Physio-Bio Psych | Midterm Exam Reviewer - Unit I - III

Physio-Bio Psych Midterm Exam Reviewer Goodluck!!!

Biological Psychology

Also called Physiological Psychology. It is the study of the biology of behavior. It focuses on the nervous system, hormones, and genetics.

Biological Approach

Believes behavior to be a consequence of our genetics and physiology. The only approach in psychology that examines thoughts, feelings, and behaviors from a biological and thus physical point of view.

Physiological

All that is psychological is first _____________.

1. Comparative Method

2. Physiology

3. Investigation of Inheritance

The biological perspective is relevant to the study of psychology in 3 ways:

Comparative Method

Different species of animal can be studied and compared. This can help in the search to understand human behavior.

Physiology

Discusses how the nervous system and hormones work, how brain functions, how changes in structure and function can affect behavior.

Investigation of Inheritance

It is what an animal inherits from its parents, mechanisms of inheritance (genetics).

1. Biological Explanation

2. Functional Explanation

3. Ontogenetic Explanation

4. Evolutionalry Explanation

4 Biological Explanations of Behavior

Biological Explanation

It relates the behavior to an activity of the brain or other organs.

Functional Explanation

defines or elaborates why a behavior evolved in the way that it did.

Genetic Drift

It is where a gene spreads within a small population by pure accident.

Ontogenetic Explanation

describes the development of a behavior or structure.

Evolutionary Explanation

Looks at a behavior or structure by way of evolutionary history.

Consciousness

Refers to your individual awareness of your unique thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations, and environment.

Rene Descartes

Introduced the concept of mind-body dualism.

Dualism

It is a metaphysical view that all things are reducible to 2 essentially different realities; mind and matter.

Introspection

A process used by structuralists to analyze and report conscious sensations, thoughts, and experiences.

William James

Compared consiousness to a stream; unbroken and continuous despite constant shifts and changes.

Sigmund Freud

He focused on understanding the importance of conscious and unconsious mind

1. Integrated Information Theory

2. Global Workspace Theory

Two Major Theories of Consciousness

Integrated Information Theory

Looks at consciousness by learning more about the physical processes that underlie our conscious experiences. The quality of an organism’s consciousness is represented by the level of integration.

Global Workspace Theory

Suggests that we have a memory bank from which the brain draws information to form the experience of conscious awareness.

Chromosomes

Contain genetic material that can determine a person’s characteristics.

46 Chromosomes (23 pairs)

Number of chromosomes in a human being

• Autosomes

• Sex Cromosomes

2 types of Chromosomes

Sex-linked Genes

Genes that are carried by either sex chromosome are said to be sex linked.

Sex-limited genes

When the characters are physically expressed in one sex only.

Genotype Environment Correlations

Refer to genetic differences in exposure to particular events

• Passive

• Evocative (Reactive)

• Active (Selective)

3 types of genotype-environment correlation

Passive Genotype-Environment Correlation

an association exists between a person’s genetic makeup and the environment in which he or she is raised.

Evocative Genotype-Environment Correlation

happens when an individual’s (heritable) behavior evokes an environmental response.

Active Genotype-Environment Correlation

the person’s genetic makeup may lead them to select particular environments.

Neuroanatomy

It is the anatomy of the nervous system. It refers to the study of the various parts of the nervous system and their respective function(s).

• Sensory Function

• Integrative Function

• Motor Function

Functions of the Nervous System

Sensory Function

Nervous System uses millions of sensory receptors to monitor changes occuring both inside and outside the body.

Stimuli

Refers to the changes that occurs both inside and outside the body.

Sensory Input

Refers to the gathered information from the stimuli.

Integrative Function

The Nervous System process and interprets the sensory input and makes decisions about what should be done at each moment -- a process called Integration.

Motor Function

The nervous system then send information to muscles, glands, and organs (effectors) so they can respond correctly such as muscular contraction or glandular secretions.

Neurons

Nerve cells. They are the main structural and functional units if the nervous system. Each one consists of a body (soma) and a number of processes (neurites).

Everywhere

In what part in human body can you find nerve cells?

• Multipolar

• Bipolar

• Pseudounipolar

• Unipolar

Four structural types of neuron

• Central Nervous System (CNS)

• Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Two major divisions of the Nervous System

• Brain

• Spinal Cord

Parts of the Central Nervous System (CNS)

• Motor (Efferent) Neurons

• Sensory (Afferent) Neurons

Two types of Neurons

• Somatic Nervous System

• Autonomic Nervous System

Major divisions of the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

• Symphatetic Nervous System / Division

• Parasymphatetic Nervous System / Division

Major divisions of Autonomic Nervous System

Central Nervous System

It is the control center of the body consisting of the brain and spinal cord. It interprets incoming sensory information and issue instructions based on past experience and current conditions.

Peripheral Nervous System

It consists of bundles of nerves between the spinal cord and the rest of the body.

(The) Brain

It is one of the largest and most complex organs in the body.

• Forebrain

• Midbrain

• Hindbrain

Major Divisions of the Brain

Forebrain

Division of brain which processes sensory information, helps with reasoning and problem solving, and regulates autonomic, endocrine, and motor functions.

Midbrain

Division of brain which helps regulate movement and processes auditory and visual information.

Hindbrain

The part of the brain that mostly coordinates autonomic functions that are essential to survival.

• Cerebral Cortex

• Cingulategyrus

• Corpus Callosum

• Limbic System

  • Thalamus

  • Hypothalamus

  • Amygdala

  • Hippocampus

Structures in the Forebrain

Cerebrum

It regulates senses, memory, emotions, intellectual activities, and body movements. It is the largest part of the brain covered by the cerebral cortex.

Cerebral Cortex

is responsible for processing information to the right and left cerebral hemisphere.

• Frontal Lobe

• Parietal Lobe

• Occipital Lobe

• Temporal Lobe

Four Lobes of the Cerebrum

Frontal Lobe

involves voluntary movement, reasoning, impulse control, language, and speech.

Broca’s Area

Part of the left frontal lobe and is associated with speech production.

Phineas Gage

He is often reffered to as the “Man who began Neuroscience”.

Parietal Lobe

mainly involved with processing the sense of touch, limb position, and spatial awareness.

Damage to this lobe can produce disorders of language (aphasia) and inability to percieve objects normally (agnosia).

Contralateral Function

It refers to how the right side of the brain is responsible for activity on the left side of the body and vice versa.

Temporal Lobe

primarilly processes auditory stimuli. It communicates with the hippocampus to produce long-term memory.

Damage to this lobe can result in disturbance with selective attention to what we hear and see, difficulty with identification and categorization of objects, difficulty learning and retaining new information.

Wernicke’s Area

A region in the temporal lobe which comprehends the sounds we hear by translating different pitches and frequencies into meaning.

Occipital Lobe

located at the rear end of the cerebral cortex and is known to be the visual processing center of the brain.

Damage to this lobe can cause an inability to identify colors, loss of visual capacity and even hallucinations.

Brodmann Area 17

It determines size, shape, and location of objects in the field of vision.

Corpus Callosum

network of nerve fibers which connects the right and left hemispheres of the brain.

Roger Sperry’s Split-brain Experiments (1960s)

Aims to test the effects of hemispheric de-connection in humans to see if cognition differs between hemispheres.

Thalamus

It is our body’s information relay station.

Amygdala

the critical component of the limbic system. An almond-shape set of neurons respoonsible for processing fear.

Heinrich Kluver and Paul Bucy (1930s)

Researchers who established the connection between fear and amygdala.

Hypothalamus

Its main function is to keep your body in a stable state, It produces hormones that control body temperature, heart rate, and mood.

Hippocampus

It is involved in memory, learning, and emotion. Its largest job is to hold short-term memories and transfer the longterm storage in our brains.

Pituitary Gland

It is referred as “Master Gland” of the endocrine system.

• Colliculi

• Tegmentum

• Cerebral Peduncles

Three parts of the midbrain

Colliculi

processes visual and auditory signals before they are relayed to the occipital and temporal lobes.

Tegmentum

Involved in movement coordination and alertness.

Cerebral Peduncles

Play an important part in the central nervous system.

• Medulla Oblongata

• Pons

• Cerebellum (Brainstem)

Parts of the Hindbrain

Medulla Oblongata

Also known as medulla, is the lowest part of the brainstem. Involved in breathing, heart rate, digestion, swallowing, heart rhythms, and sneezing. It controls automatic processes.

Pons

Latin for “bridge”. It is a group of nerves that are involved in arousal, sleep, motor control, and muscle tone.

Cerebellum

Latin for “little brain”. It plays a vital role in language and attention. Also responsible for coordinating movement and balance.

Damage to this may cause balance problems and gait disorders along with difficulty in coordination resulting in ataxia, uncoordinated movements, imbalance speech problems, visual problems, and vertigo.

Spinal Cord

Is a reflex and conduction pathway which is found within the vertebral canal. It extends from foramen magnum to L1 or L2.

Bell-Magendie Law

States that entering dorsal roots carry sensory information and the existing ventral roots carry motor information.

Dorsal Root Ganglia

Clusters of neurons outside the spinal cord

Gray Matter

located in the center of the spinal cord and is densely packed with cell bodies and dendrites.

White Matter

composed mostly of myelinated axons that carries information from gray matter to the brain or other areas of the spinal cord.

Afferent Neurons

Also known as Sensory Neurons, carry information from the PNS to CNS. A = Arrives

Efferent Neurons

Also known as Motor Neurons, carry information from the CNS to PNS. E = Exits

Somatic Nervous System

Allows us to cconsciously, or voluntarily, control our skeletal muscles. Often referred to as the voluntary nervous system.

Autonomic Nervous System

Regulates events that are automatic, or involuntary, such as the activity of smooth muscles and glands. Commonly called as the involuntary nervous system.

Sympathetic Nervous System

It controls what has been called as the “fight or flight” phenomenon. It works during fear, anger, and pain to fulfill body’s demand in such situations.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

It is the “housekeeping” system and is in control most of the time. This system relaxes us and is responsible for “rest and digest”.

1. Cervical Plexus

2. Branchial Plexus

3. Lumbar Plexus

4. Sacral Plexus

Four Major Plexuses of the Spinal Cord

Neurotransmitter

The specialized molecules that carry the signals across the synapses.

Neurotransmission

From the Latin word transmissio meaning “passage”, and transmittere meaning “send, let through”. It is is the process by which neurotransmitters are released by the axon terminal of a neuron, and bind to and react with the receptors on the dendrites of another neuron a short distance away.

• Endoderm

• Mesoderm

• Ectoderm

The Three Layers which give rise to every Physiological system

1. Neurogenesis

2. Cell Migration

3. Cellular Differentiation

4. Outgrowth

Four Stages in the Process of Neuron Development

Neurogenesis

The very first stage of neuronal development, cells that have yet to be differentiated will undergo mitosis to produce either stem cells, or neuroblasts.