concept 6b part 2

Question 1

consciousness-altering drugs

Answer 1

4 different groups: depressants, stimulants, opiates, and hallucinogens
marijuana has depressant, stimulant, and hallucinogenic effects and considered separately

Question 2

depressants

Answer 2

reduce nervous system activity
resulting in sense of relaxation and reduced anxiety
alcohol is most common type, but also include barbiturates and benzodiazepines

Question 3

alcohol

Answer 3

has several effects on the brain
increases activity of the GABA receptor, a chloride channel that causes hyper polarization of the membrane
causes brain inhibition, resulting in diminished arousal
increases dopamine levels, causing sense of euphoria
logical reasoning and motor skills are affect and fatigue may result
often measured using blood alcohol levels

Question 4

alcohol myopia

Answer 4

main effects of alcohol on logical reasoning
the inability to recognize consequences of actions
this creates a short-sighted view of the world

Question 5

alcoholism

Answer 5

rates are higher for those in lower socioeconomic status, but low-SES alloys enter recovery sooner and at higher rates
tends to run in families
long-term consequences include cirrhosis and liver failure, pancreatic damage, gastric or duodenal ulcers, gastrointestinal cancer, and brain disorders including Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome

Question 6

Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

Answer 6

caused by a deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1)

characterized by sever memory impairment with changes in mental status and loss of motor skills

Question 7

barbiturates

Answer 7

historically used as anxiety-reducing (anxiolytic) and sleep medications
have been replaced by benzodiazepines
include amobarbital and phenobarbital

Question 8

benzodiazepines

Answer 8

replace barbiturates
are less prone to overdoes
include alprazolam, lorazepam, diazepam, and clonazepam
increase GABA activity, causing sense of relaxation
highly addictive

Question 9

stimulants

Answer 9

cause an increase in arousal in the nervous system
each drug increases the frequency of action potentials
amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy

Question 10

amphetamines

Answer 10

cause increased arousal by increasing release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin at the synapse and decreasing their reuptake
increases arousal, causes reduction in appetite and decreased need for sleep
increase heart rate and blood pressure
psychological effects include euphoria, hyper vigilance (being “on edge”), anxiety, delusions of grandeur, and paranoid

Question 11

cocaine

Answer 11

originates from the coca plant, grown in high-altitude regions of South America
decreases repute of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin
effects and withdrawal are similar to amphetamines
have anesthetic and vasoconstrictive properties

Question 12

crack

Answer 12

form of cocaine that can be smoked
with quick and potent effects
highly addictive

Question 13

ecstasy

Answer 13

acts as a hallucinogen combined with an amphetamine
mechanism and effects similar to amphetamines
causes increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, blurry vision, sweating, nausea, and hyperthermia
causes feelings of euphoria, increased alertness, and overwhelming sense of well-being and connectedness

Question 14

opium

Answer 14

derived from the poppy plant

numerous drugs derived from this that are used recreationally and therapeutically

Question 15

opiates

Answer 15

naturally occurring forms of opium
morphine and codeine
bind to opioid receptors in the peripheral and central nervous system
causing a decreased reaction to pain and a sense of euphoria
overdoes can cause death by respiratory suppression, brain stops sending signals to breathe

Question 16

opioids

Answer 16

semisynthetic derivatives of opium
oxycodone, hydrocodone, and heroin
bind to opioid receptors in the peripheral and central nervous system
causing a decreased reaction to pain and a sense of euphoria
overdoes can cause death by respiratory suppression, brain stops sending signals to breathe

Question 17

heroin

Answer 17

originally created as a substitute for morphine
once injected body rapidly metabolizes heroin to morphine
usually smoked or injected
was the most widely abused opioid, but now it is prescription opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone

Question 18

hallucinogens

Answer 18

include drugs such as lysergic acid diethyl amide (LSD), peyote, mescaline, ketamine, and psilocybin-containing mushrooms
exact mechanism is unknown, but thought to be complex interaction b/w various neurotransmitters especially serotonin
cause distortions of reality and fantasy, enhancement of sensory experiences, and introspection
increased heart rate and blood pressure, dilation of pupils, sweating, and increased body temperature

Question 19

marijuana

Answer 19

leaves and flowers of 2 plane species: Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica
active chemical is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
exerts effects by acting at cannabinoid receptors, glycine receptors, and opioid receptors
has depressant, stimulant, and hallucinogenic effects
THC increases GABA activity, causing neural inhibition, and dopamine activity, causing pleasure
cause eye redness, dry mouth, fatigue, impairment of short term memory, increased heart rate, increased appetite, and lowered blood pressure

Question 20

drug addiction

Answer 20

highly related to the mesolimbic reward pathway, 1 of 4 dopaminergic pathways in brain
addiction pathway is activated by all substances that produce psychological dependence

Question 21

mesolimbic reward pathway

Answer 21

highly related to drug addiction, is the addiction pathway
includes the nucleus accumbens, the ventral tegmental area, and the connections b/w them called the medial forebrain bundle
normally involved in motivation and emotional response
activation accounts for the positive reinforcement of substance abuse
gambling and falling in love also activate this pathway

Question 22

attention

Answer 22

concentrating on one aspect of the sensory environment or sensorium
understanding of how attention works and the mechanism by which we can shift our attention from one set of stimuli to another is unclear

Question 23

selective attention

Answer 23

focusing on one part of the sensorium while ignoring other stimuli
acts as a filter b/w sensory stimuli and our processing systems
probably a filter that allows us to focus on one thing while allowing other stimuli to be processed in the background
cocktail party phenomenon

Question 24

cocktail party phenomenon

Answer 24

at a party and talking to a friend
your ears perk up when you hear your name spoken across the room
even though you were engaged in conversation you were able to perceive your name being mentioned
evidence of different interpretation of selective attention

Question 25

divided attention

Answer 25

ability to perform multiple tasks at the same time familiar or routine actions can be performed with automatic processing which permits the brain to focus on other tasks with divided attention

Question 26

components of language

Answer 26

``` phonology morphology semantics syntax pragmatics ```

Question 27

phonology

Answer 27

refers to the actual sound of language about 40 phonemes (speech sounds) in English ability to recognize the difference b/w different speech sounds and other sounds in the environment

Question 28

categorical perception

Answer 28

ability to make the distinction b/w different pronunciations of a word recognizing the difference b/w language and environmental sounds and other human sounds (coughing)

Question 29

morphology

Answer 29

refers to the structure of words building blocks of words many words are composed of these building blocks that are called morphemes each morpheme has a particular meaning

Question 30

semantics

Answer 30

refers to the association of meaning with a word a child must learn that certain combinations of phonemes represent certain physical objects or events each word means a different specific thing

Question 31

syntax

Answer 31

refers to how words are put together to form sentences | proper order of words in a sentence that make sense

Question 32

pragmatics

Answer 32

refers to the dependence of language on context and preexisting knowledge the manner in which we speak may differ depending on the audience and our relationship affected by prosody--> the rhythm, cadence, and inflection of our voices

Question 33

timeline of language acquisition

Answer 33

9-12 months- babbling 12-18 months- about 1 word per month 18-24 months- "explosion of language" and combining words 2-3 years- longer sentences (3 words or more) 5 years- language rules largely mastered

Question 34

errors of growth

Answer 34

child applies a grammatical rule in a situation where it does not apply when a child says runned instead of ran as child creates longer sentences grammatical errors increase as the child internalized the complex rules of grammar

Question 35

nativist (biological) theory

Answer 35

Noam Chomsky advocates for the existence of some innate capacity for language study of transformational grammar

Question 36

transformational grammer

Answer 36

a linguistic theory that focuses on how changes in word order can affect meaning syntactic transformations-changes in word order that retain the same meaning Chomsky found that children learn to make these transformations effortlessly at an early age and therefore it is innate (LAD)

Question 37

language acquisition device (LAD)

Answer 37

theoretical pathway in the brain that allows infants to process and absorb language rules innate ability

Question 38

critical period

Answer 38

a time during development during which expose to language is essential for eventual development of the effective use of language occurs b/w age 2 and puberty nativists believe this

Question 39

sensitive period

Answer 39

a time during which environmental input has a maximal impact on the development of a particular ability this may be the case for language rather than a critical period for language this is before the onset of puberty

Question 40

learning (behaviorist) theory

Answer 40

B.F. Skinner explained language acquisition by operant conditioning and reinforcement parents repeat and reinforce sounds that are most like the language spoken and the infants perceives certain sounds that have value and are reliably reinforced this theory cannot fully explain the explosion of vocab during childhood

Question 41

social interactionist theory

Answer 41

focuses on the interplay b/w biological and social processes language acquisition is driven by the child's desire to communicate and behave in a social manner allows for role of brain development in language acquisition

Question 42

Whorfian hypothesis

Answer 42

aka linguistic relativity hypothesis suggests that our perception of reality is determined by the content of language language affects the way we think rather than the other way around

Question 43

brain areas in speech production

Answer 43

Broca's area- speech production Wrenches' area- language comprehension these areas are connected by the arcuate fasciculus

Question 44

Broca's area

Answer 44

located in the inferior frontal gyrus of the frontal lobe controls the motor function of speech via connections with the motor cortex ability to form words and speak

Question 45

Wernicke's area

Answer 45

located in the superior temporal gyrus of the temporal lobe responsible for language comprehension ability to understand the meaning of speech and being able to understand what is being said

Question 46

arcuate fasciculus

Answer 46

a bundle of axons that allows appropriate association b/w language comprehension and speech production

Question 47

aphasia

Answer 47

deficit of language production of comprehension | caused by damage to one of the brain areas that pertain to language

Question 48

Broca's aphasia

Answer 48

expressive aphasia damage to the Broca's area speech comprehension is intact, patient will understand what is being said reduced or absent ability to produce spoken language, they can not form words stuck with the sensation of having every word on he tip of the tongue

Question 49

Wernicke's aphasia

Answer 49

receptive aphasia motor production of speech is maintained, patient can form words comprehension of speech is lost patients speak nonsensical sounds and inappropriate word combinations with no meaning word salad patients believe that the are speaking and understanding perfectly well but people around them don't know what is being said

Question 50

conduction aphasia

Answer 50

damage to the arcuate fasciculus Broca's and Wernicke's are unaffected speech production and comprehension are intact patients are unable to repeat something that has been said bc the connection b/w the 2 areas is lost