1/98
Name | Mastery | Learn | Test | Matching | Spaced |
---|
No study sessions yet.
LTP
Long term potentiation- the ability of our neurons to activate when we recall info that we have already learned.
Epigenetics
The study of how environmental factors can influence gene expression without altering the DNA sequence itself.
Heritability
the amount of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genetics.
Central Nervous System
Brain and spinal cord
Peripheral NS
Brings info to central Nervous system
Somatic NS
The part of the peripheral nervous system responsible for voluntary muscle movements and conveying sensory information to the central nervous system.
Autonomic NS
The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary bodily functions, such as heart rate and digestion.
Sympathetic NS
A division of the autonomic nervous system that prepares the body for stressful or emergency situations, often referred to as the "fight or flight" response. Dialates pupils, decreases digestion
Parasympathetic NS
Calms your body down after a fight or flight response. Does the opposite of sympathetic NS.
Motor Neurons
Nerve cells that transmit signals from the central nervous system to muscles, enabling movement. Motor neurons recieve efferent signals from the brain
Sensory Neurons
Nerve cells that transmit sensory information from the body to the central nervous system, allowing perception of stimuli such as touch, pain, and temperature.
Glial Cells
Support and protect neurons, playing a crucial role in maintaining homeostasis in the nervous system. They also communicate, along with sending and receiving signals from the brain.
Cell Firing Pattern
Dentrite, soma, axon, terminal button, synapse
Synapse
The junction between two neurons where neurotransmitters are released, allowing communication between nerve cells. They are at the end of each terminal button
Myelin Sheath
A protective layer that surrounds the axon of a neuron, facilitating faster transmission of electrical signals.
Excitatory Neurotransmitter
A chemical messenger that increases the likelihood of a neuron firing an action potential, promoting the transmission of signals between neurons.
Inhibitory Neurotransmitter
A chemical messenger that decreases the likelihood of a neuron firing an action potential, inhibiting the transmission of signals between neurons.
Glutamate
The most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter. enhances learning and memory by strengthing synaptic connections.
GABA
Most abundant inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, it plays a crucial role in reducing neuronal excitability and promoting relaxation. Associated with various anxiety disorders, and is the breaks of the CNS
Endorphins
Neurotransmitters that act as natural painkillers and are involved in pleasure and reward.
Seratonin
A neurotransmitter that regulates mood, appetite, and sleep. It is often linked to feelings of well-being and happiness. Low levels are linked to depression
Action Potential
An electrical impulse that travels down the axon.
Reuptake
The sending neurons recollects neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters
Chemical messengers that transmit signals across synapses between neurons, playing a crucial role in communication within the brain and throughout the nervous system. Different from hormones.
Acetylcholine (Ach)
Found in CNS and PNS. Involved in memory, learning, and movement. All movements involve Ach. Diminished Ach is associated with alzheimers.
Dopamine
Linked to the anticipation of pleasureable experiences. Also involved in movement, attention, and learning. Not enough = Parkinsons, too much= Schizophrenia
Ephinephrine (Adrenaline)
Neurotransmitter and hormone. Boosts energy. Primary chemical in the fight or flight response.
Norephinephrine
Arousal, alertness, vigilance. Highened sensitivity to surroundings. Heavily involved in sleep cycle.
Agonists
Drugs or toxins that lock into brain receptors and likely makes that neuron fire. They enhance actions of neurotransmitters
Antagonist
Drugs that block or inhibit some of the neuronal communication taking place. They often bind to receptors but do not inhibit it
Blood brain barrier
A barrier that allows some chemicals to pass from the blood into the brain but prevent other chemical structures from entering
Herion
Against for endorphins
Nicotine
Agonist for Ach- stimulate muscles and causes an increase in heart rate
Prozac
Reuptake inhibitor- inhibits the reuptake of serotonin which causes serotonin to flood the synapse
Cocaine
Inhibits the reuptake of dopamine- Agonist
Botox
Antagonist for Ach. Blocks it from reaching receptors and affected muscles can’t move
Depressants
Depress CNS
Opioids
Agonist for endorphins. Very Addictive. Herion, fentanyl
Stimulants
Psychoactive drug. Activate sympathetic nervous system. Increase brain activity
Hallucinogens
Psychoactive drug. Sensory and perceptive distortions
Medulla
Part of the hindbrain. Basic autonomic functions. Heart rate, breathing, blood pressure. Reflexes include swallowing, sneezing, and vomiting
Pons
Connects the brain stem and cerebellum. Helps coordinate and integrate movements on each side of the body. Also plays a role in sleep function
Reticular activating system (RAS)
A network in nerve fibers involved in attention, arousal, and alertness.
Cerebellum
Helps with balance and equilibrium, coordinated movement sequences, and implicit memory
Midbrain
Nerve system connecting higher and lower portions of the brain.
Limbic system
Consists of the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus
Thalamus
The sensory switchboard. It receives and sorts sensory info then sends it to the cortex for further interpretation. Smell is the only exception.
Hypothalamus
Fight or flight response. Regulates sympathetic and parasympathetic NS. Initiates motivation to eat and lets you know when you’re full. Also contributes to sexual motivation.
Amygdala
Anger, aggression. Involved in fear response and memory, but usually only emotional ones.
Hippocampus
Converts short term memory to long term. Involved in processing and retrieving declarative (facts and events) memory.
Frontal lobe
Prefrontal cortex, motor cortex, Broca’s area
Broca’s area
involved in expressive speech
Motor cortex
involved in initiating involuntary movement. Contralateral (left hemisphere controls right side of the body). Body areas that make diverse and precise movements get more tissue on this strip of the brain.
Prefrontal cortex
Involved in the highest level cognitive functions. Thinking, planning, decision making, and impulse control.
Parietal lobe
Somatosensory cortex. Located near to back and top of the head.
Somatosensory cortex
Strip of tissue that represents your sense of touch. Contralateral.
Temporal lobe
Primary auditory cortex, audio association cortex, werenicke’s area. Located behind the ear.
Primary auditory cortex
main place for audio perception ot occur
Audio association cortex
figures out and names what you are hearing
Werenickes area
Involved in understanding/ comprehending language.
Occipital lobe
Primary visual cortex. Located at the back of the head (Eyes in the back of your head).
Primary visual cortex
main area for vision processing and perception.
Double blind procedure
where neither the proctor or the participants know if they were given the actual drug.
Case Study
Examines one individual or group in depth in the hope of reeling things true to us all.
Ex- brain damage, animal intelligence
Naturalistic observation
A descriptive technique of observing and recording natural behavior and naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation
Survey
A descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group.
Experiment
An investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental processes by random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors
Corpus callosum
A massive bundle of nerves, connecting the two hemispheres and allows communication between the two
EEG
Brain scan technology that measures the electrical activity coming off the brain (wires on head). Can be used to find epilepsy or sleep disorders
fMRI
Shows structure and brain function of brain. Measures changes in oxygen labels as brain areas activate or deactivate.
CT scan
medical imaging technique that uses X-rays to create detailed cross-sectional images of the body, allowing for visualization of internal structures like the brain, providing information about the physical structure of the brain rather than its activity levels
REM sleep
Sleep stage consisting of rapid eye movement. It increases in length as night of sleep, progresses. Vivid dreaming, paralyzed body, and is an essential part of sleep for the mind.
NREM sleep
Non-rapid eye movement stages of sleep. Decreases length as night of sleep, progresses. Vague, partial images and stories. Night terrors, sleepwalking, and sleep talking in NREM 3. Essential part of sleep for the body
Restoration theory of sleep
Our bodies wear out during the day and we use up hormones, neurotransmitters, and energy. Sleep is necessary to restore these resources, and energize the body. Sleep helps restore and repair muscle and brain tissue. Sleep supports growth.
Memory consolidation theory of sleep
Sleep helps, restore and rebuild our memories of the days experiences. Memory consolidation occurs during REM. Sleep deprived, individuals struggle, both physically and cognitively.
Energy conservation theory of sleep
Based on evolutionary approach. Sleep protects us. As animals involved, sleep emerged to preserve energy and protect us during the part of the day when movement and activity are less likely to yield value and I’m more likely to expose it to danger.
Sigmund Freud
Proposed that dreams are the road to the unconscious mind, filled of content that we cannot face in conscious waking life.
Sclera
White part of your eye
Cornea
Front of the eye. Protects.
Lens
(Eyes) Clear, flexible. Bends, depending on what you were looking at.
Iris
Color part of the eye
Rods
Handles black-and-white vision, along with peripheral vision.
Trichromatic
Proposed by Herman Von Helmholtz. Focuses on the eyes. Sensation, objectively, observed and measured. Three types of cones in the retina that each perceive a different hue.
Opponent processing (eyes)
Proposed by Ewald Herring. Focuses on the brain. Perception, no one can independently measure what another person perceives. Does my brain process certain frequencies the same way as other people‘s brains.
Outer Ear
Has the Pinna
Pinna
Thing you put the back of your sunglasses on. It acts like a satellite dish or concert shell to help focus the signal into the ear.
Middle Ear
Has the ear drum
Ear drum
Tympanic membrane. Basically, a drum, air vibrations are carried to it from the air canal. Consists of three bones. The hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup.
Inner ear
Has the cochlea
Cochlea
About the size of a pea. Snail shaped and filled with fluid.
Place theory
The size of the wave depends on how hard stirrup hits the oval window. Where a wave crashes, on the organ of quartile is one way the brain perceives pitch.
Frequency theory
Frequency of signals tells the brain which pitch to interpret
Papilla
your taste buds are on it. Each one has hundreds of taste buds. Each taste has receptors that look for tastant molecules.
Taste receptors
Salty, sour, sweet, bitter, umami
Embodied cognition
The broad idea that the body isn’t just a dumb collector of information. The body works with the brain to help process and digest the amount of data that is happening in your nervous system every second.
Feedback loop
Your body gives your brain info and then your brain tells your body and it adjusts according to the info from the brain
Kinesthetic awareness
Awareness of how your body moves
Independent variable
The thing that you change in an experiment
Dependent variable
The thing that you measure in an experiment