Unit 1 Test Flashcards
1
Q
How do neurons work?
A
- Work using an electrochemical process
- Neurons talk to each other and give signs using electricity and chemicals
- Neurons don’t touch: there is a very tiny gap between them where the electricity can’t jump, so chemicals are in between
- Electrical within the neurons and chemicals between the neurons
- Communicate in only one direction through the dendrites and out the axon terminals
2
Q
Resting Neurons
A
- When neurons are in resting state, they are negatively charged/polarized
-70 mV (voltage)
3
Q
Polarized
A
- Complete opposites
- More positive ions (sodium) on the outside and more negative ions (potassium) on the inside of the neurons
- Polarized during the resting state
4
Q
Stimulus
A
Something comes from the outside world that stimulates the brain
5
Q
Threshold
A
- The minimal amount of information a neuron needs to act on it
- A stimulus can happen in the neuron, but if there is not enough context/information, then the neuron won’t act on it
6
Q
Depolarization
A
- Positive ions are coming in and negative ions are going out
7
Q
Action Potential
A
- Electrical spark that travels down the axon
8
Q
Repolarization
A
- Going back to the resting state
9
Q
Hyperpolarization
A
Too many negative ions go outside and too much positive ions are going inside
10
Q
Refractory Period
A
A period of time where a neuron cannot fire again/needs a break before getting another task
11
Q
Sensory/Afferent Neurons
A
Get what you take from the outside world to your brain using the five senses
- E.g. If you feel hot/cold, the temperature of the room goes to your brain
12
Q
Motor/Efferent Neurons
A
- Brain telling your body what to do by sending signals
- Writing, typing, speaking, walking, etc.
13
Q
Interneurons
A
One neuron talking to another
14
Q
Mirror Neurons
A
Watch people do things and imitating them
- E.g. if you’re a kid watching someone walk, you’ll try to imitate them
Helps you to be an empathic person
15
Q
Central Nervous System
A
- Center of everything and controls everything from breathing to ideas
- Made up of the brain and spinal cord, which tells your peripheral nervous system what to do
16
Q
Spinal Cord
A
- Bunch of nerves that sends messages to the brain
17
Q
Reflexes
A
- Keeps you alive
- Spinal cord has the potential to respond on its own
- E.g. if you put your hand on something hot, then the spinal cord sends a message to take hand away without having to consult the brain
18
Q
Peripheral Nervous System
A
Doesn’t function without the central nervous system
19
Q
Somatic Nervous System
A
- Voluntary movement
- Movement you have control over
- E.g. typing these notes
- Movement you have control over
20
Q
Autonomic Nervous System
A
Things that happen without you thinking about it
Happens against your will
- E.g. breathing, blinking, digesting
However, you can take control over this temporarily
- E.g. holding your breath
21
Q
Homeostasis
A
When your body is at ease and not under stress
22
Q
Parasympathetic Nervous System
A
- Puts you back into homestasis
- E.g. when you stop running, your heart rate goes back down and your body calms down
- You can kind of control PNS
-E.g. if you’re anxious, you can try to take deep breaths which can kickstart your PNS - When you’re in a persistent state of stress, your digestive system slows down as well
- Parasympathetic nervous system controls digestive system
23
Q
Category of Neurotransmitters
A
- Excitatory: Making something happen
Inhibitory: Stopping/slowing something from happening - Neurotransmitters can be either one or both of these
24
Q
Dopamine
A
- Inhibitory, but can be both depending on the context
- Associated with pleasurable sensations, regulating movements, and addiction (drugs/alcohol which are designed to do things in your brain that make you feel good, which results in addiction)
- Deficit linked with Parkinson’s (inability to keep your body still/can’t control movement)
- Surplus linked with schizophrenia (having a difficult time differentiating between what is real and what is not; hallucinations and delusions)
25
Serotonin
- Inhibitory
- Associated with regulating mood, sleep (increases serotonin) , easing pain, and hunger (if you want food and if someone says something stupid, it makes you angry b/c serotonin makes you more rational)
- Makes you happy and blocks things that don't make you happy; when faced with stressors, it blocks out negative emotions
- Deficit is linked with depression
26
GABA
- Inhibitory
- Associated with offesting excitatory NT's (tells it to calm down)
- Deficit linked with anxiety
27
Acetylcholine (ACh)
- Excitatory
- Associated with movement (makes you move), learning (e.g. if you're playing a new game, you have to learn how it works), and memory
- Deficit linked with Alzheimer's, which is the rapid degeneration of memory/memory loss
- People can't get to their memories and gets worse over time
28
Glutamate
- Excitatory
- Associated with memory and learning
- Similar to ACh
29
Endorphins
- Inhibitory
- Associated with pain perception (helps block out pain)
- Runner's High: When runners run, they don't feel pain in the moment b/c endorphins are being released
- Surplus - Body may not be alerted to pain
- Deficit - Body may experience heightened pain
30
Epinephrine
- Inhibitory
- Makes you alert and ready for action
- Pulls you out of homeostasis
31
Norepinephrine
-Excitatory
- Calms you down
- Puts you back in homeostasis
32
Adrenaline
- Pulls you out of homeostasis
33
Noradrenaline
- Puts you back into homeostasis
34
FFF Responses
Epinephrine, Norepinephrine, Adrenaline, and Noradrenaline all involve fight, flight, and freeze responses
35
Substance P
- Excitatory
- Associated with sending the body signals about pain (tells body you are hurt)
- Endorphins try to block out Substance P
36
Psychoactive Drugs
- Chemicals that get in your brain and alter your brain chemistry
37
Blood Brain Barrier
- Brain tries to block out anything that can hurt your brain
- However there are things that can cross the BBB (either good or bad)
38
Agonist
Type of drug that mimics a neurotransmitter
39
Antagonist
- Blocks neurotransmitters in your brain in some way
- Sometimes it blocks receptor sites and reuptake sites
40
Tolerance
- How much your body can handle something
- E.g. the more you consume alcohol, the more your brain gets used to doing: someone with alcoholism could consume amounts of alcohol that is dangerous for other people b/c your brain and body gets used to it
41
Withdrawal
- When someone stops taking something, they get unpleasant side effects
- E.g. if someone drinks coffee every day and they can’t drink it for one day, they can get headaches and feel moody
42
Psychological Addiction
Thinking that you need the substance
43
Physical Addiction
- Body is not working properly if the substance is not taken
- E.g. if someone takes sleeping pills to sleep, then your body stops producing sleep
44
Stimulants
- Speeds up body processes
Attention, alertness
- Makes your central nervous system more active
E.g. caffeine, cocaine
45
Depressants
- Slow down your central nervous system
- Reaction/judgment is slowed down
E.g. alcohol, anti-anxiety medication
46
Hallucinogens
- Cause changes in perception of reality
- Hallucinations
Psychedelics:
- E.g. Marijuana
- Drugs linger in body for weeks so as each new amount is added to the old, later doses can become more fatal
47
Opiates
- Acts as antagonists for endorphins and are powerful painkillers and mood elevators
- Pain relievers
Helpful when it is prescribed and used properly
- Childbirth, wisdom teeth removal
- However, many people overdose
E.g. heroin, fentanyl
48
Endocrine System
A system of glands that secrete hormones
49
Hormones
- Chemical messengers
- Carry signals about metabolism, immune system, sleep, etc.
- Work in a similar way to neurotransmitters
- Difference is that hormones work much slower and go to the blood system which carries hormones to where it is supposed to go
50
Pituitary Gland
- Gland in your brain
- Coordinators all of the glands
- Produces human growth hormone (makes you grow, takes place over a long period of time)
Produces oxytocin (love hormone, involved with everybody, necessary hormone for contractions to happen during childbirth)
51
Pineal Gland
- Gland in your brain
- Produces melatonin - Sleep hormone
- Encourages you to go to sleep
- If you get a burst of melatonin and you ignore it, then you might not be able to go to sleep
52
Hormones of Hunger
Ghrelin (Hunger) - Sends signals to brain that you are hungry
Leptin (Satiation) - Says that you've eaten enough and you don't need to eat more
53
Adrenal Gland
- Sit on top of your kidneys
- Produce adrenaline and noradrenaline
54
Forebrain
- What makes humans unique
- Where humans are more evolved than other species
- Critical thinking, perception, brainstorming
55
Cerebrum
- Majority of the brain
56
Cerebellum
- Means little brain
- Always in the back of the brain b/c it is part of the hindbrain
- Involves major motor movement (gross motor skills) and balance
57
Hindbrain
What makes you animalistic/similar to animals
58
Brainstem
Connects the brain and spinal cord together
59
Medulla
- Part of the brainstem that keeps you alive
- Responsible for breathing and heartbeat
- If the medulla is damaged, you will die
60
Reticular Activating System
Responsible for keeping you alert, focused, and waking you up
61
Reward Center
Network of neural circuits that helps regulate motivation, reinforcement, and pleasure responses
62
Corpus Callosum
- Bundle of nerve fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain so they can communicate with each other
63
Cerebral Cortex
- Outerlayer of the brain
- Wrinkly, so when it is unwrinkled, it has more surface area
- Where the majority of neurons are
- Critical thinking, active thinking, etc. takes place here
64
The Limbic System
- Has a lot to do with emotions and memory formation
- Parts are thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala
65
Thalamus
- Only have one of it
- Middle of the brain
- Sensory switchboard
- Four of the five primary senses (all but smell) goes to the thalamus before going to the right part of the brain
- Sends the sensory information to where it needs to go (e.g. if you see something, it goes to your thalamus first, then it goes to the right part of the brain)
66
Hypothalamus
- Helps regulate metabolic functions (digestion, ghrelin, leptin, body temperature regulation, etc.)
- Bridge between the brain and the endocrine system
67
Hippocampus
- Two arms of the hippocampus
- Dopamine is very active here
- Memory writer
- Writes down memories and forms them
- Can create and retrieve memories, but does not store memories
- Helps memories to go in and out of the brain
- Smell is passed through the hippocampus, which is why we feel nostalgia for certain smells
68
Amygdala
- At the end of the two arms of the hippocampus
- Responsible for FFF responses
- Activates hormones for FFF responses when amygdala senses danger
- Where anxiety disorders can come into play
69
Association Areas
Specific areas of the surface area of the brain that have specific functions
70
Frontal Lobe
Includes the prefrontal cortex and motor cortex
71
Prefrontal Cortex
- What makes you unique
- Personality, impulse control, and decision making
- Not fully developed until you are 25
- Responsible for executive functioning (different regions of the brain that communicate with each other and also involve organizational skills; People who have ADHD struggle with this)
72
Motor Cortex
- Map of the body is already predetermined before you are born
- Involves fine motor skills and includes mouth, tongue, and fingers (talking, writing, tying shoes)
- Motor neurons send signals from motor cortex to body
73
Parietal Lobe
Includes the somatosensory cortex
74
Somatosensory Cortex
- Perceives touch, taste, and smell (touch has the largest surface area)
- Sensory neurons send signals from somatosensory cortex to body
75
Phantom Limb Syndrome
- Related to somatosensory cortex
- When a limb is removed/lost, some people still feel/have sensations that the limb is still there
76
Occipital Lobe
Includes the visual cortex which heavily involves sight
77
Temporal Lobe
- Includes the auditory cortex which involves hearing
- Ears don't process anything, it is processed by the brain
- Part of the brain that keeps time (e.g. when you know how much of class is left before dismissal)
78
Hemispheres
- Right hemisphere controls left side and left controls right side (e.g. if you are writing with your right hand, your left hem is controlling it)
- Exception: Vision
- Right visual field goes to your left hemisphere
- Left visual field goes to your right hemisphere
- However, both eyes see both fields (right and left)
- Where you are focusing is where both eyes are looking immediately
79
Hemisphere Specialization
- Left hemisphere is known for logic and language
- Right is known for creativity
- Both hemispheres are used all the time
- E.g. looking at faces b/c left recognizes components of the face and right puts it all together to identify the person
- E.g. Looking at art b/c left looks at all details and individual parts, while right puts it together
- Myth: People use left or right brain more depending on the person
80
Broca's area
- Where you have expressive, communicative language (vocalizations)
- Location: Left frontal lobe in motor cortex
- In motor cortex b/c it makes mouth and lips speak
81
Wernicke's area
- Location: Auditory cortex in left hemisphere
- Involved in listening and understanding words (receptive language)
82
Epilepsy
- Has seizures
- Very treatable and can be controlled by medication
- However, in some cases people have multiple seizures a day and medication doesn't work
83
Roger Sperry
- Developed split brain surgery
- Cuts and disconnects the corpus callosum
- People may have seizures due to too many electrical storms over the corpus callosum
84
Michael Gazzaniga
- Studied under Roger Sperry
- Led people in split brain surgery
85
Aphasia
- Disorders with language
- Can be from a traumatic brain injury or stroke
86
Broca's aphasia
- Expressive
- Might have trouble speaking
- You can think about what you want to say, but it comes out as gibberish
- Easier to notice
87
Wernicke's aphasia
- Receptive
- Might have trouble listening and understanding
- Makes it sound like other people are speaking gibberish
- What you are thinking and saying does not make sense
- Hard to notice b/c they do not know that what they think the person is saying is not what the person is actually saying
88
Neuroplasticity
- When you are born, brain is mapped out and ready
- However, there are circumstances where the brain can learn the task of something else
- If a person has a traumatic brain injury, brain can create new connections to replace lost/damaged ones
- E.g. situation where the right hemisphere of the brain was removed, the left hemisphere rewired connections to make left side move
89
Genetics
- Punnett Square
- Dominant (shows heterogeneous traits - Gg)
- Recessive
- Both dominant and both recessive are homogeneous traits
90
Heredity
How you get certain traits
91
Nature vs Nurture
Argument: Which one influences you more?
92
Genetic Predisposition
B/c of your genetics, you are more likely to have a certain trait or condition
93
Natural Selection
- How certain traits persist
94
Eugenics
Modification so a person can or cannot procreate
95
Family Studies
Research conducted among siblings, parents, and children to find genetic links for characteristics/outcomes
96
Twin Studies
Research designs used to measure the influence of genetic factors on human behavior by comparing identical twins with fraternal twins
97
Adoption Studies
Research studies that compare an adopted person’s behavior to both their biological and adoptive parents behavior
98
Monozygotic Twins
- Zygote splits into two and both eggs become genetically identical
- Identical twins share placentas
99
Dizygotic Twins
- Two separate eggs conceived at the same time
- Genetically distant by ½
- Fraternal twins have separate placentas
