Psychology Week 2

Action Potential

A very brief shift in a neuron's electrical charge that travels along the axon.

Describe how neurons communicate chemically with each other:

After communicating electrically, the neural impulse will reach the terminal branches that are close but not touching the dendrites of another neuron. The terminal branches have vesicles that hold neurotransmitters. Once the neural impulse passes through, the terminal branches will release these vesicles. The neurotransmitters will pass something called the synaptic gap which is the space between a neuron and the dendrites of another neuron, and will bind into a receptor site on the receiving neuron. This causes the receptor sites to change shape and then either send out positive or negatively charged message to enter the receiving neuron. The messages can either excite the neuron or inhibit the neuron from firing

Explain how drugs act as agonists or antagonists for a given neurotransmitter system

Agonist: Binds to a receptor producing a similar response to the intended chemical or receptor-Activates certain receptors in the brain. (Starts) Antagonist: Binds onto a receptor stopping it from producing a response. (Stops)

Norepinephrine (NE)/Enipenephrine

Also described as adrenaline-Helps with wakefulness(awareness), mood regulation, and fight or flight response.

Dopamine(DA)

Attention, Movement, learning, and emotion(pleasure).

Explain disruptions in biological rhythms, including sleep debt:

Biological Rhythms: Internal cycles of biological activity: When people have difficulty getting sleep due to their work or the demands of day-to-day life Suprachiasmatic nucleus: Biological clock located in the hypothalamus. Pineal Gland: Secretes the hormone melatonin important for sleep.-Sensitive to light Sleep debt is an accumulation of the number of hours lost during sleep. For example, Children that are in their teens must sleep 8-10 hours a night. However, if you sleep only 6 hours, you are missing 2 hours. This problem can also build up each night.

Describe the techniques available to image or scan the brain

CT Scan PET Scan MRI fMRI EEG

Neurotransmitters(NT):

Chemicals that transmit information from one neuron to another.-Chemical Messengers

Describe consciousness and circadian rhythms:

Consciousness is our awareness of ourselves and the environment. Circadian Rhythms: A natural, internal process that regulates the sleep cycle.

Acetylcholine

Helps with information processing, memory, and movement.

Identify the location and function of the lobes of the cerebral cortex: The four lobes of the brain include the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes.

Frontal: Located in the forward part of the brain. Involved in reasoning, motor control, emotion, and language. Contains the motor cortex responsible for motor functions, the prefrontal cortex responsible for higher-level cognitive thinking, and Broca's area is essential for language production. Parietal: Located immediately behind the frontal lobe and is involved in processing information from the body's senses. Contains the somatosensory cortex which is important for processing sensory information. Temporal: Located on the side of the head and is associated with hearing, memory, emotion, and some aspects of language. Contains the auditory cortex which controls auditory information and the Wernicke area which is important for speech comprehension. Occipital: Located on the very back of the brain and contains the primary visual cortex which is responsible for interpreting incoming visual information.

Describe how neurons communicate with each other electrically

In the neuron, messages are sent to the dendrites. The neuron has a certain threshold of how many messages it can receive. If the messages are less than the threshold it does not send the message. However, if the messages are above the threshold it will send these messages with the help of the axon which will pass messages away from the cell to other neurons, muscles, or glands. These messages are known as the neural impulse which are electrical signals that flow through a neuron. Additionally, the cell body, or soma, is the main infrastructure of the neuron.

Identify and describe the role of structures in the limbic system, midbrain, and hindbrain:

Limbic System: In charge of emotions, driven behavior, and memory Hippocampus: Important when it comes to memory and learning. Amygdala: Involved in our experience of emotion. Hypothalamus: Regulates homeostatic processes. Midbrain: Located deep within the brain Reticular formation: Important in the sleep cycle. Substantia Nigra: Critical for movement Ventral Tegmental Area: Critical for movement Hindbrain: Medulla: Controls the autonomic nervous systems such as breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate. Pons: Connect the hindbrain to the rest of the brain. In charge of sleep and arousal Cerebellum: receives messages from the muscles, tendons, etc., and helps with coordination, movement, and motor skills. Often described as the mini-brain.

Serotonin

Mood regulation(Makes you happier and calmer), pain, hunger, and sleep.

Part of Axon:

Myelin sheet: Covers the axon and helps speed up the reaction of messages. Terminal branches of the Axon: The parts of the axon that actually send out messages to other cells.

Explain the two hemispheres of the brain, lateralization, and plasticity

Neuroplasticity: The ability of the brain and nervous system to adapt and change. Can occur during developmental processes, personal experiences, or even injury or damage. Two hemispheres: In the cerebral cortex or the surface of the brain, it is very uneven characterized by bumps known as gyri and grooves known as sulci. The most prominent sulcus is the longitudinal fissure which separates both the left and right hemispheres. The right hemisphere is said to control the left side of the body while the left hemisphere is said to control the right side of the body. The two hemispheres are also connected by the corpus callosum. Lateralization: Specialization of function in the brain. The left and right sides of the brain control different information. The left side controls more logical thinking while the right side controls many of the creative aspects of the brain including emotions and melody. Forebrain: The largest part of the brain that includes both the two hemispheres.

Describe the differences between the central, peripheral, somatic, autonomic, sympathetic & parasympathetic divisions of the nervous systems. -Give examples of each

Peripheral: Allows you to feel pain and sensations. Connects the brain and spinal cord to the skin and other sensations. Divided into two parts: Somatic and autonomic. Carries messages back and forth to the Central Nervous System Somatic: Part of the peripheral nervous system and stretches throughout nearly every part of the body. Delivers senses and information to the brain. Central: Comprises the brain and spinal cord. Spinal Cord: Relays messages from the spinal cord back to the brain. Much like a relay station Autonomic: Part of the peripheral nervous system that regulates involuntary processes including heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, and much more. Consists of the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions. Sympathetic: In charge of preparing the body for stress-related activities. Parasympathetic: In charge of returning the body to routine, day-to-day operations.

Endorphins

Relieve anxiety, fear, tension, and pain

Identify the three main neurons and what they do:

Sensory: Control the taste, hearing, and sensory organs of the body. They will have the outside pick up on what is happening and then send the messages to the nervous system. Motor: Once the brain sees a certain situation occur, it will think about how to overcome this and sends messages to the muscles of the body for movement. Interneurons: The most common type of neuron. Sends information from neuron to neuron.

Describe the endocrine system and explain its primary responsibilities within the body

The endocrine system releases hormones into our bloodstream. This lets hormones travel to cells in other parts of the body.

Resting Potential

The stable, negative charge of an inactive neuron-When a neuron is at rest

Explain the role and function of the basic structures of a neuron:

The three main structures of the neuron include the dendrites, axon, and cell body/soma. Dendrites: Receives information from other cells. Axon: Passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands. Cell Body/Soma: The cell's supported structure. It is basically the body of the cell hence the name. Neural Impulse: The action potential which flows throughout the cell. It is an electric signal that is sent from neurons to other neurons. Axon: Passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands.

Within neurons, communication is ELECTRICAL HOWEVER between neurons communication is CHEMICAL. True or False

True

GABA

a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

Reuptake

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron