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AP Psychology > UNIT 3: Biological Bases of Behavior > Flashcards

UNIT 3: Biological Bases of Behavior Flashcards

1
Q

Biological Psychologists

A

study the linkage and interplay between the body and the mind

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2
Q

Biopsychosocial

A

believes we do the things we do because (1) our bodies, (2) our minds or thinking, and (3) the culture that we live in

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3
Q

Neurons

A

nerve cells; some types include the sensory neurons (afferent), motor neurons (efferent), and interneurons

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4
Q

Sensory Neurons (Afferent)

A

take messages from the body, up the spinal cord, to the brain

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5
Q

Motor Neurons (Efferent)

A

take messages from the brain to the body

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6
Q

Interneurons

A

are neurons within the brain that “talk” to one another while thinking or processing information

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7
Q

Cell Body

A

part of the neuron; has a nucleus in the middle

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8
Q

Dendrites

A

part of the neuron; feather-like fingers sticking out from the cell body; bring info in to the cell

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9
Q

Axons

A

part of the neuron; long “arms”; send info away from the cell body to other neurons or body parts; insulated by the myelin sheath

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10
Q

Myelin Sheath

A

insulates the axon and helps control the impulses and speeds their travel

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11
Q

Action Potential

A

when neurons “fire” when stimulated by a sense or other chemicals from another neuron; slight electric charge`

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12
Q

Ions of the Axon

A

axons have negatively charged ions inside, positively charged ions outside. There is a selectively permeable membrane in between

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13
Q

Refractory Period

A

when firing, a neuron allows positive ions in. For a moment during the refractory period, it can’t fire, until it pushes the positive ions back out and “resets” itself

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14
Q

Excitatory Signals of the Neuron

A

tells the neuron to fire

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15
Q

Inhibitory Signals of the Neuron

A

tell the neuron not to fire

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16
Q

Threshold

A

when the excitatory signals outweigh the inhibitory signals by a certain amount, the neuron fires

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17
Q

Synapse

A

the place where the axon of one neuron meets the dendrites of another

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18
Q

Synapse Gap

A

the small gap between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites of another

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19
Q

Neurotransmitters

A

chemical messengers that take the impulse of one neuron across the synaptic gap to another neuron; affect people in many ways such as: depression, happiness, hunger, addictions, etc.

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20
Q

Reuptake

A

extra neurotransmitters return to the original neuron and are ready again

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21
Q

Endorphins

A

a type of neurotransmitter; are like natural morphine that our bodies produce; they improve our moods and reduce pain; released in either times of pain or heavy exercise

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22
Q

Agonist Molecule

A

drugs that act like neurotransmitters and bridge the synaptic gap
EX. opiate drugs produce a “high”
EX. black widow spider poison produces muscle spasms

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23
Q

Antagonist Molecule

A

block transmission; do not bridge the synaptic gap

EX. botox blocks a muscle from contracting

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24
Q

Central Nervous System

A

consists of the brain and spinal cord

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25
Q

Peripheral Nervous System

A

consists of our sensory receptors, muscles, and glands

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26
Q

Somatic Nervous System

A

can be voluntarily controlled

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27
Q

Automatic Nervous System

A

runs on its own; consists of the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system

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28
Q

Sympathetic Nervous System

A

activates and exerts energy; increases your heartbeat, blood pressure, blood sugar, and slows digestion
EX. preparing to run away or to fight

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29
Q

Parasympathetic Nervous System

A

kicks in when the “crisis” is over- it calms you down

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30
Q

Neural Networks

A

where neurons group themselves together; helps them communicate even faster

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31
Q

Spinal Cord

A

connects the brain with the peripheral nervous system

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32
Q

Interneuron

A

when a single sensory neuron and a motor neuron work together

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33
Q

Hormones

A

endocrine system secretes hormones which impact interest in sex, food, and aggression; move slower than neurotransmitters, but last longer

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34
Q

Adrenal Glands

A

secretes epinephrine (AKA adrenaline) and increases the pulse, blood pressure, and blood sugar

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35
Q

Pituitary Gland

A

most influential, controlled by the hypothalamus part of the brain; the hormones from here influence growth and secretions by other glands; “master gland”; influence the brain

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36
Q

Anterior Pituitary Lobe

A

releases hormones that regulate other glands

37
Q

Posterior Lobe

A

regulates water and salt balance

38
Q

Pituitary Gland Chain-Reaction

A

brain -> pituitary -> other glands -> hormones -> brain

39
Q

Acetylcholine (ACH)

A

neurotransmitter; excitatory- tightens muscles, some poisons and Botox stops it from activating muscles

40
Q

Epinephrine

A

neurotransmitter; excitatory- AKA “adrenaline”, boosts arousal/alertness

41
Q

Norepinephrine

A

neurotransmitter; excitatory- boosts arousal/alertness, preps “fight or flight” response when sympathetic nervous system kicks in

42
Q

Dopamine

A

neurotransmitter; excitatory and inhibitory- boosts mood/reward center, high levels in schizophrenics and alzheimers

43
Q

Serotonin

A

neurotransmitter; inhibitory boosts mood; low levels associated with depression

44
Q

GABA

A

neurotransmitter; inhibitory- low levels go with anxiety

45
Q

Glutamate

A

neurotransmitter; excitatory- counters GABA to give “homeostasis” or balance

46
Q

Histamine

A

neurotransmitter; excitatory- goes with inflammation, boosts wakefulness

47
Q

EEG (electroencephalogram)

A

a read-out of electrical brain activity

48
Q

PET Scan (positron emission tomography)

A

shows the brain’s “hot spots” of action by measuring its consumption of sugar glucose, the brain’s fuel

49
Q

CT/CAT Scan (computed tomography)

A

uses x-rays to provide a 3D picture of the brain

50
Q

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

A

provides a picture of the brain’s soft tissue

ex. shows brain differences like people with perfect pitch or schizophrenia

51
Q

fMRI (functional MRI)

A

can show the brain’s structure and function; it measures blood-flow to and within the brain and therefore can show brain activity

52
Q

Brainstem

A

the oldest brain region, which begins as the spinal cord enters the brain and swells in width

53
Q

Medulla

A

the section where the spinal cord enters the brain and swells; it controls heartbeat and breathing

54
Q

Pons

A

located above the medulla; it helps to coordinate movements

55
Q

Reticular Formation

A

inside the brainstem; it relays incoming stimuli to other areas of the brain

56
Q

Thalamus

A

located atop the brainstem, it’s the hub that sends incoming sensory impulses (except for smell) to the higher brain areas

57
Q

Cerebellum

A

at the back of the brain and is split into two parts; it coordinates movement, manages emotions, and figures out sounds and textures

58
Q

Limbic System

A

sits between the older brain structures and the cerebral hemispheres; contains the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus

59
Q

Hippocampus

A

processes memory, in the limbic system

60
Q

Amygdala

A

made up of two bean-size nerve bundles; manages anger and fear and is involved with handling the emotions and memories; in the limbic system

61
Q

Hypothalamus

A

located below the thalamus and is important in hunger, thirst, body temperature, and sexual behavior; in the limbic system

62
Q

Cerebrum

A

largest section of the brain; deals with more voluntary functions like perception, thinking, and speaking

63
Q

Cerebral Cortex

A

the gnarled “bark” that encompasses the rest of the brain; divided into four lobes, the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal

64
Q

Glial Cells

A

feed and insulate the nerve cells of the cerebral cortex

65
Q

Frontal Lobe

A

in the front, behind the forehead; handles judgement, planning, and new memories + impacts personality

66
Q

Parietal Lobe

A

the top and to the back of the brain; seems to handle math and spatial reasoning

67
Q

Occipital Lobe

A

the back and bottom of the brain; processes vision

68
Q

Temporal Lobe

A

near the temples, on the side; contains the auditory cortex which processes sounds; on the right side it seems to perform facial recognition

69
Q

Motor Cortex

A

a strip roughly between the frontal and parietal lobes; it handles our movements and motions by sending impulses from the brain to the body

70
Q

Sensory Cortex

A

receives input from the senses to the brain

71
Q

Auditory Cortex

A

in the temporal lobe, to which sounds are processed here

72
Q

Association Areas

A

piece parts together and make sense of things

73
Q

Plasticity

A

the brain’s ability to change itself after being damaged; the brain seems to be able to reorganize or reassign jobs and functions

74
Q

Neurogenesis

A

where we grow new brain cells, which is promoted by exercise, sleep, and non-stressful but stimulating environment

75
Q

Corpus Callosum

A

links the two brain hemispheres

76
Q

Left Brain Hemisphere

A

handles rational, logical thought, speech and words

77
Q

Right Brain Hemisphere

A

handles images, emotions, intuition, and drawing inferences

78
Q

Chromosomes

A

holds our master genetic code; a normal person has 46 chromosomes, 23 from our mother and 23 from our father; hold our genes

79
Q

Genes

A

hold our DNA; can either be active or inactive, “expressed” or “repressed”

80
Q

DNA

A

our genetic coding

81
Q

Identical Twins

A

have identical DNA since they formed from a single zygote

82
Q

Zygote

A

fertilized egg

83
Q

Fraternal Twins

A

siblings formed from two zygotes; genetics are not identical but are close

84
Q

Siblings

A

simply brothers/sisters or both; have close genetics but a slightly less common environment

85
Q

“Virtual Twins”

A

non-related children of the same age, like step-brother or step-sister; non-related, genetics are no more similar than two strangers

86
Q

Heritability

A

the mathematical likelihood that differences between people is due to genetics; shows the percent likelihood of variations among people based on genetics; depends on how alike o unalike two people’s environments are

87
Q

Molecular Genetics

A

tries to single out how specific genes influence the body or behavior

88
Q

Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

A

holds the beliefs that

  1. a species has variations
  2. those variations sometimes help it to live and/or to reproduce
  3. if it lives and reproduces, its genes get passed on to the next generation (those that did not live and reproduce, will not get passed on)
89
Q

Mutations

A

random chance changes

AP Psychology (4 decks)

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