Psychology 1100 UConn Eric Lundquist Exam 1

Empiricism

How is Knowledge arrived at?

Learn by connecting experiences in the world

"associationism"

"The Science of Knowing and Experiencing"

Knowing: how to apply information learned

Experiencing: source of all motivation (salty, blue, etc.)

PSYCHOLOGY IS ABOUT KNOWING MOTIVATED BY EXPERIENCING

Mind-Body Problem

Dualism: world made of physical matter (includes body) + non-physical matter (soul/mind/thought)

Materialism: universe made of only physical matter (includes mind)

"The Science of Things that Move around on their own"

600 BCE

Ancient Greek Philosophy

Matter: Thales

s concept of matter

Motion: naturalistic account of motion and change culminating in Aristotle's physics

"The Science of Things that Move around on their own" 1600s and after

all nature viewed as matter in motion

Matter: Dalton's atomic theory 1803

Motion: Newton's mechanics uses differential equations for change over time

James Gibson

1904-1979

basic problem for psychology should be locomotion

Amygdala vs. Hippocampus Damage Experiment

Amygdala: Knew sound was followed by the blue slide, did not show fear

Hippocampus: Showed fear response to blue slide but did not remember when asked

Classical Conditioning

Unconditioned Stimulus

Unconditional Response

Conditioned Stimulus

Conditioned Response

Unconditioned Stimulus

ex. food in mouth, input to reflex

Unconditioned Response

ex. salivation to food, output of reflex

Conditioned Stimulus

ex. bell, initially results in investigatory response, then habituation

Conditioned Response

Response to CS, measure amplitude, probability, latency

What is phrenology?

Who is Franz Joseph Gall?

neuroanatomist, physiologist, pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain

What did Gall discover?

1. cortex as functioning tissue, not just protective covering

2. commissures (corpus callosum)

3. crossing of ascending nerve pathways from hemispheres

4. distribution/distinction between gray matter and white matter

Phrenology

brain is the material instrument where mind hold intercourse with outer world, mind has mental facilities, size of organ corresponds with function efficiency, development of organ reflects shape, size, and irregularities of the encompassing cranium

Central Nervous System

brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System

all nerves in the body (includes efferent and afferent nerves). Has 2 parts, Somatic Division and Autonomic Nervous System

Efferent Nerves

carries signals form CNS

Afferent Nerves

carries signals to CNS

Somatic Divison

efferent nerves that control skeletal muscles, afferent nerves that carry info from sense organs to CNS

Autonomic Nervous System

efferent nerves regulate various body organs (heart, lungs, blood vessels). afferent nerves bring CNS info about various internal systems. 2 types, Sympathetic and parasympathetic

Sympathetic Branch

"revs" up body activities for rigorous action.

Parasympathetic Branch

restores body's internal activities to normal after action has been completed.

Hindbrain

directly on top of spinal cord, includes many structures crucial to sustain life

Midbrain

sits on top of hindbrain, major rule in coordinating movements (eyes) and relaying information from the senses.

Forbrain

largest part of the brain, holds indiv. beliefs, memories, coping styles, emotional reactions

Medulla

Located at bottom of Hindbrain.

controls breathing and blood circulation. maintains balance by controlling head orientation and limb positions

Pons

Located above medulla. MOST IMPORTANT, controlling brains overall level of attentiveness. Helps govern timing of sleep and dreaming

Cerebellum

Largest part of Hindbrain. Coordination of movements and balance.

Cortex

outer surface of Forebrain (3mm think)

80% Human Brain

crumpling produces brain's convolutions that cover brains outer surface.

Longitudinal Fissure

deepest groove in cortex, divides hemispheres, runs from the front --> back of brain (left to right)

Thalamus

(underneath cortex) acts as a relay station for nearly all sensory information going to cortex

Hypothalamus

underneath thalamus, control of motivated behaviors (eating, drinking, sex)

Limbic System

surrounds hypothalamus and thalamus. hippocampus and amygdala are essential part in learning, memory, and emotional processing

Spit-Brain Patients

Left Hemisphere: sophisticated language skills and capable of sophisticated inferences

Right Hemisphere: limited language skills has facial recognition and tasks that involve perception of complex patterns

Primary Sensory Projection Areas

serve as receiving stations for information arriving from eyes, ears, and other sense organs

Primary Motor Projection Areas

departure point for signals that enter lower parts of the brain and spinal cord (results in muscle movement)

Somatosensory Area

directly behind primary motor projection area in parietal lobe. From skin senses, assignment of cortical space disproportionate with arts of the body most sensitive to touch

Association Areas

don't seem to show any kind of fized sensory mapping and implicated in higher mental functions, perceiving, thinking, and speaking

Aproxias

lesions in frontal lobe. serious distrubances in initiation/organization of voluntary action. Fragmented and disorganized

Agnosias

cannot identify familiar objects using affected sensory modality. damage to occipital cortex/rearmost part of the parietal cortex. type: prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia

temporal & parietal lobes. Recognizing faces

Neglect Syndrome: damaged right side parietal lobe. can only see the right side of each word/thing

Aphasias

disruption of production/comprehension of speech (nonfluent/fluent)

Non-Fluent Aphasias

Lesions in a region of left frontal lobe, Broca's Area

Fluent Aphasias

Able to produce speech but do not understand what is said to them. Talk freely, say very little. Wernick's Area

Prefrontal Area

damaged, deficiency in response inhibition (ex. Phineas Gage & Iron Rod). Impair ability to make decisions, uninvolved, depressed, apathetic.

The Neuron

1. Dendrities

2. Cell Body (soma)

3. Axon

Motoneuron

provides pathway that begins within the CNS and transmits a nerve impulse to a muscle fiber (in axon)

Sensory Neurons

Convey information inward, nervous system informed of external world

Glia

during brain development, guide migrating neurons to their destinations. Influence exactly what connections are made among neurons.

Nodes of Ranvier

Uncoated gaps between wrappers crucial to speed nerve impulses traveling among myelinated axons

White Matter

myelinated axons traversing long distances either within the brain or to/form the body

Gray Matter

consist of cell bodies, dentrities and unmyelinaed axons and the interneurons that consistute nervous systems microcircuity

Neurotransmitters

1. synapse gap between 2 neurons

2. terminal buttons contain little sacs of chemicals at action potential vesicles burst and release neurotransmitters into synapse

3. receptor molecules on membrane of dentrite are keys and opens ion gates to allow Na+

4a. open a gate to let Na+ inside

4. open a gate that pushes K+ ions

All or None Law

describes the fact that all action potentials have the same amplitude regardless of the stimulus that triggered them.

The Synapse

communications link, information integrator, collecting inputs from multiple sources (gap of neuron communication).

Temporal Summation

Effects of stimulation over time

Spatial Summation

reflex response stimulated concurrently in several places, various inputs added

Reciprocal Inhibition

With the excitement of each constituent of the pair causing the inhibition of the other

Examples of Neurotransmitters

Acetylcholine (ACh): released at many synapses, arousal

GABA: most widely distributed inhibitory transmitter in CNS

Norepinephrine (NE)

Dopamine (DA)

Agonists

enhance transmitters activity (amphetamines, cocaine)

Antagonists

drugs that impede transmitters (CB receptors)

Plasticity

subject to alteration in how it functions. Can train body muscles to do something naturally (play an instrument)

hippocampus plays huge role in new memories

Neural Stem Cells

once induced, turn into healthy neurons and fill in for dead ones. Stem-Cell Therapy

Descartes and the Reflex Concept

"Every action by an organism is a direct response to some event in the outside world"

Glia: Neuron Ratio

10:1

Goal Neglect

relying on habitual responses even if those responses will not move person toward his assigned goal in a particular task

Perseveration

strong tendency to produce the same response over and over when when it is plain that task requires a change in the response

Amnesia and Blindsight Perception

"Perception does not require conscious supervision, nor does it necessarily yield a conscious experience

Endotherms

maintain stable body temperature

Ectoderms

Variable internal temperature

Vasodilation

widening of skins capillaries

Vasoconstriction

contraction of capillaries

Resting Potential

the difference in voltage across a neuronal membrane when the neuron is not firing. (About -70 milli-volts)

Excitation Threshold

the voltage difference between a neuron's interior and exterior that, if exceeded, causes the neuron to fire. This voltage is about -55 milli-volts in mammals. If the voltage reaches this threshold (from a resting potential), the neuron's membrane destabilizes, leading to an action potential.

Action Potential

a brief change in the electrical potential of an axon, which is the physical basis of the nervous impulse. (when the it goes from excitation threshold back to resting potential)

Ion Channels

biochemical "windows" in a cell wall that allow ions to flow in or out of the cell.

Ion Pumps

biochemical mechanisms that use energy to move ions either into or out of the cell.

Propagation

the spread of the action potential down an axon, caused by successive destabilizations of the neuronal membrane.

The corpus callosum

connects 2 hemispheres

A patient has a cortical lesion. When shown a drawing of a camel, he painstakingly identifies several parts and then ventures a guess:"Eyes...Mouth...of course, it's an animal." He probably suffers from:

an agnosia

Apraxia results from damage to:

the front of the brain, either left or right

In most people, the right hemisphere appears to be the locus of control in:

spacial relations

Patients with Wernicke's aphasia:

can speak fluently and rapidly

The somatosensory area is located in the:

parietal lobe

A split brain patient cannot:

name an object presented briefly on the left side of the field of vision

With respect to the motor projection area:

more space is dedicated to controlling the thumb than the leg

Where is the auditory projection area?

the temporal lobe

A patient who systematically neglects features of the environment on his left and neglects the left side of his body is suffering from:

a lesion of the right parietal lobe

The fact that reflexes are more vigorous when the influence of higher brain centers is removed is referred to:

disinhibition

The right hemisphere of right-handers:

can understand short written words and tell whether a small string of letters makes up a word or a nonword

The right thumb:

projects sensory fibers to the upper region of the left somatosensory projection area

The unilateral neglect syndrome results from lesions:

of the right parietal lobe

Aphasia:

can occur in both spoken and signed language

Destruction of brain tissue in the association cortex can result in:

Agnosia, aphasia, apraxia

The final common path:

was identified by Sherrington

Which is NOT apraxia:

receptive aphasia and failure to identify ordinary objects despite being able to identify the separate details of objects

Which is apraxia:

expressive aphasia

The cortex:

is the most recently evolved brain structure