Learn: AP Psychology Unit 2

Heredity

Traits passed from parents through genes

Environmental factors

Outside influences like family, education, and experiences

Evolutionary perspective

Behavior explained by what helped humans survive and reproduce

Eugenics

Trying to control reproduction to produce certain inherited traits

Twin studies

Compare twins to study genes vs. environment

Family studies

Study relatives to see if traits run in families

Adoption studies

Compare adopted children with biological and adoptive families

Stimulants

Drugs that speed up the nervous system

Caffeine

A stimulant that increases alertness

Cocaine

A powerful stimulant that increases energy and alertness

Depressants

Drugs that slow down the nervous system

Alcohol

A depressant that slows brain activity

Hallucinogens

Drugs that change perception and reality

Marijuana

A drug that can change mood, memory, and perception

Opioids

Drugs that reduce pain and can cause relaxation

Heroin

A powerful and addictive opioid

Tolerance

Needing more of a drug to get the same effect

Addiction

Compulsive drug use even when it causes harm

Withdrawal

Unpleasant symptoms after stopping a drug

Brainstem

Controls basic survival functions

Medulla

Controls breathing and heart rate

Reticular activating system

Controls alertness and wakefulness

Cerebellum

Controls balance and coordination

Cerebral cortex

Outer brain area used for thinking and processing

Right hemisphere

Important for spatial and facial recognition

Left hemisphere

Important for language

Limbic system

Controls emotion, memory, and basic drives

Thalamus

Sensory relay station of the brain

Hypothalamus

Controls hunger, thirst, temperature, and basic drives

Pituitary gland

Releases hormones and controls other glands

Hippocampus

Forms new memories

Amygdala

Controls emotions like fear and aggression

Corpus callosum

Connects the left and right brain hemispheres

Frontal lobe

Planning, decision-making, personality, and movement

Motor cortex

Controls voluntary movement

Prefrontal cortex

Controls planning, judgment, and impulse control

Occipital lobe

Processes vision

Temporal lobe

Processes hearing and language

Parietal lobe

Processes touch and body sensations

Somatosensory cortex

Receives touch and body-sensation information

Split-brain research

Studies the two hemispheres when their connection is cut

Broca's area

Helps produce speech

Wernicke's area

Helps understand language

Aphasia

Difficulty speaking or understanding language

Brain plasticity

Brain's ability to change and reorganize

EEG

Records electrical activity in the brain

MRI

Creates detailed pictures of brain structure

Lesion

Damaged or destroyed brain tissue

Central nervous system

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system

All nerves connecting the CNS to the body

Autonomic nervous system

Controls automatic body functions

Somatic nervous system

Controls voluntary movement

Somatic NS and voluntary movement

Allows you to purposely move skeletal muscles

Glial cells

Support, protect, and feed neurons

Reflex arc

Fast automatic response through the spinal cord

Sensory neurons

Carry information from senses to the CNS

Interneurons

Connect neurons inside the CNS

Motor neurons

Carry commands from the CNS to muscles

All-or-nothing principle

A neuron either fires completely or does not fire

Depolarization

The neuron begins firing

Refractory period

Short reset period after a neuron fires

Resting potential

Neuron's normal state when it is not firing

Reuptake

Neurotransmitters are taken back into the sending neuron

Threshold

Minimum stimulation needed for a neuron to fire

Multiple sclerosis

Immune system damages myelin around neurons

Myasthenia gravis

Acetylcholine receptors are attacked, causing muscle weakness

Dopamine

Reward, motivation, and movement

Serotonin

Mood and sleep

Norepinephrine

Alertness and arousal

Glutamate

Main excitatory neurotransmitter; learning and memory

GABA

Main inhibitory neurotransmitter; slows brain activity

Endorphins

Natural painkillers

Substance P

Sends pain signals

Acetylcholine

Muscle movement, learning, and memory

Agonists

Mimic or increase a neurotransmitter's effect

Antagonists

Block a neurotransmitter's effect

Reuptake inhibitors

Block reuptake so more neurotransmitter stays available

Adrenaline

Fight-or-flight hormone

Melatonin

Helps control sleep

Oxytocin

Bonding, childbirth, and lactation

Circadian rhythm

Body's 24-hour biological clock

NREM Stage 1

Lightest stage of sleep

NREM Stage 2

Deeper stage of sleep

NREM Stage 3

Deepest stage of sleep

Hypnagogic sensations

Strange sensations while falling asleep

REM sleep

Stage with rapid eye movements and vivid dreams

REM rebound

Extra REM sleep after being sleep deprived

Dreams

Thoughts and images experienced during sleep

Activation-synthesis

Brain creates a story from random neural activity

Consolidation theory

Sleep helps organize and store memories

Insomnia

Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep

Narcolepsy

Sudden uncontrollable sleep attacks

REM sleep behavior disorder

Physically acting out dreams during REM sleep

Sleep apnea

Breathing repeatedly stops during sleep

Somnambulism

Sleepwalking