Unit 2 Flashcards
(159 cards)
1
Q
What is Phrenology?
A
The study of the skull. The idea that bumps on the head could determine mental ability/personality was popular in the 1800s but was debunked.
2
Q
What is the nerve cell that is the building block of the nervous system?
A
neuron
3
Q
What are the important features of a neuron?
A
Cell body, dendrites, axon, myelin sheath, nodes of ranvier, axon terminals, neurotransmitters, synaptic vesicles, synapse, postsynaptic membrane
4
Q
What is the cell body?
A
The core or center of the neuron
5
Q
What are the dendrites?
A
parts of the neuron that stretch out like roots and make connections with other neurons, they receive messages and they “listen”
6
Q
What is the axon?
A
Long wire like strings that extend to terminal buttons. They send messages and “speak” to the dendrite.
7
Q
What is the Myelin Sheath?
A
A thick covering that surrounds the axon and insulates it, helps speed electric neural impulses along the axon.
8
Q
What happens if a myelin sheath breaks down/degenerates?
A
The person can have problems with sensation, swallowing, speech, movement, and balance. MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS may develop.
9
Q
What are the Nodes of Ranvier?
A
Small spaces between the myelin sheath
10
Q
What are axon terminals?
A
The ends of axons where neurotransmitters are released. The tips are called terminal buttons.
11
Q
What are the synaptic vesicles?
A
A small cavity or sac in the axon terminal that contains neurotransmitters which are released into the synapse.
12
Q
What is a synapse?
A
The space between the terminal buttons of one neuron and the dendrites of the next neuron.
13
Q
What is the postsynaptic membrane?
A
The leading edge of the receiving dendrite where neurotransmitters are absorbed.
14
Q
How are messages communicated in the brain?
A
Small electrical pulses travel from neuron to neuron.
15
Q
What is resting state/resting potential?
A
When potassium ions inside a neuron have a negative charge and sodium and chloride ions outside the axons are positively charged. The polarization balances neurons when it is resting.
16
Q
How do neurons communicate?
A
Neurons communicate with neurotransmitters.
17
Q
What is the process of reuptake?
A
Neurotransmitters are stored in the terminal buttons and after they cross the synaptic gap, they absorb back into the sending neuron.
18
Q
What are excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters?
A
Excitatory neurotransmitters - excite the next neuron into firing
Inhibitory neurotransmitters - keep the next neuron from firing
19
Q
What are the five types of neurotransmitters?
A
Serotonin, Dopamine, Endorphins, Acetylcholine, GABA
20
Q
What does serotonin control?
A
Our mood
21
Q
What can a lack of serotonin cause?
A
A lack of serotonin can cause depression. SSRIs (Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are serotonin drugs that increases the level of serotonin in brain and improve a person’s mood
22
Q
What does Dopamine help with?
A
Helps control our movement and is associated with pleasure
23
Q
What can an imbalance of dopamine cause?
A
Too much dopamine - Schizophrenia
Lack of dopamine - Parkinson’s disease
24
Q
What does the release of endorphins do?
A
Endorphins are released to control pain
25
What are the drugs associated with endorphins called?
Agonist - drugs that mimic endorphins
| Antagonists - acts like endorphins but block neurotransmission
26
What does Acetylcholine stimulate?
Stimulates the firing of neurons that enables muscle actions (contractions), learning, and memory
27
What can the lack of Acetylcholine lead to?
Alzheimer’s disease
28
What is GABA?
A major inhibitory neurotransmitter
29
What does an undersupply of GABA linked to?
Seizures and insomnia
30
What can GABA be use as treatment for?
Treatment for anxiety disorders to calm people.
31
What two systems is the nervous system made up of?
Central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
| Peripheral nervous system (neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body)
32
What are the three types of neurons?
Motor neurons (efferent), sensory neurons (afferent), interneurons
33
What is the function of motor neurons?
Take info from the brain to the rest of the body like how a car motor sends power to the wheel.
34
What do sensory neurons do?
Take info from your sense to your brain like when you smell something bad, these neurons in nose sends the info to your brain
35
What is the interneuron’s job?
Take messages and help process them in brain (only located in central nervous system)
36
What can the peripheral nervous system be broken down into?
The somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system
37
What does the somatic nervous system control?
Controls our voluntary muscle movements. Motor neurons send messages to the somatic nervous system which relays them to our muscle
38
What does the autonomic nervous system control?
Controls the automatic functions of our bodies (breathing, heart rate, digestion, ect.)
39
What can the autonomic nervous system be broken down into?
The sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system
40
What does the sympathetic nervous system do?
Carries messages to the systems in our bodies to respond to stress - it raises heart rate, accelerate breathing, reduces digestion, reduces temperature of skin, dilates pupils when surprised, scared, alarmed (fight or flight response)
41
What does the parasympathetic nervous system do?
It slows down your body after a stressful situation.
42
What is the exception to movements controlled by motor neurons?
Reflexes - initiated in the spinal cord and not motor cortex (sneezing and blinking are reflexes)
43
How does the endocrine system work within our body?
By secreting hormones into our bloodstream through a series of glands.
44
What is the endocrine system controlled by?
A small gland in your brain called the hypothalamus
45
What are some important glands of the endocrine system (3)?
Adrenal glands, pineal gland, pituitary gland
46
When does the adrenal gland release hormones and what does that do?
When we are in danger, the adrenal gland releases hormones to increase heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
47
What is one of the hormones released by the adrenal gland and what does it do?
Adrenaline (epinephrine) - released in response to stress and increases hearts rate, pulse rate, blood pressure and raises the blood levels of glucose
48
What does the Pineal gland do?
Produces melatonin which helps regulate body clock
49
Why is the Pituitary gland called the “master gland”?
It releases hormones that influence other glands
50
What does the pituitary gland regulate?
Regulate processes related to human growth and reproduction. Not enough hormones can cause drawfish.
51
What is the pituitary gland controlled by?
The hypothalamus
52
How are the nervous system and the endocrine system related?
Nervous system directs endocrine secretion which in turn affects the nervous system
53
What is the hormone known as love and bonding?
Oxytocin (secreted by the hypothalamus)
54
What are the major sections of the brain (3+1)?
Hindbrain, midbrain (hind and mid believed to evolve first), forebrain (“new” because believed to evolve recently) cerebral cortex newest
55
What is the brain stem made up of?
Midbrain, pons, medulla. Injury can be life threatening.
56
What is the reticular Formation?
Netlike structure in the brain stem that extends throughout the midbrain, pons, and medulla. Also know as the “awake center”
57
What does the reticular formation control?
Body arousal and ability to focus.
58
What happens if the reticular formation is damaged?
The person call fall into a coma
59
What does the medulla control?
Controls unconscious functions like blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, digestion, vomiting (part of autonomic system)
60
What does the Pons control?
Critical for sleeping, walking and dreaming, also control facial expressions
61
What does the Cerebellum do?
Means “little brain” - coordinates motor function integrating motion and positional info, helps maintain balance and coordination
62
What is the thalamus?
Receives info from every sense except smell from the cerebral cortex and sends it to the brain
63
What is the Limbic system responsible for?
Responsible for regulating our emotions and monitoring pleasure sensors related to eating and sex
64
What is the limbic system made up of?
The hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus
65
What does the hypothalamus control?
1. Autonomic functions such as body temp and heart rate (regulated by sympathetic and parasympathetic centers in medulla).
2. Sets up appetite drives and behaviors (thirst, hunger).
3. Controls endocrine system
4. Helps determine biological rhythms such as the menstrual cycle
66
What happens if the hypothalamus is injured?
A person may have a hard time controlling eating desires.
67
How does the hypothalamus control the endocrine system?
Directing the endocrine system to secrete hormones.
68
What is the Amygdala responsible for?
Essential for emotional response, influences aggression and fear (fight or flight). Helps decipher emotional response in other people’s facial expression
69
What does the Hippocampus do?
Enables the formation of new long-term memories. Memories pass through on their way to be permanently stored in cerebral cortex
70
How did researcher study the brain before?
Lesion - cut brain to remove damaged portions
71
What is EEG?
Electroencephalogram - detects brain waves and the metabolism of glucose using a cap with sensors. Can detect stages of consciousness and illustrate brain function. Used in dream and sleep research. Produces color image
72
What is CAT (CT scan)?
X ray cameras that rotate around brain to create 3d pic - use for locating tumors - creates picture of structure without info
73
What is MRI?
Magnetic-resonance imaging - gives a pic of the brain without exposure to radiation. Uses radio waves and magnetic fields to produce images. Can help diagnose diseases and conditions and evaluate injuries
74
What is fMRI?
Type of MRI that is used to see brain function
75
What is PET?
Positron emission tomography - inserts harmless radioactive substance (usually glucose) into brain. Allows researchers to see what part of the brain is active during certain tasks. Similar to fMRI but uses radioactive substance. Color image provide info about glucose metabolism and can detect neurotransmitter flow. Help detect where person processes language/visual imagery
76
What is the cerebral cortex?
A “spiderweb” of neurons that makes up 40% of the brain’s volume
77
What is the cortex’s wrinkled surface made up of?
Made up of folds (gyri) and grooves (sulci) and packed full of glial cells (glue cells).
78
What is the purpose of glial cells?
They support and nourish the brain
79
What does the complexity of our cerebral cortex allow?
A higher level thinking
80
What is contralateral control?
When the left side of the cerebral cortex controls the right side of the body and the right side of the cerebral cortex controls the left side of the body.
81
What is it called when each hemisphere of the brain specializes in different functions?
Hemispheric specialization or lateralization
82
How many lobes are the hemispheres of the cerebral cortex?
4 each, 8 in total
83
What are the lobes of the cerebral cortex?
Each hemisphere has a frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobe
84
Where is the frontal lobe located?
Behind your eyes on the top part of brain in front of head
85
What is the area of the frontal lobe behind the forehead?
The prefrontal cortex
86
What is the frontal lobe responsible for?
Abstract thought, judgement (making wise decisions), and emotional control
87
What centers of the brain are present in the frontal lobe?
The language centers
88
Here is the Broca’s area and what does it do?
It is located in the left frontal lobe and is responsible for controlling muscles involved in speech.
89
What happens if the Broca’s area is damaged?
The person would understand people talking but wouldn’t be able to speak
90
What is the thin strip of neurons at the back of the frontal lobe?
The motor cortex - controls voluntary movement
91
What can damage to the frontal lobe do?
Alter personality and moral judgement
92
Where are the parietal lobes located?
Top of brain, behind frontal lobes
93
What cortex does the parietal lobe contain?
Sensory cortex
94
What is the parietal lobe responsible for?
1. Sending and receiving sensory information from all over body
2. Helps us understand space-location relationship (depth perception)
3. Helps us with everyday functions
95
What can damage to the left and right parietal lobe do?
Damage to the left - problems with language and speaking
| Damage to the right - impact a person’s ability to determine depth
96
Where are the occipital lobes located?
At the back of our head
97
What cortex does the occipital lobe contain?
Visual cortex
98
What is the job of the occipital lobe?
1. Enables you to see
| 2. Reading and comprehension
99
What does damage to the occipital lobe do?
Vision problems
100
Where are the temporal lobes located?
Above each ear
101
What is the temporal lobe in charge of?
1. Allows us to hear and process sound
| 2. Encode memory (along w hippocampus)
102
What is the Wernicke’s area?
Enables us to listen by interpreting written and spoken speech
103
What does damage to the Temporal lobe cause?
Language impairment, memory issues, emotional disturbances
104
What are association areas?
Help process functions that aren’t involved in the motor and sensory functions. They link our sensory information to our memories. Help remember how to get to the gym and how things feel, what they look like, and their taste
105
What was the popular theory about the brain hemisphere that was later proven to be false?
It was believed that the left hemisphere was more important than the right because injuries to the left cause more damaged
106
Give an example of how the brain’s hemisphere relies on one another.
Language is primarily on the left side of brain but the ability to form clear sentences comes from the right side of the brain
107
What is the left side of the brain usually in charged of?
The left brain is the logical, reasoning side that processes words, numbers, and problems that require complex analysis. It also helps us connect with the world and make sense of the waves of sensory info in our brain.
108
What is the right side of the brain in charged of?
The right brain is the creative, artistic, and imaginative side. It specializes in intuition and understanding the “big picture”. It is where the association areas deal with the awareness of music and recognition of people’s faces. It can determine a person’s intention based on their tone, expression, and posture
109
What did most of the split brain patients suffer with?
Epileptic seizures (caused by overactivity in brain bouncing between the corpus callosum)
110
What is the corpus callosum?
The band of neural fibers that connect the two hemispheres and carries messages between them
111
What did Michael Gazzaniga and Roger Sperry do?
First to study split brain patients. In 1967, Robert conducted the HE:ART experiment. Right brain could not verbally report but could write down
112
Who said “I think therefore I am”?
Descartes
113
What do we define consciousness in the present day?
We define it as the level of a person’s awareness. We focus on how these levels interact to help us function and how our focus can impact how we make sense of the world around us.
114
What are the (3) levels of consciousness?
Waking consciousness, the subconscious (preconscious), and the unconscious mind
115
What is our waking consciousness?
When we are awake and alert. In this state, we can think, feel, adn respond to stimulus of pain and pleasure.
116
What is our subconscious?
Our preconscious stores memories that you have no use for right now. It contains memories and feelings.
117
Can the waking conscious and the preconscious mind work at the same time?
Yes. You can talk on a phone while thinking about your computer password
118
What is the unconscious mind?
It's part of the mind that processes information of which we aren’t aware. It operates whenever we feel something or act without being aware of what’s influencing us
119
What is does selective attention suggest?
Suggests that we can only truly focus on one thing at a time.
120
What is inattentional blindness and what can cause it?
The fact that sometimes we miss visible objects when our attention is focused on a task. Selective attention can cause it.
121
What is the cocktail party effect?
The ability to focus your attention on one thing while filtering out a range of other stimulus like talking to a person in a noisy room
122
What is blind sight?
When a person who has damage to the visual cortex still responds to a visual stimuli without having any conscious visual experience
123
What is dual processing (parallel processing)?
It is when information is processed simultaneously in the conscious and unconscious track.
124
What is another name for our biological clock?
The circadian rhythm.
125
What is the circadian rhythm controlled by and what does it do?
It is controlled by the hypothalamus and it regulates changes in your body temp, blood pressure, pulse, blood sugar levels, hormonal levels, and activity levels.
126
How many stages do we go through during sleep?
4 + REM
127
What state do you pass through when you fall asleep?
Hypnagogic state - semi-wakeful period where your body relaxes and your mind comes alive, produces Alpha Waves
128
What is produced during Stage 1 of sleep?
Our brain produces Theta Waves (high amplitude, less frequent than Alpha waves)
129
What is produced during Stage 2 of sleep?
Our brain produces short bursts of brain activity called sleep spindles.
130
What is produced during Stage 3 of sleep?
You start to fall into a deep sleep and produce delta waves which are very high in amplitude and low frequency
131
What do you experience in Stage 4?
Stage 4 is the deepest sleep and is the most difficult to wake up. You experience mostly delta waves.
132
What happens after Stage 4?
Your body ascends back through Stages 1-3 and then you move to REM sleep
133
What happens during REM?
Your eyes jerk rapidly and your breathing becomes quicker, irregular and shallow. Your heart rate increases and blood pressure rises
134
What stage are you most likely to dream in?
REM
135
What happens if you are deprived of REM sleep?
It can make you more irritable and less likely to remember things.
136
What are the effects of sleep deprivation?
1. cause depression
2. lead to weight gain
3. suppress immune cells that fight off viral infections and cancer
4. feel stress from the higher levels of cortisol (stress hormone)
137
What are the four theories on why we dream?
1. satisfy wishes
2. file memories
3. develop and preserve neural pathways
4. are random burst of neural static
138
What is Freud Theory on dreams?
He said the manifest content as a censored, symbolic version of latent content (hidden part)
139
What is the information processing perspective on dreams?
The theory that dreams file away memories and there are studies proven that sleep helps memories
140
Why do some scientists believe that dreams develop and preserve neural pathways?
Infants spend most of their time in REM sleep, expanding neural networks. Babies use REM to help their brain grow and learn
141
What is the activation synthesis theory?
The theory that dreams have no meaning at all but are just random neural activity.
142
What are the 4 sleep disorders?
Insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and Night terrors
143
What is the treatment for insomnia?
Avoiding caffeine, not exercising close to bedtime, maintaining a consistent sleep time. Pills not encouraged
144
What is sleep apnea?
When a person stops breathing for short periods of time during the night. This makes them tired the next day
145
What is Narcolepsy?
Sometimes referred to as sleep attacks. Periods of intense often uncontrollable sleepiness and following rapidly into REM.
146
How can you treat Narcolepsy?
With amphetamines but can be addictive
147
What stage do night terrors usually occur in kids?
Stage 4
148
What is posthypnotic amnesia?
When a person has been hypnotized and are told to forget something they would normally know
149
What is posthypnotic suggestion?
When a person is under the spell of a hypnotist and will follow their instructions
150
What is being altered in the brain during hypnosis?
Hypnotized people experience Delta waves which is stage 4 of sleeping
151
What is the use of Analgesia?
When hypnosis is used as a pain control in surgery, childbirth, or dentistry.
152
What are the 3 theories that explain what is happening during hypnosis?
1. Role Theory
2. State Theory
3. Dissociation Theory
153
What does the Social Role Theory say?
It states that hypnosis is not an altered state of consciousness but the people being hypnotized are just people who are open to suggestions and are willing to follow people in authority. Subject is so caught up in role that they ignore pain.
154
What does the State Theory say?
It points out that hypnosis meets the requirement for being an altered state of consciousness. Hypnotized people become less aware of the environment around them. Addictions, depression, and skin disorders have been cured with hypnosis so that proves that is it an altered state of consciousness
155
What does the Dissociation Theory say?
Ernest Hilgard believed that hypnosis allows us to divide consciousness voluntarily with one part responding to the hypnotist and the other in reality. We act as hidden observers. That's why you wouldn’t hurt anyone under hypnosis. Person partially dissociates from reality.
156
What is REM rebound?
the tendency for REM sleep to increase after deprivation.
157
What is change blindless
Failing to notice changes in the environment
158
What is plasticity?
The ability for the brain to modify itself after damage. Thats why blind and deaf have better sense
159
What is neurogenesis?
The brain attempting self repair by producing new brain cells.
