chapter 3.4.5 psych1

Dendrites

Neuronal structures that receive incoming signals and messages from other neurons.

Cell body (soma)

Part of the neuron that contains the nucleus and maintains the cell's life processes.

Axon

Long fiber of a neuron that carries electrical impulses away from the cell body.

Myelin sheath

Fatty layer surrounding the axon that speeds up neural signal transmission.

Terminal buttons (axon terminals)

Structures at the end of an axon that release neurotransmitters into the synaptic gap.

Synapse (synaptic cleft)

The tiny fluid-filled space between neurons across which chemical signals travel.

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter associated with movement control, reward pathways, motivation, and pleasure.

Serotonin

Neurotransmitter involved in the regulation of mood, sleep, appetite, and emotional states.

GABA

The primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain that dampens neural activity.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Neurotransmitter crucial for muscle action, learning, and memory formation.

Sensory neurons

Neurons that convey incoming sensory input from body receptors to the central nervous system.

Motor neurons

Neurons that transmit outgoing instructions from the central nervous system to body muscles.

Frontal lobe

Brain lobe responsible for high-level reasoning, decision-making, voluntary movement, emotions, and language production.

Temporal lobe

Brain lobe primary involved in auditory processing, memory creation, emotion, and language comprehension.

Parietal lobe

Brain lobe dedicated to processing somatic sensations such as touch, temperature, and body position.

Occipital lobe

Brain region situated at the back of the skull that processes visual stimuli.

Medulla

Brainstem structure controlling involuntary, vital functions like breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Amygdala

Limbic system structure key to processing emotions, particularly fear and emotional memories.

Thalamus

Central brain structure that acts as a sensory relay station for all senses except smell.

Hypothalamus

Brain region controlling homeostatic functions such as body temperature, hunger, thirst, and endocrine regulation.

Hippocampus

Limbic system structure essential for learning and converting short-term memory to long-term memory.

Cerebellum

Hindbrain structure involved in balance, fine motor coordination, posture, and motor learning.

Fusiform gyrus

Brain region crucial for facial recognition; damage can lead to prosopagnosia.

Sensation

The biological detection of environmental stimuli via sensory organs.

Perception

The psychological process of organizing and interpreting sensory data into meaningful experiences.

4 steps of sensation and perception

1. Stimulus -> 2. Sensory receptors -> 3. Transduction -> 4. Perception.

Rods

Photoreceptor cells in the retina that detect light and dark, operating best in low light conditions.

Cones

Photoreceptor cells in the retina that detect color and fine details in bright light conditions.

Retina

The light-sensitive inner lining at the back of the eye containing rods and cones.

Pupil

The adjustable central opening of the eye that regulates the amount of light entering.

Lens

Transparent ocular structure that changes shape to focus light images onto the retina.

Cornea

The transparent outer surface of the eye that protects it and assists in bending light rays.

Wavelength

Wave dimension that dictates frequency, perceived as color in visual light and pitch in sound.

Amplitude

Wave dimension measuring wave height, perceived as brightness in visual light and loudness in sound.

Hammer (malleus)

The first of three small bones in the middle ear that transmits sound vibrations from the eardrum.

Anvil (incus)

The middle auditory ossicle that receives vibrations from the malleus and passes them to the stapes.

Stirrup (stapes)

The innermost ossicle that passes acoustic vibrations from the incus to the inner ear.

Taste buds

Sensory organs located on the tongue that contain gustatory receptor cells.

Five basic tastes

Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami.

Papillae

Small visible bumps on the tongue surface that house or support taste buds.

Olfactory processing path

Sensory path for smell that connects directly to the limbic system, bypassing the thalamus.

Cutaneous sensations

Sensations detected through skin receptors: touch, pressure, temperature, and pain.

Rat-Man Illusion

Visual illusion demonstrating how perceptual set and expectation alter visual interpretation.

Ames Room

Distorted room illusion that misleads depth perception, causing objects/people to look unnaturally resized.

Invisible Gorilla study

Classic experiment illustrating inattentional blindness when attention is directed elsewhere.

Change blindness

Perceptual failure to detect visual alterations introduced within a scene.

Circadian rhythm

The internal biological clock that operates on a roughly 24-hour cycle of sleep and wakefulness.

Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

Hypothalamic region that controls circadian timing in response to light signals.

Melatonin

Hormone released by the pineal gland in response to darkness to promote sleepiness.

Insomnia

Sleep disorder marked by chronic problems falling or remaining asleep.

Sleep apnea

Sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessation of breathing during sleep.

Narcolepsy

Neurological sleep disorder marked by sudden, uncontrollable sleep attacks.

Stimulants

Class of psychoactive drugs that elevate central nervous system activity and alertness.

Opiates

Class of pain-relieving drugs that depress neural activity and induce feelings of euphoria.

Barbiturates

Sedative-hypnotic depressants that slow down central nervous system function.

Hallucinogens

Psychoactive substances that cause perceptual distortions, altered sensory input, and hallucinations.

Psychoanalytic theory of dreaming

Theory positing that dreams are symbolic expressions of unconscious desires, drives, and unresolved conflicts.

Biological theory of dreaming

Theory proposing that dreams arise from neural activation and brain activity during REM sleep.

Cognitive theory of dreaming

Theory suggesting that dreams reflect standard cognitive development, information processing, and memory consolidation.

Frontal lobe role during dreaming

Reduced activation in this region during sleep leads to diminished logic, reality checking, and executive control in dreams.