Health Psych

Health

a positive state of physical, mental, and social well-being, not simply the absence of injury or disease 

Lifestyle

a way of life or style that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group

Primary prevention

actions to avoid disease or injury – health professionals giving advice, reminders and assessments, websites 

Secondary prevention

actions taken to identify and treat and illness or injury early with the aim of stopping or reversing the problem – exams, checkups

Tertiary prevention

when an injury occurs or a disease progresses beyond early stages, the condition may result in lasting or irreversible damage – actions taken to mitigate the damage

Amt of dollars spent on healthcare in the US

5.3 trillion

17^th, 18^th, and 19^th centuries – two types of illnesses caused death

Dietary & infection (dysentery)

Preventative measures

improved hygiene, better nutrition, water purification, sewage treatment facilities, public health innovations

Interdisciplinary

Integrating knowledge from multiple specialties (medicine)

Intradisciplinary

Integrating knowledge from people of the same field (health psychology)

Mortality

Death, generally on a larger scale

Morbidity

Injury, illness, or disability

Prevalence

Number of cases

Incidence

Number of NEW cases

Epidemic

Situation in which incidence, generally of an infectious disease, has increased rapidly 

Pandemic

Epidemic that spreads across a large region or even worldwide

Sensory nervous system

Raindrop on arm, smell of something

Motor

Respond to stimuli by initiating muscular contractions or glandular secretions

Integrative

Analyze sensory information

Central nervous system

Absorbs, relays, and processes information (brain and spinal cord)

Glial cells

Surround neurons and provide support, insulation between neurons, remove waste materials (most abundant)

Neurons

Conveys information by conducting electrochemical impulses, travels at about 280 mph

Soma

Cell body

Dendrites

Antennae of the neuron

Axon

Communication line

Multiple sclerosis

Damage of neurons, immune system attacks

Acetylcholine

first neurotransmitter discovered (1921), only NT between motor neurons and voluntary muscles, in brain contributes to attention, arousal, and memory 

Serotonin

Regulation of mood, emotion, and arousal

Dopamine

Controls muscle tension and voluntary movement, reward pathway in medial forebrain, too little associated with Parkinson's & too much associated with schizophrenia (motivational chemical that leads to pleasure) 

Norepinephrine

Brings nervous system to "high alert," involved in sleep, arousal, and emotion – released from stress response, exercise, and released regularly

Epinephrine (adrenaline)

Regulates attention, mental focus, arousal, and cognition – only released during times of stress 

Glutamate

Most common NT in CNS, acts as "accelerator" – toxic to neurons and excess will kill them

GAMA

Widely distributed, acts as the "brake" in the brain – too little, suffer from anxiety

Delirium

Usually a result of a physical or mental illness – defined as "sudden severe confusion and rapid change in brain function" (treatable)

Dementia

An overall decline in intellectual function including difficulties with language, simple calculations, planning and judgement, motor skills, and memory loss

Plaques (beta amyloid)

Abnormal clusters of protein fragments, build up between nerve cells (eliminated in a healthy brain)

Tangles

Twisted strands of tau protein created by dead and dying nerve cells, Nutrition cannot move through cells which die, Disintegrates transport system in brain

Gamma waves

30-100 bps, Alzheimer's has less, used for complicated thinking

Alcohol dementia

Excessive drinking over a period of many years, causes problems with memory (esp short term), learning, and other cognitive skills, repeat stories/questions

Hindbrain

Responsible for chewing, swallowing, sneezing, coughing – damage can be fatal

Cerebellum

Coordination of movement and sense of equilibrium or physical balance

Dysmetria

Inability to judge extent of movements

Midbrain

Concerned with integrating sensory processes such as vision and hearing, substantia nigra supplies dopamine

Parkinson’s disease

Caused by loss/destruction/death of 80% or more of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra – causes nerve cells to fire wildly, unable to control movements

Reticular formation

Contributes to modulation of muscle reflexes, breathing, pain perception, arousal, sleep

Thalamus

All sensory information (except smell) must pass to get to the cerebral cortex, sensory and motor information

Hypothalamus

Involved in regulation of basic biological needs, controls ANS, link between brain and endocrine system

Longitudinal fissure

Splits cerebrum into what is referred to as two hemispheres

Left side

Verbal side, logic

Right side

Visual side, feelings/emotions

Neurogenesis

Adult brain can generate new neurons, shown in olfactory bulb and hippocampus (memory)

Frontal lobe

Mediation of simple motor functions and integrates complex motor functions

Parietal lobe

Registers sense of touch, integrates visual input and monitoring body's position in space 

Agnosia

Loss of ability to recognize objects or symbols in one sensory modality

Astereognosis

Failure to recognize familiar objects by touch alone 

Temporal lobes

Reception and transformation of sound into coherent patterns, smell, attention/memory processes

Occipital lobes

Primary visual cortex