chapter 3 psychology
Terms
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- genetic structure from parents
- genotype
- outward appearance and repertory of behaviors
- phenotype
- the tendency of cultures to respond adaptively through learning, to environmenttal change
- cultural evolution
- the inheritance of physical and psychological traits from ancestors
- heredity
- the study of the machanisms of heredity
- genetics
- genetic material in the nucleus of each of your cells
- DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
- DNA organized into tiny units
- genes
- chromosomes that contain genes coding for development of male or female physical characteristics
- sex chromosomes
- the full sequence of genes found on the chromosomes with the associated DNA
- genome
- unite genetics and psychology to explore the causal link between inheritance and behavior
- human behavior genetics
- provides evolutionary explanations for the social behavior and social systems of humans and other animal species
- sociobiology
- extend evolutionary explanations to include other aspects of human experience, such as how the mind functions
- evolutionary psychology
- highly localized brain injuries
- lesions
- uses pulses of magnetic stimulation to create temporary, reversible lesions in human participants
- repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
- an amplified tracing of the brain activity
- electroencephalogram (EEG)
- combines some of the benefits of both techniques by detecting magnetic changes in the flow of blood to cells in the brain
- functional MRI (FMRI)
- regulates the actions of the body's skeletal muscles
- somatic nervous system
- sustains basic life processes
- autonomic nervous system (ANS)
- governs responses to emergency situations
- sympathetic division
- monitors the routine operation of the body's internal functions
- parasympathetic division
- contains structures that collectively regulate the internal state of the body
- brain stem
- located at the very top of the spinal cord, is the center for breathing, blood pressure, and the beating of the heart
- medulla
- system involved with motivation, emotion, and memory processes
- limbic system
- integrates sensory information, coordinates your movements, and facilitates abstract thinking and reasoning
- cerebrum and the cerebral cortex
- directly above the medulla. provides inputs to other structures in the brain stem and to the cerebellum
- pons
- a dense network of nerve cells that serves as the brain's sentinel
- reticular formation
- channels incoming sensory information to the appropriate area of the cerebral cortex, where that information is processed
- thalamus
- attached to the brain stem at the base of the skull...coordinates bodily movements, controls posture, and maintains equilibrium
- cerebellum
- system that mediates motivated behaviors, emotional states, and memory processes
- limbic system
- the largest of the limbic system structures, plays an important role in the acquisition of memories
- hippocampus
- plays a role in emotional control and the formation of emotional memories
- amygdala
- one of the smallest structures in the brain, yet it plays a vital role in many of your most important daily actions
- hypothalamus
- body's internal equilibrium
- homeostasis
- occupys two-thirds of the brains total mass
- cerebrum
- outer surface of the cerebrum, made up of billions of cells in a layer about a tenth of an inch thick
- cerebral cortex
- symmetrical halves of the cerebrum
- cerebral hemispheres
- thick mass of nerve fibers that connect the two hemispheres
- corpus callosum
- divides each hemisphere vertically
- central sulcus
- divides each hemisphere horizontally
- lateral fissure
- lobe involved in motor control and cognitive activities, such as planning, making decisions, and setting goals
- frontal lobe
- lobe responsible for the processes of hearing
- temporal lobe
- lobe that is the final destination for visual information
- occipital lobe
- controls body's 600 voluntary muscles
- motor cortex
- processes information about temperature, touch, body position, and pain
- somatosensory cortex
- cortex where processes such as planning and decision making are believed to occur
- association cortex
- function where one cerebral hemisphere plays the primary role in accomplinshing that function
- lateralized
- processes information bit by bit
- analytical
- processes information with respect to global patterns
- holistic
- a network of glands that manufacture and secrete chemical messengers called hormones into the bloodstream
- endocrine system
- the "master gland". produces about ten different kinds of hormones that influence the secretions of all the other endocrine glands, as well as a hormone that influences growth
- pituitary gland
- stimulates production of sperm
- testosterone
- essential to the hormonal chain reaction that triggers the release of ova from a woman's ovaries, making her fertile
- estrogen
- a cell specialized to receive, process, and/or transmit information to other cells within the body
- neuron
- the part of the cell that receives incoming signals; branches
- dentrites
- cell body
- soma
- neurons that carry messages from sense receptor cells toward the central nervous system
- sensory neurons
- neurons that carry messages away from the central nervous system toward the muscles and glands
- motor neurons
- the bulk of neurons in the brain are this...which relay messages from sensory neurons to other interneurons or to motor neurons
- interneurons
- they hold neurons in place
- glia
- fire
- excitatory
- dont fire
- inhibitory
- excitable portions of the cell membrane that selectively permit certain ions to flow in and out
- ion channels
- the size of the action potential is unaffected by increases in the intensity of stimulation beyond the threshold level
- all-or-none law
- refratory period where further stimulation, no matter how intense, cannot cause another action potential to be generated
- absolute refractory period
- refractory period where the neuron will fire only in response to a timulus stronger than what is ordinarily necessary
- relative refractory period
- the terminal button of the sending neuron
- presynaptic membrane
- the surface of a dendrite or soma of a receiving neuron
- postsynaptic membrane
- biochemical substances that stimulate other neurons
- neurotransmitters
- any substance that modifies or modulates the activities of the postsynaptic neuron
- neuromodulator
- changes in the performance of the brain
- plasticity
- the production of new brain cells from naturally occurring stem cells
- neurogenesis