Psyc final exam

Central Nervous System (CNS)

consists of the brain and spinal cordPeripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Central Nervous System (CNS)

consists of the brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body

Autonomic nervous system

nerves that connect to the heart, blood vessels, smooth muscles, and glands.

Sympathetic nervous system

branch of the autonomic nervous system that mobilizes the body's resources for emergencies. (fight or flight)

Parasympathetic nervous system

branch of the autonomic nervous system that conserves bodily resources (calming)

Somatic nervous system

nerves that connect to voluntary skeletal muscles and to sensory receptors.

Afferent nerve fibers

axons that carry information inward to the central nervous system from the periphery of the body (sensory input)

Efferent nerve fibers

axons that carry information outward from the central nervous system. (motor output)

Dendrites

structures that gather incoming information from other cells.

Axon

long, thin fiber that transmits signals away from the soma to other neurons or to muscles or glands.

Axon terminals

where chemicals are released by the neuron to influence the activity of other neurons.

Cell body (soma)

contains the nucleus and acts like a tiny factory where proteins and neurotransmitters.

Synapse

a junction where information is transmitted from one neuron to the next.

Myelin Sheath

insulating material, derived from specialized glial cells.; helps speed neural impulses

Resting potential

the state of the neuron when not firing a neural impulse (when the cell is inactive.)

Action potential

a very brief shift in a neuron's electrical charge that travels along an axon.

Synaptic potential

the primary way that neurons communicate with other neurons.

Graded potential

the trigger that takes a neuron from its resting potential to an action potential.

Hyperpolarization

If the cell becomes more negative, an action potential will not occur.

Depolarization

If the cell becomes sufficiently more positive, an action potential may occur.

Absolute refractory period

the minimum length of time after an action potential during which another action potential cannot begin.

Long-term potention

a long-lasting increase in neural excitability in synapses along a specific neural pathway.

Cell assemblies

neurons that fire together wire together

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals that transmit information from one neuron to another

Four properties of neurotransmitters

synthesized in the neuron; stored in the synaptic terminals; released when the neuron has an action potential; deactivated or removed from the synapse when they have completed their task.

Endorphins

Internally produced chemicals that resemble opiates in structure and effects.

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

a major inhibitory neurotransmitter that produces inhibitory postsynaptic potentials

Synaptic transmission help SEND information

Synthesis, Transportation/storage, Release, Binding

Synaptic transmission help BLOCK information

Deactivation, Autoreceptor activation, Reuptake, Degradation

Agonist

a molecule that mimics a neurotransmitter e.g. heroin, oxycodone, and methadone

Antagonist

a molecule that blocks the action of a neurotransmitter e.g. naltrexone and naloxone

How do nerves receive information?

Sensory Receptors (Vision, Tactile, Hearing, Taste, Smell) and Synapses

Hindbrain

helps with vital functions (things that do not require thought)

Midbrain

helps with sensory functions. (controls dopamine release)

Forebrain

The largest and most complicated region of the brain

Frontal lobe

associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving

Parietal lobe

receives sensory input for touch and body position

Occipital lobe

controls visual processing

Temporal lobe

controls hearing and memory

Split-brain research and the resulting brain damage

Individuals who suffer from severe epilepsy are treated by splitting the brain in half; They can become even more productive members of society

Brain lesioning

destroying a piece of the brain. e.g. a stroke

Acquired dyslexia

results from damage to parietal lobe

Developmental dyslexia

difficulties in reading individual words, mostly affects men and left-handed people

Snapshot Brain Imaging

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) (clearer view of different sections of the brain) - Computerized Tomography (CT) (structural changes, locates swelling or bleeding)

Functioning Brain Imaging

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) - Functional MRI (fMRI) -

Electroencephalography (EEG) (measures the brain as a whole, but you don't get an image of the brain)

Pineal gland

secretes melatonin, regulates circadian rhythms, targets many organs

Pituitary gland

secretes many different hormones, some of which affect other glands

Thyroid gland

secretes thyroxin, targets the liver, and controls the metabolic rate

Adrenal glands

secretes adrenaline and cortisol, helps with fight or flight response and anti-stress

Pancreas

secretes insulin and glucagon, targets the liver, and controls the blood sugar levels

Ovaries

secretes estrogen and progesterone, targets the uterus, and controls the menstrual cycle

Testes

secretes testosterone, and controls the male characteristics

Behavioural genetics

the study of the influence of genetic factors on behavior

Genotype

genetic makeup of an organism

Phenotype

observable characteristics

Polygenic traits

characteristics that are influenced by more than one pair of genes. e.g. skin color

Gene-level defects

Huntington's disease (degeneration of nerve cells), Fragile X Syndrome (generational, causes some differences such as learning delays, disabilities, etc.), MAO-A Gene (Warrior gene - changes in behaviour, increasing aggression)

Brain-level defects

Deficits in the neurotransmitters can result in certain disorders or dysregulations; brain damage can create defects

Damage to frontal lobe

leads to change in executive functions (problem solving skills, impulsivity)

Damage to amygdala

a control center for regulating fear. so damage would result in changes in fear response

Hormone-level defects

affects our appearance and mental health

Epigenetics

The study of heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve modifications to the DNA sequence.

Developmental stages

parenting style, environment, trauma

Four categories of parenting style

authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, uninterested

Which area of the brain might account for aphasia

Parietal lobe

Which area of the brain might account for disorientation

parietal lobe

Which area of the brain might account for auditory hallucination

temporal lobe

Which area of the brain might account for blindness

occipital lobe

Which area of the brain might account for emotional dysregulation

frontal lobe

Sensation

the stimulation of sensory organs (touch, scent, visual input,...)

Perception

the selection, organisation, and interpretation of sensory input

Glia

cells found throughout the nervous system and they provide various types of support for neurons.

Thresholds

dividing point between detection or not.

Absolute threshold

a threshold where a signal is detected 50% of the time.

Just noticeable difference

smallest change in intensity you can detect (reaches perception)

Weber's law

magnitude of detectable change proportional to stimulus magnitude.

Door-in-the-face phenomenon

tendency for people who won't agree to a large task, but then agree when a smaller request is made

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

Signal detection theory

The detection of stimuli involves decision processes as well as sensory processes

Decision-making process

attention (selective attention and subliminal processing)

Subliminal processing

the registration of sensory input without conscious awareness

Sensory adaptation

A gradual decline in sensitivity due to prolonged exposure

Influences on Perceptual Sensitivity

Weber's Law, Attention, Sensory Adaptation, Individual Differences - Mental disorder

Bottom-up processing

make sense of sensory input. e,g, puzzle

Top-down processing

Impute meaning from context. (using preconceived notions to make sense of the world) e.g. making sense of typos and misspellings

The Visual Stimulus - Light

Light travels in waves with two important properties, Wavelength, perceived as color, Amplitude, perceived as brightness

Vision problems

Nearsightedness (myopia), Farsightedness (hyperopia), Astigmatism

Receptor cells

rods and cones

Rods

a key role in night and peripheral vision and greatly outnumber cones. black/white, low light

Cones

a key role in day and colour vision and provide greater acuity than rods. e,g, color , daylight

Colour mixing

Subtractive colour mixing removes some light wavelengths, leaving less light. Additive colour mixing works by putting more light in the mixture than any one light.

Trichromatic theory

the eye has three groups of receptors sensitive to wavelengths associated with red, green, and blue. (cones for red, blue and green)

Colour blindness

processing error in one or more cones (red, blue, or green)

Opponent Process theory

receptors make antagonistic responses to three pairs of colours. (Red/green, blue/yellow, black/white ganglion cells)

Binocular depth cues

clues about distance based on the differing views of the two eyes.

Retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance—the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.

Convergence

A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object

Monocular depth cues

clues about distance based on the image in either eye alone.