PSYC 2113 — Exam 4 Study Guide

Homeostasis: The body's process of maintaining stable internal conditions, such as temperature, blood sugar, and water levels.

Negative Feedback Loop: A process where the body detects a change and responds in a way that reverses it to restore balance.

Allostasis: Maintaining stability by anticipating the body's needs and adjusting before an imbalance occurs.

Glucose vs. Glycogen:

Glucose: Sugar circulating in the blood that cells use for energy.

Glycogen: Stored form of glucose, primarily in the liver and muscles.

Insulin: Hormone released by the pancreas that lowers blood glucose by helping cells absorb glucose and promoting glycogen storage.

Glucagon: Hormone released by the pancreas that raises blood glucose by signaling the liver to break down glycogen.

Lateral Hypothalamus (LH): Hypothalamic area involved in initiating eating and stimulating hunger.

Ventromedial Hypothalamus (VMH): Hypothalamic area associated with satiety and signals that help stop eating.

Arcuate Nucleus: Part of the hypothalamus that monitors hunger and fullness signals and helps regulate food intake.

Ghrelin: Hormone released mainly by the stomach that increases hunger and encourages eating.

Hormones That Suppress Appetite:

Leptin: Released by fat cells; signals the brain that the body has energy stored.

Peptide YY (PYY): Released by the digestive system after eating; reduces appetite.

Cholecystokinin (CCK): Released by the small intestine; promotes fullness and slows digestion.

Organum Vasculosum of the Lamina Terminalis (OVLT): A brain structure that monitors blood composition, including salt concentration and fluid balance, helping regulate thirst.

Endotherm vs. Ectotherm:

Endotherm: Animal that maintains body temperature primarily through internal metabolic heat.

Ectotherm: Animal whose body temperature depends largely on external environmental temperatures.

Preoptic Area of the Hypothalamus (POA): Brain region involved in regulating body temperature by detecting changes and coordinating heating or cooling responses.

Pituitary Gland: Endocrine gland controlled by the hypothalamus that releases hormones regulating growth, reproduction, stress, and other bodily functions.

Sexual Dimorphism: Physical or biological differences between males and females of the same species.

Primary vs. Secondary Sex Characteristics:

Primary: Reproductive organs directly involved in reproduction, such as ovaries, testes, and reproductive ducts.

Secondary: Physical characteristics that develop during puberty but are not directly involved in reproduction, such as facial hair, breasts, and voice changes.

Brain Differences Between Men and Women: Average differences in certain brain structures, connectivity, and activity patterns have been observed between sexes. However, there is substantial overlap, and individual brains cannot be reliably classified by sex alone.

Müllerian vs. Wolffian Systems/Ducts:

Müllerian ducts: Embryonic structures that typically develop into the uterus, fallopian tubes, and upper vagina.

Wolffian ducts: Embryonic structures that typically develop into internal male reproductive structures, such as the epididymis, vas deferens, and seminal vesicles.

Helen Fisher's Stages of Love:

Lust: Sexual desire, associated with testosterone and estrogen.

Attraction: Intense romantic interest, associated with dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.

Attachment: Long-term bonding and closeness, associated with oxytocin and vasopressin.

Oxytocin: Hormone and neurotransmitter involved in social bonding, trust, childbirth, and breastfeeding.

Vasopressin: Hormone involved in water retention and social behaviors, including pair bonding.

Vasopressin and Oxytocin's Impact on Prairie and Montane Voles:

Prairie voles: Generally form long-term pair bonds. Oxytocin and vasopressin receptors in certain brain regions contribute to bonding.

Montane voles: Generally do not form long-term pair bonds and have different receptor distributions.

These differences help explain how hormones and brain receptors influence social attachment.

What Causes Masculinization of the Brain? Exposure to testosterone during critical periods of prenatal development can influence the development of typically masculine brain structures and behaviors. Testosterone can be converted into estradiol in some species, which also contributes to masculinization.

Intersex: A term describing individuals born with sex characteristics that do not fit typical definitions of exclusively male or female bodies.

Affect: The general experience or expression of emotion, including feelings, moods, and emotional responses.

James-Lange Theory of Emotion: A person experiences a physiological response first and interprets that response as an emotion. Example: You see a snake, your heart races, and you interpret that as fear.

Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion: Emotional experience and physiological responses occur simultaneously. Example: You see a snake and feel fear while your heart races.

Schachter-Singer (Two-Factor) Theory: Emotion results from physiological arousal combined with a cognitive interpretation of the situation. Example: Your heart races, you recognize a threat, and you experience fear.

Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex (vmPFC): Brain region involved in emotional regulation, decision-making, evaluating risk, and processing emotional information.

Amygdala: Brain structure involved in processing emotions, especially fear, threats, and emotional learning.

Amygdala Nuclei:

Lateral nucleus: Receives sensory information and helps associate stimuli with emotional responses.

Basal nucleus: Helps process emotional information and connect it to other brain regions.

Central nucleus: Coordinates emotional responses, including autonomic and behavioral reactions.

Medial nucleus: Involved in processing certain social and olfactory information.

Periaqueductal Gray (PAG): Brain region involved in coordinating defensive behaviors and responses to pain.

Dorsal PAG: Associated with active defensive responses, such as escape, flight, and fight.

Ventral PAG: Associated with passive defensive responses, such as freezing and immobility.

Distress vs. Eustress:

Distress: Negative or overwhelming stress that interferes with functioning and can harm well-being.

Eustress: Positive or manageable stress that motivates action and improves performance.

SAM System (Sympathetic-Adrenal-Medullary System): Fast stress-response system that activates the sympathetic nervous system and adrenal medulla, releasing epinephrine and norepinephrine.

HPA Axis (Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis): Slower hormonal stress-response system that releases cortisol to help the body respond to prolonged stress.

Functional Differences Between SAM and HPA:

SAM: Immediate response; prepares the body for fight-or-flight.

HPA: Longer-lasting response; helps maintain energy and manage ongoing stress.

HPA Axis Pathway:

Hypothalamus releases CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone).

Pituitary gland releases ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone).

Adrenal cortex releases cortisol.

Glucocorticoids: Steroid hormones, such as cortisol, that help regulate metabolism, inflammation, and the body's response to stress.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Potentially traumatic experiences before age 18, including abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction, that can affect long-term physical and mental health.

Nonassociative Learning: Learning that occurs through repeated exposure to a single stimulus, without forming an association between two things.

Habituation: A decreased response to a repeated or familiar stimulus. Example: Eventually ignoring the sound of a ticking clock.

Sensitization: An increased response to a stimulus after exposure to something intense or unpleasant. Example: Becoming more startled by small noises after a frightening experience.

Associative Learning: Learning relationships between stimuli or between behaviors and their consequences.

Classical Conditioning: Learning that one stimulus predicts another stimulus, causing a previously neutral stimulus to trigger a learned response.

Classical Conditioning Terms:

Unconditioned Stimulus (US): Naturally produces a response without learning, such as food.

Unconditioned Response (UR): Natural, unlearned response to a US, such as salivating when food is present.

Neutral Stimulus (NS): Stimulus that initially does not produce the specific response being studied, such as a bell before conditioning.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Previously neutral stimulus that now triggers a learned response after being paired with a US.

Conditioned Response (CR): Learned response to the CS, such as salivating when hearing the bell.

Acquisition: Initial learning phase when an association between the CS and US develops.

Extinction: Weakening of a conditioned response when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US.

Spontaneous Recovery: Reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a period of time.

Operant Conditioning: Learning in which behaviors are strengthened or weakened through their consequences, such as rewards and punishments.

Sensory Memory: Very brief storage of sensory information, such as sights and sounds.

Short-Term Memory: Temporary storage of a limited amount of information for a short period.

Working Memory: System that temporarily holds and actively manipulates information to complete tasks, solve problems, and reason.

Long-Term Memory: Relatively permanent storage of information, knowledge, and experiences.

Declarative Memory: Memory for facts and events that can be consciously recalled.

Episodic Memory: Memory of personal experiences and events. Example: Remembering your first day of college.

Semantic Memory: Memory of facts, meanings, and general knowledge. Example: Knowing that Charlotte is in North Carolina.

Non-Declarative Memory: Memory expressed through skills, habits, and learned behaviors without conscious recollection. Example: Riding a bicycle.

Spatial Memory: Memory for locations, environments, and how to navigate through spaces.

Consolidation: Process through which newly acquired memories become more stable and are stored for longer periods.

Perforant Pathway: Major pathway that carries information from the entorhinal cortex to the hippocampus, playing an important role in memory formation.

Hebb's Rule: The idea that neurons that repeatedly activate together strengthen their connections. Often summarized as "cells that fire together wire together."

Patient H.M. (Henry Molaison): Patient who underwent surgery that removed parts of his medial temporal lobes, including much of the hippocampus, to treat epilepsy. He developed severe anterograde amnesia but could still learn certain motor skills, demonstrating that different types of memory rely on different brain systems.

Retrograde vs. Anterograde Amnesia:

Retrograde Amnesia: Difficulty remembering information or events from before the injury or event.

Anterograde Amnesia: Difficulty forming new long-term memories after the injury or event.

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP): A long-lasting strengthening of communication between neurons after repeated or strong stimulation. It is considered an important mechanism involved in learning and memory.

AMPA Receptors: Glutamate receptors that allow sodium ions (Na⁺) to enter the postsynaptic neuron, causing depolarization.

NMDA Receptors: Glutamate receptors that allow calcium ions (Ca²⁺) to enter the postsynaptic neuron when the receptor is activated and its magnesium block is removed.

Ions Involved in LTP:

Sodium (Na⁺): Enters through AMPA receptors and helps depolarize the neuron.

Calcium (Ca²⁺): Enters through NMDA receptors and triggers cellular changes that strengthen the synapse.

Magnesium (Mg²⁺): Blocks NMDA receptors at resting potential; depolarization removes the block.

How LTP Occurs:

Glutamate is released from the presynaptic neuron.

Glutamate binds to AMPA receptors, allowing sodium to enter.

The postsynaptic neuron depolarizes.

The magnesium block is removed from NMDA receptors.

NMDA receptors allow calcium to enter.

Calcium triggers changes that strengthen synaptic communication, including increased AMPA receptor activity.