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Psych/Soc Flashcards

(119 cards)

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1
Q

phrenology

A

developed by Franz Gall; well developed traits cause physical size differences in brain regions associated with those traits

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2
Q

extirpation/ablation

A

developed by Pierre Fluorens; surgically remove sections of the brain and observe behavior

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3
Q

functionalism

A

developed by William James; mental processes allow individuals to adapt to their environments

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4
Q

Hermann von Helmholtz

A

measured the speed of a nerve impulse

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5
Q

Charles Sherrington

A

discovered synapses; believed they were electrical rather than chemical

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6
Q

meninges

A

protect the brain, anchor the brain in the skull, resorb CSF composed of three layers: (DAP out - in) dura, arachnoid, pia

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7
Q

efferent nerves

A

motor nerves caused by an affect; exit the cord to the body

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8
Q

afferent nerves

A

sensory nerves cause an effect; ascend in the cord to the brain

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9
Q

limbic system

A

group of structures associated with emotion and memory (aggression, fear, and pain)

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10
Q

brainstem

A

origin of the brain; consists of hindbrain and midbrain

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11
Q

forebrain structures

A

cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, limbic system, thalamus, and hypothalamus

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12
Q

cerebral cortex

A

perception and cognition

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13
Q

basal ganglia

A

motor function

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14
Q

limbic system

A

emotion and memory

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15
Q

thalamus

A

sensation

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16
Q

hypothalamus

A

hunger/thirst and emotion

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17
Q

rhombencephalon

A

hindbrain; controls balance, motor coordination, breathing, digestion, and arousal

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18
Q

myelencephalon

A

becomes the medulla oblongata; regulates vital functions

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19
Q

metencephalon

A

becomes the pons and cerebellum; maintains posture, balance, and coordinated movement

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20
Q

mesencephalon

A

midbrain, contains colliculi receives sensory information from the rest of the body and controls involuntary reflexes

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21
Q

superior colliculus

A

receives visual sensory input

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22
Q

inferior colliculus

A

receives auditory sensory input

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23
Q

prosencephalon

A

forebrain, contains telencephalon and diencephalon perception, cognition, and behavior

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24
Q

rCBF

A

regional cerebral blood flow mapping procedure

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25
lateral hypothalamus
eating and drinking behaviors (LH= lack hunger\_
26
ventromedial hypothalamus
satiety
27
anterior hypothalamus
controls sexual behavior
28
posterior pituitary hormones
ADH/vasopressin and oxytocin
29
penial gland
secretes melatonin
30
septal nuclei
pleasure center
31
amygdala
fear and rage
32
hippocampus
learning and memory
33
anterograde amnesia
inability to form new long-term memories
34
retrograde amnesia
inability to recount former long-term memories
35
Broca's area
speech production
36
Wernicke's area
language reception and comprehension
37
acetylcholine
attention and arousal, PSNS
38
catecholamines
monoamines/biogenic amines; epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine
39
dopamine
basal ganglia; movement and posture, reward
40
schizophrenia
imbalance of dopamine
41
serotonin
mood, eating, sleeping, dreaming
42
GABA
inhibitory neurotransmitter
43
glycine
inhibitory CNS neurotransmitter
44
glutamate
excitatory CNS neurotransmitter
45
endorphins/enkephalins
neuropeptides; natural painkillers
46
adrenal medulla hormones
epinephrine and norepinephrine
47
adrenal cortex hormones
corticosteroids (cortisol), testosterone, and estrogen
48
moro reflex
in response to rapid head movements, arms shoot out
49
babinski reflex
when the sole of the foot is stimulated, toes spread out
50
transduction
sensation
51
nociceptors
respond to painful or noxious stimuli
52
threshold
the minimum amount of stimuli that renders a difference in perception
53
absolute threshold
minimum stimulus energy needed to activate a sensory system
54
difference threshold
just noticeable difference
55
Weber's law
there is a constant ratio between the change in stimulus magnitude needed to produce jnd and the magnitude of the original stimulus
56
signal detection theory
changes in our perception of stimuli depends on internal and external context
57
response bias
tendency of subjects to respond to a stimulus in a particular way due to nonsensory factors
58
adaptation
detection of a stimulus can change over time
59
retina
contains photoreceptors that transduce light into electrical info to be processed
60
cornea
gathers and focuses incoming light
61
iris
contains pupillae muscles
62
lens
controls the refraction of incoming light
63
accommodation
contraction of the ciliary muscle caused change in the shape of the eye due to pulled suspensory ligaments
64
vitreous
transparent gel that supports the retina
65
cones
used for color vision and to sense fine details
66
rods
rhodopsin senses light and dark
67
horizontal cells
amacrine; edge detection from the retina
68
visual pathway
cornea, lens, retina, optic nerve, optic chiasm, optic tract, LGN of thalamus, occipital lobe, visual cortex
69
parallel processing
simultaneously combining info regarding color, shape, and motion with preexisting objects
70
feature detection
detection of color, shape, or motion
71
vestibular sense
rotational and linear acceleration
72
auditory pathway in the ear
pinna/auricle, external auditory canal, tympanic membrane/eardrum, ossicles, cochlea
73
perilymph
transmits vibrations from the outside world and cushions inner ear structures
74
auditory pathway in the brain
vestibulochoclear nerve, MGN of the thalamus, temporal lobe, auditory cortex
75
place theory
location of a hair cell determine the perception of pitch
76
olfactory pathway
nasal passages, olfactory nerves, olfactory bulb, olfactory tract
77
taste pathway
taste buds, brainstem, thalamus, taste center
78
somatosensation
perception of pressure, vibration, pain, and temperature
79
bottom-up processing
individual sensory stimuli combines to create a cohesive image of an object
80
top-down processing
perception of the entire object, then recognizing specific parts of the object
81
acquisition
the process of classical conditioning
82
extinction
the process of unlearning a conditioned response
83
operant conditioning
linking voluntary behaviors with consequences
84
behaviorism
the theory that all behaviors are conditioned
85
escape learning
reducing the unpleasantness of something that is already occurring
86
avoidance learning
preventing the unpleasantness of something that has not yet occurred
87
discriminative stimulus
a stimulus that indicates that a reward is potentially available
88
latent learning
learning that occurs without a reward but is then spontaneously demonstrated once a reward is introduced
89
instinctive drift
trying to train an organism to perform a behavior that goes against its natural instincts
90
nonpolar, nonaromatic amino acids
glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, methionine, proline, isoleucine
91
aromatic amino acids
tryptophan, phenylalanine, tyrosine
92
polar amino acids
tyrosine, serine, threonine, glutamine, asparagine, cysteine
93
acidic (- charge) amino acids
aspartate, glutamate
94
basic (+ charge) amino acids
lysine, arginine, histidine
95
hydrophobic amino acids
alanine, isoleucine, leucine, valine, phenylalanine
96
hydrophilic amino acids
histidine, arginine, lysine, glutamate, aspartate
97
dual coding theory
both verbal association and visual images are used to process and store information
98
sensorimotor stage
manipulating the environment to meet physical needs
99
primary circular reaction
repetition of bodily movements for self-soothing
100
secondary circular reactions
manipulation based on external factors like response form the environment (e.g. throwing toy off a high chair)
101
preoperational stage
ages 2-7 symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and centration
102
concrete operational stage
ages 7-11 understand conversation and perspectives of others
103
formal operational stage
ability to think logically
104
fluid intelligence
problem-solving skills
105
crystallized intelligence
use of learned skills
106
instinct theory
driven by evolutionary instincts
107
arousal theory
motivation is the maintainance of an optimal state of arousal
108
Yerkes-Dodson law
performance is optimal at medium levels of arousal
109
drive reduction theory
motivation based on desire to eliminate uncomfortable internal states
110
self-determination theory
emphasizes autonomy, competence, and relatedness
111
opponent-process theory
explains motivatin for drug use: body adapts to drug use by changing its physiology
112
universal emotions
happiness, sadness, contempt, suprise, anger, disgust, fear
113
James-Lange Theory of Emotion
arousal --\> response --\> emotion
114
Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion
arousal + cognitive response --\> action
115
cognitive arousal theory
Schachter-Singer Theory; two-factor theory arousal + environment --\> emotion
116
primary appraisal
classification of a stressor as irrelevant, benign-positive, or stressful
117
secondary appraisal
evaluating if an organism can cope with a stressor
118
social readjustment rating scale
measuring stress by changes in life events
119
general adaptation syndrome
physiological responses to stress in 3 categories: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion

MCAT (4 decks)

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