Unit 3 - AP Psych

bodily functions associated with the sympathetic nervous system

- accelerates heartbeat - slows digestion - raises blood pressure - raises blood sugar - cools the body

what does research suggest about the amygdala?

- anxiety is associated with hyperactivity in the right amygdala - dysfunction of the amygdala is associated with criminal activity - only when people are shown angry images / things does amygdala activity occur

bodily functions associated with the parasympathetic nervous system

- decreases heartbeat - stimulates digestion - lowers blood pressure - processes waste - calms the body

what does research suggest about the hippocampus?

- humans lose their ability to form new memories of facts and events with hippocampus damage - when a person have a hippocampal injury in childhood, they struggle to remember new information in adulthood - after multiple loss-of-consciousness concussion, your hippocampus shrinks and you have poor memory

right hemisphere functions

- perceptual tasks - making inferences - visual perception - recognition of emotion - modulating speech - controlling the left side of the body

research on association areas

- prefrontal cortex in the frontal lobes enables judgement, planning, and processing of new memories - damaged frontal lobes have no effect on intelligence, but on plan making skills (like baking a cake - don't think about if they have everything for the recipe, they just start baking)

left hemisphere functions

- speaking and language - math calculations - making literal interpretations - controlling the right side of the body

how do scientists study the brain?

1. lesions 2. stimulation

how does a reflex occur?

1. sense receptors in the skin send signals through the spinal cord via sensory (afferent) neurons 2. interneurons in the spinal cord receive the information from the sensory neurons and send signals back through motor neurons 3. motor (efferent) neurons connect to muscles in the body and direct movement

fMRI

A technique for revealing blood flow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans; shows brain function or as well as structural damage

EEG

An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.

scans that show brain structure

CT / CAT, MRI

scans that show brain functioning

EEG, MEG, PET, fMRI

how is the cerebral cortex divided?

Left and right hemispheres, each hemisphere is divided into 4 parts: frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe

visual cortex

The visual processing areas of cortex in the occipital and temporal lobes.

MEG

a brain imaging technique that measures magnetic fields from the brain's natural electrical activity

blindsight

a condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it

split brain

a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them

how does a simple reflex occur?

a simple reflex... like that to pain... occurs only in the spinal cord before information reaches the brain

MRI

a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images that distinguish among different types of soft tissue; allows us to see structures within the brain; more detailed than CT scans

function of the spinal cord in the CNS

a two way communication between the PNS and the CNS; oversees the sensory and motor pathways of reflexes

PET

a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task; shows brain activity

what is neurogenesis used for?

although the brain attempts to self-repair by reorganizing existing tissue, it sometimes attempts to med itself through neurogenesis

motor cortex

an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

somatosensory cortex

area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

function of sympathetic nervous system

arouses the body, mobilizing its energy; fight, flight, or freeze response; "the gas pedal of a car"

location of the cerebellum

at the rear of the brainstem

location of the thalamus

at the top of the brainstem

location of hypothalamus

below the thalamus

stimulation

brain regions are stimulated electronically, chemically, or magnetically and researchers study the impact on functionality

lesion

brain tissue is destroyed and researchers study the impact of functioning

nerves

bundled axons that form neural "cables" connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs

function of parasympathetic nervous system

calms the body, conserving its energy; rest or digest; "the brake pedal of a car"

glial cells

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons

cognitive neuroscience

combines the study of brain activity with how we learn, think, remember and perceive; researchers are exploring and mapping conscious functions of the cortex

function of the brain in the CNS

comprised of the cortex and subcortical structures carrying out various functions; composed of neural networks

high road

conscious, deliberate processing, of which we are aware

Central Nervous System (CNS)

consists of the brain and spinal cord

sensory neurons

contain afferent nerve fibers; neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

motor nuerons

contain efferent nerve fibers; neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands

functions of the medulla

controls heartbeat and breathing

autonomic peripheral nervous system

controls self-regulated action of internal organs and glands

functions of the pons

controls sleep and helps coordinate movements

motor cortex function

controls voluntary movements

somatic peripheral nervous system

controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles; also called the "skeletal nervous system"

function of central nervous system

decision maker... it is responsible for coordinating income sensory messages and outgoing motor messages; relays messages, processes information, and analyzes information

functions of the hypothalamus

directs eating, drinking, body temperature; helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, linked to emotion and reward

why did patients report seeing the word "ART" in Gazzaniga's experiment?

due to the brain's cross wiring, objects in the right visual field are perceived in the left hemisphere, since the left hemisphere controls language, the patient says "ART"

temporal lobe function

each lobe receives auditory information, primarily from the opposite ear

occipital lobe function

each lobe receives visual information, primarily from opposite visual fields

true or false: there are only four lobes total

false: there are four lobes in each hemisphere (left and right)

true or false: humans technically have "two brains"

false: we have one brain, with two distinct, yet coordinated, hemispheres. humans are not left-brained or right-brained - we use our entire brain to perform countless activities in an integrated manner

functions of reticular formation

helps control arousal and filters incoming sensory stimuli

functions of the hippocampus

helps process for storage explicit (conscious) memories of facts and events

how is a split brain different than an intact brain?

in an individual with an intact brain, information is readily transferred across the corpus callosum from both hemispheres of the brain in an individual with a "split brain" this cross-transference does not occur. researchers are able to send information to one hemisphere and test patients

how are the eyes wired to the brain?

in each eye, information from the left visual field goes to your right hemisphere and information from your right visual field goes to your left hemisphere

frontal lobe function

involved in speaking, motor movements, judgement, and decision-making

location of the pons

just above the medulla

broca's area

language center located in the left frontal lobe; involved in receptive language

wernicke's area

language center located in the left temporal lobe; involved in receptive language

functions of the amygdala

linked to emotion, fear, and aggression

association areas

most of the brain's cortex which integrates information involved in learning, remembering, thinking, and other higher-level functions; attention is shifted, planning occurs; not specifically devoted to motor or sensory cortex functions

location of the reticular formation

nerve network that travels through the brainstem into the thalamus

differences between the nervous system and the endocrine system

nervous system - neurons release neurotransmitters - neurotransmitters move across synapses - neural transmission is nano-fast - "text message" endocrine system - glands secrete hormones - hormones move through the bloodstream - hormone secretion is slower - "email"

neural networks

networks of nerve cells that integrate sensory input and motor output; in the brain

consciousness

our awareness of ourselves and our environment; helps us cope with novelty and act in our best interest

third step of Michael Gazzaniga's experiment

patients were asked to tell Gazzaniga what they had seen. patients reported seeing the word "ART"

first step of Michael Gazzaniga's split-brain experiment

people with a severed callosum ("split-brain") were asked to look at a dot in the center of the screen. this created a left and right visual field

functions of the cerebellum

processing sensory input, coordinating movement and balance, nonverbal learning and memory

parietal lobe function

receives and processes sensory input for touch and body position

auditory cortex function

receives information from ears

visual cortex function

receives information from the eyes

somatosensory cortex function

register information from the skin, senses, and body movement

growth hormones

regulate growth and metabolism

functions of the thalamus

relay station for incoming and outgoing sensory information (with the exception of smell)

three types of nuerons

sensory, motor, interneurons

function of peripheral nervous system

serve as communication lines among sensory organs, the brain and spinal cord, and glands or muscles; gathers information from the senses and transmits messages from the CNS

location of the hippocampus

small structure with two "arms" that wraps around the thalamus

oxytocin

stimulates uterine contractions during childbirth and milk secretion during breastfeeding; also promotes pair bonding, group cohesion, and trust

how is the autonomic division further broken down?

sympathetic nervous system parasympathetic nervous system

auditory cortex

the area of the temporal lobe responsible for processing sound information

where is the medulla located

the base of the brainstem

nervous system

the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems

plasticity

the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience

pituitary gland

the endocrine system's most influential gland; the hypothalamus directs the pituitary gland to regulate growth and control other endocrine glands; the hypothalamus is a part of both the CNS and the endocrine system

nerogenesis

the formation of new neurons

cerebral cortex

the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center

corpus callosum

the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

dual processing

the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks

parallel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; generally used to process well-learned information or to solve easy problems

sequential processing

the processing of one aspect of a problem at a time; used when we focus attention on new or complex tasks

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body

visual field

the whole area that you can see without moving your head or eyes

second step of Michael Gazzaniga's experiment

the word "HEART" flashed across the screen so that the word "HE" was on the left visual field and the word "ART" was on the right visual field.

what do pituitary gland secretions do?

they direct other endocrine glands to secrete their hormones

true or false: norepinephrine is both a hormone and a nerotransmitter

true: epinephrine (adrenaline) energizes the body but norepinephrine (noradrenaline) is released in the PNS to calm the body

location of the amygdala

two lima-bean sized neural structures in the temporal lobe

low road

unconscious, automatic processing, of which we are unaware

adrenal glands

when the sympathetic nervous system is activated (during a fight, flight, or freeze event), the adrenal glands release epinephrine and norepinephrine (adrenaline and noradrenaline) to energize the body

CT / CAT

x-ray photographs taken from different angles and combined by computers to show a slice of the brain's structure; shows structural damage