AP psych unit 1 ultimate review
Nervous System & Neural Communication
Heredity – The transmission of genetic traits from parents to offspring.
Nature & Nurture – Nature = inherited traits; Nurture = environmental influences.
Eugenics – The false belief that the human population can be improved by controlling who reproduces.
Central Nervous System – The brain and spinal cord; main control center.
Peripheral Nervous System – Nerves outside the CNS that carry info to/from the rest of the body.
Autonomic Nervous System – Controls automatic functions (heartbeat, breathing).
Somatic Nervous System – Controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles.
Parasympathetic Nervous System – Calms the body after stress; conserves energy.
Sympathetic Nervous System – Arouses the body in response to stress; "fight or flight."
Neural Cells – The cells in the nervous system: mainly neurons and glial cells.
Glial Cells – Support neurons by feeding them, protecting them, and cleaning up waste.
Neurons – Cells that transmit electrical and chemical messages in the nervous system.
Reflex Arc – A direct path from sensory to motor neurons via the spinal cord; no brain needed.
Sensory Neurons – Carry messages from body to brain.
Motor Neurons – Carry messages from brain to muscles.
Interneurons – Neurons in the spinal cord and brain that link sensory and motor neurons.
All-or-Nothing Principle – A neuron either fires completely or not at all.
Depolarization – When a neuron fires by letting in positive ions.
Refractory Period – Short rest time after a neuron fires when it can’t fire again.
Resting Potential – The neuron is negatively charged and ready to fire.
Neurotransmitters & Disorders
Reuptake – Process where leftover neurotransmitters are taken back into the neuron.
Threshold – The minimum amount of stimulation needed for a neuron to fire.
Multiple Sclerosis – A disease where the myelin sheath breaks down, causing slowed signals.
Myasthenia Gravis – A disorder where muscles weaken due to blocked acetylcholine.
Neurotransmitters – Chemicals that send messages across synapses between neurons.
Excitatory Neurotransmitters – Increase the chance of the next neuron firing.
Inhibitory Neurotransmitters – Decrease the chance of the next neuron firing.
Action Potential – The electrical impulse sent down a neuron when it fires.
Dopamine – A neurotransmitter linked to movement, reward, and attention.
Serotonin – A neurotransmitter affecting mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal.
Norepinephrine – Helps control alertness and arousal.
Glutamate – A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory.
GABA – A major inhibitory neurotransmitter that calms the brain.
Endorphins – Natural painkillers and mood boosters.
Substance P – A neurotransmitter involved in pain perception.
Acetylcholine (ACh) – Enables muscle movement and learning/memory.
Hormones – Chemical messengers in the bloodstream from endocrine glands.
Adrenaline – Hormone that activates the fight-or-flight response.
Leptin – Hormone that decreases hunger.
Ghrelin – Hormone that increases hunger.
Melatonin – Hormone that regulates sleep.
Oxytocin – Hormone linked to bonding and trust.
Psychoactive Drugs – Substances that alter brain function, mood, or perception.
Agonists – Drugs that mimic or increase a neurotransmitter’s effect.
Antagonists – Drugs that block a neurotransmitter’s effect.
Brain Structures & Imaging
Stimulants – Drugs that increase neural activity and alertness.
Depressants – Drugs that slow down neural activity and body functions.
Hallucinogens – Drugs that distort perception and cause hallucinations.
Opioids – Drugs that relieve pain and can cause euphoria.
The Brain Stem – Oldest brain part; controls survival functions (breathing, heartbeat).
Medulla – Controls heartbeat and breathing.
Reticular Activating System – Controls alertness and arousal.
Cerebellum – Coordinates balance and movement.
Cerebral Cortex – Outer brain layer involved in higher-level thinking.
Limbic System – Controls emotion, motivation, and memory.
Thalamus – The brain’s sensory switchboard; directs signals to correct areas.
Hypothalamus – Regulates hunger, thirst, temperature, and controls the pituitary gland.
Pituitary Gland – Master endocrine gland; releases many hormones.
Hippocampus – Helps form new memories.
Amygdala – Processes emotion, especially fear and aggression.
Corpus Callosum – Connects left and right brain hemispheres.
Occipital Lobe – Processes visual information.
Temporal Lobe – Processes hearing and language.
Parietal Lobe – Processes touch and body position.
Frontal Lobe – Controls thinking, planning, and judgment.
Motor Cortex – Controls voluntary movements.
Prefrontal Cortex – Involved in decision-making and social behavior.
Somatosensory Cortex – Processes body touch sensations.
Split Brain Research – Studying patients with severed corpus callosum to understand hemisphere functions.
Broca’s Area – Controls speech production.
Wernicke’s Area – Controls language comprehension.
Aphasia – Loss of ability to understand or express language.
Cortex Specialization – Different brain areas have different functions.
Contralateral Hemispheric Organization – Left brain controls right side of body, and vice versa.
Brain Plasticity – Brain’s ability to adapt or reorganize after damage.
Consciousness & Sleep
EEG – Machine that records brain wave activity.
fMRI – Brain scan that shows blood flow and brain activity.
Case Studies – Detailed observations of one individual or group.
Lesioning – Removing or damaging brain tissue to study function.
Consciousness (Sleep & Wakefulness) – Awareness of ourselves and our surroundings.
Sleep/Wake Cycle – 24-hour biological pattern of sleeping and waking.
Circadian Rhythm – Internal body clock that controls sleep and wake.
Jet Lag – Disrupted sleep due to travel across time zones.
Stages of Sleep NREM – Non-dream stages of sleep (1–3); deep sleep occurs in stage 3.
Stages of Sleep REM – Stage where dreaming occurs; brain is active but body is paralyzed.
Hypnagogic Sensations – Strange feelings like floating or falling as you fall asleep.
REM Rebound – Increased REM sleep after being deprived of it.
Activation-Synthesis – Dream theory that brain tries to make sense of random neural activity.
Consolidation Theory – Dreams help store and organize memories.
Insomnia – Persistent problems falling or staying asleep.
Narcolepsy – Sudden, uncontrollable sleep attacks.
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder – Acting out dreams due to lack of muscle paralysis.
Sleep Apnea – Breathing stops repeatedly during sleep.
Somnambulism – Sleepwalking; usually during deep NREM sleep.
Sensation & Perception
Sensation – Detecting physical energy (like light or sound) from the environment.
Transduction – Converting sensory signals into neural messages.
Absolute Threshold – The smallest amount of stimulus needed to detect it 50% of the time.
Just-Noticeable Difference – The smallest change in stimulus that can be detected.
Weber’s Law – The bigger the stimulus, the more it has to change to notice a difference.
Synesthesia – Mixing of senses (e.g., seeing sounds or hearing colors).
Retina – Light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye.
Cones – Detect color and work best in bright light.
Rods – Detect black and white; help us see in dim light.
Blind Spot – Where the optic nerve leaves the eye; no vision here.
Lens (Part of the Eye) – Focuses incoming light onto the retina.
Accommodation (Visual System) – The lens changes shape to focus on near or far objects.
Nearsightedness/Farsightedness – Vision problems where light focuses in the wrong spot.
Trichromatic Theory – We see color through red, green, and blue cones.
Opponent-Process Theory – Color vision is controlled by pairs: red-green, blue-yellow, black-white.
Photoreceptor Cells – Rods and cones; respond to light.
Fovea – Center of the retina with the sharpest vision.
Wavelength (Colors) – Determines color hue; shorter = blue, longer = red.
Afterimages – Seeing an image after looking away due to overstimulation.
Ganglion Cells – Transmit visual info from the retina to the brain.
Dichromatism – Color blindness with only two functioning color receptors.
Monochromatism – Total color blindness; only shades of gray.
Prosopagnosia – Inability to recognize faces.
Blindsight – Ability to respond to visual stimuli without consciously seeing them.
Sound Waves – Vibrations that travel through the air and are detected by ears.
Pitch & Amplitude – Pitch = frequency (high/low sound); Amplitude = volume.
Sensory Adaptation – When your senses become less sensitive to constant or unchanging stimuli.
PET Scan – Brain imaging that shows areas of activity by tracking glucose use.
CT Scan – A detailed brain scan using X-rays to detect injuries or brain damage.
MRI – A brain scan using strong magnets to show soft tissue structures clearly.