Nature: Genetic and biological factors influencing behavior and traits

Nurture: Environmental factors that influence behavior and development

Biological Psychology: Scientific study that links biological processes (hormones, genes, neural) with psychology

Strength: Uses empirical research which makes it a type of science, helps the understanding of behavior and aids in helping certain conditions more treatable

Limitation: Neglects the environmental factors that might shape a person, ethical concerns. solely focuses on biological factors

Heredity: The transfer of genes from parent to offspring

Genes: The traits that make us who we are

Epigenetics: The study of how environments can alter and influence DNA expressions.

Sensitive Period: A period where skills are easier to master, where not learning these skills during the sensitive period might make it almost impossible to master. Such as language.

Monozygotic Twins “Identical”: Individuals that split from the same fertilized egg thus share the same genetic traits

Dizygotic Twins “Fraternal”: Individuals that came from two different fertilized eggs and do not share equal genetic traits, except for same prenatal environment.

Heritability: Portion of variation of a gene in a population that attributes to a certain trait.

Topic of Lesson: Evolutionary Psychology

Concrete Examples: Focus your note taking on collecting examples that your teacher shares

Evolutionary Psychology: Field of psychology that focus on how evolutionary conditions affect our behavior today

Strength: Explains why certain behaviors may have evolved, explaining behavior and social dynamics

Limitation: Overgeneralizes behavior by connecting them to evolutionary factors, ignoring other root causes for behavior such as cultural, social or individual influences

Charles Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection: Theory by Charles Darwin that explains how survival and reproduction over time allowed for the increase of individuals with favorable traits due to survival of the fittest.

Topic of Lesson: The Nervous System

Concrete Examples: Focus your note taking on collecting examples that your teacher shares.

The Nervous System: The communication network between the body and brain that allows our bodies to regulate itself and perceive the world around us.

• Made up of nerve cells around peripheral and central nervous system

  • Chemical messengers

  • Neurons: Send messages that help us process and interpret information and execute signals around the body

  • Neurotransmitters: Transmit signals between synapses in neurons

Central Nervous System: Brain and spinal chord, processes and transmits information.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): Connects the nervous system with the rest of the body (everything that is not the spine or the brain)

• Motor Pathway: Neural pathways that allow for motor cells to exit the CNS and send signals to the rest of the body

  • Somatic Nervous System: Part of the PNS that controls voluntary movements and sends sensory information to the CNS

  • Sensory Neurons “Afferent Neurons”: Neurons that send sensory information from the body to the CNS

Sensory Pathway: Neural pathways that allow for sensory neurons to go from the body to the central nervous system

• Motor Neurons “Efferent Neurons”: Neurons that send signals from the CNS to the rest of the body and allow for movement.

• Interneurons: Neurons that connect sensory and motor neurons that improve neuron communication

• Reflex Arc: Neural pathway that allows for reflexes to happen, allows for movement and signaling before reaching the brain, part of the spinal cord, allows for fast unprecipitated movement,

Autonomic Nervous System: Part of the PNS that allows for unvoluntary control of body processes such as digestion, breathing, etc.

• Sympathetic Nervous System: Part of ANS that prepares the body for fight or flight mode, reduces digestion, increases heart rate, etc.

• Parasympathetic Nervous System: Part of ANS that calms the body from flight or fight mode, relaxes and allows digestion function, as well as maintaining homeostasis.

Topic of Lesson: The Neuron

Neuron: Receives and sends electrical impulses

• stimulated by chemical messengers (neurotransmitters)

• creates electricity

• releases chemicals

• don’t touch, have gaps called synapses that allow for multiple connections

Glial Cells: Cells that provide support for neurons (physical)

Dendrites “Antenna”: Receive electrical messages, receptors act as locks

Soma “Life Support”: Cell body that mantains neuron/cell alive

Axon “Talker”: Fiber that extend from cell body and carry messages and transmit information in a neuron

Myelin Sheath: Fatty layer of tissue that insulates neurons and makes messages reach faster, protects neurons too.

• Multiple sclerosis: Lack of myelin sheath

Axon Terminals: Tips of the neuron, send signals to the next synapse,

• Once enough electrical impulse is transmitted, the neurotransmitters go back to the axon terminal (reuptake)

Synapse: Meeting point between neurons

Synaptic Vesicles: Structures of membrane that store neurotransmitters, found in the pre-synaptic neuron, before they are released to the synaptic gap.

Synaptic Cleft or Gap: Small space between neurons where neurotransmitters are released and bind into receptors

Recept Sites: Place where neurotransmitters bind to, in order to send specific signals

Topic of Lesson: Neural Firing

Concrete Examples: Focus your note taking on collecting examples that your teacher shares

Neurotransmission: Process by which information travels a neuron

Electrochemical: Communicates through chemicals that cause electrical signals, electrical and chemical part inside the neuron.

Selectively Permeable Membrane: Polarized membrane that only opens through the accumulation of certain ions, such as sodium ions.

Reuptake: Process where neurotransmitters are re-absorbed by the presynaptic neuron after travelling to the postsynaptic neuron’s receptors

Threshold: Minimum level to stimulate a certain neuron

Resting Potential: Cell neuron is charged inside, is ready to fire (polarized), waiting for threshold to be reached

Action Potential: Rapid change in electrical charge of neuron after stimulation past threshold, allows signal transmission

All-or-None Principle: Neurons do not “partially fire”, it is only after they reach the minimum threshold that they fire.

Refractory Period: Period of time where neuron can’t fire again (action potential), (cooldown)

Topic of Lesson: The Chemical Connection

Neurotransmitters: Chemical messengers that create signals to be interpreted

Excitatory Neurotransmitters: Increase the chances of neuron firing

Inhibitory Neurotransmitters: Decrease/block the neuron from firing

Neurotransmitter

Function

Effect of Deficit

Effect of Surplus

Excitatory or Inhibitory/ Additional Notes

Acetylcholine (ACh):

Serotonin

Dopamine

Norepinephrine

GABA

Glutamate

Neurotransmitter

Function

Effect of Deficit

Effect of Surplus

Excitatory or Inhibitory/ Additional Notes

Endorphins

Topic of Lesson: The Endocrine System

Endocrine System

Hormones “Chemical Messengers”

Pituitary Gland “Master Gland

Thyroid Gland

Pineal Gland

Adrenal Glands

Gonads

Oxytocin

Epinephrine “Adrenaline”

Cortisol

Topic of Lesson: Structure & Function of the Brain (Part I & II)

Date:

Concrete Examples: Focus your note taking on collecting examples that your teacher shares

Hemispheres

Lateralization

Corpus Callosum

Left Hemisphere

Right Hemisphere

Cerebral Cortex

Lobes

Frontal Lobes

Prefrontal Cortex

Motor Cortex

Broca’s Area

Parietal Lobes

Somatosensory Cortex

Occipital Lobes

Visual Association Cortex

Temporal Lobe

Wernicke’s Area

Brainstem

Medulla Oblongata “Medulla”

Pons

The Reticular Formation

Cerebellum

Thalamus

Limbic System

Hypothalamus

Hippocampus

Amygdala

Topic of Lesson: Tools for Examining the Brain

Date:

Concrete Examples: Focus your note taking on collecting examples that your teacher shares

Neuroscience

Case Study

Brain Autopsy

Lesioning Studies

Prefrontal Lobotomy

Hemispherectomy

Deep Brain Stimulation

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Brain Scanning

X-Rays

Electroencephalograph (EEG)

Computer Tomography (CT or CAT)

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Magnetoencephalography (MEG)

Functional MRS (fMRI)

Positron Emission Tomography (PET Scan)

Topic of Lesson: The Adaptable Brain

Date:

Concrete Examples: Focus your note taking on collecting examples that your teacher shares

Is it possible to live functionally with half a brain?

Neuroplasticity

Functional Plasticity

Structural Plasticity

Is it possible to live functionally with two different brains in the same head?

Split Brain

(SLEEP)

Topic of Lesson: Sensation & Perception Principles (Part I & II)

Date:

Concrete Examples: Focus your note taking on collecting examples that your teacher shares

Synesthesia

Sensation “Detection”

Transduction

Perception “Interpretation”

Bottom-Up Processing

Top-Down Processing

Absolute Threshold

Signal Detection Theory

Subliminal Sensation

Difference Threshold

“Just Noticeable Difference”

Weber’s Law

Sensory Adaptation

Selective Attention

Divided Attention

Inattentional Blindness

Change Blindness

Date:

Concrete Examples: Focus your note taking on collecting examples that your teacher shares

Vision

Cornea

Pupil

Iris

Crystalline Lens

Retina

Photoreceptors

Cones

Rods

Optic Nerve

Blind Spot

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic (Three-Color) Theory

Color-Deficient Vision

Opponent-Process Theory

Afterimage

Feature Detectors

Parallel Processing

Topic of Lesson: The Hearing Sense

Date:

Concrete Examples: Focus your note taking on collecting examples that your teacher shares

Audition

Sound Waves

Amplitude

Frequency

Pitch

Pinna

Tympanic Membrane

Middle Ear

Cochlea

Place Theory

Frequency Theory

Locating Sound “Sound Localization”

Conduction Hearing Loss

Sensorineural Hearing Loss/ Nerve Deafness

Cochlear Implant

The McGurk Effect

Topic of Lesson: Other Senses

Date:

Concrete Examples: Focus your note taking on collecting examples that your teacher shares

Taste (Gustation)

Smell (Olfaction)

Somesthetic Senses

Pain

Gate-Control Theory of Pain

Phantom Limb Sensations

Kinesthesis

Unit 2: