biological psych

  1. Neuron: the basic building block of the nervous system

  2. Neurons have:

    1. Dendrite

    2. Cell body

    3. Axon

    4. Myelin sheath

    5. Terminal buttons

  3. Synapse: the junction between 2 neurons

  4. Synapse contains:

    1. Synaptic cleft- space between 2 neurons

    2. Presynaptic cleft- neuron releasing the neurotransmitter

    3. Postsynaptic cleft- neuron receiving the neurotransmitter

    4. Receptor- sites in the postsynaptic cell membrane to which the neurotransmitter binds 

  5. What happens to neurotransmitters

    1. Remain floating in the cleft waiting for the next receptor

    2. Broken down by enzymes 

    3. Absorbed by presynaptic neuron (reuptake) 

  6. CNS consists of: the brain and spinal cord

  7. P (peripheral) NS: connects brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body 

  8. PNS is divided into: 

    1. Somatic NS

    2. Autonomic NS

  9. Somatic NS: controls voluntary movements

  10. Autonomic NS: controls involuntary movements 

  11. Autonomic NS is divided into:

    1. Sympathetic NS

    2. Parasympathetic NS

  12. Sympathetic NS: fight or flight

  13. Parasympathetic NS: rest and digest 

  14. Types of neurons:

    1. Sensory

    2. Motor

    3. Interneurons

    4. Bipolar

  15. Sensory neurons form: afferent pathways of the NS, messages go to brain and spinal cord for processing

  16. Motor neurons form: efferent pathways of the NS, instructions from CNS to muscles to execute required response

  17. Afferent: towards CNS

  18. Efferent: away from CNS

  19. Reflex: response from the spinal cord that requires immediate action (automatic) 

  20. The brainstem is: the oldest part of the brain 

  21. Brainstem contains (base → up order):

    1. Medulla oblongata

    2. Pons

    3. Midbrain

    4. Thalamus

    5. Reticular formation 

  22. Medulla oblongata controls: HR and Breathing

  23. Pons controls: sleep, badder, movement coordination

  24. Midbrain controls: eye movement, visual and auditory processing, some motor movements

  25. Thalamus: the control center of the brain which directs sensory information to relevant areas of the brain for processing 

  26. Reticular formation: a nerve network that runs through the brainstem into the thalamus, controls arousal and multitasking 

  27. Cerebellum: “little brain”, responsible for balance, posture, coordination, and proprioception (a sense that lets us perceive body position, and location)

  28. Limbic system: group of structures that regulate emotions, behavior, motivation, and memory

  29. The limbic system includes: 

    1. Amygdala

    2. Hypothalamus

    3. Pituitary gland

    4. Hippocampus 

  30. The amygdala is responsible for: emotional experiences, especially anger and fear

  31. The hypothalamus is responsible for: controlling body temperature, eating and drinking, and sexual behavior 

  32. The pituitary gland does: secretion of the majority of the hormones that maintain the body’s internal environment 

  33. The hippocampus does: storing and processing of factual and event-based memories (where and who) (emotions are stored elsewhere)

  34. The cerebral cortex is: interconnected neural cells covering the hemispheres of the brain that enable higher-order cognitive functions (bodys ultimate control and info processing center)

  35. The cerebral cortex contains:

    1. Frontal lobe

    2. Central Sulcus 

    3. Parietal lobe

    4. Temporal lobe

    5. Occipital lobe

  36. The frontal lobe does: maintains attention, planning and executes movement, problem-solving 

  37. The central sulcus does: separates the frontal and parietal lobes

  38. The parietal lobe deals with: processing tactile information and spatial relationships (distance, location, orientation, etc)

  39. The temporal lobe deals with: processing auditory stimuli, memory, and object recognition 

  40. The occipital lobe does: processing of visual information

  41. Each sense has its own primary and secondary ____ in different parts of the brain: cortex 

  42. Primary cortex: detects information and sends it to the secondary cortex

  43. Secondary cortex: communicates the information to relevant parts of the brain and body to get a response

  44. Sensory Homunculus: a map of the body in the brain that shows how much of the brain is used to feel sensations from each body part 

  45. The Corpus callosum is: a thick band of nerve fibers that connect the right and left hemispheres of the brain

  46. What happens if the corpus callosum is severed: results in split-brain patients, the hemispheres can no longer communicate  

  47. Association areas: run in the background in certain areas of the cerebral cortex, associated in higher order mental functions like learning, remembering, and thinking 

  48. The left hemisphere controls: 

    1. Language and comprehension

    2. Cognitive processing and reasoning

    3. Factual memories

    4. “Analytical side”

  49. The right hemisphere controls:

    1. Abstract thinking

    2. Perceptual understanding (reading emotions)

    3. Creativity

    4. The “artsy” side

  50. MRI is: a magnet that temporarily disorients atoms and gives pictures of soft tissue 

  51. fMRI is: a machine that measures the changes in blood flow to different regions of the brain 

  52. Natural Selection: traits beneficial for survival are passed down

  53. Sexual Selection: traits that others find attractive get passed down, is not always a good thing