerebellum

processing sensory input, coordination/movement, and balance

limbic system

regulates emotion, learning, and memory

amydala

linked to emotion, fear, aggression
starts the flight-or-fight response in SNS

hypothalamus

controls hunger, thirst, sex, linked to emotion/reward, and governs the endocrine system via the pituitary gland

hippocampus

turns short-term memories into long-term ones

frontal lobes

decision making, analysis, judgment, planning, and processing of new memories

parietal lobes

spatial reasoning + processes sense of touch and assembles input from other senses into a form you can use

temporal lobes

processing auditory information and the encoding of memory

occipital lobes

processing vision

motor cortex

controls voluntary movements

somatosensory cortex

registers information from the skin's senses and body movements

broca's area

language center in left frontal lobes
involved in speaking + writing

wernicke's area

language center in left temporal lobe
involved in hearing + reading

left hemisphere

- focused on logic + language
- controls right side of the body
- receives sensory input from body's right side

right hemisphere

- focused on creativity + arts + imagination
- controls left side of the body
- receives sensory input from body's left side

split-brain

operations in which the corpus callosum must be cut
the two hemisphere cannot communicate with each other anymore

wernicke’s aphasia

inability to understand sounds or create meaningful speech after damage to Wernicke’s area

cerebellum

manages coordination and balance + things that require practicing to improve (helps body to remember those actions)

prefontal lobe

specializes in foresight, judgement, and memory

motor cortex

area of the frontal lobe that controls voluntary movement

visual cortex

area of the occipital lobe that receives visual input and sends it to other visual areas in the cortex

angular gyrus

allows people to read words on paper and transfers that information as an auditory form

auditory cortex

area of the temporal lobe that processes hearing

amygdala

emotional regulation + fear

nucleus accumbens

forebrain area that functions in the pleasure/reward circuit

basal ganglia

neurons cells that are involved w/ voluntary movements

brain lateralization

some functions are controlled or more influenced by one hemisphere of the brain than the other

neuroimaging technique

tools that help researchers and doctors understand different aspects of the human brain

eeg (electroencephalogy)

studying brain waves by recording the brain’s electrical activity by placing electrodes on the scalp

ct (computed tomography)

a series of x-rays that produces detailed images of the body

pet (positron emission tomography)

imaging technique that uses radioactive glucose to evaluate the brains activity and blood flow

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

an imaging technique that uses magnetic impulses to create detailed images of the body

FMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)

a method to image brain activity using an MRI machine - brain activity is measured by the blood flow and oxygen flow that is imaged in different parts of the brain

lesion studies

studies of the brain where specific parts of the brain are destroyed and the results are interpreted to understand brain activity

pituitary gland

regulates growth and controls other glands via hormones

pineal gland

controls production of melatonin (what makes you sleep)

thyroid gland

regulates metabolism; produces hormone that controls levels of calcium +

mirror neurons

type of neuron that makes people mirror the actions of others or themselves

explain a neuron’s ions

a neuron has a positively charged inside and a negatively charged outside at rest

explain polarization

neurons when at rest are polarized; the outside of the neuron is more positive than the inside of the neuron

explain depolarization

when the threshold is met, depolarization occurs and positive ions are able to enter the neuron which causes for action potential to occur

threshold

the minimum amount of stimulus needed for an action potential to occur

repolarization

the movement of positive ions which leave the neuron so that the cell can return to its resting state

refractory period

a short time when no other action potentials can occur until the axon is back in its resting state

electrical synapses

sends messages quickly and immediately; there is no space between the neurons

chemical synapses

messages take longer to send as neurons use neurotransmitters to send neural signals

acetylcholine (ach)

enables muscle action, learning, and memory

dopamine

influences learning, attention, and emotion

serotonin

impacts hunger, sleep, arousal, and mood

too much serotonin can cause…?

OCD, anxiety, and headaches

endorphins

influences the amount of pain/pleasure the body feels

epinephrine/adrenaline

helps w/ the fight-or-fight response

norepinepherine/noradrenaline

helps w/ the fight-or-flight response, alertness, + arousal

glutamate

involves w/ excitatory messages and helps w/ long-term memory and learning

GABA

helps w/ sleep and movement; slows down nervous system

excitatory neurotransmitter

depolarizes neurons; increases chance of action potential

inhibitory neurotransmitter

decreases the chance of action potential

hyperpolarization

inside of the neuron becomes more negative which prevents threshold from being reached

agonists

molecules that mimic neurotransmitters and increase their effectiveness (either by increasing the production or preventing reuptake from happening)

antagonists

molecules that decreases or block the effects of a neurotransmitter

neuroplasticity

neuron’s ability to adapt to damage + environmental changes

neurogenesis

the process that causes for new neurons to be formed

psychoactive drugs

chemical substances that alter perceptions and emotions

depressants

drugs that depress/reduce neural activity and slow reaction times

opioids

depressant drugs that are pain relievers

stimulants

drugs that promote neural activity

hallucinogens

drugs that affect a person’s sensations w/o the use of stimuli

restoration theory

sleep restores people’s energy that is depleted during the day

psychodynamic theory

dreams fulfill unconscious wishes

informative processing theory

sleeping allows individuals to build and restore memories

describe stage 1 of the sleep cycle

non-rapid eye movement; mind starts to relax + easy to wake up from

hypnagogic sensations

people think they are experiencing things in real-life when they are not, they are drowsy

beta waves

low amplitude brain waves hat show that someone is awake/alert

activation-synthesis theory

dreams are the body’s way of making sense of random neural activity

cognitive theory

dreaming can help with problem solving and creativity

pineal gland

products melatonin + regulates circadian rhythm

hypothalamus

controls pituitary gland and releases hormones

parathyroids

regulates levels of calcium in the blood

adrenal glands

related to the fight-or-flight response; releases epinephrine and norepinephrine

pancreas

regulates level of blood sugar via insulin and helps with digestion

testes + ovaries

releases sex hormones to promote growth

central nervous system (brain + spinal cord)

brain’s neurons work in neural networks that sends messages quickly

peripheral nervous system

connects sensory and motor neurons to cns

somatic nervous system

controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles

autonomic nervous system

controls automatic functions of internal organs

sympathetic nervous system

body’s arousal system and causes fight-or-flight

parasympathetic nervous system

returns body to calm, relaxed state after fight-or-flight response

priming

the effect in which a stimulus facilitates/inhibits the problem processing of the same/similar stimuli

describe stage 2 of the sleep cycle

individual is no longer easily awakened and experiences sleep spindles (bursts of neural activity)

describe stage 3 of the sleep cycle

body is very relaxed + usually when sleepwalking, sleeptalking, and night terrors happen

REM

dreams happen, rapid eye movement, brain shows activity, muscles are relaxed but other body systems are active

sleep terrors/night terrors

* people randomly wake up in the middle of the night feeling intense pain/fear
* they have an increased heart rate and sweat

sleep apnea

when people randomly stop breathing in the middle of their sleep