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Unit 1
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Evolutionary Perspective | Looks at how human behaviors helped our ancestors survive and reproduce |
| Natural Selection | Process where traits that enhance survival and reproduction are passed on more frequently |
| Nature | The influence of genetic factors on traits and behaviors |
| Nurture | The influence of environmental factors on traits and behaviors |
| Heredity | The passing of traits from parents to offspring through genes |
| Genetic Predisposition | The likelihood of developing certain traits or disorders based on genetics |
| Eugenics | A controversial and unethical movement aimed at improving the genetic composition of humans through selective breeding |
| Cerebral Cortex | The outer layer of the brain, involved in complex mental processes such as thinking |
| Frontal Lobes | Involved in decision-making, problem-solving, and controlling behavior |
| Prefrontal Cortex | Part of the frontal lobes involved in planning complex behaviors and expressing personality |
| Executive Functioning | Higher order processes including planning, organizing, and regulating behavior |
| Motor Cortex | Controls voluntary movements |
| Parietal Lobes | Processes sensory information like touch and spatial awareness |
| Somatosensory Cortex | Area of the brain that processes sensory input from various body partys |
| Occipital Lobes | Responsible for vision |
| Temporal Lobes | Involved in hearing, memory, and understanding language |
| Corpus Callosum | Thick band of nerve fibers that connects the two brain hemispheres |
| Brainstem | Supports basic life functions, including heart rate, breathing, and sleeping |
| Medulla | Part of the brainstem that controls vital life-sustaining functions like heartbeat and breathing |
| Reticular Activating System | Regulates wakefulness and sleep-wake transitions |
| Cerebellum | Coordinates voluntary movements like posture, balance, and coordination |
| Limbic System | Involved in emotion, motivation, and memory |
| Reward Center | Brain areas that regulate the experience of pleasure |
| Thalamus | Relay motor and sensory signals to the cerebral cortex |
| Hypothalamus | Regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst, and other homeostatic systems. |
| Pituitary Gland | The master gland of the endocrine system that regulates other glands |
| Hippocampus | Essential for learning and memory |
| Amygala | Involved in emotion processing, particularly fear and aggression |
| Nervous System | The body's communication network consisting of nerve cells |
| Central Nervous System | Consists of the brain and spinal cord |
| Peripheral Nervous System | The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body |
| Autonomic Nervous System | Controls involuntary bodily functions |
| Sympathetic Nervous System | Activates the body's resources during stress and emergencies |
| Parasympathetic Nervous System | Conserves energy and restores the body to a calm state |
| Somatic Nervous System | Controls voluntary movements |
| Neurons | Nerve cells that transmit information throughout the body |
| Glial Cells | Support cells in the nervous system |
| Motor Neurons | Carry signals from the spinal cord to muscles to produce movement |
| Sensory Neurons | Carry signals from body parts to the central nervous system |
| Interneurons | Connect sensory and motor neurons and carry impulses between them |
| Reflex Arc | The nerve pathway involved in a reflex action |
| Neural Transmission | The process by which neurons communicate with each other |
| Threshold | The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse |
| Action Potential | A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon |
| All-or-Nothing Principle | The rule that neurons are either on or off |
| Depolarization | A decrease in the electrical charge across a cell membrane |
| Refractory Period | A period immediately following stimulation during which a nerve or muscle is unresponsive to further stimulation |
| Resting Potential | The state of the neuron when not firing a neural impulse |
| Reuptake | The absorption by a presynaptic nerve ending of a neurotransmitter that it has secreted |
| Consciousness | The awareness of internal and external stimuli |
| Circadian Rhythm | The body's natural 24-hour cycle, affecting sleep and wakefulness |
| NREM Stage 1 | The initial stage of sleep characterized by light sleep and slow eye movement |
| Hypnagogic Sensations | Feelings of falling or hearing strange noises as one falls asleep during NREM Stage 1 |
| NREM Stage 2 | The second stage of sleep, where body temperature drops and heart rate slows |
| NREM Stage 3 | The deepest and most restorative sleep stage; includes slow-wave sleep |
| REM Sleep | A sleep stage marked by rapid eye movement and dreaming; brain waves are similar to wakefulness |
| REM Rebound | The tedency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation |
| Activation-Synthesis | Dreams; a theory suggesting dreams are caused by the brain's attempt to make sense of neural activity during sleep |
| Consolidation Theory | Dreams; the theory that dreams help to cement memories and learning |
| Memory Consolidation | The process by which temporary memories are converted into a stable form |
| Restoration of Resources | The theory that sleep helps to restore physical and mental resources depleted during wakefulness |
| Insomnia | Difficulty falling or staying asleep |
| Narcolepsy | A disorder characterized by sudden and uncontrollable episodes of deep sleep |
| REM Sleep Behavior Disorder | A sleep disorder where individuals act out vivid dreams with physical movements |
| Sleep Apnea | A disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep |
| Somnambulism | Sleepwalking, typically occurring during deep sleep |
| Psychoactive Drugs | Substances that affect the mind, altering consciousness, perception, or mood |
| Agonists | Drugs that increase the action of a neurotransmitter |
| Antagonists | Drugs that block the action of a neurotransmitter |
| Reuptake Inhibitors | Drugs that block the reabsorption of neurotransmitters, increasing their levels |
| Stimulants | Drugs that increase brain activity, such as caffeine and cocaine |
| Caffeine | A mild stimulant found in coffee, tea, and some sodas |
| Cocaine | A powerful stimulant that affects the central nervous system |
| Depressants | Substances that reduce neural activity and slow bodily functions, like alcohol |
| Hallucinogens | Drugs that cause perceptual distortions and heightened sensory experiences |
| Marijuana | A commonly used hallucinogen that also has some depressant and stimulant effects |
| Opiods | Drugs that act on the nervous system to relieve pain; includes heroin |
| Tolerance | A condition in which more of a drug is needed to achieve the same effect |
| Sensation | The process by which sensory receptors receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment |
| Transduction | The conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensory processing, it refers to transforming stimulus energies into neural impulses |
| Perception | The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events |
| Absolute Threshold | The minimum stimulus intensity required to detect a stimulus 50% of the time |
| Just-noticeable Difference (JND) | The smallest difference in stimulus intensity that a specific sense can detect |
| Sensory Adaptation | Adjustment in sensory capacity after prolonged exposure to unchanging stimuli |
| Weber's Law | The principle that to perceive their difference, two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion, not a constant amount |
| Synesthesia | A condition in which one sense is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses |
| Retina | The light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye |
| Blind Spot | The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there |
| Visual Nerve | Another term for the optic nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain |
| Lens | The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina |
| Accommodation | The process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina. |
| Nearsightedness | A condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects |
| Fairsightedness | A condition in which distant objects are seen more clearly than near objects |
| Photoreceptors | Cells in the retina that respond to light |
| Rods | Photoreceptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision |
| Cones | Photoreceptors that detect color and detail, functioning in daylight or well-lit conditions |
| Trichromatic Theory | The theory that the retina contains three different color receptors- one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue- which when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color |
| Opponent-process Theory | The theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision |
| Afterimages | Images that occur when a visual sensation persists for a brief time even after the original stimulus is removed |
| Fovea | The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster |
| Ganglion Cells | Neurons that relay information from the retina to the brain via the optic nerve |
| Wavelength | The distance between successive peaks of a wave, typically used in physics and communications to specify wave frequencies |
| Pitch | A tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on the frequency |
| Amplitude | The height of a wave, determining the loudness of sounds |
| Loudness | A sound's intensity |
| Pitch Perception | How high or low a sound seems |
| Place Theory | The theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated |
| Volley Theory | The theory that frequencies of sound are coded by the rate of firing of neurons in the auditory nerve |
| Frequency Theory | The theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, enabling us to sense its pitch |
| Sound Localization | The process by which the location of a sound is determined |
| Conduction Deafness | Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea |
| Sensorineural Deafness | Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves |
Created by:
o.t.2001
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