vocab ch 1-4

only new terms, no concepts. History, Science, Neuroscience and Development

Neuronal

relating to neurons

Empirical

Based on observation, experience or experiment rather than pure logic.

Can be objectively tested

Theories

Ideas about the laws that govern phenomena

A good one is routed in scientifically provable fact

Psychophysics

Study of the relationship between physical stimuli and the psychological responses they produce

Psychophysics

Study of the relationship between physical stimuli and the psychological responses they produce

Voluntarism

Theory: human behaviour is primarily dictated by willful actions of decision

Structuralism

Theory: studies the structure of the brain as to understand conscious experience

Functionalism

Theory: focused on the functions of consciousness and the ways minds adapt

Gestalt psychology

Theory: brains innately structure things together in broad groups

Psychoanalytical theory

Mental processes are influenced by unconscious forces and their struggles to come into awareness

Humanistic psychology

Focus on what makes human functioning unique. Focus on human psychological agency and the innate pursuit of self-actualization

Behaviouralism

Psych with a focus on the study of behaviours. Accept that there are internal processes, but believe they cannot be scientifically studied.

Behavioural genetics

Studies genes impact on human behaviour

Tabula Rasa

“Blank canvas” theory, that we learn everything from scratch and there is no internal psychological anything (debunked)

Sociobiology

Theory: humans have genetically innate senses of how social behaviour should work and the study of this

Evolutionary Psychology

Brain & body = products of evolution and therefore natural selection (why would nature select these things?), inheritance plays a big role in shaping complete range of thoughts and behaviours

Cognitive Neuroscience

Relating mental processes to the biological functions of the brain

Social Neuroscience

Relating social functions to brain activity

Lesion Studies

Learn about what part of the brain does by observing what happens when it’s damaged or removed

Deductive reasoning

Broad basic knowledge being applied to specific situations

Inductive reasoning

Using smaller, specific situational knowledge to create broad knowledge

Hypothetico-deductive reasoning

The hypothesis-driven basis for the scientific method you know and love!

Takes an educated guess and attempts to scientifically test it on a small, controlled scale

Operationalize

Act of defining a variable so that it may be testable

Descriptive Research Methods

Methods that meet the describe goal of psychology

• case studies, naturalistic observation, surveys

• reflects actual behaviour

• little to no control over variables

• cannot explain cause and effect

Experimental Research Methods

Methods that meet the explain goal of psychology

• manipulate & control variables

• precisely identify cause + effect

• ethical concerns + practical limits

• lab artificiality

Naturalistic Observation

unobtrusive observation

Results via this method are often quite reflective of actual behaviour

Constructs

Explanatory variables that aren’t directly measureable

Conceptual definitions

Defining the floaty ideas so we can then do research around it

Operational definitions

Quantifying the floaty definitions

Random assignment

splitting ups groups of participants and/or researchers randomly to avoid bias

Demand Characteristic

Undesired effect, when participants are aware of the outcomes of a study they may behave in ways not true to life.

Double-blind procedure

study where neither participant nor researcher knows whether they’re in the control or experimental group.

Participatory research methods

Working directly with the people affected by or who will use the research collaboratively, particularly to make a change

Extraneous variables

Anything that may influence the dependent variable of an experiment that isn’t the independent variable

Confounding variable

When an extraneous variable impacts the independent variable as well as the dependent variable; makes conclusions inconclusive.

Afferent Neurons

Neurons that carry sensory info to the CNS

Efferent Neurons

Neurons that carry sensory info from the CNS to muscles and glands

Interneurons

Neurons connecting 2+ neurons

Nuclei (in this context)

Localized clusters of neuron cell bodies

Hindbrain

Set in the lower region of the brain connecting to the spinal cord.

Consists of the medulla, pons and cerebellum.

The reticular formation is also considered in this region in part.

Medulla Oblongata

Regulates vital, rhythmic life functions + reflexes (breathing, heart beat, coughing)

Pons

Serves as the bridge between the medulla and the rest of the brain

Also used in respiration, sleep cycles and face movements.

Cerebellum

Responsible for coordination of the body, esp in learning how movements were conducted and developing muscle memory.

Reticular formation

Runs through hindbrain to midbrain.

Filters incoming information, sleep/wake cycle & maintaining wakefulness, autonomic muscle coordination

Contralateral

Characteristic of the brain and what it controls

right brain → left body

left brain → right body

Lateralization

When a region/function of the brain is only on one side

Midbrain

Primary relay center between the brainstem and the rest of the brain.

Relatively small in humans.

Among other things, it includes the substantia niagra and the reticular formation in part

Substantia Niagra

Important for movement fluidity & inhibition.

Part of the midbrain.

Produces dopamine.

Basal Ganglia

A group of highly interconnected nerves, primarily in the midbrain

Cognitive flexibility

Movement control (voluntary movement you’re not thinking about)

Includes the nucleus accumbens and the substantia niagra

Nucleus Accumbens

Area for motivation and rewards

Forebrain

Biggest section of the brain, everything not part of the other sections.

This includes the

• hippocampus

• amygdala

• thalamus

• hypothalamus

• pituitary gland

• corpus callosum

• cerebral cortex

Hippocampus

Converts short-term memories into long-term memories to store elsewhere

High neuroplasticity, including the ability to regenerate neurons (we know little here but it’s a topic of study!)

Amygdala

Alarm system, process emotions and threats

Thalamus

Relays sensory information to the cortex, divided into the LGN and the MGN

Lateral geniculate nucleus

In the thalamus for visual relay

“LGN”

Medial geniculate nucleus

In the thalamus for auditory relay

“MGN”

Hypothalamus

Controls endocrine system & the ANS

Regulates emotional behaviours (food, water, freaky stuff, sleep, etc.)

Pituitary gland

Hormone production, esp releasing factors (“hey [part of the body] do this!”)

Corpus Callosum

hemisphere highway; connects the two halves

Cerebral cortex

Outer layer of the brain, contains those infamous lobes

Has MANY complex functions

Dividable into two sections (or 4 lobes)

Primary sensory and/or motor areas

one of two primary regions of the cerebral cortex,

responsible for movement and sensory integration

Association cortex

one of two primary regions of the cerebral cortex,

responsible for complex integration, thinking, planning, knowing, etc.

Occipital lobe

Contralaterally processes visual input

Contains the primary visual cortex

“eyes in the back of your head”

Temporal lobe

Contains the primary auditory cortex (interprets frequencies, other places interpret that)

Also involved in facial recognition, visual cues and learning/memory

“cover your ears”

Wernicke’s area

for language comprehension

in the temporal lobe

ONLY on the dominant side of the brain

Parietal lobe

Interprets touch via the somatosensory system

Location, spatial awareness, esp in relation to knowing what is and isn’t part of your body, as well as complex visual processing and moving your body accordingly.

Somatosensory strip

Tactile information about body parts

parietal lobe

the more sensitive something is, the bigger its section is here

one of two “headbands”

Frontal lobe

Big. Lots happens up here, including speech, thought, planning, social understandings, movement, and WAY more.

Primary motor strip

Voluntary movement

frontal lobe

one of two “headbands”

Prefrontal lobe

Does a lot, including short-term memory, moral reasoning and complex planning.

Part of frontal lobe

Broca’s area

Speech production + grammar + language processing

in the frontal lobe

ONLY on the dominant side of the brain

CNS, Central Nervous System

brain and spinal cord

central command of the nervous system

PNS, Peripheral Nervous System

Non-CNS parts of the nervous system

Includes two subdivisions

SNS, Somatic Nervous System

Voluntary movement system

from the PNS

relay of sensory neurons → CNS → motor neurons

ANS, Autonomic Nervous System

Involuntary movement system

from the PNS

Includes two subdivisions

Sympathetic division

Fight or flight response

diverts body energy away from digestion and to muscle action

Parasympathetic division

Resting functions

allows regular flow of body systems

Parasympathetic overshoot

• Sympathetic sys active too long, parasym steps in to counteract so they don’t die

• tug of war ensues

• when the sym sys gives up, parasym is already relaxing too much to compensate

• they die.

Astroglia

Create the blood-brain barrier, allowing blood but keeping infections out

Oligodendroglia

Comprise myelin in the CNS

Schwann cells

Comprise myelin in the PNS

Ependymal cells

Produces & secretes cerebrospinal fluid in the wet zones

Microglia

Clean up decaying neurons/glia and debris, preventing infection

Electrostatic pressure

The force that pushes ions with the same charge apart (+ ← → +) and with the same charge together (+ → ← -)

Postsynaptic potentials

Event that occurs when neurotransmitters bind to postsynaptic receptors.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Muscle stimulation

Motor neuron ←communication→ Sensory neuron

Attention, arousal, memory, REM sleep

excitatory and inhibitory

Dopamine

Happy chemical (mood)

Voluntary movement

Reward mechanisms

excitatory and inhibitory

Serotonin

Regulates mood, appetite and sleep

Affects perception of pain, activity level and cognitive functions like learning and memory

excitatory and inhibitory

Norepinephrine

SNS related, arousal and attention

AKA noradrenaline

excitatory and inhibitory

Glutamate

Main excitatory hormone

Involved in lots of behaviours

Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid (GABA)

Main inhibitory hormone

Decreases activity of neuron it affects

Synaptic pruning

Notion that synapses will either thrive or die depending on their efficiency

Key factor in understanding development

Hebbian synapse

Synapse that changes as the result of input/experience

Neuroplasticity

Brain’s ability to create new neural pathways following experience/injury

Saltatory conduction

Action potentials jumping from node to node

Epigenetic

Changes in gene expression that are independent