Bio-psychology Flashcards
(97 cards)
1
Q
Genetic Variation
A
- The variation in alleles and genes, both within and among the population
- Begins with egg, and about 100 million sperms whereby fertilization occurs
2
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Egg and Sperm
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- The egg travels via the Fallopian tube, from the ovary to the uterus to be fertilized by the sperm
- Contains 23 chromosomes each
3
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Chromosomes
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- Long string of genetic material called Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
- Each chromosomes is a sequence of DNA that make up genes
4
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Genes
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•Genes determine the specific human characteristics, also known as traits (e.g., height, eye color)
5
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Allele
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•A specific version of a gene (same gene, but different variation)
6
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Zygote
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•Created when 23 chromosomes from the egg and the sperm pairs up
7
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Phenotype
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- Refers to the expression of the trait (e.g, how it looks/function)
- Inherited physical characteristics
8
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Genotype
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- Refers to a pair of alleles for a trait
* A genetic make up of that individual
9
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Polygenic
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•A trait that is controlled by multiple genes
10
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Homozygous
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•2 copies of the same alleles
11
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Heterozygous
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•Combination of allele for a given gene
12
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Gene Mutation
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- A sudden permanent change in a gene
* It is harmful and lethal; rarely beneficial
13
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Range of Reaction
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- Asserts that our genes set the boundaries within which we can operate
- Our environment interacts with the genes to determine where in that range we will fall
14
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Epigenetics
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•Looks beyond the genotype itself and studies how the same genotype can lead to very different phenotypes
15
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Identical Twins
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- Single fertilized egg that splits
* Genetic material is exactly the same
16
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Fraternal Twins
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- Two different eggs fertilized by different sperms
* Genetic material varies
17
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Nervous System
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•Composed of 2 basic cell types – glial cells and neurons
18
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Glial Cells
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- Supportive to the neurons physically and metabolically
- Provide scaffolding on which nervous system is built
- Allow neuronal communication
- Insulation to neurons
- Transport nutrients and waste products
- Mediate immune responses
19
Q
Neurons
A
- Interconnected processors; essential for all of the tasks of the nervous system
- Central building blocks of the nervous system
- 100 billion strong at birth
- Outer surface is made up of semipermeable membrane
- Surrounded by extracellular fluid, and contains intracellular fluid
20
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Semipermeable Membrane
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•Allows smaller molecules/molecules without an electrical charge to pass through
21
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Nucleus
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•Located in the soma/cell body
22
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Soma
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- Keeps the cell functioning and holds the cell’s DNA
* Branching extensions known as dendrites
23
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Dendrites
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- Inputs sites where signals are received from other neurons
- Transmitted electrically across the soma and down a major extension known as axon
- Ends at multiple terminal buttons
24
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Terminal Buttons
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•Contains synaptic vesicles that house neurotransmitters
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Axons
* Carries signals between the dendrites and the terminal buttons
* Range in length from a fraction of an inch to several feet
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Myelin Sheath
* Coats the axon and acts as an insulator; increasing the speed at which the signals travels
* Crucial for normal operation of neurons within the nervous system
* Loss of insulation can be detrimental to normal function
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Synaptic Vesicles
* Release neurotransmitters into the synapse where communication between neurons occurs
* Synapse – Small space between two neurons
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Neuronal Membrane
* Separates extracellular and intracellular fluid
* Critical role; electrical signal that passes through the neurons depends intra- and extracellular fluids being electrically different (membrane potential)
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Resting Potential
* Neuron's membrane potential is held in a state of readiness
* Ions line up on either side of the cell membrane, ready to rush across the membrane when neuron gets active and when the membrane opens its gates
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Threshold of Excitation
•Refers to the level of neural depolarization that is necessary to generate an action potential
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Peak Action Potential
•Happens when the neuron opens protein channels in its membrane
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Depolarization
* Difference between the electric charge on the inside and the outside of the cell membrane
* When the cell becomes positively charged (or less negative)
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Repolarization
•Change in membrane potential that returns it to a negative value just after the depolarization phase of an action potential which has changed the membrane potential to a positive value
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Hyperpolarization
•The membrane potential becomes more negative at a particular spot on the neuron’s membrane
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Electrical Charge
•Caused when charged molecules (ions) dissolve in the fluid
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Ions Movement
* Ions in high concentration areas move to low concentration areas
* Positive ions move to areas with negative charge
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Psychotropic Medications
•Drugs that treat psychiatric symptoms by restoring neurotransmitter balance
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Acetylcholine
* Involves in muscle action and memory
| * Increase arousal, enhance cognition
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Dopamine
* Involves in mood, sleep, learning
| * Increase pleasure, suppress appetite
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Norepinephrine
* Involves in heart, intestines and alertness
| * Increase arousal, suppress appetite
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Beta-endorphin
* Involves in pain and pleasure
| * Decrease anxiety and tension
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Gamma-aminobutyric Acid (GABA)
* Involves in brain function and sleep
| * Decrease anxiety and tension
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Glutamate
* Involves in memory and learning
| * Increase learning and enhance memory
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Serotonin
* Involves in mood and sleep
| * Modulate mood and suppress appetite
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Agonists
•Mimic a neurotransmitter of the receptor site; strengthen its effect
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Antagonists
•Blocks/impede the normal activity of a neurotransmitter at the receptor
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Central Nervous System (CNS)
•Comprised of brain and spinal cord
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Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
* Connects the CNS to the rest of the body
| * Made up of thick bundles of axons, known as nerves
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Somatic Nervous System
* Associated with activities traditionally thought of as conscious or voluntary
* Involved in the relay of sensory and motor information to and from the CNS
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Motor Neurons
* Carry instructions from the CNS to the muscles
| * Efferent (moving away from) fibers
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Sensory Neurons
* Carry sensory information to the CNS
| * Afferent (moving towards) fibers
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Automatic Nervous System
* Controls our internal organs and glands
* Generally considered to be outside the realm of voluntary control
* Subdivided to sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions
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Sympathetic Nervous System
* Involved in preparing the body for stress-related activities
* Adaptive and increase chances of survival (stressful or high-arousal situations)
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Parasympathetic Nervous System
•Associated to returning the body to routine, day-to-day operations
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Homeostasis
•A state of equilibrium, in which biological conditions (such as body temperature) are maintained in optimal levels
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Spinal Cord
* Connects the brain to the outside world; routes messages to and from the brain
* Has it own system of automatic reflexes, called reflexes
* Functionally organized in 30 segments, corresponding to the vertebrae
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Medulla Oblongata
* Lowest part of the brain stem; found below the pons and above the spinal cord
* Controls basic processors of life (breathing and digestion)
* Regulates cardiovascular and respiratory functions
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Baroreceptor
•Fastest mechanism to regulate acute blood pressure changes via controlling heart rate, contractility, and peripheral resistance.
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Vertebrae
•Protects the spinal cord
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Cerebrospinal Fluid
•Cushions the spinal cord
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Spinal Reflex
•Allow the body to react extraordinary fast
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Cerebral Cortex
* Located at the surface of the brain
| * Very uneven, characterized by a distinctive patterns of folds/bumps, known as gyri; and grooves known as sulci
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Gyri and Sulci
•Allow us to separate the brain into functional centers
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Longitudinal Fissure
* Most prominent sulcus
| * Deep groove that separates the brain into two halves
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Left and Right Hemispheres
•Connected by thick bond of neural fibers known as corpus callosum
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Corpus Callosum
* 200 million axons
* Allows the two hemispheres to communicate
* Process information on one side to the other
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Brain Lateralization
•A phenomenon in which a skill or function is preferably controlled by one side of the brain over the other, causing the hemispheres to have specialized functions
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Forebrain
* Largest part of the brain (divided into 4 lobes)
| * Contains cerebral cortex and a number of other structures that lie beneath the cortex
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Subcortical Structures
* A group of diverse neural formations deep within the brain
| * Include thalamus, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and the limbic system
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Frontal Lobe
* Located in the forward part of the brain, extending back to the fissure known as central sulcus
* Involves in reasoning, motor control, emotion and language
* Contains motor cortex – planning and coordinating movement
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Parietal Lobe
* Process information from the body's senses
| * Contains somatosensory cortex – process sensory information (e.g., touch)
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Occipital Lobe
* Contains primary visual cortex
| * Interprets incoming visual information
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Temporal Lobe
* Associated with hearing, memory, emotion and some aspects of language
* Contains auditory cortex – process auditory information
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Prefrontal Cortex
•Responsible for higher-level cognitive functions
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Broca's Area
* Located at prefrontal cortex
* Essential for language production
* Damage – difficulty producing language in any form
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Wernick's Area
* Located in temporal lobe
* Responsible for speech comprehension
* Damage – able to produce sensible language, however, individuals will be unable to understand it
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Thalamus
* Involve in the sensory relay of the brain
| * All senses (except smell) are routed through the thalamus before being directed to the other areas for processing
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Limbic System
•Involved in motivation, emotion, learning, and memory
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Midbrain
•Comprised of structures located deep within the brain between the forebrain and hindbrain
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Reticular Formation
* Extends up into the forebrain and down into the hindbrain
| * Regulates sleep and wake cycle, arousal, alertness and motor activity
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Substantia Nigra and Ventral Tegmented Area (VTA)
* Located in the midbrain
* Contains cell bodies that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine
* Critical for movement
* Involved in mood, reward, and addiction
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Hindbrain
* Located at the lower back part of the brain
| * Contains medulla, pons and cerebellum (together known as brain stem)
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Medulla
•Controls the automatic nervous system (e.g, breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate)
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Pons
* Connect the brain and spinal cord
| * Regulates brain activity during sleep
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Cerebellum
* Receives messages from muscles, tendons, joints and structures in our ears
* Control balance, coordination, movement and motor skills
* Process procedural memory or memory involved in learning and remembering how to perform tasks
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Computerized Tomography (CT) scan
* Taking a number of x-rays of a particular section of an individual's body or brain
* Pass through different densities at different rate
* Often used to determine if someone has a tumor or significant brain atrophy
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Position Emission Tomography (PET) scan
* Create pictures of the active brain and shows brain's activity
* Provide little details
* Requires the brain to be exposed to radiation
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
* Individual is being placed inside a machine that generates strong magnetic field
* Tissues of different densities give off different signals
* Magnetic field – causes the hydrogen atoms in the body's cell to move
* Magnetic field turned off – hydrogen atoms emit electromagnetic signals as they return to their original position
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Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
•Shows changes in brain activity over time by tracking blood flow and energy levels
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Electroencephalography (EEG)
* Measures brain's electrical activity
* An array of electrodes is being placed around an individual's head
* Result in a printout of the electrical activity and brainwaves – shows both amplitude and frequency (m/s)
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Endocrine System
•Consists a series of glands that produce hormones
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Hormones
* Secreted into the bloodstream and travels throughout the body
* Slower to take effects and longer lasting
* Affects any cells that contain receptors for them – send signals
* Regulates all sorts of bodily functions – controlled through the interactions between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland
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Pituitary Gland
* Descends from the hypothalamus at the base of the brain
* Its messenger hormones controls all the other glands in the endocrine system
* Mostly carries out instructions from the hypothalamus
* Secretes growth hormones, endorphins for pain relief and number of key hormones that regulate fluid in the body
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Thyroid Gland
* Releases hormones that regulate growth, metabolism and appetite
* Disease: Hyperthyroidism – thyroid secretes too much thyroxine – cause agitation, bulging eyes, and weight loss
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Adrenal Gland
* Sit atop our kidneys
| * Secretes hormones involved in the stress response (e.g., epinephrine and nor-epinephrine)
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Pancreas
* An internal organ
| * Secretes hormones that regulate blood sugar levels (insulin and glucagon)
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Gonads
* Secrete sexual hormones – important in reproduction
* Mediate both sexual motivation and behavior
* Female: Ovaries – estrogens and progesterone
* Male: Testes – androgen (e.g., testosterone)
