AP Psychology Unit 1

Central Nervous System (CNS)

made up of the brain and the spinal cord

process information and controls how the body responds.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

connects the CNS to the rest of the body

all of the nerves outside of the brain/spinal cord - carries messages between the CNS and the rest of the body

Somatic Nervous System

controls VOLUNTARY movements - walking, rasising hand ***SKELETON****

Autonomic Nervous System

controls INVOLUNTARY movements - heart rate, digestion, breathing

Sympathetic Nervous System

FIGHT or FLIGHT - activates body during stress or danger —— uses energy for arousal or for action

Parasympathetic Nervous System

calms your body down — REST and DIGEST - slows heart rate and supports digestion

Sensory Neurons (afferent)

Carrys' information from the body TO the CNS

this is why you pull your hand away from a flame

Interneurons

processes information and connects the neurons with the CNS

Motor Neurons (efferent)

carrys information FROM the CNS to the muscles or glands

Neuron

A nerve cell that receives and sends messages throughout the body.

Cell body (soma)

Contains the nucleus and keeps the neuron alive.

Dendrites

Receive messages from other neurons.

Axon

Carries messages away from the cell body.

Myelin sheath

A fatty covering around the axon that speeds up messages.

Glial cells

Support, protect, and nourish neurons; some make myelin.

Action potential

An electrical impulse that travels down the axon to send a message.

Threshold

The minimum stimulation needed to trigger an action potential.

Refractory period

A brief recovery period when a neuron cannot fire again normally.

All-or-none response

A neuron either fires a full action potential or doesn't fire at all.

Synapse

The tiny gap between neurons where messages are passed.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that carry signals across the synapse.

Reuptake

When the sending neuron takes neurotransmitters back in after releasing them.

Endorphins

Natural chemicals that reduce pain and can create feelings of pleasure.

Agonist

A substance that increases a neurotransmitter's effects by mimicking it or helping it work.

Antagonist

A substance that blocks a neurotransmitter's effects.

Endocrine system

A system of glands that releases hormones into the bloodstream to regulate body functions.

Hormones

Chemical messengers that travel through the blood and affect organs and body processes.

Acetylcholine (Ach)

muscle action, learning, and memory

alzheimers disease, ACh-producing neurons deteriorate

Dopamine

movement, learning, attention, and emotion

oversupply linked to schizophrenia, undersupply linked to tremors and decreased mobility in Parkinsons disease

Serotonin

affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

undersupply linked to depression. some drugs that raise serotonin levels are used to treat depression

norepinephrine

helps control alertness and arousal

undersupply can depress mood

GABA

inhibitory neurotransmitter

undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnnia

glutamate

excitatory neurotransmitter; invlovled in memory

oversupply can overstimulate the brain, producing migraines or seizure

endophins

neurotransmitters that influence the perceptoin of pain or pleasure

overfsupply with opiod drugs can suppress the body’s natural endorphin supply

supstance P

involved in pain perception and immune response

oversupply can lead to chronic pain

depressants

calm neural activity which slows bodily functions

cause a person to process things slower —- slurred speech, disrupted memory

-alcohol

-barbituates

opiods

depress neural activity and lessens pain and anxiety

replace the feeling of pain —- breathing slows, pupils constrict

LOW TOLERANCE

-heroin

-methadone

-pain relievers

stimulants

excites neural activity - speeds bodily functions

pupils dialate, heart rate & breathing speeds up — reduces apatite

-nicotine

-cocaine

-energy drinks/caffine

-meth

hallucinogens

distorts perceptions and evokes sensory images

make people feel seperated from their bodies

-LSD

-marajuana

Neuroplasticity

hm

brains ability to change and reorganize as you learn and experience new things from your lifestyle

Lesion

hm

damaged brain tissue — helps scientists understand what the brain area does

EEG (electroencephalogram)

To see how quickly the brain sends signals and detect unusual activity, such as during seizures.

measures the brains electrical activity - puts electrodes on the scalp

MEG (magnetoencephalography)

To find where brain signals happen and understand how different brain areas communicate.

measures the magnetic fields produced by the brains electrical activity

CT scan

To look inside the brain and find injuries, bleeding, or damage.

X-Ray to create pictures of the brains structure

PET scan

To see which brain areas use the most energy, helping scientists study brain activity and certain diseases.

radioactive tracer to show brain activity and sugar/glucose levels

MRI

To get detailed pictures of brain structures and find damage or abnormalities.

uses magnets and radio waves to create detailed pictures of the brains structure

fMRI

To see which brain areas become more active when someone thinks, remembers, or performs a task.

measures changes in blood OXYGEN levels to show which brain areas are more active

Brain stem

keeps you alive — controls basic functions like breathing and heart rate

Medulla

part of the brain stem — controls breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure

Thalamus

sensory relay statoin - sends most sensory information eXCEPT FOR SMELL to the correct part of the brain

Reticular formation

helps control alertness, arousal, and wakefullness

Cerebellum

“little brain” - controls balance, coordination, and smooth movements

Hippocampus

helps form new memories

Hypothalamus

maintains body internal balance (homeostasis) by regulating hunger, thirst, body temperature, and sleep

Cerebral cortex

brains outer layer; responsible for higher-level thinking, perception, and decision making

Frontal lobes

planning, decision making, personality, and voluntary movement

Parietal lobes

processes touch and other body sensations, helps with spatial awareness

Occipital lobes

processes vision

Temporal lobes

processes hearing; helps with language and memory

Motor cortex

controls VOLUNTARY muscle movements

Somatosensory cortex

recieves and processes sensations like TOUCH, PRESSURE, PAIN, and TEMPERATURE

Amygdala

the part of the brain that processes emotions, especially fear and anger.

Association areas

connect and interpret information to help with thinking, learning , memory, and problem-solving

Consciousness

being aware of yourself, your thoughts, and your surroundings

Cognitive neuroscience

the study of how the brain affects thinking, learning, memory, and behavior.

Dual processing

your brain processes information in two ways: HIGH ROAD consciously (aware) and LOW ROAD unconsciously (without realizing it).

Blindsight

when someone who is blind because of brain damage can still respond to visual information without consciously seeing it.

Parallel processing

your brain handles multiple pieces of information at the same time without you realizing it

ex recognizing a face's color, shape, and movement all at once.

Sequential processing

your brain handles information ONE step at a time. Example: solving a math problem one step at a time.

Term

definition

circadian rhythm

our biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24 hour cycle

REM Sleep

rapid eye movement sleep; a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dream dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed - body systems are active

alpha waves

the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

NREM Sleep

non-rapid eye movement sleep; encompasses all sleep stages except for REM sleep

hallucinations

false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the abscense of an external visual stimulus

hypnagogic sensations

bizarre experiences, such as jerkign or a feeling of falling or floating weightlessly, while transitioning to sleep

delta waves

the large, slow brain waves associated with DEEP sleep

suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls the circadian rhythm. In response to light, the SCN adjusts melatonin production, thus modifying our feelings of sleepiness

term

definition

insomnia

recurring problems in falling or staying asleep

narcolepsy

a sleep disorder — uncontrollable sleep attacks. the affected person may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times

sleep apnea

a sleep disorder —temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

REM sleep behavior disorder

nromal REM paralysis does not occur — instead, twitching, talking, or kicking/punching may occur — acting out ones dream

REM rebound

the tendency for REM sleep to increase the following REM sleep deprivation

Activation-synthesis Theory

Memory consolidation theory

Rem helps to preserve and develop neural connections

dreams provide a way to sort out the days events and serve to consolidate our memories for storage

as REM cycles activate the brain, we make sense of the random activations and weave together a storyline that becomes a dream

stage

wave name and characteristics

characteristics or common behaviors of this stage

Awake, but relaxed

alpha waves - low frequency

aware of whats happening around you but pretty drowsy

Non Rem 1

theta waves

hallucinations, hypnagogic, visual images and feelings, feeling of falling, twitches

Non Rem 2

theta waves - k complex and spindle waves

ability to sleep through loud noises, help with memory

Non rem 3

delta waves

hard to wake up - deep sleep - talk and walk in sleep

REM

rapid eye movement - Beta waves

active mind, paralized body, paradoxical