ap psych unit 3

nervous system

nerves, spine and brain; affects behavior (body and brain communication); neurons always communicating with each other

electrical

neuron communicating with itself

chemical

neuron communicating with other neurons

action potential

electrical impulse that travels through a neuron

cell body

part of a neuron that controls the cell; interprets what neurotransmitter the cell absorbed, and whether or not to fire off an action potential

axon

part of a neuron - tail-like structure; conducts an action potential away from the cell body to the axon terminal

myelin

fatty tissue that protects the axon; makes electrical transmission more efficient

axon terminal

where vesicles are located (contain neurotransmitters)

neurotransmitters

chemical messages that are released and absorbed between neurons (released by vesicles into the synapses); identify specific behaviors in relation to specific neurotransmitters

acetylcholine

neurotransmitter - activates muscle actions; vital for memory formation (application: venom blocks the release of this, causing cardiac arrest)

dopamine

neurotransmitter - involved with learning and fine-tuned motor activities; affects focus and attention (application: adhd=low amount of this; schizophrenia=high amount of this)

serotonin

neurotransmitter - affects appetite, sleep, and mood (application: depression=low amount of this)

norepinephrine

neurotransmitter - also called noradrenaline; released in adrenal glands above kidneys; helps with alertness and arousal

gaba

neurotransmitter - inhibitory (blocks the release of other transmitters)

glutamate

neurotransmitter - excitatory (triggers the release of other neurotransmitters)

endorphins

neurotransmitter - makes you happy; body's natural painkiller (released to enable fight or flight when pain/damage occurs)

substance p (pain)

neurotransmitter - makes you experience pain; evolutionary adaptation (pain is subjective; sensory adaptations as you are exposed to it more)

synapse

gap between neurons

dendrites

branch-like structures that reach into synapses in order to absorb neurotransmitters

agonist

drug that increases the release/effects or mimics a neurotransmitter

antagonist

drug that decreases or blocks effects of a neurotransmitter

glial cells

support cells for neurons; provide oxygen/nutrients and clean up cellular debris (application: einstein's brain had a lot of these)

refractory period

time that the neuron has to rest in between action potentials (reason: firing an action potential is an all-or-nothing response; there is no variation in strength of an action potential; the stronger the stimulus, the more neurons fire action potential)

reuptake

the body's natural recycling process for neurotransmitters; the vesicles reabsorb the extra neurotransmitters that the dendrites don't absorb (application: adderall is used for adhd because it forces neurons to use all of the dopamine instead of recycling it)

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord; they have interneurons that send messages to motor neurons

interneurons

neurons that interpret messages, understand the sensory info that is sent to it, and send a message to motor neurons

motor neurons

neurons that attach to muscles, organs, and glands

peripheral nervous system

all other nerves that branch out throughout your body (2 categories: somatic/skeletal and autonomic)

somatic (skeletal) nervous system

nervous system that handles all sensory input and motor output

autonomic nervous system

nervous system that handles all involuntary process (things you can't control)

sympathetic nervous system

autonomic nervous system that excites you/fight or flight (example: when you are attracted to something, your pupils dilate and heart rate increases)

parasympathetic nervous system

autonomic nervous system that calms you down (example: heartbeat/breathing slows down)

endocrine system

system of all the glands/hormones in your body (all glands release hormones)

hormones

powerful chemicals that travel throughout the bloodstream and affect other tissues in the body

hypothalamus

part of brain regulates your endocrine system and metabolism (hunger and thirst); only talks to pituitary glands; regulates body temperature; ties into pleasurable feelings (addiction)

pituitary glands

glands that talk to the rest of the endocrine system; active during puberty (releases growth hormone)

thyroid gland

gland that releases hormones to help regulate metabolism

parathyroid glands

glands that regulate calcium in your blood

adrenal glands

glands on top of kidneys that release adrenaline (fight or flight)

pancreas

glands that release insulin to regulate blood sugar

lesion

damage to brain tissue caused by injury or surgery

EEG

measures the electrical output of the brain; shows the type of wavelengths the brain produces (application: used in seizures because a seizure is an overload of action potential)

MEG

measures the magnetic fields of the brain

CT scan

shows hard tissue (basically a more in-depth version of an x ray)

PET scan

colorful brain images based on temperature (higher temperature = more blood flow to that area = higher activity)

MRI

shows soft tissues (organs, muscles, tendons, etc)

FMRI

shows soft tissues and blood flow

brain stem

brain structure containing the medula and pons

medulla

located where spinal cord meets the skull; constantly sends neurotransmitters to control heartbeat and breathing

pons

located above the medulla; controls alertness/arousal and sleep/wake cycles

reticular formation

bundle of nerves passing through the medulla into the pons; constantly scan all incoming info in order to direct your attention to a particular stimulus

thalamus

brain structure responsible for neural messages from the brain to the correct part of the body, and from the body to the brain (basically the brain's operator)

cerebellum

brain structure that coordinates fine-tuned motor activities (such as verbalizing); handles muscle memory and helps with balance

phineas gage

guy who had a rod go through his head and it changed his personality (no impulse control); he lived because his lower brain structures were not damaged

limbic system

brain structure in the middle (on top of the lower brain); focuses on memory and emotions; includes amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus

amygdala

part of rain involved in emotion (fear and aggression); constantly scans stimulus to detect a threat; releases fight or flight if a threat is detected; less sensitive with age (application: lobotomy services separate this from the rest of the brain; used on people who are threats)

hippocampus

part of brain involved with short term memory; vital for long term storage/retrieval; pulls memory together, or deconstructs it and ships it out (application: 7 plus or minus 2 rule - we can hold 5-9 pieces of info in short term memory)

cerebral cortex

thin brain structure where 2/3 of the brain's neurons are; 85% of the brain's weight; has 4 regions (occipital, parietal, temporal, frontal); an animal's intelligence is equated to the size of this; evolutionary adaptation has caused it to increase (more cognitive abilities)

occipital lobe

back of the cerebral cortex; handles visual info/processing; eyes pick up light waves for this lobe to process them; the only lobe that handles one thing (we rely on vision the most)

parietal lobe

upper back of cerebral cortex; processes touch; 2 sensory strips (left strip process touch from the right side of the body, and vice versa); sensory cortex is more devoted to more sensory areas

temporal lobe

sides of cerebral cortex; process auditory info; constantly monitor your voice and generate how you use/comprehend language; left lobe generates your internal monologue

frontal lobe

forehead of cerebral cortex; sensory info is processed, and response messages are sent quickly bc of motor cortex (which is behind this lobe); handles cognitive abilities (problem solving and decision making); last part of the brain to fully develop (way to explain maturing; keeps emotions in check)

association areas

parts of the cerebral cortex that handle cognitive processes rather than sensory/motor info

aphsia

brain damage that causes disruption to language and comprehension; types occur in broca and wernicke area

broca

area in the frontal lobe that controls your ability to speak (damage disrupts it)

wernicke

left temporal lobe area that is responsible for comprehension (damage disrupts it)

neuralplasticity

the brain's ability to change; we force our nervous system to become more efficient the more we conduct a behavior; dendrites grow new branches or shift to axon terminals so that release/absorption of neurotransmitters is faster; also happens oppositely (dendrites die or shift away if you form a behavior less)

neurogenesis

formation of new neurons (seen in labs with mice, and also in humans)

corpus callosum

bridge between the brain's 2 hemispheres; made of axons; allows the left hemisphere to control the right side of the body and vice versa

epilepsy

when all neurons fire action potential simultaneously (surgeons can remove the corpus callosum which separates the brain's hemispheres and helps stop seizures)

right hemisphere

side of brain involved with spatial reasoning; making inferences, modulating speech, and orchestrating our self awareness

left hemisphere

side of brain involved with sequential reasoning; generates our consciousness, literal interpretations of language

consciousness

awareness of yourself and your environment; survival mechanism

cognitive neuroscience

study of how biological processes produce mental processes

dual processes

simultaneously produce conscious and unconscious information (comes from cognitive neuroscience); blind sight = limitation to this

parallel processing

being able to understand multiple aspects of a problem simultaneously

sequential processing

focusing on only 1 aspect of a problem at a time (an algorithm); familiarity allows you to dual process (because familiar things are processed more quickly)

behavior genetics

study of the interplay between genetics, the environment, and your behavior; the environment constantly interacts with genetics

46, 23

humans have ____ chromosomes (____ pairs)

chromosomes, dna, genes, nucleotides

order of types of genetic info from largest to smallest

monozygotic twins

identical twins; 1 egg is released and the cells divide during conception (2 identical zygotes)

dizygotic twins

fraternal twins; 2 eggs are released and fertilized

twin studies, adoption studies

2 ways to study heritability in humans (nature vs nurture)

heritability

how much variation within a group of individuals is a result of genetics

molecular genetics

how molecule of a gene affects expression of a gene

molecular behavior genetics

how a molecule of a gene affects the expression of a gene, and how the environment reacts with that expression

epigenetics

the turning on/off of a gene (influences on how genes are expressed include age, nutrition, and genetic predisposition)

evolutionary psychology

study of what human behaviors were selected/evolved to allow us to survive; all offspring are in competition with other offspring

gene mutation

random error that leads to a physical or cognitive change

reproduction, pleasure

2 purposes for sexual activity (men like youthful, fertile women, and women like bold, protective men - no way to empirically prove these ideas are accurate)