Intro to Psych final

basic psychology

study to seek knowledge, not practical application

descriptive statistics

stats that organize and summarize research data

inferential statistics

statistical procedures that allow researchers to infer how meaningful a study’s results are

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

somatic nervous system

part of the peripheral nervous system; connects sensory receptors and skeletal muscles

autonomic nervous system

part of peripheral; regulates internal organs and glands

parasympathetic

part of autonomic, operated during relaxed states, conserves energy

sympathetic

part of autonomic, mobilizes bodily resources, deals with emotion and output of energy

glia

cell that supports and nurtures neurons

dendrites

a neuron’s branches that receive and transfer information

cell body

keeps neuron alive and determines if it will fire

axon

extending fibers that conduct impulses to other neurons

myelin sheath

fatty insulation that surrounds the axon of a neuron; damage to it causes MS

synapse

site where nerve impulse transferring occurs

electroencephalogram (EEG)

recording of neural activity detected by electrodes

transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

stimulating brain cells using a magnetic field

PET scan

analyzes biochemical activity in brain

MRI

studies body and brain tissues

cerebellum

regulates movement and balance/cognitive tasks

hippocampus

storage of new information in memory

occipital lobes

lower back of the brain; visual info

parietal lobes

top of the brain, pressure, pain, touch, temperature

temporal lobes

sides of the brain, hearing, memory, perception, emotion, language comprehension

frontal lobes

front of the brain, short-term memory, higher-order thinking, initiative, social judgment, speech production

endogenous

generated from within, not external

internal desynchronization

biological rhythms are not in phase with each other