AP Psych Unit 1

genetic predisposition

increased chance of developing a trait or condition due to our genetic code

neurons

individual nerve cells

dendrites

rootlike parts; make synaptic connections

cell body/ soma

nucleus

axon

wirelike structure with ending in terminal buttons

myelin sheath

fatty covering of the axon and speed up neural impulses

terminal buttons

branched end of the axon that contain neurotransmitters

neurotransmitters

chemicals contained in the terminal buttons that enable neurons to communicate

synapse

space between the terminal buttons of one neuron and the dendrites of the next neuron

neural transmission

neuron transmits a message

resting potential

resting state, neuron has slightly negative charge because negative ions within cell and positive ions outside usually at -70

threshold

if enough neurotransmitters are received, the cell of membrne become permeable and positive ions rush in bringing charge to about +40

action potential

electric message firing

all-or-none principal

neuron either fires completely or not at all

depolarization

negative charge gets depolarized when positive ions run into the cell

excitatory neurotransmitters

excite next cell into firing

inhibitory neurotransmitters

inhibit next cell from frirng

dopamine

motor movement and alertness; lack of Parkinsons, too much schizophrenia

Seretonin

mood control; lack of lead to depression

Norepinepherine

alertness/ arousal; lack of leads to depression

glutamate

excitatory neurotransmitter; triggers migranses, sezuires

GABA

inhibitory neurotransmitter; internalizes these seiv=xuures but it can caus esleep problems

substanceP

pain percepition; lack maybe be lack of pain perception

Acetylchlorine

lack mens Alzheimers and too much means Myastasia Gravis (muscle weakness)

sensory neurons

take info or senses to your brain

interneurons

take messages and send them elsewhere in brain or on different neurons

motor neurons

take info to rest of body

central nervous system

brain and spinal chord; rest of body to brain

peripheral nervous system

all the nerves that arent part of the central nerous system

reflex arcs

certain reactions occur the moment sensory impulss reach the spinal cord

somatic nervous system

part of PNS and conrols voluntary muscle movements

autonomic nervous system

controls automatic unctions of our body like internal organs and fight or flight response—> sympathetic and parasympathetic

sympathetic nervous system

mobilize out body to respond to stress and carries messages from our glands, organs, muscle that direct our body’s response to stress; warning system

parasympathetic nervous system

carries message to stress response system that cause some activities to slow down after a stress response

endocrine system

is a system of glands that secrete hormones that affect many biological processes; controlled by the hypothalamus

adrenaline

activates fight or flight response

leptin

involved in weight regulation; supresses hunger

ghrelin

motivates eating/ increase hunger

melatonin

triggers sleep and wakefulness responses in brain

oxytocin

promotes good feelings such as trust and bonding

adrenal glands

produce adrenaline/ epinepherine

Ovaries and Testes

produce reproductive hormones

The brain

control human thought and behavior

Phineas Gage

involved in accident that samaged front part of brain; beca,e very emotional and impulsive after the accident

lesioning

the removal or destruction of part of the brain—> sometimes used to study the brain

electroencephalogram (EEG)

detects brain waves; can measure during different stages of conciousness

CAT scan

sophisticated x-ray; uses several x-ray cameras that rotate around the brain and combine pictures into a 3-dimensional picture of the brain structure

MRI scan

magnetic fields to get these scans and measure density and location of brain material; patient not exposed to radiation

PET scan

see which areas of the brain are active during certain tasks and how much of a certain chemical is used

functional MRI

combines an MRI and PET scan

hindbrain

top of pinal cord; life support system—> medulla, pons, cerebellum

medulla

controls our blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing

pons

connects hindbrain with midbrain and forebrain; facial expressions

cerebellum

coordinated habitual muscle movements

midbrain

coordinate simple movements with sensory information and muscle movements—> reticular formation; netlike collection of cells throughout midbrain that control body arousal and ability to focus attention

Forebrain

thought and reasoning—> thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus

thalamus

located on the brain stem; receives sensory signals coming up the spinal cord and sending them to the right arras in forebrain

hypothalamus

controls metabolic functions, homeostasis, libidio, hunger, thirst, and the endocrine system

amygdala and hippocampus

memories processed thriough this area

cerebral cortex

gray, wrinkled denslt packed neurons covering the brain

hemispheres

left hemisphere gets sensory messages and conrols the motor functions for the right half of the body

contralateral hemispheric organization

each side of brain controls opposite side of body

hemispheric specialization

specialty of each hemisphere of brain

split brain patients

patient’s corpus callosum was cut to treat severe epilepsy

cerebral cortex lobes

frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital

association area

any part of cerebral cortex not associated with receiving sensory or muscle info

frontal lobes

top front part of brain behind the eyes

prefrontal cortex

direct thought processes; acts as brain’s central executive—> consequences, pursuing goals, maintain emotions, abstract thoughts

broca’s area

control muscles involved in speech—> damage can lead to aphasia

motor cortex

signals to muscles; voluntary movements

parietal lobes

behind frontal lobes but on top of the brain

somatosensory cortex

receives incoming touch sensations from rest of our body

phantom limb syndrome

if person loses part of body, might still get sensations from that

occipital lobes

back of brain far from eyes; interpret messages from eyes in our visual cortex

temporal lobes

process sound sensed by our ears

Wernickies area

linguistic processing; damage= unable to understand

brain plasticity

our brains can compensate/ grow back from damage especially when younger

exposure effect

prefer stimuli we have seen bfr

priming

participants respoind quicker if they seen before even if they dont remember

blind sight

blind person may be able to accurately describe path of an object

conciousness

Consciousness is the state of being awake, aware of self; look at different levels

Psychoactive drugs

drugs that change chemistry of the brain

blood brain barrier

protects brain from harmful chemicals in the bloodstream

agonists

drugs that mimic neurotransmitters; fit into receptor sites and function as neurotransmitter would

antagonists

drugs that block neurotransmitters; don’t fit the receptor sites but can still block them

reuptake inhibitor

prvents certain chemical from being reabsorbed back into the neuron

tolerance

need for more of same drug to make same effect

withdrawal symptoms

tolerance causes this; might get fatal

stimulants

caffeine, cocaine, amphetamines, and nicotine; speed up body processes

depressants

alcohol, barbituates, and tranquilizers; slow down body systems

hallucinogens

do not speed up or slow down & remain in system for weeks; changes in perception of reality; marijuana, LSD, etc

opiates

morphine, heroin—> poppy plant; drowziness and euphoria

circadian rhythm

our pattern during 24 hr metabolic day

alpha waves

when we are drowzy by awake

non-REM

NREM 1 and NREM 2 while we are awake, brains produce theta waves but they get slower as we go through these. in NREM 2 we see sleep spindles; short bursts of rapid brain waves. NREM 3 is deep sleep; delta or slow waves.

REM/ paradoxil sleep

after delta sleep, we go back through 3, 2, 1 and make to NREM 1 and have rapid eye movement; dreams likely here

REM rebound

more and longer periods of REM if deprived of REM

Insomnia

sleep disorder going to sleep; 10% population

Narcolepsy

Periods of intense sleepiness and suddenly fall into REM; 0.001% population

Sleep apnea

causes person to stop breathing for short periods of time during night; can be fatal