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Psych > Unit 2 - Brain and Biology > Flashcards

Unit 2 - Brain and Biology Flashcards

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1
Q

Heredity

A

characteristics passed down from one generation to the next

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2
Q

Environmental factors

A

Education, family interactions

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3
Q

Eugenics

A

evolution towards a specific goal

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4
Q

Nature

A

Genetic and biological factors

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5
Q

Nurture

A

Environmental influences

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6
Q

Stimulants

A

Drugs that excite the nervous system (caffeine, tobacco, meth, ecstasy and cocaine)

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7
Q

Depressants

A

drugs that reduce neural activity (alcohol)

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8
Q

Hallucinogens

A

drug that distorts perception and evokes sensory images in the absence of sensory input (LSD, psilocolin, marijuana)

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9
Q

Opiods

A

drug that represses neural activity temporarily lessening pain and anxiety (methadone, oxytocin, vicodin, morphine, heroin)

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10
Q

Brainstem

A

Central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull, automatic survival functions

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11
Q

Medulla

A

Hindbrain structure that is the brain stem’s base, controls heart beat and breathing

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12
Q

Reticular activating system

A

Nerve network, travels through brainstem into thalamus, filters information and controls arousal

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13
Q

Cerebellum

A

Hindbrain’s little brain, rear of brain stem, processing sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance, enabling nonverbal learning and memory

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14
Q

Cerebral cortex

A

body’s ultimate control and information processing center

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15
Q

Right hempisphere

A

creativity, arts, controls left side of body

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16
Q

Left hemisphere

A

logic, language, controls right side of body

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17
Q

Limbic system

A

neural system located mainly in forebrain, associated with emotions and drives

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18
Q

Thalamus

A

Forebrain’s sensory control center, top of brainstem, directs messages to sensory receiving areas in cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

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19
Q

hypothalamus

A

limbic system neural structure below thalamus, maintenance activities, governs endocrine system, linked to emotion and rewards

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20
Q

pituitary gland

A

just below thalamus, secretes hormones and controls endocrine glands

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21
Q

hippocampus

A

neural center in the limbic system, helps process explicit, conscious, memories of facts and events for storage

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22
Q

amygdala

A

2 neural clusters in limbic system, linked to emotion

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23
Q

corpus callosum

A

large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

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24
Q

frontal lobe

A

lying behind forehead of cerebral cortex, enables linguistic processing, muscle movements, higher order thinking, and executive functioning

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25
motor cortex
rear of frontal lobes, controls voluntary movements
26
prefrontal cortex
more complex cognitive processes, last areas of brain to mature
27
parietal lobe
lying atop head towards rear, receives sensory input for touch and body position
28
somatosensory cortex
front of parietal loves, registers and processes body touch and movement sensations
29
occipital lobe
lying at the back of the head, areas that receive information from visual fields
30
temporal lobe
roughly above ears, auditory areas, each of which receives information primarily from opposite ear, language processing
31
split-brain research
from surgery, condition that separates the brains into two hemispheres
32
broca's area
left hemisphere frontal lobe, speech production and language processing
32
wernicke's area
left side of brain posterior part of temporal lobe, language comprehension and understanding
33
aphasia
non-fluent speech and loss of comprehension for broca's or fluent but nonsensical speech for wernicke's
34
brain plasticity
ability for brain to reconstruct itslef when a portion is damaged
35
eeg
measures brain activity in electrical waves - sleep apnea, seizure disorders
36
mri
uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to create images of the brain structure, used for strokes or brain trauma injuries
37
lesions
abnormal changes or removal of tissues
38
central nervous system
brain and spinal cord, body's decision maker
39
peripheral nervous system
sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body
40
autonomic nervous system
part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the l=glands and the muscles of the internal organs (heart), sympathetic division arouses, parasympathetic division calms
41
somatic nervous system
the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles
42
voluntary movement
intentionally preformed movement
43
glial cells
cells in the neurosystem that support, neurish, and protect neutrons (may play a role in learning, thinking and memory) (makes up the myelin sheet to protect axon)
44
reflex arc
simple, automatic response to sensory stimulus (heat activates skin receptors, send info to spinal cord, sensory neurons send messages to brain hand pulls away)
45
sensory neurons
neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord (5 senses)
46
interneurons
neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
47
motor neurons
neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands (movement)
48
all or nothing principal
neuron reacts to simulation by either firing with a full strength response or not firing at all
49
depolarization
the process by which positive and negative ions move into and out of a neuron, creating electricity from the chemical event
50
refractory period
after a neuron fires, must return to resting potential before it can fire again
51
resting potential
before a neuron fires, negatively charged ions are inside the neuron and positively charged ions are outside the neuron
52
threshold
level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
53
multiple sclerosis
disorder when extreme degeneration of myelin slows communication between muscles and the brain, resulting in diminished muscle control and impaired cognition
54
myasthenia gravis
autoimmune disorder, affects communication between nerves and muscles, leads to weakness and rapid fatigue of voluntary muscles
55
dopamine
rewards, addiction, emotions and pleasure, excess schizophrenia, deficit parkinson's disease
56
serotonin
promotes the sense of well being and happiness, mood regulation hunger and sleep, deficit depression and OCD
57
norepinephrine
stimulating process, arousal and awakeness, excess high blood pressure/schizophrenia, deficit depression
58
glutamate
memory, excess brain cell damage or death, deficict difficulty concentrating, low energy, adhd symptoms
59
gaba
increases relaxation, too much = memory loss, linked to drinking, excess impairs learning motivation and movement, deficit anxiety disorders, seizures, insomnia
60
endorphins
pain relief and feelings of pleasure, inhibits pain, exercise, deficit involved in addiction
61
substance p
nociception pain reception, excess depression/fibromyalgia, deficit reduces pain sensitivity and mechanical bone stability
62
acetycholine
voluntary movement and muscle contraction, muscle movements, excess depression, deficit dementia/alzheimer's
63
agonists
excites, enhanced cellular activity
64
antagonists
inhibits, blocked cellular activity
65
re-uptake inhibitors
drugs that prevent reuptake, increases availability of neurotransmitters in the synapse
66
cirdcadian rhythm
24 hour biological cycle process
67
nrem stage 1
theta waves, light sleep
68
nrem stage 2
spindles and t-complex
69
nrem stage 3
delta waves, deep sleep, regenerative
70
hypagogic sensations
hallucinations or sensations that can occur when a person is falling asleep
71
rem
similar to being awake, dreaming
72
rem rebound
awake straight to rem, skip 123
73
activation synthesis
dreams are the minds way of making sense of random neural firings
74
consolidation theory
sleep helps us consolidate episodic and somatic memories
75
insomnia
chronic condition due to not being able to sleep
76
narcolepsy
chronic condition that causes the person to fall asleep when they are overly emotionally stimulateda
77
rem sleep behavior disorder
disorder where people experience movements or behaviors while being in rem sleep, whereas the majority have paralysis from below their neck during sleep
78
sleep apnea
disorder where breathing is disrupted during sleep
79
somnambulism
individuals perform activities during sleep, often with conscious awareness
80
neurotransmitters
chemical messengers released when a neuron fires
81
reuptake
neurotransmitters released back into synapse and the originating neuron reabsorbs excess neurotransmitters

Psych (11 decks)

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