AP Psych 1.1-1.4c

Nature vs Nurture 1.1

Nature: genetics

Nurture: environment

Evolutionary perspective 1.1

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind using the natural selection

Natural selection 1.1

adaptive traits passed down since they helped the previous generations survive

Environment 1.1

all outside influences

Heredity 1.1

traits passed down through genetics

Eugenics 1.1

breeding humans to produce better traits (ex "keeping it in the family")

Nervous system 1.2

electrochemical communication system, has all the neurons, central and peripheral

CNS 1.2

brain and spinal chord, decision maker

Autonomic nervous system 1.2

glands and internal organ muscle (heartbeat and digestion)

Sympathetic nervous system 1.2

fight or flight response, responsible for stress

Peripheral nervous system 1.2

gathers info for the cns

Somatic nervous system 1.2

voluntary control of skeletal muscles (ex someone taps you, you turn around)

Parasympathetic nervous system 1.2

rest and digest, keeps body in homeostasis

Neurons 1.3a

nerve cells

Glial cells 1.3a

"glue cells", neuron's assistant: provide nutrients, insulate myelin, guide neural connector, clean up neuron waste

Reflex arc 1.3a

CNS non emergency reflex (ex doctor taps your knee, your leg twitches)

Sensory neurons 1.3a

carry incoming info from sense receptors to CNS

Motor neurons 1.3a

carry outgoing info from CNS to muscles and glands

Interneurons 1.3a

process info within the CNS

All or nothing principle 1.3b

a neuron will either fire or not depending on how many excitatory/inhibitory neurotransmitters it receives. it always fire at the same speed

Depolarization 1.3b

when the positive and negative charges mix in the myelin sheath

Reuptake 1.3b

when sending neuron takes back neurotransmitters it has sent out

Multiple sclerosis 1.3b

deterioration of myelin sheath

Excitatory neurotransmitters 1.3b

the amount of go signals

Neurotransmitters 1.3b

the sprinkles of neurotransmition

Dopamine 1.3b

learning, attention, emotion. oversupply = schizophrenia, undersupply = tremors, decreased mobility, Parkinsons

Norepinephrine 1.3b

alertness/arousal. oversupply = anxiety, mania, undersupply = depression, sleep problems

GABA 1.3b

major inhibitory. undersupply = seizures, tremors, insomnia

Substance P 1.3 b

pain receptors, immune response. oversupply = chronic pain, undersupply = insensitivity

Hormones 1.3b

chemical messengers made my endocrine glands

Refractory period 1.3b

brief pause between action potential

Resting potential 1.3b

before a neuron fires/when a neuron is not firing

Threshold 1.3b

how many inhibitory/excitatory transmitters needed to cause or stop action potential

Myasthenia Gravis 1.3b

acetylcholine is blocked

Inhibitory neurotransmitters 1.3b

the no-go sprinkles

Serotonin 1.3b

mood, hunger, sleep, arousal (sexual). undersupply = depression, anxiety, sleep problems

Glutamate 1.3b

major excitatory, memory. oversupply = migraines, seizures, undersupply = concentration problems

Endorphins 1.3b

pain/pleasure neurotransmitters. oversupply = anxious/anxiety, undersupply = depletion of natural endorphins when oversupplying with opioids

Acetylcloline 1.3b

muscle action, learning, memory. undersupply = Alzheimer, paralysis, myasntheia gravis

Adrenaline 1.3b

fight or flight

Oxytocin 1.3b

enables orgasms, labor contractions, milk flow

Psychoactive drugs 1.3c

chemicals that alter your brain, change perception/mood

Antagonist 1.3c

mimics excitatory neurotransmitters

Stimulants 1.3c

nervous system is sped up, bodily functions sped up

Caffeine 1.3c

stimulant, inhibits release of dopamine and norepinephrine, heartbeat and mood elevated

Cocaine 1.3c

stimulant, blocks reuptake of dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin. mood intensified, crash causes depression, feeling of high

Opioids 1.3c

depressants of nervous system, if addicted could stop producing natural opioids (endorphines)

Heroin 1.3c

opioid depressant, can lead to brain not being able to produce dopamine and seretonin. Pain and anxiety decreased, pupils constrict, breathing slows

Addiction 1.3c

when you are physically negatively affected when you don't have the drug in your system

Agonist 1.3c

activates cell receptor

Reuptake inhibitor 1.3c

drugs that block the reuptake of neurotransmitters

Depressants 1.3c

drugs that calm down the nervous system

Alcohol 1.3c

depressant. can shrink brain, nervous system activity slowed, nerve cell death. euphoria/confidence, judgement impaired

Hallucinogens 1.3c

drugs that distort perception and evoke sensory images in absence of sensory input. visual cortex is hypersensitive

Marijuana 1.3c

hallucinogen. impaired cognitive abilities. euphoria

Tolerance 1.3c

when you need more of the drug to be able to feel the same effects

Withdrawal 1.3c

this is when an addict goes without a drug for long enough that it causes physical problems. can be very painful

Brain plasticity

the brain's ability to change and adapt

EEG

allows us to see brain activity in electrical waves. the subject wears a shower cap like thing with gel and researchers process the brain waves

fMRI

allows us to see how specific brain areas activate. machine records blood rushing to the brain to process images

Lesions

scientists destroy subject's brain cells then they observe

Brain stem

controls heartbeat and breathing, crossover point for nerves, contains medulla

Medulla

controls heartbeat and breathing

Reticular formation

filters stimuli and filters important information to the brain

Cerebellum

enables nonverbal skill learning, coordinates voluntary movement

Cerebral cortex

thin layer of interconnected nerve cells, allows us to learn, think, and adapt to our environment

Limbic system

brain functions we might more readily think about. thalamus, amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus

Thalamus

sensory control center

Hypothalamus

governs bodily maintenance, emotion and reward

Pituitary gland

produce and release hormones

Hippocampus

process conscious and explicit memories

Amygdala

enables aggression and fear

Corpus Callosum

band of fibers that connect two brain hemispheres and carries messages between them

Broca's area

controls language expression by muscle movement for language

Wernicke's area

language comprehension and expression

Cortex specialization

different regions of the cerebral cortex and dedicated to processing distinct types of information and preforming different functions

Contralateral hemispheric organization

left hemisphere controls right side of body, right hemisphere controls left side of body

Aphasia

damage to broca and wernicke's areas

Occipatial lobe

receive information from visual fields

Temporal lobe

auditory information, enables language processing

Parietal lobe

receives sensory information for touch and body position

Somatosensory lobe

processes body touch and movement sensations

Frontal lobe

linguistic processing, muscle movements, higher order thinking, executive functioning

Prefrontal lobe

enables planning, judgement, social interactions, processes new memories

Motor cortex

controls voluntary movements

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