AP Psychology Unit 1 Review

Neuron

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

cell body

the cell’s life support center

Dendrites

receive messages from other cells

Axon

passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands

myelin [MY-uh-lin] sheath

speeds up signals and covers the axon

glial cells (glia)

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons

action potential

a brief electrical change that travels down an axon

Threshold

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

refractory period

a brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired

all-or-none response

a neuron’s reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing

synapse [SIN-aps]

Junction between the axon and tip of the sending

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that transverse the synaptic gaps between neurons

Reuptake

a neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

endorphins [en-DOR-fins]

natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

Agonist

a molecule that increases a neurotransmitter’s action

Antagonist

a molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter’s action

nervous system

the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system (CNS).

central nervous system (CNS)

the brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

responsible for gathering information and for transmitting CNS decisions to other body parts

sensory (afferent) neurons

carry messages from the body’s tissues and sensory receptors inward to the brain and spinal cord for processing

motor (efferent) neurons

carry instructions from the central nervous system outward to the body’s muscles and glands.

Interneurons

Processes information between the sensory input and motor output

somatic nervous system

enables voluntary control of our skeletal muscles

autonomic [aw-tuh-NAHM-ik] nervous system (ANS)

controls our glands and our internal organ muscles

sympathetic nervous system

arouses and expands energy (“fight or flight”)

parasympathetic nervous system

conserves energy as it calms you (“rest and digest”

Reflex

a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response.

endocrine [EN-duh-krin] system

slower moving, sending hormones through the body’s blood to target larger areas of the body, all to help regulate different biological processes

Hormones

a chemical messenger made by glands that travels through your bloodstream to tell different parts of your body what to do

adrenal [ah-DREEN-el] glands

A pair of endocrine glands

pituitary gland

produces and releases hormones that regulate many bodily functions and controls other endocrine glands throughout the body

lesion [LEE-zhuhn]

where doctors and researchers will destroy specific parts of the brain to gain insight into different functions of the brain

EEG (electroencephalogram)

uses electrodes that are placed on an individual scalp. This allows researchers to record electrical signals from neurons firing. Helps with sleep and seizure research

MEG (magnetoencephalography)

a non-invasive neuroimaging technique used in psychology and neuroscience to map brain activity by measuring the tiny magnetic fields generated by electrical currents in neurons

CT (computed tomography) scan

a series of x-ray photographs taken with different angles into a representation of the brain structure

PET (positron emission tomography) scan

a display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose is when active

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer generated images of soft tissue and brain anatomy.

fMRI (functional MRI)

similar to a MRI but show metabolic functions, this can help with better understanding brain activity

Brainstem

Located at the base of your brain on top of the spinal cord. It includes the medulla, pons, and the midbrain

medulla [muh-DUL-uh]

helps with the regulation of a person’s cardiovascular and respiratory system. It takes care of autonomic functions.

thalamus [THAL-uh-muss]

receive sensory information from your sensory organs, for everything except the sense of smell. It relays information to the appropriate areas of the cerebral cortex for processing.

reticular formation

a finger-shaped network of neurons located inside the brainstem that controls arousal, wakefulness, and the filtering of incoming sensory messages

cerebellum [sehr-uh-BELL-um]

coordinating voluntary movements, helps with posture and balance, helps refining motor skills, and plays a role in cognitive functions

limbic system

Responsible for our emotions, learning, memory, and basic drive

amygdala [uh-MIG-duh-la

Where our emotional reactions come from (mainly fear, anxiety, and aggression)

hypothalamus [hi-po-THAL-uh-muss]

helps keep your body balanced, and allows you to have homeostasis. This is what allows controls your drives (thirst, hunger, temperature)

Hippocampus

Helps us learn and form memories

cerebral [seh-REE-bruhl] cortex

the wrinkled, outermost layer of the brain that handles high-level thinking, memory, language, and body movements

frontal lobes

deals with higher level thinking and separated into two separate areas. Prefrontal cortex (deals with judgment, speech) and Motor Cortex (Voluntary movement)

parietal [puh-RYE-uh-tuhl] lobes

Receive sensory information (touch, pain, etc)

occipital [ahk-SIP-uh-tuhl] lobes

Responsible for processing visual information. It also contains the primary visual cortex, which is what receives visual input from the eyes

temporal lobes

Responsible for processing auditory and linguistic information

motor cortex

controls voluntary movements of different parts of the body

somatosensory cortex

Responsible for processing touch, pressure, temperature, and body position

association areas

areas of the cerebral cortex involved in higher mental functions such as learning, memory, thinking, and language

Plasticity

the brain’s ability to change and reorganize itself by forming new neural connections

corpus callosum [KOR-pus kah-LOW-sum]

Connects the right and left hemispheres

split brain

a condition in which the corpus callosum is cut, separating communication between the two brain hemispheres

Consciousness

Our awareness of ourselves and our environment

cognitive neuroscience

How brain activity is linked with cognition

dual processing

the principle that information is often processed on both a conscious and unconscious level at the same time

parallel processing

the brain’s ability to process multiple pieces of information at the same time

behavior genetics

the study of how genes and environment influence differences in behavior

Heredity v. environment

the debate over whether behavior is influenced more by genetic inheritance or environmental experiences

Chromosomes

structures made of DNA that contain genetic information

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

the molecule that carries genetic information

Genes

segments of DNA that influence inherited traits

Genome

the complete set of genetic material in an organism

identical (monozygotic) twin studies

studies of twins who develop from the same fertilized egg and share nearly identical genes

fraternal (dizygotic) twin studies

studies of twins who develop from two different eggs and share about half of their genes

Heritability

the proportion of differences among people in a trait that can be explained by genetic differences

Epigenetics

the study of how environmental factors can influence whether genes are turned on or off

evolutionary psychology

the study of how natural selection and evolution influence behavior and mental processes

natural selection

the process by which traits that help survival and reproduction become more common over generations

Mutation

a random change in an organism’s genetic material

social script

a set of expected behaviors for a particular situation or social setting

Sensation

How we perceive sensory information around us

sensory receptors

Received from the nervous and sensory system

Perception

Process sensory information in our brain

bottom-up processing

analysis that begins with sensory information and builds toward a complete perception

top-down processing

using our experiences, expectations, and knowledge to interpret sensory information

selective attention

focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus while ignoring others

inattentional blindness

failing to notice something visible because attention is focused elsewhere

change blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment

Transduction

converting sensory information into neural impulses that the brain can understand

psychophysics

the study of relationships between physical stimuli and psychological experiences

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50 percent of the time

signal detection theory

the idea that detecting a stimulus depends on both the stimulus and the person’s experiences, expectations, and motivation

difference threshold

the minimum difference between two stimuli that a person can detect 50 percent of the time

Weber’s law

The amount of percent of a stimulus we are able to detect

sensory adaptation

decreased sensitivity to a constant or unchanging stimulus

Cornea

the clear outer covering of the eye that helps focus incoming light

Pupil

the opening in the center of the iris that allows light into the eye

Iris

the colored part of the eye that controls the size of the pupil

Lens

the transparent structure that focuses light onto the retina

Retina

the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye containing rods and cones

Accommodation

the process of the lens changing shape to focus on objects at different distances

Rods

retinal receptors that detect dim light and movement

Cones

retinal receptors that detect color and fine detail

optic nerve

carries neural impulses from the retina to the brain