AP Pysch Unit 1

Frontal lobe

Controls planning, judgment, decision-making, personality, impulse control, and voluntary movement.

Parietal lobe

Processes touch and body-position information.

Temporal lobe

Processes hearing and contributes to language processing.

Occipital lobe

Processes vision.

Limbic system

Brain system involved in emotion, motivation, and memory.

Hippocampus

Helps form and process new explicit memories and supports learning and spatial memory.

Amygdala

Processes emotions, especially fear and aggression.

Hypothalamus

Regulates hunger, thirst, body temperature, reward, and endocrine activity; helps maintain homeostasis.

Thalamus

Sensory relay station that sends most incoming sensory information to the appropriate areas of the cortex.

Corpus callosum

Large bundle of nerve fibers connecting the left and right cerebral hemispheres.

Brainstem

Controls basic automatic survival functions and connects the brain with the spinal cord.

Medulla

Controls vital automatic functions including heartbeat and breathing.

Pons

Helps coordinate movement and sleep.

Cerebellum

Coordinates balance, fine movement, motor control, and contributes to nonverbal learning and memory.

Reticular formation

Helps control arousal, alertness, and attention.

Association areas

Areas of the cerebral cortex involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.

Pituitary gland

Endocrine gland controlled by the hypothalamus that releases hormones affecting growth and other endocrine glands.

Pineal gland

Releases melatonin and helps regulate sleep and circadian rhythms.

Central nervous system (CNS)

The brain and spinal cord.

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body.

Somatic nervous system

Controls voluntary skeletal-muscle movement and carries sensory information.

Autonomic nervous system

Controls involuntary functions of internal organs and glands.

Sympathetic nervous system

Arouses the body during stress and prepares it for fight or flight.

Parasympathetic nervous system

Calms the body, conserves energy, and supports rest and digestion.

Sensory neurons (afferent neurons)

Carry incoming information from sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord.

Motor neurons (efferent neurons)

Carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands.

Interneurons

Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that process information and connect sensory and motor neurons.

Dendrites

Branching neuron structures that receive incoming messages and carry them toward the cell body.

Axon

The part of a neuron that carries neural impulses away from the cell body.

Myelin sheath

Fatty covering around an axon that insulates it and speeds neural transmission.

Synapse / synaptic cleft

The tiny gap between a sending neuron and receiving cell across which neurotransmitters travel.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers released by neurons that cross the synapse and affect another cell.

Resting potential

The neuron's stable, negatively charged state when it is not firing.

Threshold

The minimum level of stimulation needed to trigger an action potential.

Action potential

A brief electrical impulse that travels down an axon.

All-or-none response

A neuron either fires a complete action potential once threshold is reached or does not fire.

Refractory period

A brief period after an action potential when the neuron resets before it can fire normally again.

Excitatory neurotransmitter/input

Makes the receiving neuron more likely to fire an action potential.

Inhibitory neurotransmitter/input

Makes the receiving neuron less likely to fire an action potential.

Reuptake

The process in which the sending neuron reabsorbs neurotransmitters from the synaptic gap.

Agonist

A chemical that mimics a neurotransmitter or increases its effects.

Antagonist

A chemical that blocks or decreases a neurotransmitter's effects.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Neurotransmitter involved in muscle action, learning, and memory.

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter involved in movement, learning, attention, emotion, and reward.

Serotonin

Neurotransmitter involved in mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal.

Norepinephrine

Neurotransmitter involved in alertness and arousal.

GABA

The major inhibitory neurotransmitter that reduces neural activity.

Glutamate

The major excitatory neurotransmitter and an important neurotransmitter for memory.

Endorphins

Natural neurotransmitters involved in pain relief and pleasure.

Oxytocin

Hormone involved in social bonding and attachment, uterine contractions, and milk release.

Alcohol

A depressant that slows central nervous system activity and can reduce inhibitions and impair judgment, memory, and coordination.

Opioids

Depressants that produce pain relief and euphoria and can cause dependence and depressed breathing.

Nicotine

A stimulant that increases arousal and alertness and is highly addictive.

Cocaine

A stimulant that produces a brief rush of euphoria, energy, and confidence.

Caffeine

A stimulant that increases alertness and energy.

Ecstasy / MDMA

A stimulant with mild hallucinogenic effects that can produce euphoria and emotional closeness.

Marijuana / THC

A mild hallucinogen that can produce relaxation and altered perception while impairing memory, coordination, judgment, and reaction time.

Nature vs. nurture

The study of how genetic influences and environmental experiences interact to shape behavior and mental processes.

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to change and reorganize by forming new neural connections in response to experience, learning, or damage.

Biopsychosocial approach

Explains behavior and mental processes through interacting biological, psychological, and social-cultural influences.