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AP Psych > Unit 1-biological basis > Flashcards

Unit 1-biological basis Flashcards

(97 cards)

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1
Q

Central Nervous System

A

Brain and Spinal Cord; decision maker

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2
Q

Peripheral Nervous System

A

Somatic NS (voluntary)
Automatic NS (involuntary) - Sympathetic (activates except digestion) and Parasympathetic (rests)

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3
Q

Sensory neurons

A

carry incoming info to brain and spinal cord

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4
Q

Motor Neurons

A

Carry outgoing info from the brain and spinal cord

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5
Q

Interneurons

A

in brain and spinal cord; process info btwn sensory inputs and motor outputs

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6
Q

Endocrine system

A

Releases hormones into the bloodstream

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7
Q

Pituitary Gland

A

Most influential gland that regulates other glands; controlled by hypothalamus

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8
Q

Glial cells

A

Hold neurons in place and aid their growth

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9
Q

Neuron

A

Basic cell of the nervous system

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10
Q

Cell body

A

Directs synthesis of substances like neurotransmitters

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11
Q

Dendrites

A

Receive incoming neurotransmitters

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12
Q

Axon

A

Transmits electrical impulses away from the cell body; ends in terminal buttons

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13
Q

Myelin Sheath

A

Insulates axons; nodes of Ranvier speed up action potential down axon through saltatory conduction

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14
Q

Synapse

A

Junction in which neurons communicate

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15
Q

Action potential

A

neural impulse; brief charge that travels down an axon

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16
Q

Threshold

A

Level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

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17
Q

Refractory period

A

pause after a neuron has “fired” where subsequent action potentials cannot occur until axon is back in resting state

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18
Q

Depolarization

A

Charge of neuron briefly switches from neg to positive and triggers AP

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19
Q

Reuptake

A

Neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

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20
Q

GABA

A

Major inhibitory NT

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21
Q

Glutamate

A

Major excitatory NT; involved in memory

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22
Q

Dopamine

A

Brain’s reward system and motor control; in hypothalamus
-assoc. w/ Parkinsons (too little) and schizophrenia (too much)

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23
Q

Serotonin

A

Mood and sleep; in amygdala
-too little is assoc. w/ depression

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24
Q

Acetylcholine

A

Memory and movement; in hippocampus
-low levels assoc. w/ myasthenia gravis and alzheimers

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25
Norepinephrine
alertness and arousal in sympathetic NS -too little is assoc. w/ depression
26
Endorphins
decrease pain
27
Substance P
pain regulation
28
Hormones
chemical messengers manufactured by endocrine glands
29
adrenaline
Provides surge of energy for fight/flight response
30
oxytocin
Love, bonding, childbirth, lactation
31
melatonin
Sleep-inducing hormone
32
ghrelin
makes you hungry
33
leptin
makes you full
34
Opiods
Relieve pain (endorphin agonist)
35
Cerebellum
Movement, balance, coordination
36
Medulla
controls heart rate and breathing
37
Reticular Activating system
alertness, arousal, sleep
38
cerebral cortex
Higher order though processes
39
amygdala
emotions and fear -in limbic system
40
hippocampus
formation of long-term memories -in limbic system
41
hypothalamus
Pleasure/reward center, eating behaviors (lateral hypothalamus triggers hunger, ventromedial triggers depression of hunger) -in limbic system
42
thalamus
Relay center for all but smell -in limbic system
43
pituitary gland
releases hormones -in limbic system
44
Occipital Lobe
vision
45
Frontal Lobe
decision making, planning, judgement
46
Prefrontal cortex
front of frontal lobe - executive function
47
Motor cortex
back of frontal lobe - controls skeletal movement
48
Parietal Lobe
sensations and touch
49
Somatosensory cortex
In Parietal lobe - processes sensations and touch
50
Temporal Lobe
Hearing and face recognition, language
51
Broca's Area
produces speech; damage causes Broca's aphasia -in left hemisphere
52
Wernicke's Area
comprehends speech; damage causes Wernicke's aphasia -in left hemisphere
53
Corpus Callosum
nerves that connect the two brain hemispheres
54
EEG
amplified tracing of brain activity produced when electrodes positioned over the scalp transmit signals about the brain’s electrical activity
55
fMRI
shows the brain at work at a high resolution, measures oxygen
56
PET
Produces color computer graphics that depend on the amount of metabolic activity in the imaged brain region
57
MEG scan
similar to an EEG, but it's able to detect the slight magnetic field caused by the electric potentials in the brain
58
Multiple Sclerosis
destruction of myelin sheath, weakness and movement difficulties
59
Myasthenia gravis
acetylcholine blocked, poor motor control and paralysis
60
Blindsight
caused by lesions to primary visual cortex; ability to still respond to visual stimuli
61
Prosopagnosia
face blindness caused by damage to occipital or temporal lobe
62
Phantom Limb Pain
pain from a limb that is not there
63
Alzheimers
destruction of acetylcholine in hippocampus
64
Suprachiasmatic nucleus
cell clusters in the hypothalamus that control circadian rhythm
65
Brain Waves
(BATS Drink Blood) Beta - awake Alpha - drowsy Theta - early sleep stages Spindles - stage 2 sleep Delta - stage 3/4 Back to Beta
66
Stages of sleep
NREM 1 - may have hallucinations or hypnagogic sensations (feeling of falling) NREM 2 - periodic sleep spindles (bursts of brain activity) NREM 3 - slow delta waves REM 0 recurring stage w/ vivid dream aka "paradoxical sleep" (muscles relaxed but other systems active)
67
REM rebound
length of the REM stage increases the longer you stay asleep
68
Insomnia
persistent inability to fall or stay asleep
69
Narcolepsy
sleep attacks
70
REM Sleep Behavior disorder
physically act out dreams during REM sleep
71
Sleep Apnea
repeated awakening after breathing stops; sleep is not restorative
72
Somnambulism
sleep walking, usually in NREM 3 sleep
73
Activation synthesis dream theory
dreams are random memories that weave into stories
74
Consolidation dream theory
dreaming helps encode long-term memories
75
Weber's Law
the higher the intensity of a stimulus, the more it will need to change so we can notice a difference
76
Lens
focuses light on retina
77
Retina
contains photoreceptors (rods, cones, ganglion cells)
78
Fovea
central point / area of best vision; cones are here
79
Rods
black and white receptors; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision
80
Cones
fine detail and color receptors
81
Ganglion cells
relay info from retina to brain via optic nerve
82
Cornea
protective outer layer of eye that bends light waves
83
accommodation
lens changes curvature to focus image on retina
84
trichromatic theory
we only perceive three colors of light (red, blue, green) which combine to create other colors)
85
opponent-process theory
complimentary colors are processed in ganglion cells, explains why we see after images
86
Cochlea
structure containing hair cells that convert sound to electrical impulses that can be interpreted by the brain
87
Place theory
we hear diff pitches because diff sound waves trigger activity at diff places along cochlea's basillar membrane; explains high pitches
88
Frequency theory
we hear diff pitches because higher pitched sound waves trigger faster neural impulses; explains low pitches
89
Volley theory
Neural cells work together to achieve a combined frequency above 1000 waves
90
sound localization
ability to identify direction and origin sound
91
conduction deafness
results from damage to the mechanical system that transmit sound waves to the cochlea
92
sensorineural deafness
results from damage to the cochlea's hair cells or auditory nerve
93
vestibular sense
sense of balance; semicircular canals in inner ear
94
kinesthetic sense
sense of body position and body
95
other word for TASTE
gustation
96
other word for SMELL
olfaction
97
gate-control theory
non-painful sensory input can dampen or block painful sensations from reaching the brain

AP Psych (7 decks)

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