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Psychology, Unit 2
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Soma | Cell body |
| dendrites | recieve messages from other cells |
| axon | carries messages away from the cell body |
| myelin sheath | fatty layer, protects the axon and speeds neutral transmission |
| terminal branches | form junctions with the dendrites of other neurons |
| excitatory neural signaling | triggers actions |
| inhibitory neural signaling | depresses actions |
| neuro transmitters | chemical messengers, secreted by neurons, absorbed by the next |
| synapse | space between two neurons |
| acetylcholine | learning, memory, muscle contraction |
| dopamine | learning and memory, attention and emotion |
| endorphins | natural, linked to pain control and pleasure |
| agonists | excite neural firing, more neurotransmitters released |
| antagonists | inhibit neural firing, less neurotransmitters released |
| EEG | scans electrical waves of the brains surface |
| MEG | measures magnetic fields from the brains natural electrical activity |
| PET | Visual display of where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task |
| CT | x-ray pictures taken from multiple angles to composite a representation of a slice pof the brains structure |
| MRI | Shows brains anatomy, usues magnetic fields and radio waves |
| fMRI | shows blood flow and brain activity |
| Brainstem | The central core of the brain, responsible for automatic survival functions |
| medulla | base of the brainstem, controls heartbeat and breathing |
| thalamus | sensory control center, on top of brainstem, directs messages to the sensory recieving areas in cortex, transmits replies to cerebellum and medulla |
| reticular formation | a nerve network that travels thorugh the brainstem into the thalamus, controls arousal |
| cerebellum | coordinating movement output and balance, enabling nonverbal learning and memory, processing sensory input, located at rear of brainstem |
| limbic system | located below the cerebral hemispheres, associated with emotions and drives |
| amygdala | two neural clusters in the limbic system, linked to emotions |
| hypothalamus | below the thalamus, helps govern endocrine system via pituitary gland, linked to emotion and reward |
| hippocampus | located in limbic system, helps process memories and events |
| pons | helps coordinate movement and control sleep |
| central nervous system | refers to brain and spinal cord |
| peripheral nervous system | consists of sensory and motor neurons |
| autonamic | regualtes iternal bodily functions |
| somatic | intentional movement of skeletal muscles |
| parasympathetic | calming, "rest and digest" |
| sympathetic | arousing, fight, flight, or freeze |
| The endocrine system | chemical communication, "slow", governed by pituitary gland, hormones move through bloodstream |
| adrenal glands | releases epinephrine and norepinephrine, energizes the body |
| pancreas | releases insulin, regulates blood sugar |
| thyroid | regulates metabolism, temperature |
| parathyroid | regulates calcium |
| ovaries and testes | sex hormones |
| Corpus callosum | thick band of axons fibers connecting brain hemispheres |
| lesion | brain tissue is destroyed |
| hemispherectomy | entire hemisphere of brain can be removed, brain creates new pathways around the empty area (plasticity) |
| neurogenesis | ability of the brain to make new neurons |
| hereditity | the genetic transfer or characteristics from parent to offspring |
| monozygotic | single egg splits into two, identical twins |
| dizygotic | 2 eggs released, fraternal twins |
| heritability | variation among individuals in a group that we can attribute to genes |
| epigenetics | the study of enviornmental influences on gene expression |
| dual processing | the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on seperate conscious tracks |
| blindsight | a condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it |
| parallel processing | unconscious processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously |
| sequential processing | conscious processing or one aspect of a problem at a time |
| sleep supports growth | pituitary gland releases human growth hormone during slow-wave sleep |
| sleep- protection | evolutionary reasoning, sleeping at night protected individuals from harm in the dark |
| sleep- recuperation | sleep helps restore the immune system and repair brain tissue, gives resting neurons time to repair themselves, while weakening unused connections |
| sleep- restoration and rebuilding | sleep consolidates our memories by replaying recent learning and strengthening neural connections |
| sleep feeds creative thinking | dreams can inspire noteworthy, artistic and scientific acheivements |
| circadian rhythm | the way our bodies roughly synchronize with a 24 hour day |
| adolescent circadian rhythm | adolescents take longer to wake up in the morning, and stay awake later at night |
| NREM sleep | non-rapid eye movement sleep |
| REM sleep | rapid eye movement sleep, vivid dreams occur |
| NREM-1 stage sleep | hypnagogic sensations, feels like youre falling or floating |
| NREM-2 stage sleep | bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain wave activity, can still be awakened easily, 20 minutes |
| NREM-3 stage sleep | brain emits large, slow delta waves, 30 minutes |
| Sleepwalking | a childhood disorder that runs in the family, occurs during NREM-3 |
| sleep talking | disorder that rund in the family |
| sleep loss | predictor of depression, increases appetite and eating, suppress immune cells that battle infections and cancer |
| insomnia | persistent problems either falling or staying asleep |
| narcolepsy | sudden attacks of overwhelming sleepiness, usually last less that 5 minutes |
| sleep apnea | sufferers intermittently stop breathing during sleep for a few seconds at a time |
| Night terrors | may sit up or walk around, talk incoherantly, experience double heart and breathing rates, and appear terrified, no recollection the next morning |
| fruedian theory of dreams | dreams are an expression of unconscious wishes |
| manifest content | what we remember we dreamed |
| latent content | the unconscious drives and wishes |
| informaton-processing theory of dreams | dreams may help "fix" the days experiences in our memory |
| physiological function | dreams provide the unconscious brain with a periodic stimulation |
| activation-synthesis theory | dreams are the brains attempt to synthesize neural activity |
| REM rebound | tendancy for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation |
| psychoactive drugs | chemical substances that alter perceptions and moods |
| substance abuse disorder | a disorder characterized by continued substance craving and use despite significant life distributon and/or physical risk |
| tolerance | as the brain adjusts to the drug, more and more is required to get the same effect |
| addiction | a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry |
| depressants | reduce neural activity and slow body function |
| alcohol | depressant- slowed reaction time, slurred speech |
| expectancy effect of alcohol | expectations influence behavior, consuming alcohol can cause us to act out alcohols presumed influence |
| barbiturates | goal: reduce anxiety |
| opiates | depresses neural activity, temporarily lessens pain and anxiety, pupils constrict, breathing slows, person becomes lethargic |
| Stimulants | excite neural firing, speed up body functions |
| caffiene | stimulant, worlds most popular drug |
| Nicotine | stimulant |
| cocaine | stimulant, increased alertness and euphoria, depletes brains supply of dopamine, seretonin, and norepinephrine |
| methamphetamines | accelerated body functions and associated energy and mood changes, reduces baseline dopamine levels overtime |
| ecstasy/MDMA | synthetic stimulant, mild hallucinogen, euphoria and social intimacy, triggers dopamine relaease and blocks seretonin reuptake |
| hallucinogens | distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input |
| marijuana | mild hallucinogen, amplifies senses, relaxes and may produce a euphoric high |
Created by:
julietrm1
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