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psych unit 2
all the key terms on the sheet from ap psych unit 2
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| psychoactive drug | substances that alter brain function, leading to changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior |
| substance use disorder | a disorder characterized by continued substance use despite significant life disruption |
| tolerance | a condition where increased amounts of a psychoactive substance are needed to achieve the same effects; it occurs due to the brain’s adaption to the drug, leading to reduced sensitivity in its effects over time |
| addiction | a chronic brain disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences; change in brain structure and function, leads to loss of control over drug consumption |
| withdrawal | the onset of symptoms when a person stops using a psychoactive substance after prolonged use; symptoms can include physical discomfort, psychological distress, and craving for the drug |
| depressants | drugs that slow down neural activity and bodily functions; induce relaxation, sedation, and can lower inhibitions |
| alcohol use disorder | a disorder characterized by continued alcohol consumption despite significant life disruption |
| barbiturates | drugs that depress central nervous system activity, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgement |
| opiates | psychoactive drug that act on opioid receptors in the brain and body, producing pain relief, euphoria, and sedation |
| stimulants | drugs that increase neural activity and arousal, leading to heightened alertness, attention, and energy levels |
| nicotine | a stimulant found in tobacco products |
| cocaine | a powerful stimulant derived from the coca plant; it increases neural activity leading to euphoria, increased energy and alertness; blocks dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine reuptake |
| amphetamines | example of a stimulant (adderall, dexedrine) |
| methamphetamine | example of a stimulant (crystal meth) |
| ecstasy (mdma) | example of a stimulant (molly) |
| hallucinogens | drugs that alter perception, mood, and cognitive processes, often causing hallucinations or profound changes in consciousness |
| near-death experience | an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death; often similar to drug-induced hallucinations |
| lsd | example of a hallucinogen (lysergic acid diethylamide) |
| thc | in marijuana; alters mood, perception, and cognition; psychoactive |
| consciousness | the state of being aware of and able to perceive one’s thoughts, feelings, sensations, and surroundings; it involves various levels from alert wakefulness to altered states such as sleep or meditation |
| dual-processing | the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks |
| blindsight | a phenomenon where people with damage to their visual cortex can respond to visual stimuli without consciously perceiving them; it suggests that some visual processing can occur unconsciously, bypassing traditional pathways in the brain |
| parallel processing | processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously |
| sequential processing | processing one aspect of a stimulus or problem at a time; generally used to process new information or to solve difficult problems |
| sleep | a periodic, natural loss of consciousness, as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation |
| jet lag | a temporary disruption of the body’s circadian rhythm due to rapid travel across multiple time zones; it can result in fatigue, sleep disturbances, and difficulty concentrating as the body adjusts to the new time zone |
| circadian rhythm | the natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours; it influences patterns of alertness, hormone release, body temperature, and other physiological processes |
| rem sleep | a stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements, vivid dreams, and muscle paralysis; associated with increased brain activity, including dreaming, and plays a role in memory consolidation and emotional processing |
| nrem sleep stage 1 | drifting in and out of sleep, lasting only a few minutes, with hypnic jerks and muscle contractions |
| nrem sleep stage 2 | light sleep, lasts about 20 minutes, sleep spindles and k-complexes appear |
| nrem sleep stage 3 | deepest sleep, mostly delta waves, replenishes and repairs the body and removes waste |
| alpha waves | the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state |
| delta waves | the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep |
| suprachiasmic nucleus | a pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythm; in response to light, the scn adjusts melatonin production, thus modifying our feelings of sleepiness |
| insomnia | a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or experiencing restorative sleep, leading to daytime impairment such as fatigue, mood disturbances, and decreased cognitive function |
| sleep apnea | a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing, or shallow breathing during sleep, leading to disrupted sleep patterns, daytime fatigue, and other health problems |
| narcolepsy | a sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, sudden episodes of muscle weakness (cataplexy), sleep paralysis, and hallucinations during sleep onset or awakening |
| somnambulism | sleepwalking; walking or performing other activities during sleep; typically occurs during non-rem sleep stages and can result in injuries or accidents |
| dream | a theory proposing that dreams are the result of random neural activity in the brainstem during rem sleep, which is then interpreted and synthesized by the cerebral cortex into a narrative or story |
| sigmund freud | the founder of psychoanalysis, a theory that emphasizes the role of the unconscious mind, childhood experiences, and internal conflicts in shaping behavior and psychology |
| manifest content | the storyline and events of a dream as the dreamer remembers them, representing the surface-level, literal meaning |
| latent content | learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it |
| rem rebound | the phenomenon where the body increases the time spent in rem sleep after a period of rem deprivation |
| consolidation theory | a theory suggesting that dreams play a role in the memory consolidation and processing of memories; during sleep, the brain organizes and integrates information acquired throughout the day, contributing to memory storage and learning |
| restoration of resources | the process of replenishing depleted mental and physical resources, usually through sleep |
| sensation | the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment |
| transduction | the conversion of sensory stimuli into neural impulses that can be understood by the brain |
| perception | the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to make sense of the world around us; it involves the brain’s interpretation of sensory inputs, which can be influenced by past experiences, expectations, and context |
| absolute threshold | the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 80 percent of the time |
| just-noticeable difference | the smallest change in a stimulus that can be detected by an individual; the minimal difference needed for a person to perceive that a change has occurred |
| sensory adaption | diminished sensitivity asa consequence of constant stimulation |
| weber’s law | the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percent, rather than a constant amount |
| sensory interaction | the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste |
| synesthesia | a condition in which stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in another sensory pathway |
| retina | the light-sensitive back inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information |
| blind spot | the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there |
| optic nerve | a bundle of nerve fibers that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain, where it is processed into an image |
| lens | transparent structure in the eye that focuses light onto the retina; it adjusts its shape to help the eye properly refract light, enabling clear vision at different distances |
| accommodation | the process by which the lens of the eye changes its shape to focus on objects at different distances; it allows for clear vision of both nearby and distant objects by adjusting the curvature of the lens |
| nearsightedness | a common vision condition when close objects are clear, but distant objects are blurry; eyeball is too long or cornea is too curved, causing light to focus in from of the retina instead of on it |
| farsightedness | a vision condition where distant objects are seen more clearly than close ones; it happens when the eyeball is too short or the cornea is too flat, causing light to focus behind the retina rather than directly on it |
| photoreceptors | specialized cells in the retina that convert light into electrical signals, enabling vision |
| rods | retinal receptors that detect black, white and gray, and are sensitive to movement; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond |
| cones (blue, red, green) | retinal receptors that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions; detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations |
| trichromatic theory | a theory that color vision is based on 3 types of cone receptors, each sensitive to different wavelengths of light; the brain combines signals from these cones to create the perception of a wide range of colors |
| opponent-process theory | a theory that color vision is based on pairs of opposing color processes |
| fovea | the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster |
| afterimages | visual sensations that persist after a stimulus is removed; they occur due to temporary overstimulation of cone cells in the retina, resulting in a brief perception of an inverted or complementary image |
| ganglion cells | neurons in the retina that receive visual information from bipolar cells and transmit it to the brain via the optic nerve; they play a crucial role in processing visual signals and relaying them to the brain for further interpretation |
| dichromatism | a type of color vision deficiency where an individual has only two types of functioning cone cells instead of the normal three; this results in difficulty distinguishing between certain colors, especially red and green |
| monochromatism | a rare form of colorblindness where someone has one or no types of functioning cone cell, resulting in an inability to perceive colors |
| prosopagnosia | a neurological condition characterized by the inability to recognize familiar faces, including one’s own face, despite intact vision and intellect; face blindness |
| wavelength | the distance between sound wave peaks; shorter wavelengths mean higher pitched sounds, and longer wavelengths mean lower pitches sounds |
| pitch | a tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency |
| amplitude | the measure of the intensity or loudness of a sound wave, represented by the height of its peaks; greater amplitude corresponds to louder sounds, while lower amplitude indicates softer sounds |
| loudness | the perceptual attribute of a sound’s intensity or volume, a subjective experience influenced by the sound’s physical characteristics like amplitude and frequency, as well as the listener’s hearing |
| pitch perception | the brain’s interpretation of the frequency of sound waves, determining whether a sound is high or low in tone; higher frequencies are perceived as high pitches, while lower frequencies are perceived as lower pitches |
| place theory | the idea that different parts of the inner ear detect different sound frequencies; high pitches are sensed near the entrance, low pitches near the end |
| volley theory | a theory of pitch perception proposing that groups of auditory neurons fire in rapid succession, or “volleys,” to encode the frequency of sounds above 1000 Hz; lets brain perceive pitches that exceed firing rate of 1 neuron |
| frequency theory | the theory of pitch perception proposing that the frequency of a sound wave directly corresponds to the rate at which auditory nerve fibers fire; faster=higher |
| sound localization | the brain’s ability to determine the location of a sound source in space; it relies on cues such as differences in arrival time and intensity between the ears, as well as spectral cues, to accurately locate sounds |
| conduction deafness | hearing impairment caused by damage to the outer/middle ear; typically resulting in difficulty hearing soft sounds and can often be treated medically or surgically |
| sensorineural deafness | hearing loss caused by damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve; often permanent |
| olfactory system | responsible for smell; special receptors in the nose detect smells and send signals to the brain via the olfactory nerve |
| thalamus | the forebrain’s sensory control center, directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla |
| pheromones | chemical substances released by all animals that trigger social or behavioral responses in others of the same species |
| gustation | the sense of taste, involving receptors on the tongue that detect different flavors |
| tastes | sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami, oleogustus |
| taste receptors | specialized cells located on the tongue and in the mouth that detect different tastes |
| supertasters | highly sensitive to taste |
| medium tasters | experiencing flavors moderately |
| nontasters | experiencing flavors less intensely than others |
| warm/cold receptors | specialized sensory neurons in the skin that detect changes in temperature |
| pain | not a sensation but an emotional response to stimuli |
| gate control theory | a theory proposing that the experience of pain is modulated by a neural “gate” in the spinal cord; this gate can open to allow signals to be transmitted to the brain or close to block them |
| phantom limb pain | sensation of pain or other feelings in a missing limb; it occurs due to the brain’s continued perception of the limb, even though it’s no longer there |
| vestibular sense | the sense of body orientation and movement, including balance and spatial awareness; it relies on receptors in the inner ear that detect changes in head position and movement, helping to maintain stability and coordinate bodily movements |
| semicircular canals | fluid-filled structures in the inner ear that detect rotational movements of the head; they play a crucial role in the vestibular sense, sending signals to the brain about changes in head position and movement |
| kinesthesis |
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hmayo
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