psych notes
Terms
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- monogenetic transmission
- The hereditary passing on of traits determined by a single gene.
- polygenetic transmission
- the process by which many genes interact to create a single characteristic.
- heritability
- the extent to which a characteristic is influenced by genetics.
- 2 main parts of Nervous System
-
Central Nervous System
Peripheral Nervous System - Central Nervous System
- - includes brain and spinal cord.
- Peripheral Nervous System
-
-consists of all other nerve cells in the body.
Includes Somatic Nervous System
-Autonomic Nervous System - Somatic Nervous System
- transmits sensory info. to the brain and spinal cord and from the brain and spinal cord to the skeletal muscles.
- Autonomic Nervous System
-
Serves the involuntary systems of the body such as internal organs and glands.
2 Parts
-sympathetic Nervous System
-parasympathetic Nervous System - sympathetic Nervous system
- -activates bodily systems in times of emergency
- parasympathetic Nervous system
- relaxes or returns the body to a less active restful state.
- Walter Cannon
-
"fight or flight"
has to do with the sympathetic nervous system
- CNS 2 Cell Types
-
1.) glial cells
2.) neurons - Glial Cells
- provide structural support , promotes efficient communication between neurons and serve as scavengers removing cellular debris
- Neurons
- cells that process and transmit info. in the nervous system
- neurotransmitters
- chemicals that transmit info. between neurons
- 3 Major Parts of Neuron
-
1.) Cell body- Soma
2.) Axon
3.) Dendrites - Soma
- contains a nucleus
- Axon
- extends from soma, transmits electrical impulses toward the adjacent neuron and stimulates the release of neurotransmitters
- Dendrites
- fingerlike projections from a neurons soma that receive incoming messages from other neurons.
- synapse
- the junction between an axon and the adjacent neuron, where info. is transmitted from one neuron to another.
- Terminal button
- knobs at ends of axon that contain tiny sacs of neurotransmitters
- 3 Types of Neurons
-
1.) Sensory Neurons
2.) Motor Neurons
3.) Interneurons - Sensory Neurons
- receive incoming sensory info. from the sense organs
- Motor Neurons
- carry commands for movement from the brain to the muscles of the body.
- Interneurons
-
only communicate with other neurons.
-most common neuron in the brain - Action Potential
- the impulse of positive charge that runs down an axon
- Resting Potential
- the difference in electrical charge between the inside and outside of the axon when the neuron is at rest.
- synaptic vessicles
- sacs in terminal buttons that contain neurotransmitters
- 2 ways to remove excess Neurotransmitter
-
1.) enzymatic degradation
2.) Reuptake - Enzymatic Degradation
- a way of removing excess neurotransmitter from the synapse; in which enzymes specific for that neurotransmitter bind with the neurotransmitter and destroy it.
- Reuptake
- excess neurotransmitter is returned to the sending or presynaptic neuron for storage in vessicles and future use.
- graded potentials
-
small changes in membrane potential that by themselves are insufficient to trigger an action potential.
-either increase or decrease the liklihood of an action potential occuring - Acetylcholine
- Neurotransmitter that controls muscle movement. plays a role in mental processing such as learning, memeory, attention, sleeping and dreaming
- Dopamine
- released in response to behaviors that feel good or are rewarding to the person or animal. also involved in motor control.
- epinephrine(adrenaline)
-
arouses bodily systems
ex. increased heart rate - serotonin
- involved in dreaming and in controlling emotional states. especially anger, anxiety, and depression.
- GABA
- tells postsynaptic neurons not to fire; slows CNS activity and is necessary to regulate and control neural activity.
- Glutamate
- major excitatory NT. in the brain that increases the liklihood that a postsynaptic neuron will fire. important in learning, memory, neural processing, and brain developement.
- 3 Regions of the Brain
-
1.) Hindbrain
2.) Midbrain
3.) Forebrain - Hindbrain
- 3 parts, oldest region directly connected to spinal cord. regulates breathing, heart rate, arousal, and other functions of survival
- 3 parts of Hindbrain
-
1.) Medulla
2.) Pons
3.) Cerebellum - Medulla
- regulates breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure
- Pons
- serve as a bridge between lower brain regions and higher midbrain and forebrain activity
- Cerebellum
- involved in body movement, balance, coordination, fine tuning motor skills, learning and language, contains more neurons than any other part of brain.
- Midbrain
- smallest of 3 regions. different parts control the eye muscles, process auditory and visual info. and initiate voluntary movement of the body
- Brain Stem
- made up of medulla, pons, and Midbrain
- Reticular Formation
- network of nerves that run up medulla through both the hindbrain and midbrain; crucial to waking up and falling asleep.
- Forebrain
- largest of 3 regions, controls cognitive, sensory, and motor function and regulates temp., reproduction, eating, sleeping, and the display of emotions. Most of these brain structures are bilateral
- thalmus
- receives info. from senses and relays it to the cerebral cortex for processing.
- Limbic System- 4 parts
- 1.) Hypothalmus
- Limbic System 4 Parts
-
1.) hypothalmus
2.) hippocampus
3.) amygdala
4.) cingulate gyrus - hypothalmus
-
master regulator of almost all drives and motives we have.
ex. hunger, thirst, sexual behavior - hippocampus
- wrapped around thalmus, plays vital role in learning and memory
- amygdala
- important for processing emotional info. especially related to fear.
- Cingulate Gyrus
- plays important role in attention and cognitive control
- Basal Ganglia
- Structures surrounding the thalmus involved in voluntary control
- Cerebrum
- each of the large halves of the brain that are covered with convolutions or folds
- cerebral cortex
- human thought, planning, perception, and consciousness takes place here.
- insula
- inside the cerebrum, plays role in perception of bodily sensations, emotional states, empathy, and addictive behavior
- Cerebral Hemispheres
-
Left Hemisphere
Right Hemisphere - Left Hemisphere
- processes info. in a more focused analytic matter
- Right Hemisphere
- integrates info. in a more holistic, or broader manner. Insight and solutions to ideas more likely to occur here.
- Corpus Callosum
- Nerve fibers that connect the two Hemispheres
- Paul Broca
- First neuropsychologist. demonstrated for the first time that specific parts of the brain controlled particular behaviors.
- Aphasia
- inability to speak or comprehend language
- Wernickes Area
- responsible for speech and language comprehension
- Neuroplasticity
- The brains ability to adopt new functions, reorganize itself, or make new neural connections throughout life as a function of experience
- neurogenesis
- the developement of new neurons.
- arborization
- the growth and formation of new dendrites
- synaptogenesis
- the formation of entirely new synapses or connections with other neurons
- Electroencephalography
-
method for measuring brain activity in which the electrical activity of the brain is recorded from electrodes placed on a persons scalp.
shows when brain activity occurs not where - Even related Potential
-
technique that extracts electrical activity from raw EEG data to measure cognitive processes.
good for measuring states of wakefulness - Magnetic Resonance Imaging
-
uses magnetic fields to produce detailed images of the structure of the brain and other soft tissues.
just tells about structures not activity - FMRI
- does tell about activity in brain
- Positron Emission tomography
- measure blood flow to active areas of brain.
- Endocrine System
- system of glands that secrete and regulate hormones in the body
- hormones
- chemicals secreted by glands that travel in the bloodstream to tissues and organs all over the body.
- Pituitary Gland
- master gland of the body, controls release of hormones from glands throughout the body.
- thyroid Gland
- controls metabolism
- pancreas
- releases insulin, controls blood sugar levels.
- Adrenal glands
- release hormones important to regulating the stress response and emotions.
- Catecholamines
- chemicals released from the adrenal glands that function as hormones and as neurotransmitters to control ANS activation.