AP Psych Unit 1.1-1.4 Test

Psychology

Psychology aims to understand how our inherited traits (nature) and our surroundings (nurture) work together to make us who we are.

Nature

genetic

Nurture

(environment) - every non-genetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people/things around us

Evolutionary Perspective

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind using principles of natural selection

Think: our genes predispose us to act in ways that enhance our chance of surviving and reproducing

Natural Selection

evolutionary process through which adaptive traits are passed on to ongoing generations because these traits help animals survive & reproduce

Individuals with favorable traits reproduce and those traits become more abundant

Less favorable traits diminish

Adoption Studies

Adoption studies suggest that adoptees' personality traits tend to be more similar to their biological parents than to their adoptive parents.

Adoptive parents do influence their children's attitudes, values, manners, faith, politics.

Mutations

a random error in gene replication that leads to a change

Heredity

the transmission of traits from one generation to the next

Genes

DNA segments that serve as the key functional units in hereditary transmission.

Genome

the complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism's chromosomes

Eugenics

the discredited idea of improving the genetic composition of a population through selective breeding

Early 20th century movements aimed to control who could reproduce based on flawed ideas of "desirable" traits (associated with Nazi Germany and genocides)

Identical (Monozygotic) Twins

Develop from a single fertilized egg that splits into two (the two eggs are genetically identical).

Fraternal (Dizygotic) Twins

Develop from separate fertilized eggs.

Share a fetal environment, but are no more similar than any other pair of siblings.

Interaction

We are the product of the interaction between our genetic PREDISPOSITIONS and our surrounding environments.

Genes react to the environment, and environments trigger gene activity.

Epigenetics

The study of the molecular mechanisms by which environments can influence the expression of genes (without a DNA change)

Nervous System

The body's speedy, electrochemical communication system.

Consists of all of our nerve cells (neurons)

Comprised of two different systems:

Central Nervous System

Brain & Spinal Cord

peripheral nervous system

All Other Nerves

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

Reflex arc

A relatively direct connection between a sensory neuron and a motor neuron that allows an extremely rapid response to a stimulus, often without conscious brain involvement.

Autonomic Nervous System

a part of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary body functions like heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion

Includes sympathetic and para sympathetic

Sympathetic Nervous System

Fight or Flight: Sympathetic

Speeds things up

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Rest & Digest: Parasympathetic

Pumps the brakes

somatic nervous system

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles

Neurons

3 jobs: Receive, Carry, Pass on to the next neuron these are electrochemical info

Cell Body

Life support center of the neuron

Dendrites

Branching extensions that receive messages from other neurons

Axon

Long extension of a neuron that sends action potential from cell body to terminal branches; covered in myelin

Terminal branches: Branched endings of an axon that transmit messages to other neurons

Myelin

Insulating fatty tissue that encases the axon and promotes efficient transmission of the neural impulse; composed of glial cells

Synapse

a gap between the axon terminal of the sending neuron and the dendrite of the receiving neuron

Neurotransmitters are sent across the synaptic gap (synaptic cleft) into receptor sites on the dendrites of the receiving neuron

Glial Cells

(support, nourish, protect neurons) Make up the Myelin

Sensory Neurons

SENSORY NEURONS carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the CNS (spinal cord and brain)

Motor Neurons

MOTOR NEURONS carry outgoing information from the CNS to muscles and glands

Interneurons

INTERNEURONS process information within the CNS (brain and spinal cord) connect motor and sensory neurons to create reflex arc

Action Potential

A neural impulse.

A brief electrical charge that travels "DAT way" down an axon

The neuron is DEPOLARIZED (positive ions have entered the axon)

All-or-Nothing Principle

A neuron either fires or it does not

When it does fire, it will always produce an impulse of the same strength (the frequency of action potential in individual neurons determines its intensity)

Depolarization

(positive ions have entered the axon)

Reuptake

Neurotransmitters in the synapse are reabsorbed into the sending neurons

Puts the brakes on neurotransmitter action

Multiple Sclerosis

Deterioration of Myelin Sheath

Vision

Movement

Cognition

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers (over 100 types!)

released from the sending neuron

travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron

influence neuron to generate an action potential (excitatory neurotransmitters) or not (inhibitory neurotransmitters)

Acetylcholine

Enables muscle action, learning, and memory

Undersupply linked to Alzheimer's disease, Myasthenia Gravis; paralysis

Serotonin

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

Undersupply linked to depression, anxiety, sleep problems

Dopamine

Influences voluntary movement, learning, attention, emotion, and reward

Undersupply linked to Parkinson's, tremors

Oversupply linked to schizophrenia

Norepinephrine

Helps control alertness and arousal; Fight or flight

Undersupply linked to depression, sleep problems

Oversupply linked to anxiety/mania

GABA

Inhibitory neurotransmitter; natural tranquilizer involved in calming you down

Undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia

Glutamate

Excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory

Undersupply linked to concentration problems

Oversupply linked to seizures and migraines

Endorphins

Influence the perception of pain and pleasure; "runners high"

Undersupply linked to depression (and opioids)

Oversupply can make people anxious/wired

Substance P

Pain transmission

Undersupply linked with pain insensitivity

Oversupply linked to chronic pain

Hormones

Chemical messengers that are manufactured by endocrine glands; travel through blood stream and affect other tissues

Leptin

A hormone produced by adipose (fat) cells that acts as a satiety factor in regulating appetite.

Melatonin

A hormone manufactured by the pineal gland that produces sleepiness.

Refractory Period

After a neuron fires an action potential, it pauses for a short period to recharge itself to fire again

Resting Potential

Neuron is not transmitting information (it's not firing, it's resting)

At this stage the neuron is said to be 'POLARIZED'

Threshold

Initiated by the stimulation of receptor sites by neurotransmitters; threshold = minimum intensity needed to fire

Myasthenia Gravis

Acetylcholine is Blocked

effects: Muscles Speech

Inhibitory Neurotransmitters

signals that are telling the neuron not to fire

excitatory neurotransmitters

Signal the neuron to fire, there are also inhibatory but when it meets threshold of ecitatory it fires

Endocrine System

Your body's "slow" chemical communication system

Set of glands and tissues that secrete hormones into your bloodstream

Adrenaline

a vital hormone and neurotransmitter produced by the adrenal glands that triggers the body's acute fight-or-flight response during stressful or dangerous situations

Ghrelin

a hormone mainly produced by the stomach that stimulates appetite, increases food intake, and promotes fat storage

Oxytocin

produced in the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland that drives uterine contractions during labor, enables milk ejection during breastfeeding, and fosters social bonding

Psychoactive Drugs

a chemical substance that alters the brain, causing changes in perceptions and moods

In other words, it affects consciousness (awareness of ourselves and our environment)

Antagonist

drugs that decrease a neurotransmitter's action

Blocks the neurotransmitter

Stimulants

drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions

Caffeine

Signals the brain to produce adrenaline and release dopamine

Acts as an antagonist of adenosine (an inhibitory neurotransmitter that depresses the nervous system and suppresses arousal)

Cocaine

Prompts the release of dopamine

Decreases dopamine activity long term (even after discontinued use), making it hard to experience pleasure w/o cocaine

Stimulant during the high but after depression, agitation, anxiety

Ecstasy

Stimulant and halucigen

Prompts massive release of serotonin:

feelings of euphoria and social connection followed by a comedown

meth

stimulant

Opioids

Slows heart rate and breathing

Drops blood pressure

Mimics effects of endorphins in the brain and acts directly on the brain's opioid receptors

Decreases brain's production of endorphins

Heroin

Type of opioid

Addiction

a powerful craving for and compulsive use of a drug, despite its negative consequences

Removal of the drug may lead to a feeling of physical pain, intense cravings, and negative emotions (withdrawal)

Agonist

drugs that increase a neurotransmitter's action

Mimics the neurotransmitter or blocks its reuptake (reuptake inhibitors)

Reuptake Inhibitor

one way how Agonists drugs work by stoping the neurotransmitters from being reuptake

Depressants

drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

Opioids - depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety

Barbiturates

drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment

Alcohol

Triggers release of dopamine and mimics GABA

depressant

Hallucinogens

psychedelic (mind-manifesting) drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input

Marijuana

Contains mind-altering chemical tetrahydricannabinol (THC)

Prompts release of dopamine: Regular, heavy-users show decreased dopamine reactivity

LSD

"acid," is a powerful synthetic hallucinogenic drug

Tolerance

with regular use of a drug, reaction to that drug is increasingly reduced, requiring a greater quantity to achieve the desired effect

The body (and brain) gets used to receiving regular doses

Withdrawal

the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing an addictive drug or behavior

neurogenesis

The brain sometimes mends itself by forming new neurons

promoted by exercise, sleep, and stimulating environments

Brain Plasticity (neuroplasticity)

the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new neural pathways based on experience

Experiences, repetition, and practice strengthens neural connections

EEG

Electrodes placed on the scalp measure electrical activity in neurons; EEG is an amplified recording of brain waves on the brain's surface

MRI

People sit or lie down in a chamber that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to provide a map of brain structure; Reveals ventricles (fluid filled areas)

CT

PET

Tracks where a temporarily radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain of the person given it performs a given task

fMRI

Measures blood flow to brain regions by comparing continuous MRI scans; Blood flow suggests where brain is active; fMRI reveals both brain structure and function

Lesions

Destroying brain tissue to see the effects on brain function and behavior; Lesions can occur from disease/trauma, or selectively during a surgery or experiment

Damage to one area of a rat's hypothalamus reduces eating to the point of starvation; damage to another produces overeating

Brain Stem

Begins where spinal cord swells as it enters skull (brain's innermost region)

Where nerves cross to opposite side of brain

Automatic Survival Functions

Medulla Oblongata

Base of brainstem

Controls heartbeat and breathing

Reticular Activating System (Reticular Formation)

Nerve network inside brainstem

Filters incoming sensory stimuli as it travels up to thalamus

Controls arousal/alertness

Cerebellum

"Little brain" located at rear of brainstem

Functions:

Processes sensory input

Coordinates movement and balance

Nonverbal learning and procedural memory (skills)

Cerebral Cortex

The brain's wrinkly surface

Intricate fabric of interconnected neurons that cover the brain's two hemispheres

Separated into two halves (hemispheres) that control the opposite sides of the body

Responsible for higher level information processing

Divided into four lobes

Limbic System

Amygdala, Hypothalamus, Hippocampus:

in charge of Emotions, Drives, Memory

Thalamus

Egg shaped structures on top of brainstem

Functions:

Brain's sensory control center ("switchboard")

Receives info from all senses except smell

Routes sensory info to brain regions and sends replies to medulla and cerebellum

Hypothalamus

"Hypo" = below (the thalamus)

Keeps body regulated (homeostasis) and monitors "drives": hunger, thirst, body temperature, sexual behavior

Communicates with the endocrine system (pituitary gland) and secretes hormones

Reward centers

Pituitary Gland

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

Hippocampus

Processes explicit memories (facts/events) for storage

Amygdala

Two lima bean sized neural clusters

Emotion, especially fear and anger/aggression

Corpus Callosum

the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.