High-Yield Terms & Brain Structures

Action Potential

Electrical impulse that travels down the axon when a neuron fires

All-or-None Principle

Neurons fire at full strength or not at all

Reuptake

Process where neurotransmitters are reabsorbed into the presynaptic neuron

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter involved in reward, motivation, and movement

Serotonin

Neurotransmitter regulating mood, sleep, and appetite

Norepinephrine

Neurotransmitter involved in alertness and stress response

GABA

Primary inhibitory neurotransmitter that reduces neural activity

Glutamate

Primary excitatory neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory

Somatic Nervous System

Controls voluntary skeletal muscle movement

Endocrine System

Hormone-secreting system regulating growth, metabolism, and mood

Pituitary Gland

Master endocrine gland controlling other glands

Thalamus

Sensory relay station directing information to the cortex

Reticular Formation

Brainstem network controlling arousal and alertness

Primary Motor Cortex

Frontal lobe region controlling voluntary muscle movement

Primary Somatosensory Cortex

Parietal lobe region processing touch and body position

Broca’s Area,

Brain region responsible for speech production

Wernicke’s Area

Brain region responsible for language comprehension

Occipital Cortex

Visual processing center of the brain

Sensation vs Perception

Sensation detects stimuli; perception interprets stimuli

Transduction

Conversion of physical energy into neural signals

Bottom-Up Processing

Perception starting from sensory input andmoves to higher brain areas (

Top-Down Processing

Perception influenced by expectations and prior knowledge

Perceptual Constancy

Ability to perceive objects as stable despite changes

Signal Detection Theory

Detecting stimuli amid noise depending on sensitivity and bias

Sleep Stages

REM (1–3) and REM sleep cycles

NREM Stage 3

Deep sleep stage critical for physical restoration

Hypnosis

Altered state of focused attention and increased suggestibility

Drive Reduction Theory

Motivation to reduce physiological discomfort

Arousal Theory

Motivation to maintain optimal level of alertness

Schachter-Singer Theory,definition

Emotion depends on physiological arousal and cognitive label

Physiological Arousal

Bodily activation such as heart rate and sweating

Habituation

Decreased response to repeated stimulus

Operant Conditioning Reinforcers

Positive and negative reinforcement increase behavior

Schedules of Reinforcement

Patterns that determine how and when a behavior is reinforced in operant conditioning.

Bandura’s Bobo Doll Study,definition: Demonstrated observational learning and modeling

Latent Learning,definition: Learning that occurs without reinforcement and is later demonstrated

Sensation

Def: The process of detecting physical stimuli from the environment through sensory organs

Key points: involves vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch, and balance

Perception

Def: The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to understand the environment

Key points: includes depth perception, pattern recognition, and perceptual constancies

Consciousness

Def: Awareness of self and environment

Key points: includes sleep/wake cycles, altered states (meditation, drugs, hypnosis), attention, and awareness

Motivation

Def: Internal processes that initiate, guide, and sustain goal-directed behavior

Key points: includes intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, drives, needs (Maslow's hierarchy)

Emotion

Def: Complex psychological states involving subjective experience, physiological response, and behavioral expression

Key points: includes basic emotions (happiness, anger, fear, sadness, disgust), emotional regulation

Learning

Def: Process of acquiring knowledge, skills, attitudes, or behaviors through experience or practice

Key points: includes classical conditioning, operant conditioning, observational learning, and cognitive learning