AP Psychology - Biological Bases of Behavior: Test 2

action potential

nerve impulse

synapse

space between dendrite and axon terminal button, relay information

reuptake

neurotransmitters reentering the axon terminal buttons

acetylcholine

excitatory, motor control. undersupply leads to alzheimer’s and paralysis

dopamine

excitatory and inhibitory, motor movement, alertness, pleasure

GABA

most common inhibitory neurotransmitter

glutamate

most common excitatory neurotransmitter, important to memory function

endorphins

inhibitory, alleviate pain

serotonin

sleep, mood, appetite, sensory perception

substance P

sends pain messages through body

norepinephrine

excitatory, adrenaline

afferent neurons

sensory neurons (input)

efferent neurons

motor neurons (output)

interneurons

carry information between other neurons, only found in brain and spinal cord

autonomic nervous system

fight or flight

somatic nervous system

rest and digest

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

brain

important roles in sensation, movement and information processing

spinal cord

plays role in body reflexes, and communicates between brain and peripheral nervous system

endocrine system

secretes hormones into blood

hypothalamus

controls pituitary gland which secretes many hormones

thyroid glands

affects metabolism

parathyroids

regulate calcium in blood

adrenal glands

helps trigger fight or flight

pancreas

regulates blood sugar

HGH

growth hormone

oxytocin

bonding hormone

cortisol

stress hormone

brain lesion

experimentally destroying brain tissues to study effects

autopsy

studying the brain post-mortem

EEG

records electrical waves sweeping across surface of brain (used in sleep studies)

CT

series of x-ray photos of cross sections of brains

PET

detects radioactive form of glucose while doing a task

MRI

uses magnetic fields and radio waves

fMRI

examines changes in blood flow

medulla

basic life functioning and reflexes

pons

sleep/wake cycle, basic motor and sensory integration

reticular formation

alertness/attention to incoming stimuli

amygdala

fear, fight or flight

hypothalamus

fight flight feed fuck

ventromedial hypothalamus

suppresses hunger

lateral hypothalamus

increases hunger

cerebral cortex

wrinkly part of brain that covers inner b

frontal lobe

decision making, planning, movement

parietal lobe

somatosensory cortex, spacial processing

occipital lobes

visual processing

motor cortex

parietal lobe, voluntary movements and sensory processing

association areas

cerebral cortex that is not somatosensory

broca’s area

producing speech

wernicke’s area

understanding speech

aphasia

impairment of broca’s or wernicke’s area

nonfluent aphasia

impaired broca’s area

fluent aphasia

impaired wernicke’s area

plasticity

ability to adapt to injury or illness in the brain

neurogenesis

formation of new neurons, rare in adults

long term potentiation

strengthening of a neural pathway through many uses

neural networks

interconnected neural cells

heritability

estimates the sources of differences among people, but only for a specific population at a particular time. cannot be generalized

interactions

environment and heritability interacting

epigenetics

the study of how environment triggers genetic expression

the role of evolution

favors genetic behaviors that produce adoptive behavior

epigenetic marker

organic methyl that stops dna from encoding protein

natural selection

best adapted individuals survive and reproduce

sleep deprivation

reduces memory formation, poor concentration, short attention span

light sleep

nREM, hypnagogic hallucinations

sleep spindles

largest % of sleep

deep sleep

delta waves

REM

active brain, body is paralyzed, dreaming occurs

microsleeps

tiny, second long sleeps that help us get through the day when we do not sleep enough

circadian rhythm

internal biological clock, sleep/wake cycle

restorative theory

neurons grow and repair during sleep

adaptive/evolutionary theory

we sleep at night because it is safer

insomnia

unable to sleep

hypersomnia

sleeping too much

narcolepsy

falling asleep at inappropriate times

apnea

breathing stops while sleeping

night terrors

awakening in high arousal with no memory why

somnambulism

sleep walking

somniloquy

sleep talking

REM sleep behavior disorder

acting out dreams

memory consolidation/information processing theory

dreams solidify memories and experiences

activation synthesis theory

dreams have no purpose, random neural firing

freudian psychoanalytic/wish fulfillment

manifest vs latent content