Psych Definitions 👻

psych core

neural pathway

neural pathway

comprises one or more circuits of interconnected neurons that form a communication network.

Spinal Cord

Column of nerve fibres that extend from the base of the brain to lower back, encased in bones called the vertebrae.

Sympathetic NS

increasing the activity of most visceral muscles, organs and glands in times of vigorous activity, stress or threat.

Parasympathetic NS

decreasing the activity of most visceral muscles, organs and glands, and restoring body functioning to its normal state.

Reflex

A reflex is an unconscious, automatic involuntary reaction to a stimulus that occurs in the same way each time.

Spinal Reflex

An unconscious, involuntary and automatically occurring response to certain stimuli occurring within the spinal cord without any involvement of the brain.

Reflex arc

incoming stimulus is automatically ‘reflected back’ from the spinal cord without any initial input from the brain and before the brain processes a conscious perception of the stimulus.

Afferent

carries information from the internal and external environment to the CNS.

Efferent (effect)

carries impulses away from the CNS to muscles or glands to contract or relax, producing movement.

Neurotransmitters

A chemical substance produced by a neuron that carries a message to other neurons or cells in muscles, organs or other tissue.

Excitatory effect

stimulate or activate postsynaptic neurons to perform their functions.

Inhibitory effect

block or prevent postsynaptic neurons from firing.

Synaptic plasticity

the ability of synaptic connections to change over time, including the formation, strengthening and weakening of neural connections, in response to activity or experience

Sprouting

ability of dendrites or axons to develop new extensions or branches

Rerouting

ability of a neuron that is connected to a damaged neuron to create an alternative synaptic connection with an undamaged neuron

Pruning

elimination of weak, ineffective or unused synapses (and therefore connections to other neurons)

Memory traces

neural pathways that form during learning, with each memory trace representing a different memory.

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

the long-lasting and experience-dependent strengthening of synaptic connections that are regularly coactivated

Long-term depression (LTD)

long-lasting and experience-dependent weakening of synaptic connections between neurons that are not regularly coactivated

Stressors

are stimuli that causes or produces stress and challenges our ability to cope.

Stress

a state of physiological (‘biological’) and psychological arousal produced by internal or external stressors that are perceived by the individual as challenging or exceeding their ability or resources to cope.

Internal stressors

originate within the individual.

External stressors

originate outside the individual from situations and events in the environment.

Eustress

A positive psychological response to a stressor as indicated by the presence of positive psychological states such as feeling excited, alert and motivated.

Distress

A negative psychological response to a stressor, as indicated by the presence of negative psychological states such as anger, anxiety, nervousness, irritability or tension.

Gut microbiota

all of the microorganisms that live in the gut (bacteria, fungi, viruses)

Gut microbiome

all of the genes of the microorganisms that live in the gut

Gut-brain axis (GBA)

bidirectional (‘two-way’), multi-faceted communication link between the central and enteric nervous systems

Enteric nervous system

network of nerves in the gut and is a subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that communicate with the nerves in the CNS

Vagus nerve

longest cranial nerve that connects the gut and the brain, enabling them to communicate

Benign- Positive

the stimulus is perceived as neutral or positive and so will not cause stress.

Irrelevant

the stimulus is perceived as not presenting an issue or worry and so will not cause stress.

Stressful

the stimulus will worry or force the individual to respond in some way, and so is interpreted as being a stressor.

Harm/loss

The stressor is perceived as already having caused some damage to the individual. (distress)

Threat

The stressor is perceived as potentially causing damage to the individual. (distress)

Challenge

The stressor is perceived as potentially providing a good opportunity for change or growth, though will be difficult. (eustress)

Coping

is the process of dealing with a stressor.

Emotion-focused coping

strategies that target the emotional components of a stressor, deals indirectly with the stressor.

Problem-focused coping

strategies that directly target the stressor, aims to reduce in a practical way.

Coping

describes all the different things we do to manage and reduce the stress experienced as a result of problems, issues or difficult situations that arise in life. It is an attempt to manage the demands of a stressor in some effective way. These attempts usually involve one or more coping strategies.

Coping Strategy

a specific method, behavioural or psychological, used to manage or reduce the stress produced by a stressor.

Context-specific effectiveness

is when a coping strategy or method is said to be suitable (effective) for dealing with the stressful situation (context).

Coping flexibility

the ability to effectively modify or adjust one’s coping strategies according to the demands of different stressful situations.

High coping flexibility

adjust their coping strategies if a particular strategy they are using is proving to be ineffective.

Low coping flexibility

consistently use the same type of coping strategies across different stressful situations, and persist in their use of the coping strategies they deploy, even in the face of ineffectiveness.

Exercise

physical activity that is usually planned and performed to improve or maintain one’s physical condition.