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unit 1 main Flashcards

(81 cards)

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1
Q

consciousness

A

state of being awake and aware of external stimuli and one’s own mental activity

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2
Q

dissociation

A

psychological state where a person becomes disconnected from their thoughts

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3
Q

circadian rhythm

A

regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle

ex: temperature and wakefulness

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4
Q

rem sleep

A

rapid eye movement

stage of sleep in which we dream the most

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5
Q

hallucinations

A

vivid sensations that seem real even though they are not

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6
Q

nrem sleep

A

non-rapid eye movement

period of dreamless sleep

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7
Q

biological psychology

A

branch in psychology that deals with the biology of behavior

ex: nervous system, genetics, and hormones

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8
Q

neuron

A

basic building block of the nervous system

transmits info to other nerve cells, muscles, or gland cells

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9
Q

dendrites

A

branched projections of a neuron

receives info from other neurons and transmits electrical stimulation to cell body

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10
Q

axon

A

long, tubular structure

transmits action potentials

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11
Q

myelin sheath

A

fatty substance that coats an axon

enhances axon’s ability to transmit action potentials

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12
Q

action potential

A

occurs when neuron transmits electrical charge down its axon

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13
Q

refractory period

A

recovery time that a neuron needs between action potentials

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14
Q

threshold

A

the lowest point at which a particular stimulus will cause a response in an organism

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15
Q

all-or-none response

A

neurons either fire completely or they don’t fire at all

no such thing as partial firing

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16
Q

synapse

A

the place where two neurons meet to transmit info

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17
Q

neurotransmitters

A

specialized chemical messenger which sends signals between neurons

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18
Q

reuptake

A

chemical messengers that transmit info between neurons are reabsorbed by the presynaptic neuron after they have completed their function

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19
Q

endorphins

A

neurotransmitters linked to reduced pain and increased pleasure

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20
Q

agonist

A

substance that mimics the actions of a neurotransmitter

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21
Q

antagonist

A

substance that blocks function of a neurotransmitter

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22
Q

nervous system

A

consists of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems

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23
Q

Central nervous system (cns)

A

consists of the brain and spinal cord

processes info received from all parts of the body

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24
Q

peripheral nervous system (pns)

A

part of nervous system that lies outside brain and spinal cord

sends info from different areas of your body back to brain

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24
nerves
neural "cables" containing many axons
25
sensory neurons (afferent)
the nerves responsible for sensing a stimulus
26
motor neurons (efferent)
nerves responsible for carrying signals away from the central nervous system to initiate an action
27
interneurons
connect sensory neurons to motor neurons
28
somatic nervous system
controls our voluntary moments division of the peripheral nervous system
29
autonomic nervous system (ans)
controls our internal organs and glands, involuntary movements part of peripheral nervous system
30
sympathetic nervous system (sns)
prepares the body for action and mobilizes energy resources
31
parasympathetic nervous system
conserves energy to relax and reduce body's activities
32
cell body
soma special part of the neuron that contains the nucleus
33
node of ranvier
gaps in myelin sheath coating on the neural axon
34
Central vs peripheral
Central: consists of all neurons in brain and spinal cord peripheral: sensory and motor neurons
35
autonomic vs somatic
autonomic: involuntary functions like sweating, increased heart rate, crying somatic: voluntary functions like walking, talking, blinking
36
sympathetic vs parasympathetic
sympathetic: respond to dangerous or stressful situations parasympathetic: activities that occur when body is at rest like urination, digestion, arousal
37
acetylcholine (ach)
neurotransmitter involved in learning, memory, and muscle contraction
38
dopamine
neurotransmitter involved in mood, movement, attention, and learning
39
norepinephrine
chemical released from the sympathetic nervous system in response to stress
40
serotonin
neurotransmitter that regulates sleep, mood, appetite, and body temperature
41
GABA
primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system controls alertness, wakefulness, mood, and attention
42
endorphins
neurotransmitters linked to reduced pain and increased pleasure
43
glutamate
main excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system
44
lesion
any abnormal damage or change in the tissue of an organism often caused by disease or trauma
45
electroencephalogram (eeg)
measures brain activity by detecting waves typically used in sleep studies
46
fmri
uses imaging to measure changes in blood flow that take place when a certain part of your brain is working
47
brainstem
oldest part and central core of the brain midbrain, pons, medulla
48
medulla
controls involuntary functions of the body ex: breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure
49
thalamus
located between the cerebral cortex and the midbrain
50
reticular formation
region present inside the medulla ex: increasing alertness, attention, and consciousness
51
cerebellum
plays a role in motor control and coordination ex: balance, subtle movement
52
limbic system
regulate basic emotions ex: fear, rage, hunger
53
amygdala
center of emotion and motivations responsible for fear responses and processing memories
54
hypothalamus
regulates autonomic nervous system by producing and releasing hormones
55
cerebral cortex
ultimate control and processing center
56
frontal lobes
carries out higher mental processes ex: thinking, planning, making decisions
57
parietal lobes
processes sensory info from various parts of the body ex: spatial sense and navigation
58
occipital lobes
responsible for interpreting visual stimuli and info
59
temporal lobes
processes auditory info
60
motor cortex
helps plan and control voluntary movements
61
somatosensory cortex
site that registers touch, pressure, temperature, and pain in the cerebral cortex
62
corpus callosum
band of nerve fibers that connect the brain's left and right hemispheres together
63
split brain
corpus callosum connects two hemispheres of the brain
64
dual processing
psychological perspectives take both conscious and unconscious processes in human cognition and behavior into account
65
identical (monozygotic) twins
twins who develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in 2 2 genetically identical organisms
66
fraternal (dizygotic) twins
2 separate eggs, each fertilized by its own sperm children not genetically identical (look like normal siblings)
67
heritability
amount of variance in a trait that is controlled by genes
68
brain evolved over time (human, mammalian, lizard)
lizard brain: keep bodies working, basic survival motivations mammal brain: improved emotions and memory human brain: plan, use language, large cortex
69
hippocampus
forming new memories and connecting emotions and senses ex: smell and sound to memories
70
pons
part of the brainstem links medulla and thalamus crucial role in controlling breathing, communication between brain parts
71
cerebrum
largest part of your brain and handles conscious thoughts and actions
72
broca's area
responsible for speech production and language comprehension
73
wernicke's area
language area responsible for comprehending spoken word as well as formulating written/spoken language
74
neuroplasticity
ability of brain to form new connections and pathways and change how its circuits are wired
75
glial cells
non-neuronal cells provide support and protection for neurons located in the central nervous system
76
plasticity
brain ability to change and adapt as a result of experience
77
neurogenesis
growth or creation of new neurons or nerve cells
78
resting potential
electrical potential across the cell membrane of a neuron in its resting state
79
excitatory
tending to cause excitation more action potentials
80
inhibitory
signals in nervous system that decrease the chances of a neuron firing less action potentials

ap psych (6 decks)

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