AP Psych "The Brain" and "Nature vs. Nurture"

cell body

the support center of the neuron

dendrites

fingertips of the cell - they grab out and reach (receive) the message from other neurons

axon

responsible for sending the message across the neuron

myelin sheath

puffy jacket of the axon - waxy, insulating material that keeps the message inside of the axon

terminal branches/buttons

at the other end of the neuron - the neuron part that sends messages to other neurons (terminal button is the endpoint of a terminal branch)

synaptic gap

where the terminal button and the dendrite “connect” - allows for a interchangeable chain of neutrons, but can lead to mistakes

neurotransmitters

Each have a different function. When they go from the gap to the dendrite, they go through a receptor site

reuptake

happens if there are extra neurotransmitters - the reabsorption of transmitters back into the messenger cell

glial cells

assistants of the neurons

action potential

the threshold must be met for this to occur - the excitatory message must go through (otherwise, stay in resting potential - “all or nothing”), ions are DEPOLARIZED

resting potential

neuron is waiting for a message - ions are polarized (positive on outside and negative on inside)

refractory period

after the message is sent, ions begin to repolarize and neuron returns to resting potential

Acetylcholine

Excitatory: conscious muscle movements, memory, learning

Low levels: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s

High levels: muscle contractions, paralyzation, insomnia

(also affected by alcohol)

Dopamine

Excitatory (and sometimes inhibitory): awakeness, arousal, attention, anticipation, addiction (emotion)

Low levels: Parkinson’s, ADHD

High levels: schizophrenia

Lots of drugs involved - cocaine (agonist), cigarettes, vapes, amphetamines (adderall prescribed to ADHD patients sometimes misused)

Sources: Videogames, gambling, social media - “reward center”

Serotonin

Inhibitory: mood - lots of receptors in stomach (people love food!)

Low levels: clinical depression (antidepressants - agonists)

Associated with the drug ecstasy - both dopamine and serotonin, pure form is molly

Norepinephrine

Excitatory or Inhibitory: makes you alert, wakes you up in morning

Low levels: depression

High levels: panic attacks, high bp, hyperactivity

Meth is an agonist of this neurotransmitter

GABA

Inhibitory: calms you down (slows brain activity)

Depletion: seizures and epilepsy (too much brain activity)

Low levels: anxiety, insomnia

High levels: alcohol raises it

Glutamate

Excitatory: memory, excites you

Low levels: ADHD, learning/memory issues

High levels: overstimulation, sometimes headaches

Endorphins

Inhibitory: natural painkillers, released after exercise

Low levels: depression, anxiety

High levels: caused by heroine, opium, and morphine (often used in medicinal practices

Withdrawal is very painful with these drugs because your cells slowly stop producing endorphins after using - fentanyl is breaking that tolerance people have built up

Agonist

Acts like the key to a lock - floods the synapse or stops the reuptake, causing the message to spam

Ex: meth or cocaine - stop reuptake

Antagonist

Jams the locks - blocks the receptor cites, causing the message to not send and depleting the neurotransmitter

Ex: poison dart - jams the receptors of Ach

Phrenology

Old theory meant to explain/map out or brains - usually based on feeling it to determine characteristics and details about a person

Gall

famous phrenologist

Phineas Gage

After he went through an accident where a rod went through his head and he survived, his personality was completely different. This story helped us begin to understand what different parts of the brain are responsible for i.e the frontal lobe (personality, judgement, morality, etc).

MRI

Structural scan that uses magnetic field and radio waves to provide a map of the brain structures

fMRI

Functional scan that compares continuous MRI scans to measure the blood flow to brain regions

CAT (CT)

Structural scan that scans your brain from different levels

PET

Functional scan that tracks where glucose (energy) goes in the brain while the patient performs a task

EEG

Functional scan that measures your brain’s electrical activity in terms of brain waves (alpha, beta, theta, delta) and often helps monitor conditions like epilepsy

MEG

Functional scan that measures the magnetic fields that your brain’s electrical currents produce that helps to map out sensory areas of the brain

Brainstem

The “hindbrain” is the reptilian part of your brain, and it is needed for survival: helps you breathe and pumpblood, etc.

Medulla

connects to the stem — has to do with heartbeat, breathing, and reflexes; fatal if damaged

Basal ganglia

covers the thalamus — controls movement; damage can cause tourettes

Reticular formation

a bundle of neurons — has to do with arousal, awareness; damage can cause comas

Pons

connects “middle floor” to “basement” and cerebellum — has to do with sleeping and dreaming; damage can cause locked-in syndrome

Thalamus

in the middle of the brain — directs all the sensory traffic (except smell)

Smell

the first sense, developed before the thalamus so it goes directly to the occipital lobe or lobes

Cerebellum

little butt of the brain — coordination and balance; damage can cause vertigo, alcohol can cause damage to this

Limbic System

The “midbrain” is the boundary between the “forebrain” and the “hindbrain”; it is the caveman part of a modern human brain

Hippocampus

under the thalamus — responsible for processesing new memories; will not be able to process present memories — amnesia

Amnesia

“living in the present” — when someone cannot remember things that happen to them past or before the point in which their hippocampus was damaged (due to a tumor, for example)

Amygdala

almond-shaped, in the middle of the brain — controls emotion: aggression and fear (fight or flight); it can overpower the intellect part of your brain — phobias can happen to early scary memory, tumors can also trigger certain things when in this part

Nucleus accumbens

near the amygdala — contains reward centers, has to do with motivation, etc.

Hypothalamus

under the thalamus, very important — responsibilities: hunger, fullness, thirst, and sex drives; body temperature regulation, sweat, etc; reward center, deals with dopamine and addiction. It is also in charge of the pituitary gland.

Cerebral Cortex

Forebrain or Cerebrum: four lobes of your brain which are all responsible for higher functions

Frontal lobe

personality, planning, thinking, judgment, reasoning. Broca’s area: left frontal, responsible for speech production

Aphasia

Broca’s - difficulty speaking (left frontal)

Wernicke’s - difficulty understanding (left temporal

Motor cortex

voluntary movements, independent control of muscle groups that work together

Parietal Lobe

processing senses (taste, hearing, sight, touch, smell)

Somatosensory Cortex

receiving and processing sensory information

Occipital Lobe

visual processing, language and reading, storing memories

Visual Cortex

interpreting and processing visual information

Temporal Lobe

processes auditory information and deals with encoding information (language, emotions, visual perception). Wernicke’s area: left temporal, responsible for understanding language

Auditory cortex

processing auditory information, performing basic and higher functions in hearing and possibly language switching

Central Nervous System

• Along the spinal cord and brain - carries message back and forth from the brain and nerves to the rest of your body.

• Controls movements, senses, thinking: all inputs

Peripheral Nervous System

• Everywhere else in your body (limbs, fingers) - carries message to your spinal cord to be processed

• Receives orders from the central nervous system

Somatic Nervous System

Part of peripheral system - voluntary actions: walking, talking, writing, kicking, etc

Autonomic Nervous System

Part of peripheral system - involuntary actions: breathing, heart rate, bp, trauma responses, processing in organs and glands

Sympathetic Nervous System

Part of autonomic system - “fight or flight” - activates when threat is near and gets you ready (adrenaline and cortisol): quickens your heartbeat, stops digestion, dilates blood vessels, contracts muscles, sweat, relaxes bladder

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Part of autonomic system: - “rest and digest” - activates when the threat is gone and calms you down: contracts bladder, constricts pupils, slows heart rate, starts digestions, constricts airways

Afferent (Sensory) Neurons

Receive information or process sensory data, passing it on to the nervous system through interneurons

Interneurons

Receive information from afferent neurons and head towards central nervous system and brain to give it to the motor neurons

Efferent (Motor) Neurons

Responsible for acting upon the received message and sending a message back to the sensory neuron through interneurons in order to respond to the sensory data

HE - ART experiment

Experiment on people with split brain (no corpus callosum) where they present the full word HEART and then split it in half, one for each eye. They found out that split brained people could not say “HE” because their right hemisphere (which controls the left eye) does not have the association area that deals with language

Corpus callosum

Thina layer of neurons that connect the two hemispheres, allowing them to communicate; without it, you have split brain (either through birth or surgery)

Association Areas

non cortex parts of your upper level brain - called thinking areas (animals don’t really have this)

Pituitary gland

the “boss”, near the hypothalamus - monitors and regulates bodiliy process, secretes growth hormones as well as oxytocin - if there is issue with the release, you can be too tall or too short

Oxytocin

“love” hormone - love, trust, bond within personal relationships (why breastfeeding, hugs, etc are needed); issues can cause mental issues like depression

Pineal gland

in the middle of the brain (between your eyes) - helps regulate sleep cycle, releases melatonin

Melatonin

signals your body to go to sleep - triggered by darkness (day to night) and hindered by light; people have issues with this now because of electricity, technology, etc

Thyroid

located in the middle of your neck - deals with metabolism, secretes thyroxine; issues can cause hyperthyroidism (high metabolism) or hypothyroidism (low metabolism)

Thyroxine

controls how much energy your body uses

Adrenal

located above the kidney - “fight or flight”: releases threat/stress hormones

Adrenaline

makes your heart beat faster (blood circulation), sweat, constricts blood vessels, dilates windpipes - prepares you for threats

Cortisol

body cannot differentiate between different levels of stress - body sweats and heart beats no matter the amount of cortisol released

Pancreas

near the kidney - secretes insulin

low levels: type 1 diabetes

high levels: type 2 diabetes

Insulin

helps you convert food into sugar to then turn into energy

What is the difference between chromosomes, DNA, genes, and traits?

Chromosomes are structures that contain DNA, which consists of genes, which determine your traits

What is the difference between a genotype & a phenotype?

Genotype is your genetic makeup while a phenotype is your physical makeup

Why do psychologists like using siblings in their studies (especially twins & adoptions)?

Because they like to understand the difference in the influence of nature versus nurture

What is the difference between identical & fraternal twins?

Identical came from the same egg, while fraternal are two different eggs

What does heritability mean?

The likeliness that a quality is passed on to the offspring from a parent