ap psych unit 1 vocab

heredity (nature)

genetic or predispositions that influence physical behavior or mental traits (personality traits, IQ)

evolutionary psychology

uses darwin's theory of natural selection to explain why all humans share certain traits and behaviors, emphasizes why humans are similar, increase survival and reproductive success (adaptive)

natural selection

A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.

eugenics

used to justify discrimination by claiming certain groups of people are less evolved than others :(

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

the sensory and motor neurons (nerves) that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body- autonomic and somatic

autonomic nervous system

the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls actions our body takes that are INVOLUNTARY- functions of organs and glands- furthur divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic

sympathetic

fight or flight- arouses (energizes)

parasympathetic

rest and digest- calming- easy internal state

somatic nervous system

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls VOLUNTARY movements of the body's skeletal muscles

glial cells

cells that support, nourish, and protect neurons; also play a role in memory and learning

reflex arc

a neural pathway that controls a reflex ( sensory receptor, sensory neuron, integration center, motor neuron, effector target)

sensory neurons

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

motor neurons

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

interneurons

neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

all of nothing principle

Neurons either fire or don't in Action Potential, they fire at maximum intensity every time- fully and completely.

Depolarization (action potential)

a brief electrical charge that travels down a neuron's axon which occurs when the charge of the neuron's membrane changes

refractory period

brief resting period after a neuron has fired- recharging

resting period

after a neuron is recharged, it is ready to fire another action potential

reuptake

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron

multiple sclerosis

chronic disease of the cns, myelin sheath destruction. disruptions in nerve impulse conduction

myasthenia gravis

a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the neuromuscular junction and produces serious weakness of voluntary muscles, antibodies destroy the communication between nerves and muscle, resulting in weakness of skeletal muscles

acetylcholine (ACh)

enables muscle action, learning, and memory

dopamine

influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

serotonin

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

Norepinephrine

helps control alertness and arousal (fight or flight)

endorphins

influence the perception of pain or pleasure

GABA

a major inhibitory neurotransmitter/ chemical

glutamate

A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory

substance p

A neurotransmitter that is involved in the pain perception and immune response

leptin

hunger (supressant)

melatonin

sleep

ghrelin

hunger (stimulant)

oxytocin

pair bonding (labor, lactation, love/sex.)

agonists

psychoactive drugs (external chemicals) that mimic activity of a neurotransmitter

antagonists

psychoactive drugs that prevent the activity of a neurotransmitter

stimulants

"uppers" drugs (such as CAFFEINE nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, COCAINE, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

depressants

"downers" drugs (such as ALCOHOL, barbiturates (tranquilizers/sleeping pills) , and OPIATES (heroin) ) that slow down neural activity and slow body functions- sedate/ calm down

hallucinogens

psychedelic drugs, such as MARIJUANA that distort perceptions and evoke sensation without sensory input

medulla- bs (brainstem)

the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing, damage to medulla can result in death

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

measures electrical activity in the brain, used to study sleep disorders and epilepsy

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

based on increase of blood flow to activated brain area, looks at brain structure and function, just look at oxygenated blood

reticular activating system - bs

nerve network - about 2 inches long, in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal, sleep cycle, wakefulness, and ability to focus attention

cerebellum

"little brain", attatched to the back of the brain, helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance, helps process the sensory input, tells the brain what to expect from the body

limbic system

"emotional brain", includes structures involved in emotion, memory, and memory

thalamus- ls

information relay station, sensory information from all our sensory systems except smell, go through the thalamus, sends it to the proper area in the cortex to be processed, also plays a role in sleep, wakefulness, and memory

hypothalamus- ls

below the thalamus, regulates our endocrine system (hormones), helps maintain homeostasis (regulating body temp.), involved in motivational behavior- 4 f's- fighting, fleeing, feeding, and fornicating

pituitary gland- ls

master gland, apart of the endocrine system, controlled by hypothalamus, controls many other glands, regulates hormone release and produces growth hormone

hippocampus- ls

involved in formation of new explicit memories, spatial memory- resembles a seahorse

amygdala- ls

involved in forming memories with high emotional content, involved in fight or flight response, regulates fear and aggregation

cerebral cortex

largest outer part of the brain, center for executive functions like thinking, planning, judgement, and decision- making, divided into 2 hemispheres which are further divided into 4 lobes

occipital lobes

located in the back, primary area for processing visual information, visual cortex, information received from the opposite visual field

temporal lobes

sides, processes sound (auditory cortex), processes smell, understands music/tonality, wernicke's area- left temporal lobe; understanding written and spoken language , damage results in wernicke's aphasia

partietal lobes

top back, somatosensory cortex- front of parietal lobe, receives sensory input for touch, temperature, and pain from body parts, association areas perceive objects and body position

frontal lobe

front, last part of brain to develop, higher order thinking, won't fully develop till 25, prefrontal cortex- very front of the frontal lobe responsible for the things that make us human like personality, motor cortex- very back of frontal lobe- send signals to body controlling msucle movement, broca's area- left frontal lobe- controls muscles that produce speech, damage in broca's aphasia

association areas

areas in the cerebral cortex that are not dedicated to any one motor or sensory function, perform a variety of functions, allow for higher order processes (learning, decision making, and planning, etc.) - more intelligent animals- more/larger association areas

somatosensory cortex

area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

motor cortex

an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

corpus callosum

The large bundle of axons that connects the brain's two hemispheres, responsible for relaying information between the two sides.

Broca's area

Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech

Broca's aphasia

condition resulting from damage to Broca's area, causing the affected person to be unable to speak fluently, to mispronounce words, and to speak haltingly

Wernicke's area

controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

Wernicke's aphasia

condition resulting from damage to Wernicke's area, causing the affected person to be unable to understand or produce meaningful language

Neuroplasticity ( brain plasticity)

Brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections

left hemisphere

controls right side of the body, logic and sequential tasks, verbal, word letters, language sounds, verbal memory, speech, grammar rules, reading, writing, and arithmetic

right hemisphere

controls left side of the body, spatial awareness and creative tasks, non verbal/visual, geometric patterns, faces, emotional expression, non-language sounds, music, nonverbal memory, emotional tone of speech, geometry, sense of direction, distance, and mental rotation of shapes

N-REM 1

light sleep, alpha & theta waves, easily woken

N-REM 2

true sleep. reduction in heart rate and muscle tension, not super deep, brain slows as well as breathing

N-REM 3

deep sleep, delta waves

REM

RAPID EYE MOVEMENT-describes sleep in which vivid dreams typically occur; this type of sleep increases as the night progresses while stage 4 sleep decreases

circadian rhythm

the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle

hypnogogic sensations

sensations of falling or floating that are sometimes later incorporated into memories

REM rebound

the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep)

insomnia

recurring problems in falling or staying asleep

REM sleep behavior disorder

a neurological disorder in which the person does not become paralyzed during REM sleep and thus acts out dreams

sleep apnea

a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings ( the one with the cpap machine)

Narcolepsy

A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times.

somnambulism

the condition of walking or performing some other activity without awakening; also known as sleepwalking

activation-synthesis theory

theory that dreams reflect inputs from brain activation originating in the pons, which the forebrain then attempts to weave into a story