AP Psychology

Neurons

building blocks of our body’s neural information system

• unused neurons wither away

• each neuron consists of a cell body

Motor Neurons

• signals to move

sensory neurons

• receive sense signals

afferent neurons

• Brain Accepts signals

Efferent neurons

• Signal Exits brain

neurogenesis

the formation of new neurons

How neurons work

Neurons receive and integrate information, then they conduct it towards the cell body. This is the job of dendrites. Then it passes messages through the terminal branches to other neurons.

White matter

axons and dendrites

Gray matter

cell bodies

dendrites

receive incoming neurotransmitters

soma

cell body (include nucleus)

axon

where action potential travels down

Myelin sheath

• speeds up action potential down the axon

• protects axon

terminals

• release neurotransmitters

• sends signal onto the next neuron

vesicles

• sacs inside terminal

• contains neurotransmitters

synapse

ends of terminal

• gap between neurons is called synaptic gap

Structuralism

used introspection(act of looking inward to examine mental experience) to determine the underlying structures of the mind

• Wilhelm Wundt

functionalism

need to analyze the purpose of behavior

• How the mind functions

• William james

psychoanlytic/dynamic

• unconscious, childhood

• Freud believed people can be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations

• release repressed emotions

  • id, ego, and super ego

Behavioral

• behaviors are learned and reinforced through interaction with the environment

• nurture over nature

Humanistic

• People innate potential for self-fulfillment

  • free will, choice, ideal, actualization

cognitive

• perceptions, thoughts

evolutionary

• genes

biological

• brain, neurotransmitters

sociocultural

• society

biopsychosocial

• biology, social,

Charles Darwin

• Natural selection

• evolution

Dorthea dix

• reformed mental institutions

Basic research

Purpose is to increase knowledge

applied research

purpose is to help people

placebo effect

• experimental results caused by expectations alone

  • reduces depression, pain, and anxiety

Double-blind experiment

when neither the participant nor the experimenter are aware of which condition people are assigned to (drug studies)

• prevents bias

single-blind

only participant blind

• used if experimenter can’t be blind

• Gender, age, etc.

Random assignment

assigns participants to either the control or experimental group at random

• increases chance of equal representation among groups

random sample (selection)

method for choosing participants for your study

• everyone has a chance to take part

• increase generalizability

• Ex. Names in a hat or computer generation

Representative sample

sample mimics the general population

• Ethnic, gender, age

positive correlation

variables increase and decrease together

negative correlation

as one variable increases, the other decreases

Correlation notes

• the stronger the # the stronger the relationship regardless of the pos/neg sing

  • cannot be less or greater than 1

• stronger relationships = tighter clusters on the graph

3rd variable problem (lurking variable)

diff. variable is responsible for the relationship

• breast implants and suicide

illusory correlation

belief of correlation that doesn’t exist

• Ex. old man predicts rain from arthritis

surveys

usually turned into correlation

obtains self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group

subject to…

• social desirability - ppl lie to look good

• wording effects - how you frame the question can impact your answers

Naturalistic observation

real-world validity

• observe people in their own setting

Disadvantage

• No cause and effect

• does not explain, simply describes

Case study

studies one person in great detail

• lots of info

Disadvantage

• No cause and effect

Examples

• Brain damage - information came from case studies on individuals who suffered damage to certain brain regions.

Descriptive stats

the shape of the data

• numerical

• Ex. Bar graph/ histogram

• Mode: occurs most often

• mean: Average

• median: middle number

inferential statistics

establishes significance and reliable the data is

• allows one to generalize

• infer the probability of something being true of a population

statistical significance

results are not due to chance, experimental manipulation caused the difference in means

• we say this when the sample averages are reliable and the difference between them is relatively large

ethical guidelines

• confidentiality: names kept secret

• informed consent: must agree to be a part of the study

• debriefing: must be told the true purpose of the study

  • deception must be warranted

• no harm - mental/physical

action potential

neural impulse - movement of Na and K ions across the membrane sends an electrical charge down the axon

All or none law

stimulus must trigger the AP past its threshold but does not increase the intensity of the response

• think of it like flushing a toilet

refractory period

neuron must rest and reset before it can send another AP

• think of it like when the toilet resets

interneurons

cells in spinal cord responsible for reflex loop

• transmits info between sensory and motor neurons

Central Nervous System

• brain and spinal cord

  • body’s decision makers

  • information is carried to the sensory neuron, which takes it to the spinal cord and is passed to the motor neuron through an interneuron.

Peripheral Nervous system

• the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body

Somatic NS

• Voluntary movement of skeletal muscles

Autonomic NS

• controls our glands and internal organ muscles

• involuntary movement / operates on its own

  • Ex. Heart/heartbeat, lungs, etc.

• splits into two divisions - sympathetic and parasympathetic

Sympathetic NS

Arouses the body fight/flight and expends energy

• generally activates - sympathetic to you getting eaten by tigers helps you run away

  • ex. dilates pupils, accelerates heartbeat, inhibits digestion, stimulates glucose release, relaxes bladder

parasympathetic NS

established homeostasis after a sympathetic response

• generally inhibits and calms

  • ex. contracts pupils, slow heartbeat, stimulates digestion, contracts bladder, stimulates gallbladder, etc.

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals released in synaptic gap, received by neurons

GABA

• Major inhibitory neurotransmitter

• undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, depression and insomnia

• calming effect

Glutamate

Excitatory NT

• When you get excited to see your friends

• involved in memory

• oversupply can overstimulate the brain, producing migraines or seizures

Dopamine

• influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

• Reward and movement

• linked to schizophrenia, tremor, decreased mobility in Parkinsons

serotonin

• affects moods, hunger, sleep, and arousal

• undersupply linked to depression

acetylcholine (ACh)

• enables muscle action, learning, and memory

• with alzheimer’s disease, Aches-producing neurons deteriorate

Epinephrine and Norepinephrine

• helps control alertness and arousal

• undersupply can depress mood

• sympathetic NS arousal

Endorphins

• pain and pleasure control

• oversupply with opiate drug can suppress the body’s natural endorphin supply

oxytocin

love and bonding

• after the birth, helps with after-birth processes like breast milk

• manages female and male reproductive systems

Agonist

drugs that increase a NT action

• may increase production or release of NT or block reuptake

Antagonist

Drug that blocks a NT

• decreases NT action, blocks production or release

Reuptake

unused NT’s are taken back up into the sending neuron

• SSRI’s (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) block reuptake

  • treatment for depression

Hind brain

oldest part of the brain and part of the brain stem

• The brain stem is responsible for automatic survival functions

  • the brain stem is a crossover point

cerebellum

movement and balance

• processing of sensory input

• enabling nonverbal learning and memory

• helps us judge time, modulate our emotions, and discriminate sounds and textures

• coordinates voluntary movement

Injured cerebellum would result in…

• difficulty walking

• shaky hands

• bad balance

• jerky movements

medulla

• the base of the brain stem

• control of vital organs like heartbeat and breathing

pons

bridge between regions

• coordinates movement and sleep

• above medulla

Reticular formation

Alertness and arousal

• Part of midbrain

• travels through the brain stem and into the thalamus

• you can thank reticular formation if you multitasked

• stimulated it can cause an awake, alerted state, damage can cause the opposite effect (you may enter a coma)

Note of these brain structure

• these older brain functions all occur without any conscious effort

• our brain processes most information outside of our awareness

cerebral hemispheres

the 2 parts of the brain

Forebrain

Higher thought process

• The limbic system is part of the forebrain

  • in between the cerebral hemispheres

Amygdala

emotions, fear, aggression

• “Amy! You’re so emotional”

• people with amygdala lesions often display reduced arousal to fear and anger arousing stimuli

Hippocampus

memory

• If you saw a hippo on campus you’d remember it

• stores explicit memories of facts and events

Hypothalamus

• directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temp)

• governs the endocrine system through the pituitary gland

• reward/pleasure/emotion center

Thalamus

• Brains sensory control center

  • relay center for all but smell and routes info to higher brain regions dealing with the senses

    • You MUST (ThalaMUST) use your thalamus unless it’s MUSTY - smell

• receives higher brain region replies, which it then directs to the medulla and cerebellum

Cerebral cortex

the outer portion of the brain

• higher order thought processes

• information processing center

occipital lobe

vision

• receives info from the visual fields

frontal lobe

decision-making, speaking, planning, judgment, muscle movement, and personality.

parietal lobe

sensations

• receives sensory input for touch and body position

temporal lobe

hearing and face recognition

somatosensory cortex

map of our touch receptors

• in parietal lobe

• registers and processes movement and touch sensations

motor cortex

map of our motor receptors

• located in the frontal lobes

• control voluntary movement

association areas

• areas in the cerebral cortex not involved in motor or sensory functions

• involved in higher mental functions like learning, thinking, speaking, and remembering

left hemisphere

damage results in aphasia

• Aphasia - damaged speech

Broca’s area

controls speech

• damage to this area will cause broken speech

Wernickes Area

area that controls ability to comprehend speech

• damage can cause inability to comprehend speech

Corpus callosum

bundle of nerves that connects the 2 hemispheres

• sometimes severed in patients with severe seizures - leads to split brain patients

split-brain experiments

• seizures disappeared and patients were normal with no effect to their personality and intellect

• The image shown to the left eye is processed in the right hemisphere

  • can’t say what was seen but can point at it

• The image shown to the right eye is processed in the left hemisphere

  • patient can say what they say

Brain plasticity

the brain can heal itself (the brain is malleable)

• brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood

Nature vs. Nurture

• Answer is both

  • twin studies

    • Genetics identical twins will have a higher percentage of also developing a disease

    • Environment: Identical twins raised in different environments show differences

Endocrine system

sends hormones throughout the body

• hormones: chemical messengers secreted from endocrine glands through the bloodstream and affect other tissues

• parts of the system

  • Hypothalamus - brain region controlling pituitary gland

  • pituitary gland - secretes hormones, can affect other glands

  • thyroid gland - affects metabolism

  • parathyroids - regulate calcium levels in the blood

  • adrenal gland - triggers flight or fight

  • pancreas - regulates sugar levels in the blood

  • testis - secretes male sex hormones

  • ovary - secretes female sex hormone

Pituitary Gland

• controlled by hypothalamus

• release growth hormones

adrenal galnd

• related to sympathetic NS

• above the kidneys

• releases adrenaline and arouse body in times of stress