Biological Psychology, Consciousness, and Sensation & Perception

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the biological bases of behavior (neurons, nervous system, brain structures, hormones), states of consciousness (drugs, sleep stages, dreams), and sensory systems (vision, audition, chemical, and body senses).

Monozygotic twins

Identical twins who developed in the same single zygote and share all the exact same genetic material.

Neuron Anatomy

The specialized structures of a nerve cell, consisting of dendrites, a cell body containing a nucleus, an axon insulated by a myelin sheath, and axon terminals that signal effector cells and other neurons.

Dendrites

Branching fibers of a neuron that receive signals from other neuron cells.

Axon

The extension of a neuron that conducts electrical impulses away from the cell body along the neuron cell.

Myelin sheath

A layer of fatty tissue that insulates the axon to help protect the neuron cell and speed up the transmission of electrical impulses.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical substances contained in terminal buttons that allow neurons to communicate across synapses by fitting into receptor sites on the dendrites of receiving neurons.

Synapse

The fluid-filled space or gap between the terminal buttons of one sending neuron and the dendrites of the next receiving neuron.

Resting potential

The state in which a non-firing neuron maintains a slight negative charge inside the cell while surrounded by positive ions outside the cell membrane.

Action potential

The neural impulse process that occurs once enough neurotransmitters cross the threshold, causing the cell membrane to become permeable and allow positive ions to rush in.

All-or-none principle

The biological rule stating that a neuron either fires completely or does not fire at all.

Sensory (afferent) neurons

Neurons that take incoming sensory information from sensory receptors and deliver it to the brain.

Motor (efferent) neurons

Neurons that take motor information and instructions from the brain and transmit it to the rest of the body.

Interneurons

Neurons located within the brain and spinal cord that process and route messages to other areas of the brain or to efferent neurons.

Somatic nervous system

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls voluntary muscle movements and transmits sensory information to the central nervous system.

Autonomic nervous system

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary body functions such as heart rate, digestion, and respiration.

Sympathetic nervous system

The branch of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body to mobilize and expend energy during stressful 'fight-or-flight' situations.

Parasympathetic nervous system

The branch of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body to conserve and maintain energy, returning it to homeostasis after stress.

Reflex arcs

Neural pathways mediating automatic reflexes that are not consciously controlled by the brain, such as jerking a hand away after touching something hot.

Endocrine system

A system of bodily glands controlled by the hypothalamus that secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream to regulate various biological processes.

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

A brain monitoring technique that scans and records electrical brain wave patterns.

Computerized axial tomography (CAT)

A brain imaging method that utilizes multiple X-ray cameras to construct a detailed 3-D picture of brain structure.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

A brain imaging method that uses magnetic fields to measure the density and location of brain material, generating detailed brain structure images without carcinogenic radiation exposure.

Positron emission tomography (PET)

A functional brain imaging scan that displays which areas of the brain are active while performing certain cognitive or motor tasks.

Functional MRI (fMRI)

A specialized neuroimaging technique that combines MRI and PET scans to reveal both brain structure and brain activity during cognitive tasks.

Hindbrain

Brain structures situated at the top of the spinal cord that act as the body's primary life support system by regulating basic biological functions.

Medulla

A hindbrain structure located directly above the spinal cord responsible for controlling vital autonomic functions like blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing.

Pons

A hindbrain structure located above the medulla towards the front that connects the hindbrain to the midbrain and forebrain, and controls facial expressions.

Cerebellum

A structure located at the bottom rear of the brain responsible for coordinating habitual, fine muscle movements such as target tracking with the eyes or playing piano.

Reticular formation

A collection of nerve cells located in the midbrain that controls general bodily arousal and the ability to focus attention; damage causes a deep coma.

Thalamus

A sensory relay station sitting on top of the brainstem that receives sensory signals coming up the spinal cord and routes them to appropriate areas in the forebrain.

Hypothalamus

A forebrain structure located beneath the thalamus that controls several metabolic functions, body temperature, sexual arousal (libido), hunger, thirst, the endocrine system, and biological rhythms.

Hippocampus

A limbic system structure surrounding the thalamus vital to the memory system; memories are processed here before permanent storage in the cerebral cortex.

Amygdala

A structure located at the end of each hippocampal arm vital to the processing and experience of emotion.

Corpus callosum

The dense band of nerve fibers connecting the left and right cerebral hemispheres, allowing communication between both halves.

Contralateral hemispheric organization

The structural arrangement where the left hemisphere receives sensory messages and controls motor functions of the body's right half, while the right hemisphere manages the body's left half.

Lobes of the cerebral cortex

The four anatomical divisions in each hemisphere of the cerebrum: the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes.

Broca's area

A region in the frontal lobe that coordinates and controls the muscle movements involved in speech production.

Somatosensory cortex

A cortex strip in the parietal lobe behind the frontal lobe that receives incoming touch sensations from the body and is involved in phantom limb syndrome.

Wernicke's area

A temporal lobe region involved in linguistic processing of written and spoken language; damage affects language comprehension and the ability to apply syntax and grammar.

Brain plasticity

The brain's ability to modify, adapt, and reorganize its physical structure and neural pathways in response to injuries, learning, and experience.

Agonists

Drugs that mimic neurotransmitters by occupying and activating receptor sites on the receiving neuron.

Antagonists

Drugs that inhibit or block neurotransmission by occupying receptor sites without activating them.

Sleep spindles

Short, rapid bursts of rhythmic brain wave activity that begin to appear during NREM Stage 2 sleep.

REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep

A sleep stage marked by intense brain activity, muscle twitching, rapid eye movements, and vivid dreaming; also termed paradoxical sleep.

REM rebound

The phenomenon in which an individual deprived of REM sleep experiences longer, more frequent REM periods the next time they sleep.

Activation-synthesis theory

A biological theory stating that dreams are simply biological phenomena created by the brain synthesizing random neural activity, rather than meaningful or deep psychological experiences.

Transduction

The process by which sensory receptors transform incoming physical energy or chemical stimuli into neural impulses routed to the thalamus.

Prosopagnosia

A neurological condition characterized by the inability to recognize or identify human faces.

Accommodation

The process by which the flexible curved lens adjusts and changes shape to focus incoming light rays directly onto the retina.

Fovea

The central focal point of the retina that contains the highest concentration of color-detecting cones.

Blind spot

The area on the retina where the optic nerve exits to travel toward the brain, completely devoid of rods and cones.

Trichromatic theory

The theory of color vision stating that the human retina has three distinct types of cones sensitive to Red, Green, or Blue, which combine to produce perception of all other colors.

Opponent-process theory

The color vision theory proposing that retinal photoreceptors work in antagonist pairs: red/green, yellow/blue, and black/white.

Tympanic membrane

The eardrum; a thin membrane separating the outer ear and middle ear that vibrates in response to arriving sound waves.

Ossicles

The three tiny bones of the middle ear—the hammer (malleus), anvil (incus), and stirrup (stapes)—that amplify and transfer eardrum vibrations to the oval window.

Cochlea

A fluid-filled, snail-shaped structure of the inner ear lined with hair cells that vibrate to stimulate the organ of Corti neurons.

Place theory

A pitch theory proposing that we perceive sound pitch based on which specific hair cells vibrate along different physical locations within the cochlea.

Frequency theory

A pitch theory proposing that pitch is sensed because hair cells fire neural impulses at different rates and frequencies matching the sound wave.

Gate-control theory

The pain theory proposing that the spinal cord contains a neurological gate that prioritizes certain pain messages over others when traveling to the brain.

Vestibular sense

The body sense that provides orientation and balance in space, controlled by fluid movements inside the three semicircular canals of the inner ear.

Kinesthetic sense

The sensory feedback system that tracks the position, orientation, and movement of specific individual body parts using muscle and joint receptors.