AP Psych Unit 3

Franz Hall

Hall was a German physician from the early 1800's. He was the first person to introduce the idea of phrenology (study of bumps on the skull).

phrenology

study of bumps on the skull - could reveal a person's mental abilities and character traits.

localization of function

the idea that various brain regions have particular functions.

Biological Psychology

・The body is composed of cells

・nerve cells conduct electricity and "talk" to one another by sending chemical messages across a tiny gap that separate them.

・Specific brain systems serve specific functions

・We break down the information to construct our experience of sights and sounds, meanings and memories, pain and passion.

neuron

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

dendrites

a neurons bushy branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body.

axon

the neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands.

myelin sheath

a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables faster transmission speed

acion potential

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down the axon

resting potential

when there is a negative charge inside an axon and a positive charge outside it

refractory period

a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired

threshold

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

all-or-nothing response

a neuron's reaction of either firing or not firing

synapse

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

Synaptic gap

neurotransmitters

chemical messages that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

reuptake

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neurn

Acetylcholine

enables muscle action, learning, and memory

Dopamine

influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

Serotonin

affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

Norepinephrine

helps control alertness and arousal

GABA

a major inhibitory neurotransmitter - inhibits CNS activity in order to calm a person down during a stressful situation

Glutamate

a major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memeory

endorphines

"morphine within" - linked to pain control and to pleasure

agonists

a molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, stimulates a response

antagonists

a molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, inhibits or blocks a response

nervous system

the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system

sensory neuron

carry messages from the body's tissue and sensory receptors inward to brain and glands

motor neuron

carry instuctions from central nervous system out to the body's muscles and glands

interneurons

neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

somatic nervous system (peripheral nervous system)

controls the body's skeletal muscles

autonomic nervous system (peripheral nervous system)

controls glands and the muscles of our internal organs

sympathetic nervous system (peripheral nervous system)

arouses the body mobilizing it's energy into stressful situations

parasympathetic (peripheral nervous system)

calms down the body, conserving energy

brain and spinal cord

parts of the Central Nervous System

reflex

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

endocrine

the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

hormones

chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissues

adrenal gland

a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormonesthat help arouse the body in times of stress

pituitary gland

the endocrine system's most influential gland; under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth, and controls other endocrine glands

EEG (Electroencephalogram)

amplified recordings of electrical activity across the brain

CT (Computed Tomography Scan)

composite representation of the brain's structure

PET (Positron Emission Tomography Scan)

detection of brain activity following the trail of radioactive glucose while the brain is doing a task

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

Shows brain anatomy and soft tissues (X-Ray for the brain)

fMRI (Functional MRI)

Shows brain activity (more detailed MRI)

brainstem & medulla

・controls automatic survival functioning (central core of brain; Oldest part)

・controls heartbeat and breathing (base of brainstem)

pons

helps coordinate movemet

thalamus

sensory control center (receives all senses but smell)

reticular formation

a nerve network that travels through the brainstem and the thalamus and plays an important role in controlling arousal

cerebellum

preocces sesnory inpit, coordinsting movement output and balance, and enables nonverbal learning and memory

limbic system

neural system below the two halves of the brain; associated with emotion and drives (cerebral hemispheres)

amygdala

makes you angry or scared (two lima-bean neural clusters in the limbic system)

hypothalamus

controls maintenance, hormones, and emotion (neural structure below the thalamus)

cerebrum

the hemisphere that contributes 85% of the brains body weight

cerebral cortex

thin surface layer of interconnected neural cells

cortex

looks like and oversized walnut

glial cell

"give cells" or workers for the neurons

・provide nutrients

・guide neural connections

・mop up ions and neurotransmitters

・communicates with neurons and participates in the info transmission and memory

frontal lobe

speaking and muscle movement in making plans and judgements

parietal lobe

movement

occipital lobe

vision and face recognition

temporal lobe

auditory areas receiving information from the ears

motor cortex

controls voluntary movement

brain-computer interface

in the spinal cord and uses robotic movement

cognitive neural prothetics

robots with thoughts for paralyzed/amputated people

sensory functions

registers and processes body sensations

association areas

neurons are busy with higher mental tasks

prefrontal cortex

enables judgement, planning, and processing new memories

bronca's area

speaking ability

wernicke's area

understanding ability

plasticity

the brains ability to modify itself after damage

neurogenesis

formation of new neurons

corpus callosum

connects the two brain hemispheres and carries messages between them

left brain specializes in...

making logical dicisions, speaking, and calculating

right brain specializes in...

excels in making infrences, helps us to modulate our speech, and help to orchestrate our sense of self

consciousness

our awareness of ourselves and our enviroment

cognitive neuroscience

the interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with cognition

dual processing

the principle that information is often simotaneously processed on seperate concious and unconcious tracks

heritability

proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes

epigenetics

study of environmental influences on gene expression that occurs with out DNA damage

What doesn't it mean to have a split brain?

When a person has two separate minds, and can work both hemispheres simultaneously.