AP Psych Unit 1 Part 1 Brain Parts

Central Nervous System

brain and spinal cord, sends info to and from the brain and the PNS

Peripheral Nervous System

carries information to and from the CNS, consists of the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system

Autonomic Nervous System

sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, involuntary

Somatic Nervous System

sensory neurons and motor neurons, Voluntary, Sends info to CNS

Spinal Cord

part of the CNS, sends information to and from the brain and PNS

Sympathetic NS

arouses body to expend energy

Parasympathetic NS

Calms down our nervous system to conserve and maintain energy

Limbic System

emotions, complex motives, increased memory abilities, located in the forebrain (amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus, thalamus, and pituitary gland)

Cerebrum

Enables reasoning, planning, creating, problem solving

Brainstem

drive vital automatic survival functions, the central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull

Cerebellum

"Drive vital functions; processing sensory input, COORDINATING movement output and BALANCE, enables nonverbal learning and MEMORY (the hindbrain's ""little brain"" @ rear of the brainstem)"

Thalamus

the brain’s sensory control center, receives info from all the senses EXCEPT SMELL, routes info for seeing, hearing, tasting, and touching to medulla and cerebellum

Pons

helps coordinate movement and control sleep

Medulla

controls heartbeat and breathing, the brainstem’s base

Hypothalamus

"contains maintenance functions such as eating; govern endocrine system, linked to emotion and reward, serves as the brain's blood-testing laboratory, constantly monitors blood to determine the condition of the body, helps maintain overall homeostasis"

Amygdala

involved in memory and emotion, fear and aggression

Hippocampus

involved in establishing long-term memories, processing conscious memories of facts and events for storage

Cerebral Cortex

ultimate control and info-processing center, thin gray-matter covering of the cerebrum

Corpus Callosum

ultimate control and info-processing center, thin gray-matter covering of the cerebrum

Frontal Lobes

linguistic processing, muscle MOVEMENTS, higher-order THINKING, executive functioning such as plans and judgements

Parietal Lobes

receives sensory input for touch sensation and spacial relationships

Occipital Lobes

areas that receive info from the visual fields, contains the VISUAL CORTEX

Temporal Lobes

auditory areas which receives info from opposite ears to process sounds and language/speech processing

Association Areas

cortical regions that combine info from other parts of the brain that are NOT involved in primary motor/sensory functions, but higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking

Reticular Formation

filters stimuli and information and affects arousal

Endocrine System

"the body's ""slow"" communication system, a set of glands and fat tissue that secrete hormones into the bloodstream"

Hormones

chemicals messages manufactured by endocrine glands and secreted into the bloodstream, producing bodily changes/maintaining normal bodily functions

Pituitary Gland

controlled by hypothalamus, releases; growth hormones for physical development, oxytocin, it is the MAESTRO gland (lactation and height)

Oxytocin

hormone that enables orgasm, labor contractions, lactation, and aids social support

Pineal Gland

Regulates sleep cycle and body rhythms, secretes Melatonin, disregulation in Seasonal Affective Disorder

Thyroid Gland/Parathyroid Gland

Controls metabolism, regulates calcium in the blood, secretes Thyroxine, dysregulates slow/fast metabolism

Adrenal Gland

Fight-or-flight response, arousal, secretes; Epinephrine (Adrenaline), Norepinephrine, Cortisol, dysregulates immune system if too much SNS

Endocrine Glands

secrete hormones into bloodstream

Pancreas

Controls blood sugar levels, secretes Insulin and Glucagon, dysregulates Diabetes and Obesity

Gonads: Testes and Ovaries

Sexual reproductions, secretes testosterone and estrogen

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers released by terminal buttons that relay messages across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron

Inhibitory Transmitters

Send signals to calm the brain

Excitatory Transmitters

Send messages to stimulate the brain

Acetylcholine

Enables learning, memory, and movement; lack = Alzheimer’s and Paralysis, excess = muscle convulsions

Dopamine

Pleasure, reward, VOLUNTARY movement, learning and attention, can lead to drug addiction; lack = Parkinson’s, excess = schizophrenia

Serotonin

Mood, hunger, sleep and arousal; lack = depression and eating disorders, there are serotonin medications for this

Norepinephrine

Mood and sleep; lack = depression, excess = anxiety

GABA

Major inhibitor, relaxation and sleep; lack = anxiety disorders, seizures and insomnia

Glutamate

Major excitatory involved in memory and learning; excess = migraines and seizures b/c of brain overstimulation

Endorphins

Influences the perception of pain (inhibits) or pleasure (regulates); lack = lower pain thresholds and oversupply of opioid drugs can suppress natural supply

Agonists

Mimic or enhance a neurotransmitter’s effect

Antagonists

Inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter’s effect, blocks reuptake

Psychoactive Drug

Chemical substance that alters the brain, causing changes in perceptions and moods by influencing the nervous system

Depressants

Drugs such as alcohol, barbiturates (tranqs), and opioids that calm neural activity and slow body functions

Alcohol

Acts as an ANTAGONIST to glutamate receptors and PREVENTS it from exciting the cell, causing slow neural processing reactions and deteriorates skilled performance

Barbiturate

Reduces anxiety by DEPRESSING nervous system activity but impairs memory and judgement, lethal when combined with alcohol (ex. Nembutal, sleeping drugs)

Stimulants

Drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions by increasing activity and responsiveness of the CNS, blocks reuptake of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin and remain in the synapse (Caffeine, Nic, Amphetamine, Meth, Crack, Ecstasy)

Opioids

"Depress neural activity and temporarily lessen pain and anxiety, altered state of consciousness and euphoria, mimics brain's chemicals to control mood and pain, highly addictive and severe withdrawal (Morphine, Heroin, Codeine)"

Hallucinogens

Psychedelic drugs that distort perceptions and sensory images, LSD, PCP, Marijuana

Neurogenesis

The formation of new neurons

Nerves

electrical cables formed from bundles of axons that link the CNS with the body’s sensory receptors, muscles, and glands

Neuron

the basic building block of the nervous system

Sensory (Afferent) Neurons

neurons that carry incoming info FROM the body’s tissues and sensory receptors TO the brain and spinal cord

Motor (Efferent) Neurons

neurons that carry info FROM the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

Interneurons

neurons in the brain and spinal cord that relay messages between sensory inputs and motor outputs

Glial Cells

fatty cells that support, nourish, and protect neurons; may play a role in learning, thinking, and memory

Synapse

the meeting point between neurons, the junction between the axon tip and the dendrites or cell body

Myelin Sheath

a fatty tissue layer that protects the axon for faster transmission of the message/impulses

Soma (Cell Body)

the part of a neuron that contains the nucleus; the cell-life’s support center were the information and is processed

Dendrites

the message receptor site, conducts impulses toward the cell body

Resting Potential

positive-outside, negative-inside state, electric potential across the membrane when the neuron is not stimulated

All-or-nothing

either the neurons fire or they don’t

Action Potential

a neural impulse, a brief, positive electrical charge that travels down an axon

Reuptake

the reabsorption of a neurotransmitter by a sending neuron (antidepressants block this)

Threshold

The minimum intensity/level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Depolarization

The loss of the inside/outside charge difference, causing the next section of axon channels to open

Refractory Period

minimum length of time after an action potential during which another action potential cannot begin (1-2 millisecs), the delay before the next neural firing

Hindbrain

contains brainstem structures that direct essential survival functions (medulla, pons, and cerebellum)

Midbrain

Atop the brainstem and connects the forebrain with the hindbrain, controls movement and transmits info that enables seeing and hearing

Forebrain

Manages complex cognitive activities, sensory and associative functions, and voluntary motor activities (cerebral cortex, thalamus, and hypothalamus)

Genome

biochemical units of heredity

Behavior Genetics

the study of the power and limits of genetic and environmental influences

Epigenetics

the study of how your environment affects your genetics

Interaction

The interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor depends on another (environment depends on heredity)

EEG (Electroencephalogram)

Checks for brain waves by looking at brain activity/electrical activity, not very precise (looks for signs of epilepsy/stroke)

CAT/CT Scan

Shows detailed brain structure, generated 3-D image from x-rays

PET Scan

Depicts brain activity by showing consumption of the sugar glucose

MRI Scan

Shows brain structure, head is placed in a magnetic field for detailed images

fMRI

Brain activity and structure by comparing 2 MRI’s closely together less than a second apart

Phineas Gage

Important brain case study

Lesioning

Outdated brain study by damaging the brain

Michael Gazzaniga and Roger Sperry

People of split-brain research

Biological Psychology

the scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes

Dual Processing

the principle that info is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks

Blindsight

a condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it, ACTING as though one can see

Motor Cortex

a cerebral cortex area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements (output; right hemisphere controls body’s left side)

"Broca's Area"

Part of the frontal lobe responsible for speech PRODUCTION

Sensory Cortex

Part of the frontal lobe responsible for incoming sensory info such as touch, pressure, and temperature

Visual Cortex

Located on the occipital lobe, responsible for processing sensory information for vision

Auditory Cortex

Located in the Temporal Lobe, responsible for processing sensory information for sound

"Wernicke's Area"

Located in the left temporal lobe, responsible for speech comprehension

Somatosensory Cortex

A cerebral cortex area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations, from the SKIN SENSES (input; left hemisphere controls body’s right side)

Cerebral Dominance

Controls of the brain over different functions, both halves of the brain work together even though each has a specific role

Consciousness

our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment