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GRE Psychology- Kaplan Sixth Edition > Physiological Psych > Flashcards

Physiological Psych Flashcards

(64 cards)

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1
Q

Franz Gall

A

Earliest theories that behavior, intellect, personality may be linked to brain anatomy; doctrine of phrenology, thought that areas of the brain responsible for traits would expand and you could feel them along the skull

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2
Q

Pierre Flourens

A

Studied phrenology, first person to study functions of major sections of the brain by extirpation/ ablation (aka removing chunks of brain)

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3
Q

William James

A

studied how the mind functioned/ adapted tot he environment. Formed functionalism - studying how mental processes help individuals to adapt to their environments

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4
Q

John Dewey

A

Studied functionalism, wanted to study the organism as a whole as it functioned to adapt to the environment

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5
Q

Paul Broca

A

Examined behavioral deficits of people with brain damage; found specific functional impairments associated with specific brain lesions.

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6
Q

Broca’s area

A

on the left side of the brain; lesions cause the inability to produce speech, even though one can still understand it.

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7
Q

Johannes Muller

A

law of specific nerve energies- each sensory nerve is excited by only one kind of energy (e.g. light, air vibrations, etc.), the brain interprets the stimulation of that nerve as that kind of energy

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8
Q

Hermann von Helmoholtz

A

Measured the speed of nerve impulses

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9
Q

Sir Charles Sherrington

A

Inferred existence of the synapse

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10
Q

Sensory neurons

A

Also known as afferent neurons, transmit sensory information from receptors to the spinal cord and brain. Along afferent fibers into the brain.

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11
Q

Motor Neurons

A

Efferent neurons, transmit motor information from brain and spinal cord to the muscles. Along efferent fibers from the brain

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12
Q

Interneurons

A

Found in between other neurons and are the most numerous of the three types. Located predominately in the brain and spinal cord. Linked to reflexive behavior

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13
Q

Reflex arcs

A

Control reflexive behaviors, which are crucial to survival

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14
Q

Overview of the Nervous system

A

Central nervous system which is made up of the brain and spinal cord. Peripheral nervous system which is made up of somatic and autonomic. autonomic has sympathetic and parasympathetic.

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15
Q

Walter Cannon

A

studied the autonomic nervous system

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16
Q

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

A

regulates heart beat, respiration, digestion, and glandular secretions (e.g. involuntary functions of internal organs and glands)

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17
Q

Acetylcholine wrt ANS

A

Responsible for parasympathetic responses (e.g. rest and digest)

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18
Q

Adrenaline wrt ANS

A

Responsible for sympathetic responses (e.g. flight or flight)

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19
Q

Hindbrain

A

Cerebellum, medulla oblongata, reticular formation: Where brain meets spinal cord, responsible for balance, motor coordination, breathing, digesting, and general arousal.

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20
Q

Midbrain (mesencephalon)

A

Inferior and superior colliculi: manages sensorimotor reflexes to promote survival, receives sensory info

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21
Q

Forebrain

A

Cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, limbic system, thalamus, hypothalamus: associated with complex perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral processes including emotion and memory. Has greatest influence on human behavior

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22
Q

The brain stem

A

made up of the hindbrain and the midbrain

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23
Q

Limbic system

A

Septal nuclei, amygdala, hippocampus: Group of neural structures primarily associated with emotion and memory (e.g. aggression, fear, pleasure, and pain).

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24
Q

Cerebral cortex

A

outer covering of hemispheres, associated with language processing, problem solving, impulse control, long-term planning, etc.

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25
Phylogeny v ontogeny
phylogeny- evolutionary development; ontogeny- development over the lifetime
26
Medulla oblongata
Lover brain structure responsible for regulating vital functions like breathing, heart beat, blood pressure, digestion.
27
Pons
Above the medulla, contains sensory and motor tracts between the cortex and the medulla
28
Cerebellum
Helps maintain posture, balance, and coordinates body movements. Damage causes slurred speech, clumsiness, and loss of balance (e.g. alcohol impairs this)
29
Reticular Formation
Interconnected nuclei: regulates arousal and alertness (sleeping and waking) and attention
30
Superior colliculus
Receives sensory input
31
inferior colliculus
Receives auditory input, controls reflexes in response to noises
32
thalamus
Important relay station for incoming sensory impulses. Thalamus sorts impulses and transmits them to appropriate areas of cortex
33
Hypothalamus
Divided into the lateral, ventromedial, and anterior: serves homeostatic functions, key player in emotional experience during high arousal states, aggressive behavior, and sexual behavior. Helps control endocrine functions. Self-regulates to maintain stable equilibrium within the body. Metabolism, temperature, water balance
34
Osmoregulation
Maintenance of water balance in the body, performed by osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus
35
Lateral Hypothalamus (LH)
Hunger center; if damaged, one will not eat/ starve (aphagia). "Less hungry"
36
Ventromedial Hypothalamus (VMH)
Satiety center, damage leads to over eating and often obesity (hyperphagia). "Very hungry"
37
Anterior Hypothalamus
Controls sexuality. Stimulation increases sexual behavior and damage leads to inhibition of sexual activity
38
Basal Ganglia
Coordinates muscle movements, receiving information from cortex and relaying it through the extrapyrimidal motor system (which transports to the brain and spinal cord). Damage creates jerky, unorganized movements (e.g. Parkinson's disease is related to damage here).
39
Ventricles
Fluid filled cavities in the middle of the brain that link up with the spinal canal, filled with cerebrospinal fluid (irregularities associated with schizophrenia)
40
Septal nuclei
Part of the limbic system. One of the primary pleasure centers of the brain. James Olds and Peter Milder discovered this (studying mice who would prefer this stimulated than even eating when hungry). Also inhibits aggressive behavior. if damaged, one experiences "septal rage"
41
Amygdala
Defensive and aggressive behaviors. Lesions cause docility, hypersexuality (Kluver and Bucy did studies to link amygdala with defensive and aggressive behavior)
42
Hippocampus
Learning and memory. Damage causes anterograde amnesia
43
Cerebral cortex
also called neocortex,has convolutions (gyri and sucli), has 2 hemispheres and 4 lobes (frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital)
44
Frontal lobe
Comprised of prefrontal lobes and the motor cortex. Prefrontal serves as executive function, perception, memory, emotion, impulse control, and long-term planning.
45
Roger Sperry + Michael Gazzaniga
Studied the effects of severing the corpus collosum. Discovered that CC allowed for communication across hemispheres
46
Left v Right brain hemispheres
Left: letters, words, language, speech, reading, writing, arithmetic, movement. Right: faces, music, emotions, creativity, sense of direction
47
Neurons
Dendrites, cell body (soma), axon + myelin sheath, terminal buttons
48
Neurotransmitters
chemical substances released from vesicles when neurons fire
49
Glial cells
Care taking/ supporting functions (e.g. they form the myelin sheath, which insulates the axon. Serves to insulate nerve fibers from each other and speed up electrical impulses through neurons)
50
Dendrites
Typically receptors of information
51
Resting potential
Slight electrical charge (negative) store din cell membrane. Energy waiting to be released
52
Ions
Small ions can pass through the semipermeable membrane, larger ions need receptors or channels in order to pass through (e.g. sodium-potassium pump)
53
Polarized
resting state of the neuron is polarized, where the inside of the cell is negative and the outside is positive
54
Steps to fire neurons
Resting potential, depolarization, action potential spike, repolarization, hyperpolarization, stable
55
Absolute refractory period
Period corresponding to depolarization, during this time the neuron is unresponsive to any stimulation. Length of time between firing neurons controlled by this.
56
Relative refractory period
begins after neuron achieves action potential spike; corresponds to repolarization period
57
Hyperpolarization
more negative than usual on the inside of the cell (usually directly after repolarization). stronger stimulus is required to reach threshold potential at this point
58
"all-or-nothing" law for action potentials
when depolarization reaches critical threshold, neuron will fire no matter what
59
axon hillock
where the axon meets the cell body, action potentials originate here
60
Terminal buttons
at the end of the axon, triggers release of neurotransmitters into the synapse
61
synaptic cleft
space between the terminal buttons of presynaptic neuron and the dendrites of the postsynaptic one
62
Vesicles
tiny sacks that store and release neurotransmitters
63
Reuptake
Processes by which neurotransmitters are drawn back into the vesicles of terminal buttons
64
binding
when neurotransmitters attach self to receptor sites

GRE Psychology- Kaplan Sixth Edition (5 decks)

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