Intro to Psych Quiz 1

Biopsychology

The scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes.

Neuron

A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.

Dendrite

A neuron's often bushy, branching extension that receives and integrates messages; short, no myelin sheath.

Soma (Cell body)

The "life support" component of a neuron; contains the nucleus and other supporting structures — if damaged, the nerve dies.

Axon

The segmented neuron extension that passes messages through its branches; long, myelinated.

Myelin sheath

Fatty tissue layer that segmentally encases the axons of some neurons; allows greater transmission speed as the impulse hops from node to node.

Action potential

A neural impulse; generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the axon's membrane (sodium/potassium pump).

Threshold (neural)

The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse; occurs when (Excitatory) – (Inhibitory) > Threshold.

Synapse

The junction between the axon tip of a sending neuron and the dendrite/cell body of a receiving neuron.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gap between neurons.

Agonist

A molecule that increases a neurotransmitter's action.

Antagonist

A molecule that blocks a neurotransmitter's action.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Muscle action, learning, memory

Dopamine

Movement, learning, attention, emotion

Serotonin

Mood, hunger, sleep, arousal

Norepinephrine

Alertness and arousal

GABA

Major inhibitory neurotransmitter

Glutamate

Major excitatory neurotransmitter; memory

Endorphins

Perception of pain/pleasure

Nervous system

The body's speedy, electrochemical communication system, made up of all nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.

Central nervous system (CNS)

The brain and spinal cord.

Peripheral nervous system

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body (sense receptors, muscles, glands).

Brainstem

The central core of the brain; begins where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; responsible for automatic survival functions (heartbeat, respiration).

Thalamus

Brain structure that relays sensory information (covered as its own topic; acts as a sensory "switchboard").

Cerebellum

The hindbrain's "little brain," attached to the rear of the brainstem; processes sensory input and coordinates movement output and balance.

Hypothalamus

A neural structure lying below the thalamus; directs maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion.

Cerebral cortex

The surface of the brain associated with our highest mental capacities; the body's ultimate control/information-processing center; 20–23 billion nerve cells; wrinkled surface increases surface area.

Lobes (4)

Frontal, Parietal, Occipital, Temporal — the four regions each brain hemisphere is divided into.

Motor cortex

Area at the rear of the frontal lobes involved in planning and coordinating movement; runs ear to ear across the top of the brain; each side controls the opposite side of the body.

Somatosensory cortex

Area at the front of the parietal lobes involved in processing sensory information from across the body.

Visual cortex

Area at the back of the brain; receives visual input from the eyes.

Auditory cortex

Area of the brain above the ear; receives auditory input from the ears.

Association areas

Parts of the cerebral cortex not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; involved in higher mental functions (learning, thinking, speaking); integrate information and associate sensory input with memories.

Corpus callosum

The band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres.

Bottom-up processing

Information processing that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.

Top-down processing

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions based on experience or expectations.

Sensation

The process by which sensory receptors and the nervous system receive stimuli from the environment.

Perception

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information.

Transduction

The conversion of one form of energy into another — specifically, converting sensory stimuli into neural impulses the brain can understand.

Psychophysics

The study of the relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli (e.g., intensity) and our psychological experience of them.

Absolute threshold

The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.

Signal detection theory

The theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background noise, considering both sensitivity and decision criteria.

Subliminal

Below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

Priming

The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.

Difference threshold

The minimum difference a person can detect between two stimuli.

Sensory adaptation

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation; nerve fibers fire less frequently, letting us focus on important changes rather than constant, unimportant stimulation.

Perceptual set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another; formed through experience as we form concepts that organize and interpret unfamiliar information.

Contextual effects

A given stimulus may trigger different perceptions based on its immediate context.

Selective attention

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

Automatic processing

Unconscious processing of well-learned information (e.g., driving a familiar route without remembering the turns).

Wavelength

The distance from the peak of one light wave to the peak of the next.

Hue

The dimension of color determined by the wavelength of light (what we know as blue, red, green, etc.).

Intensity (light)

The amount of energy in a light wave, perceived as brightness, determined by the wave's amplitude (height).

Retina

The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin processing visual information.

Rods

Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; sensitive to movement; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision.

Cones

Receptor cells that detect fine detail and color; concentrated near the retina's center (fovea); function in daylight/well-lit conditions.

Optic nerve

Carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

Blind spot

The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye; no receptor cells are located there.

Fovea

The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.

Audition

The sense or act of hearing.

Intensity (sound)

The amount of energy in a sound wave, perceived as loudness, determined by the wave's amplitude.

Decibels

The unit of measure for sound energy; absolute threshold for hearing = 0 decibels; a 10-decibel increase = a 10x increase in sound.

Gustation

Our sense of taste; sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami.

Sensory interaction

The principle that one sense may influence another.

Kinesthesis

Our movement sense — our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.

Vestibular sense

Our balance sense — our sense of body movement and position, including balance.

Classical conditioning

A type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli; a basic form of learning by which organisms adapt to their environment.

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

A stimulus that naturally/automatically triggers a response.

Unconditioned response (UR)

The naturally occurring, unlearned response to the US.

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

An originally neutral stimulus that, after association with a US, comes to trigger a conditioned response.

Conditioned response (CR)

A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus (CS).

Acquisition

The initial stage in classical conditioning; associating a neutral stimulus with a US so the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a CR.

Extinction

The diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs when a US does not follow a CS.

Spontaneous recovery

The reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.

Stimulus generalization

The tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the CS.

Discrimination (classical)

Learning to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that do not signal a US.

Law of effect

Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and those followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.