psych 233 test 2

Freudian ideas as cliches in american culture

Ego Compensating The term "anal" to mean "likes things neat and orderly" Defensive "Oh, you're studying psychology, are you analyzing me now?"

Scan it

Electroencephalography (EEG) - electrical signals Positron Emission Tomography (PET) - blood flow Functional Magnetic Resistance Imaging ( fMRI)- brain activity ( more precise than PET)

Remove it

Ex.Phineas Gage Went wrong when he did it changed him from good to bad Can cause brain damage

Serotonin associated with "stability" traits

High conscientiousness Regulates impulses and work High agreeableness Control negative feelings/actions towards jerks Low neuroticism- fewer mood swings and overreaction s

Dopamine:

Incentives trigger release Teaches us which events are rewarding Activated goal directed behaviors

cell body

Integrates incoming signals and generates outgoing signal to axon

Dendrites

collects electrical signals

The cortical brain

top/outer layer of the brain Evolved later in its history Rational,conscious thought Can consciously process information and exert some control over subcortical areas

3 ways to study the brain

remove it ( not all of it) poke it,( stimulation) scan it (CAT,fMRI,MRI)

Neurotransmitters

78-94 billion neurons in your brain 125 trillion synapses in cortex alone

How neurotransmitters work

Axon releases neurotransmitters Neurotransmitters influence other neurons Neurotransmitters are then pulled back into the axon through a process called reuptake

Poke it

Brain stimulation mostly done on animals Transcranial magnetic simulation

Dopamine associated with "plasticity" traits

Extraversion Positive mood Assertively engaging life Openness to experience Prefer variety Intellectually curious

subcortial brain

Located at the base Evolved early Unconscious, automatic, impulsive React automatically ( without "thinking")

Seratonin

Mood regulation, appetite and sleep Inhabits impulses- worrying, anger and sensitivity to criticism

axon

Passes electrical signals to dendrites of another cell or to an effector cell

Prozac and Serotonin:

Prozac( fluoxetine) inhabits the reuptake of serotonin Increasing levels in the body Many people describe prozac as a personality enhancer Worry less' Deal with stress More productive 13% of americans take some anti-depressant

Problems with brain scans

Technology is difficult to use Expensive You have to get trained on how to use it Brain activity may be inhibitory - sometimes part of your brain lights off but doesn't mean somethings actually happening ( don't always know why its lighting up) All parts of the brain are always active ( to some degree) Mostly look at small area, no context

Somatic Marker Hypothesis (Damasio)

emotions are necessary part of problem solving and decision making Special understanding and self control Phineas Gage Elliot ( as told by Damasio, 1994) Business man , had a brain tumor in his prefrontal cortex, intelligence,attention and memory BUT he has no experience of emotions, irrational behavior, had no emotional pull to good decisions or push from bad decisions, every decision =game of choice How did Dr.Damasio figure out what was wrong with Elliot He was missing the connection between frontal lobe and amygdala

The amygdala

generates emotional responses Traits associated with functioning of the amygdala include chronic anxiety, fearfulness, sociability, and sexuality