MCAT Kaplan Quick Sheets (Full Version)

neurons

[biology and behavior] motor (efferent); interneurons; sensory (afferent)

pns

[biology and behavior] rest & digest

sns

[biology and behavior] fight or flight

forebrain

[biology and behavior] contains thalamus, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, limbic system, and cerebral cortex

midbrain

[biology and behavior] contains inferior and superior colliculi

hindbrain

[biology and behavior] contains cerebellum, medulla oblongata, and reticular formation

thalamus

[biology and behavior] relay station for sensory information

hypothalamus

[biology and behavior] maintains homeostasis and integrates the endocrine system through the hypophyseal portal system (connected to the anterior pituitary)

basal ganglia

[biology and behavior] smoothens movements and helps maintain postural stability

limbic system

[biology and behavior] controls emotion and memory; contains the septal nuclei (pleasure seeking), amygdala (fear, agression), hippocampus (memory), and fornix (communication within limbic system

septal nuclei

[biology and behavior] structure dealing with pleasure-seeking

amygdala

[biology and behavior] structure dealing with fear and aggression

hippocampus

[biology and behavior] structure dealing with memory

fornix

[biology and behavior] structure dealing with communication within limbic system

frontal lobe

[biology and behavior] executive function and motor functions; 1 lobe of the cerebral cortex

parietal lobe

[biology and behavior] sensations and spacial processing; 1 lobe of the cerebral cortex

occipital lobe

[biology and behavior] visual processing; 1 lobe of the cerebral cortex

temporal lobe

[biology and behavior] sound production and speech processing; 1 lobe of the cerebral cortex

acetylcholine

[biology and behavior] parasympathetic nervous system, muscle control neurotransmitter

epinephrine, norepinephrine

[biology and behavior] sympathetic nervous system neurotransmitters

dopamine

[biology and behavior] smooth movements, posture neurotransmitter

seratonin

[biology and behavior] mood, sleeping, eating neurotransmitter

GABA & Glycine

[biology and behavior] brain "stabilization" neurotransmitter: Glutamate --> brain excitation)

endorphins

[biology and behavior] natural painkillers neurotransmitter

nature v. nurture

[biology and behavior] genetics v. environment

sensation v. perception

[sensation and perception] conversion of physical stimuli to neurological signals v. processing of sensory information

threshold

[sensation and perception] minimum stimulus that causes a change in signal transduction

weber's law

[sensation and perception] the JND is proportional to magnitude of stimulus with constant proportions

signal detection

[sensation and perception] theory that deals with non-sensory factors on perception (motives, expectations)

response bias

[sensation and perception] four outcomes: hit, miss, false alarm, correct negative

adaption

[sensation and perception] decrease in response over time

visual pathway

[sensation and perception] retina, optic nerve, optic chasm, optic tracts, lateral geniculate nucleus, visual radiations, visual cortex

auditory pathway

[sensation and perception] cochlea, vestibulocochlear nerve, medial geniculate nucleus, auditory cortex

cochlea

[sensation and perception] detects sound

utricle, saccule

[sensation and perception] detect linear acceleration

semicircular canals

[sensation and perception] detect angular acceleration

smell

[sensation and perception] detection of chemicals by olfactory chemoreceptors

taste

[sensation and perception] detection of dissolved compounds by taste buds

somatosensation

[sensation and perception] detection of pressure, vibration, pain, temperature

kinesthetic sense

[sensation and perception] detection of one's body in space; proprioception

bottom-up processing

[sensation and perception] data driven; recognition of objects by parallel processing and feature detection; slower but less prone to mistakes (USE RESEARCHER ANALOGY)

top-down processing

[sensation and perception] conceptually driven; recognition of objects by memories and expectations; little attention to detail, prone to more mistakes (faster) (USE RESEARCHER ANALOGY)

gestalt principles

[sensation and perception] ways the brain infers missing parts of an image

habituation

[learning and memory] becoming used to a stimulus

dishabituation

[learning and memory] when a second stimulus intervenes, causing resensitization

observational learning

[learning and memory] learning by watching others

associative learning

[learning and memory] learning by pairing behaviors and consequences

classical conditioning

[learning and memory] a form of associative learning where neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus

operant conditioning

[learning and memory] a form of associative learning where behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment

awake

[cognition, consciousness, and language] beta and alpha EEG waves, able to perceive, process, etc

stage 1 of consciousness

[cognition, consciousness, and language] theta EEG waves, light sleep

stage 2 of consciousness

[cognition, consciousness, and language] theta EEG waves, sleep spindles and K complexes

stages 3 and 4 of consciousness

[cognition, consciousness, and language] slow wave sleep, delta EEG waves, dreams, memory consolidation, sleep disorders

REM sleep

[cognition, consciousness, and language] beta EEG waves, appears awake, but dreaming, sleep disorders; paralyzed

dyssomnias

[cognition, consciousness, and language] sleep disorder classification dealing with amount or timing of sleep (insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, sleep deprivation)

parasomnias

[cognition, consciousness, and language] sleep disorder classification dealing with odd behaviors during sleep; night terrors and sleepwalking (somnambulism)

depressants

[cognition, consciousness, and language] stimulate sense of relaxation and reduced anxiety; alcohol, barbiturates, benxodiazepines​)

stimulants

[cognition, consciousness, and language] stimulate arousal; amphetamines, cocaine, ectasy​

opiates (opioids)

[cognition, consciousness, and language] stimulate decreased pain perception and euphoria (heroin, morphine, opium, pain pills)

hallucinogens

[cognition, consciousness, and language] stimulate distortions of reality and fantasy (LSD, peyote, mescaline, mushrooms)

sensory memory

[cognition, consciousness, and language] memory that lasts less than a second

short-term (working) memory

[cognition, consciousness, and language] memory that lasts less than a minute

long-term memory

[cognition, consciousness, and language] memory that lasts a lifetime, broken up into explicit (conscious) and implicit (unconscious) memory

explicit (conscious) memory

[cognition, consciousness, and language] aka declarative memory, broken up into episodic memory (events) and semantic memory (concepts and facts)

encoding

[cognition, consciousness, and language] putting new information into memory

semantic network

[cognition, consciousness, and language] network that store facts, retrieval is based on priming interconnected nodes of this network

piaget's stages of cognitive development

[cognition, consciousness, and language] include sensorimotor stage (physical), pre operational stage (selfish), concrete operational stage (understand others feelings, manipulate objects) , formal operational stage (abstract thinking)

heuristics

[cognition, consciousness, and language] "rules of thumb", assist in decision making

selective attention

[cognition, consciousness, and language] type of attention where you can pay attention and also determine if other things require attention also

divided attention

[cognition, consciousness, and language] type of attention where you pay attention to multiple things at a time through automatic processing

wernicke's area

[cognition, consciousness, and language] language comprehension

broca's area

[cognition, consciousness, and language] speech production

broca's aphasia

[cognition, consciousness, and language] each word requires great effort to generate

arcuate fasciculus

[cognition, consciousness, and language] connects broca's and wernicke's areas

conduction aphasia

[cognition, consciousness, and language] cannot repeat words; if damage to arcuate fasciculus

extrinsic motivation

[motivation, emotion, and stress] motivation based on external circumstances

intrinsic motivation

[motivation, emotion, and stress] motivation based on internal drive or perception

instinct motivation theory (IMT)

[motivation, emotion, and stress] theory that states that motivation is innate, fixed patterns of behavior

arousal motivation theory (AMT)

[motivation, emotion, and stress] theory that states that motivation is the state of being awake and reactive to stimuli, Yerkes-Dodson law; aim for optimal arousal on a given task

yerkes-dodson

[motivation, emotion, and stress] law that states that optimal performance happens at mid-arousal (too high = anxious, too low = too little interest)

drive reduction

[motivation, emotion, and stress] theory that states that people act to relieve internal states of tension

maslow's hierarchy of needs

[motivation, emotion, and stress] prioritizes needs into 5 categories (from highest to lowest priority) : physiological needs, safety and security, love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization

seven universal emotions

[motivation, emotion, and stress] happiness, sadness, contempt, surprise, fear, disgust, anger

james-lange (JL)

[motivation, emotion, and stress] theory of emotion where the first response is nervous system arousal and the second is conscious emotion

cannon-bard (CB)

[motivation, emotion, and stress] theory of emotion where the first response is nervous system arousal and conscious emotion and the second is action

schachter-singer (SS)

[motivation, emotion, and stress] theory of emotion where the first response is nervous system arousal and cognitive appraisal and the second is conscious emotion

primary appraisal

[motivation, emotion, and stress] 1st classifying something as either stressful, benign-positive, or irrelevant

secondary appraisal

[motivation, emotion, and stress] determining whether someone can cope with stress

general adaption syndrome

[motivation, emotion, and stress] alarm, resistance, and exhaustion are the 3 stages

schizophrenia

[psychological disorders] psychotic disorder where reality is distorted

major depressive disorder

[psychological disorders] at least 1 major depressive episode

pervasive depressive disorder

[psychological disorders] a depressed mood for at least 2 years

seasonal affective disorder

[psychological disorders] major depressive disorder with seasonal onset (depression in winter)

bipolar I disorder

[psychological disorders] at least 1 manic episode

bipolar II disorder

[psychological disorders] at least 1 manic episode and at least 1 hypomanic episode

cyclothymic disorder

[psychological disorders] hypomanic episodes with dysthymia

generalized anxiety disorder

[psychological disorders] constant disproportionate and persistent worry

specific phobias

[psychological disorders] irrational fears of specific objects

social anxiety disorder

[psychological disorders] anxiety from social situations

agoraphobia

[psychological disorders] fear of places where its hard to escape