Introduction to Psychology: Foundations, Neurobiology, and Brain Organization

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the major concepts, theories, anatomical structures, and neurological conditions discussed in the introductory psychology lecture.

Structuralism

Defined as the science of the mind, studied through the elements of conscious thought. Separated psychology from physiology. Introduced by Wilhelm Wundt in 1879 alongside Edward Titchener

Introspection

Associated with structuralism, the method of looking inward to examine the contents of conscious thought (which failed as objective scientific evidence because researchers disagreed on whether thoughts required images)

Behaviorism

The school of psychology founded by John Watson in 1913 arguing that psychology must be an observable science focused strictly on behavior rather than the unobservable mind.

Cognitivism

The science of mind and behavior popularized in 1967 by Ulric Neisser, conceptualizing mental processing using a computer analogy where the mind is software and the brain is hardware.

Nativism

The position paired with rationalism stating that humans are born with innate knowledge and natural evolutionary instincts.

Empiricism

The view that all knowledge originates from experience and nurture, proposing that humans are born as a clean slate or 'tabula rasa.'

Rationalism

The approach to knowledge that emphasizes logic, reasoning, inference, and the mental manipulation of concepts and ideas.

Associationism

The principle that learning occurs by linking and connecting past events and experiences together to produce knowledge or outcomes.

Dualism

René Descartes' perspective on the mind-body problem proposing that the universe consists of two interacting components: the physical body and the nonphysical mind or soul.

Materialism

Everything in the world is physical, meaning thoughts are physical electrical signals within the brain.

Animate Motion

Movement occurring without an external force applied to it—things moving around on their own—which is accounted for by psychology rather than physics or biology.

Locomotion

Coordinated movements of the body designed to fulfill goals using environmental perception.

Reflex

An automatic movement produced as the direct mechanical result of a stimulus, occurring without conscious thought from the frontal cortex.

Soma (Cell Body)

The largest component and central part of a neuron that contains the nucleus.

Dendrites

Branch-like projections of a neuron that receive input from presynaptic neurons.

Axon

The neuronal extension that conducts action potentials away from the cell body toward axon terminals.

Myelin Sheath

A fatty insulating layer surrounding the axon that accelerates signal transmission by allowing electrical impulses to jump between non-insulated gaps.

Nodes of Ranvier

Breaks in the myelin sheath along the axon where the exchange of ions occurs during action potential propagation.

Multiple Sclerosis

An autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks and degrades the myelin sheath (demyelination), disrupting action potential conduction.

Resting State

The baseline electrical charge of a neuron at $-70\,\text{mV}$, characterized by more $\text{Na}^+$ ions outside and an overall negative charge inside relative to the outside.

Threshold of Excitation

The membrane potential of $-55\,\text{mV}$ that, once reached, inevitably catapults the neuron into firing an action potential.

Depolarization

The phase of the action potential where $\text{Na}^+$ rushes rapidly into the neuron, shifting its internal charge from negative to a peak of $+40\,\text{mV}$.

Repolarization

The phase where potassium ($\text{K}^+$) ions rapidly flood out of the neuron to restore internal negativity, momentarily overshooting the resting potential (hyperpolarization).

Sodium-Potassium Pump

A cellular mechanism that restores resting potential by pumping potassium ($\text{K}^+$) back inside the neuron and sodium ($\text{Na}^+$) back outside.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical substances that send signals to the next neuron

Reuptake

The reabsorption of released neurotransmitters back into the presynaptic neuron so they can be recycled rather than firing continuously.

SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)

Antidepressant medications that block the reuptake of serotonin, prolonging its availability in the synaptic cleft.

Temporal Summation

The additive effect of sub-threshold stimuli applied repeatedly at the same spatial location over time until a threshold is reached.

Spatial Summation

The additive effect of multiple sub-threshold stimuli applied simultaneously across different physical locations to trigger a neural response.

Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential (EPSP)

A positive change in postsynaptic voltage caused by an influx of $\text{Na}^+$, making the neuron more likely to fire an action potential.

Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potential (IPSP)

A hyperpolarizing change in postsynaptic voltage caused by $\text{K}^+$ exiting or $\text{Cl}^-$ entering, making the neuron less likely to fire.

Reciprocal Inhibition

The neural coordination mechanism where the activation of one movement tendency automatically inhibits its opposing counterpart (e.g., biceps flexion inhibiting triceps extension).

Disinhibition

The removal of normal inhibitory control, resulting in unchecked behavior or reflex execution.

Medulla

The hindbrain structure continuous with the spinal column responsible for autonomic vegetative functions such as regulating heart rate, respiration, and blood circulation.

Pons

The hindbrain structure that coordinates facial expressions, arousal, and alertness.

Cerebellum

The hindbrain structure responsible for smoothing out fine motor movements and coordinating physical balance.

Neuroplasticity

The capacity of the brain to adapt, reorganize, and allow undamaged regions to assume functions formerly performed by damaged areas.

Superior Colliculus

A midbrain structure involved in orienting eye movements and visual attention toward environmental stimuli.

Substantia Nigra

A midbrain nucleus that synthesizes dopamine and sends it to the basal ganglia to facilitate movement control.

Thalamus

The forebrain relay hub that directs incoming sensory and motor signals to their designated cortical processing regions.

Hypothalamus

The forebrain structure regulating homeostatic needs and primary biological drives, including temperature, hunger, thirst, and sexual behavior.

Basal Ganglia

Forebrain structures that regulate smooth, voluntary movements by disinhibiting ('releasing the brakes on') muscle contractions using dopamine.

Parkinson’s Disease

A neurological disorder resulting from the death of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra, leading to tremors, muscle rigidity, and slow movement.

Corpus Callosum

A dense band of commissural neural fibers connecting the left and right cerebral hemispheres, enabling interhemispheric communication.

Contralateral Control

The part of the brain where each cerebral hemisphere processes inputs and controls motor functions of the opposite side of the body.

Frontal Lobe

The anterior cerebral lobe responsible for motor planning, social behavior, moral reasoning, and speech production.

Parietal Lobe

Your sense of touch, located at the top of the brain housing the somatosensory cortex

Occipital Lobe

The posterior cerebral lobe containing the primary visual cortex, dedicated to processing visual information.

Temporal Lobe

The lateral cerebral lobe responsible for auditory perception, memory, and language comprehension.

Limbic System

A subcortical network integrating emotion (via the amygdala) and memory processing (via the hippocampus).

Sympathetic Nervous System

The autonomic branch governs 'fight or flight' emergency responses, mobilizing energy by elevating heart rate, , and inhibiting the paraysmpathetic ns.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

The autonomic branch promoting 'rest and digest' states, conserving energy by slowing heart rate and constricting bronchi.

Grey Matter

Brain tissue primarily composed of neuronal cell bodies that conduct localized information processing.

White Matter

Brain tissue primarily composed of myelinated axons specialized for transmitting signals across longer distances.

Apraxia

A motor impairment ('not doing') caused by damage to the frontal lobe anterior to the motor cortex, marked by the inability to organize motor sequences.

Agnosia

A sensory deficit ('not knowing') characterized by the inability to recognize or comprehend the meaning of perceived sensory input.

Visual Agnosia

A condition resulting from occipital damage where an individual can perceive and describe visual attributes of an object without recognizing what it is.

Hemispatial Neglect

A neurological syndrome caused by right parietal lobe damage leading to a complete lack of awareness or attention toward the left side of space or body.

Broca’s Aphasia

An expressive language disorder caused by damage to Broca’s area in the left frontal lobe, characterized by severe difficulty producing speech despite preserved comprehension.

Wernicke’s Aphasia

A receptive language disorder caused by damage to Wernicke’s area in the left temporal lobe, characterized by fluent but meaningless speech and impaired language comprehension.