Unit 2 Psych Review

Techniques to Learn About Structure and Function

Broca’s area - part of the left frontal lobe

  • destruction can cause loss of the ability to speak

    • expressive aphasia

Wernicke’s area

  • destruction results in loss of the ability to comprehend written and spoken language

    • receptive aphasia

Lesions - the precise destruction of brain tissue, cutting of neural connections or destruction by chemical applications

Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT or CT) - computerized image using X-rays passing through various angles of the brain showing two-dimensional slices that can be arranged to show the extent of a lesion

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) - a magnetic field and pulses of radio waves cause a faint radio signal emissions that depend on the density of the tissue

Measuring Brain Function

EEG (electroencephalogram) - amplified tracing of brain activity produced when electrodes positioned over the scalp transmit signals about the brain’s electrical activity to an EEG machine

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) - produced color computer graphics that depend on metabolic activity of the brain

Functional MRI (fMRI) - brain at work at higher resolution than a PET scan

Magnetic Source Image (MSI) - produced by a magnetoencephalography (MEG) which is able to detect the slight magnetic field caused by electric potentials in the brain

Organization of Your Nervous System

CNS (Central Nervous System) - brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) - somatic nervous systema and autonomic nervous system

  • outside the midline portion of your nervous system carrying sensory information to and motor information away from the CNS via spinal and cranial nerves

Somatic Nervous System (SNS) - motor neurons that stimulate skeletal (voluntary) muscle

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) - motor neurons that stimulate smooth (involuntary) and heart muscle

  • antagonistic sympathetic nervous system

    • results in responses that help body deal with stressful events

  • parasympathetic nervous system

    • calms the body following sympathetic stimulation

Spinal Cord

The Brain

Old Mammalian Brain

New mammalian Brain

Convolutions

  • gyri - peaks on the surface of the cortex

  • sulci - valleys on the surface of the cortex

    • deeper ones are called fissures

Localization and Lateralization of the Brain’s Function

Association Areas - regions on cerebral cortex that do not have specific sensory or motor functions but are involved in higher mental functions

Medulla - regulates heart rhythm, blood flow, breathing rate, digestion

Pons - sends information to and from medulla, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex

Cerebellum - controls posture, equilibrium, and movement

Basal Ganglia - regulates initiation of movements, balance, eye movements, and posture, and processing of implicit memories

Thalamus - visual, auditory, taste, somatosensory information

Hypothalamus - feeding behavior, body temp, sexual behavior, rage, activation of sympathetic and parasympathetic

Hippocampus - enables formation of new long-term memories

Cerebral Cortex - higher-order processes

  • thinking, planning, judgement

  • receives and processes sensory info and directs movement

Plasticity

Structure and Function of the Neuron

Glial Cells - guide growth of developing neurons

  • helps provide nutrition for and get rid of wastes of neurons

  • forms sheath around neurons that speeds conduction

neuron - basic unit of structure and function of your nervous system

cell body - cytoplasm, nucleus which directs synthesis of such substances as neurotransmitters

dendrites - tubular branches capable of receiving information

axon - single conducting fiber that branches and ends in terminal buttons, axon terminals, or synaptic knobs usually covered by myelin sheath

dopamine - stimulates the hypothalamus to synthesize hormones and affects alertness and movement

serotonin - associated with sexual activity, concentration and attention, moods, and emotions

norepinephrine - attentiveness, sleeping, dreaming, and learning

antagonists - block a receptor site, inhibiting the effect of the neurotransmitter or agonist

Neuron Functions

urinal

excitatory

inhibitory

Reflex Action

reflex → reflex arc

interneurons - located entirely within brain and spinal cord, intervenes between sensory and motor neurons

efferent neurons - transmits impulses from your sensory or interneurons to muscle cells that contract or gland cells that secrete

effectors - muscle and gland cells

The Endocrine System

consists of glands that secrete chemical messengers called hormones into blood

Pineal Gland - produced melatonin helps regulate circadian rhythms and is associated with seasonal affective disorder

Hypothalamus - produces hormones that stimulate or inhibit secretion of hormones by the pituitary

Pituitary Gland -

Thyroid Gland - produces thyroxine → stimulates and maintains metabolic activities

Adrenal Glands

Pancreas - insulin and glucagon, regulates blood sugar that fuels all behavioral processes

Genetics and Evolutionary Psychology

nature-nurture controversy

evolutionary psychologists - natural selection

Genetics and Behavior

Behavioral geneticists

Heritability - the proportion of variation among individuals in a population that is due to genetic causes

Transmission of Hereditary Characteristics

Chromosomes - 46 of ‘em, eggs have 23 each

Turner Syndrome - only one X sex chromosome

Klinefelter’s syndrome - XXY zygote

dominant and recessive genes

Levels of Consciousness

Preconscious - level of consciousness outside awareness but can be brought into conscious awareness easily

Nonconscious - devoted to processes, inaccessible to conscious awareness

unconscious - the subconscious containing unacceptable feelings, wished, and thoughts not directly available to awareness

dual processing

unconsciousness - loss of responsiveness to environment

Sleep and Dreams

Hypothalamus - systematically regulates and changed activity levels over the course of the day

Circadian Rhythm

Hypnagogic State - relaxed and rail to respond to outside stimuli

NREM-1 - theta waves

NREM-2 - high bursts of brain activity

NREM-3 - high amplitude and very low-frequency delta waves

REM - rapid eye movement

Interpretations of Dreams

Freud

latent and manifest content of dreams

Sleep Disorders

Insomnia - inability to fall or stay asleep

Narcolepsy - awake person uncontrollably falls asleep often directly into REM sleeps

Sleep Apnea - stopping of breathing during sleep and awakening repeatedly during the night

Hypnosis

altered state of consciousness in deep relaxation and heightened suggestibility

Meditation

Drugs

Psychoactive Drugs -