Psychology: Chapter 2 Biology and Psychology

Wernicke's aphasia

a language disorder characterized by difficulty comprehending speech and to think of the proper words to express their own thoughts

Endocrine System

The body's system of ductless glands that secrete hormones and release them directly into the bloodstream

Neurogenesis

The brain grows new neurons replace neurons that die daily. -Raises hope for repairing brain damage.

Genotype

one's genetic makeup, based on the sequencing of the nucleotides we term A, C, G, and T. Provides you with your nature.

Heredity

one's nature; the transmission of traits from parent to offspring by means of genes.

Testosterone

causes the male's sex organs to develop six weeks after conception

White matter

composed of bundles of longer, myelinated (& whitish) axons that carry messages to and from the brain.

Deep lesioning

A thin wire electrode is lowered into a specific area inside the brain. -Electrical current is then used to destroy a small amount of brain tissue.

Peripheral Nervous System

Consists of sensory & motor neurons, that transmit messages to and from the central nervous system. 2 parts- Somatic & Autonomic Nervous Systems

Central Nervous System

Consists of the brain and spinal cord.

The Nervous System

Consists of the brain, spinal cord, & other parts that make it possible for us to receive information from the outside world and act on it.

Somatic Nervous System

Contains sensory (afferent) and motor (efferent) neurons. 5 senses, temperature, body positions. Controls voluntary behavior.

Neurotransmitters

In the axon inside sacs called synaptic vesicles. -Chemical substances involved in the transmission of neural impulses from one neuron to another.

Corticalization

Increase in size and wrinkling of the cortex

Endorphins

Increase sense of competence, immune system, "runners high"; occurs naturally in the brain & bloodstream & are similar to the narcotic morphine in their functions and effects

Stereotypical behavior patterns that have evolved within a species are called ____________.

Instincts

Hypothalamus

"commander to pituitary gland"; regulates much pituitary activity; secretes a number of releasing hormones, or "factors" that stimulate the pituitary gland to secrete related hormones.

dizygoic twins

(fraternal twins) the woman releases two ova in the same month and they are both fertilized; share 50% of their genes.

Monozygotic twins

(identical twins) occur when the zygote divides into two cells that separate, it develops the same genetic makeup.

Ductless glands

- A number of substances secreted by ductless glands have effects of behavior & mental processes. They make up the endocrine system, & release hormones into the bloodstream

A neuron can fire up to a limit about __________ times per second.

400

Spinal Cord

A column of nerves as thick as a thumb; transmits messages from sensory receptors to the brain to muscles & glands throughout the body.

Cretinism

A condition characterized by stunted growth & intellectual disability.

Aphasia

A disruption in the ability to understand or produce language.

Receptor site

A location on a dendrite of a receiving neuron tailored to receive a neurotransmitter.

Synapses

A space in between the axon terminals of one neuron & the dendrites of another neuron.

Hormones

A substance secreted by an endocrine gland that regulates various body functions- fluid levels, blood sugar levels, etc.

Norepinephrine

Acts as neurotransmitter & hormone; speeds up the heartbeat & other body processes; involved in general arousal, learning, memory, & eating; similar to hormone (epinephrine)

Dopamine

Acts in the brain & affects the ability to perceive pleasure, voluntary movement, and learning & memory. Parkinson's disease- lose control of their muscles Schizophrenia- have more receptor sites for dopamine; confusion & false perceptions

If someone steps on your toes, resulting in pain and the movement of your foot, which of the following describes this process?

Afferent neurons transmit the sensation of pain to the spinal cord and to the brain followed by efferent neurons sending the message to your foot to move.

Efferent Neurons

Also called motor neurons Neurons that transmit messages from the brain or spinal cord to muscles and glands. -SAME: Sensory is to Afferent as Motor is to Efferent

Afferent Neurons

Also called sensory neurons. 2-3 feet in length; neurons that transmit messages from sensory receptors to the spinal cord & brain.

Cell body

Also called the soma, contains the nucleus of the cell.

Autonomic nervous system

Also has afferent & efferent neurons & regulates the glands and the muscles of internal organs. Heartbeat, respiration, digestion ,& dilation of the pupils. Two divisions- Sympathetic & Parasympathetic

The ___________ nervous system regulates the glands and involuntary activities such as heartbeat and digestion.

Autonomic

When Charlotte hears something embarrassing, she blushes. Being a student of psychology, she knows that this condition is controlled by the

Autonomic nervous system

Neurons have a cell body, or soma; dendrites, which receive "messages"; and a(n) _________, which extends from the cell body and transmits messages.

Axon

Corpus Callosum

Band of fibers that connect the two cerebral hemispheres (right & left halves of the cerebrum).

Left hemisphere

Better at language, math judging time & rhythm, & coordinating order of complex movements. -Processes information sequentially

Thyroid gland

Body's accelerator; produces thyroxin, which affects the body's metabolism.

Nerves

Bundle of axons from many neurons

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

CTE Common in football players due to concussive blocks & tackles. Causes dementia- loss of memory, impaired reasoning, & other problems.

Hypothyroidism

Causes people to be overweight; a condition that results from too little thyroxin.

The brain structure called the ___________ is involved in balance and coordination.

Cerebellum

Acetylcholine

Controls muscle contractions. Alzheimer's disease- memory function is impaired Hippocampus- ACh is normally prevalent in this part of the brain. The structure is involved in memory formation.

Dizygotic twins...

Develop when two ova are fertilized.

People with ___________ syndrome have an extra chromosome on the 21st pair.

Down

Electroencephalograph

EEG -A device that is used to activate target areas in the brain.

Temporal lobe

Each side of the brain; auditory and language centers

"Messages" travel within neurons by means of __________ and from neuron to neuron by means of ___________.

Electricity, neurotransmitters

Neural impulses

Electrochemical discharge of a nerve cell or neuron. -Luigi Galvani: frog's muscles would contract when lightning struck the lightning rod.

Serotonin

Emotional arousal and sleep

Clinical case studies

Examine changes in personality, behavior, or sensory capacity caused by brain disease or injuries. -learning through doing things wrong

Hyperthyroidism

Excitability, insomnia, & weight loss.

The concept of a struggle for __________ lies at the core of the theory of evolution.

Existence

Dendrites

Extend like roots from the cell body to receive incoming messages from thousands of adjoining neurons.

Gamma-aminobutyric Acid

GABA Calm anxiety reactions

__________ are the most basic building blocks of heredity.

Genes

Right hemisphere

Good at perceptual skills, & at expressing and detecting other's emotinos -Processes information simultaneously

Wernicke's aphasia causes...

Impairment of one's ability to comprehend speech and to think of the proper words to express their own thoughts.

Parietal lobe

Just above occipital; bodily sensations such as touch, pain, & temperature (somatosensory area)

Tau Proteins

Killed cells in the areas of the brain connected with executive functioning (solving problems, making decisions, mood, & emotions.)

Pituitary gland

Lies below the hypothalamus; "master gland"; the gland that secretes growth hormone, prolactin, antidiuretic hormone, & other hormones

Adrenal glands

Located above the kidneys; have an outer layer, or cortex, and an inner core, or medulla; regulated by the pituitary hormone ACTH

Axon

Long, thin part of neuron that transmits impulses to other neurons from axon terminals. Carries information away from cell body.

The behavior of ___________ twins is of special interest to psychologists because their genetic endowment is the same.

Monozygotic (identical)

Parasympathetic division

Most active during processes (such as digestion) that replenish the body's reserves of energy. Quiets the body, most active after an emotional event.

Frontal lobe

Movement, sense of smell, higher mental functions. -Contains motor cortex; control motor movement -Contains mirror neurons; become active when we perform & when we observe someone else perform the same action.

The axons of many neurons have a fatty insulating sheath called ___________.

Myelin

Neurons transmit messages to other neurons by means of chemical substances called _____________.

Neurotransmitters

Glial cells

Remove dead neurons and waste products from the nervous system; nourish & insulate neurons; form a fatty, insulating substance called myelin; and play a role in a neural transmission of messages.

Spatial Neglect

Right hemisphere stroke victims pay no attention to the left side of visual space

Electrical stimulation of the brain

SEB -When an electrode is used to activate target areas in the brain.

It is theorized that people with the psychological disorder ___________ apparently overutilize the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Schizophrenia

Pineal gland

Secretes melatonin, which helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle and may affect the onset of puberty.

Adrenal medulla

Secretes · epinephrine and norepinephrine. o Epinephrine- aka adrenaline, is manufactured exclusively by the adrenal glands Norepinephrine- noradrenaline, is produced else were in the body; acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain

An axon's length can range from a few millimeters to...

Several feet

Neurons

Specialized cells of the nervous system that conduct impulses. Receive "messages" from a number of sources such as light, other neurons, & pressure on the skin. They pass these messages along in a complex "biological dance." 100 billion in brain. -Include a cell body, dendrites, & an axon -Carry messages in one direction only: from dendrites/cell body through the axon to the axon terminals & are then transmitted to other neurons, muscles, or glands.

Ablation

Surgical removal of tissue

An editor gets so upset that she is late in working on a manuscript that she throws up her lunch. This probably occurred because of the activity of the...

Sympathetic division of her autonomic nervous system.

Brain Plasticity

The capacity of our brains to change in response to experience. Neural networks constantly changing. -New synapses form and grow stronger -Other connections weaken or die

Split Brains

The corpus callosum is cut to control severe epilepsy (seizure disorder). Result: -The person now has two brains in one body -Each hemisphere has its own seperate perceptions, concepts, & impulses to act -This operation is rare and is often used as last resort.

Action Potential

The electrical impulse that provides the basis for the conduction of a neural impulse along an axon of a neuron.

Resting potential

The electrical potential across the neural membrane when it is no responding to other neurons.

All-or-none principle

The fact that a neuron fires an impulse of the same strength whenever its action potential is triggered.

Occipital lobe

The primary role is to control vision.

Metabolism

The rate at which the body uses oxygen and produces energy.

Nurture

The sum total of the environmental factors that affect an organism from conception onward.

Ellen loses weight and becomes somewhat agitated. Her doctor is most likely to theorize that she is suffering from a deficiency of

Thyroxin

Depolarized

To reduce the resting potential of a cell membrane from about 70 millivolts toward 0.

Nucleus

Uses oxygen & nutrients to generate the energy needed to carry out the work of the cell.

Language functions

Usually occur in the left hemisphere; Broca's area & Wernicke's area

Kinship Studies

Ways in which psychologists compare the presence of traits and behavior patterns in people who are biologically related or unrelated to help determine the role of genetic factors in their occurrence

Hindbrain

Where the spinal cord rises to meet the brain. 3 structures- Medulla, pons, & cerebellum

Myelin

White fatty substance that insulates axons from ions, that are found in the fluids that surround the nervous system.

Pons

a bulge in the hindbrain that lies forward of the medulla; involved in respiration, attention, sleep & arousal

Down Syndrome

a condition caused by an extra chromosome on the 21st pair & characterized by mental deficiency, a broad face, and slanting eyes.

fMRI

a form of MRI that enables researchers to observe the brain "while it works" by taking repeated scans.

Limbic system

a group of structures (amygdala, hippocampus, & parts of the hypothalamus) involved in memory & emotion, and in the drives of sex, hunger, & aggression; forms a fringe along the inner edge of the cerebrum; people with hippocampal damage can retrieve old information but can't permanently store new information.

PET Scan

a method of brain imaging that injects a radioactive tracer into the bloodstream & assesses activity of parts of the brain according to the amount of glucose they metabolize.

CAT scan (CT scan)

a method of brain imaging that passes a narrow x-ray beam through the head & measures the structures that reflect the rays from various angles, enabling a computer to generate a three-dimensional image.

Chromosomes

a microscopic rod-shaped body in the cell nucleus carrying genes that transmit heredity traits from generation to generation; humans normally have 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs.

Duct

a passageway that carries substances to specific locations- saliva, sweat, tears, & breast milk all reach their destinations b/c of glands

Refractory period

a phase following firing during which a neuron is less sensitive to messages from other neurons and will not fire

Spinal reflex

a simple, unlearned response to a stimulus that may require only two neurons- a sensory neuron & a motor neuron.

Instinct

a stereotyped pattern of behavior that is triggered by a particular stimulus and nearly identical among members of a species, even when they are reared in isolation.

Mutations

a sudden variation in an inheritable characteristic, as distinguished from a variation that results from generations of gradual selection.

Corpus callosum

a thick fiber bundle that connects the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex

Thalamus

an area near the center of the brain involved in the relay of sensory information to the cortex & in the functions of sleep & attention.

MRI

an imaging method that places a person in a magnetic field & uses radio waves to cause the brain to emit signals that reveal shifts in the flow of blood, which, when the brain is being scanned, indicate brain activity

Medulla

an oblong area of the hindbrain involved in regulation of heartbeat, blood pressure, & respiration; also plays a role in sleeping, sneezing, & coughing

Gray matter

consists of non-myelinated neurons; the grayish neurons & natural segments that are involved in spinal reflexes

EEG

detects brain waves that pass b/w electrodes that are attached to the scalp. Has been used to reveal electrical activity associated w/ relaxation & the stages of sleep.

Primary sex characteristics

directly involved in reproduction & include the increased size of the penis & the sperm-producing ability of the testes.

Sympathetic division

fight or flight; most active during emotional responses such as fear & anxiety that spend the body's reserves of energy.

Vasopressin

inhibits production of urine if fluid levels are low; also connected with paternal behavior in some mammals

Cerebrum

large mass of the forebrain that consists of two hemispheres; responsible for thinking & language

Motor cortex

lies in the frontal love, just across from central fissure from the sensory cortex; neural impulses in the motor cortex are linked to muscular responses throughout the body.

Hypothalamus

located beneath the thalamus & above the pituitary gland; a bundle of nuclei involved in body temperature, motivation, & emotion. Involved in hunger, thirst, sexual behavior, caring for offspring, & aggression

Somatosensory cortex

located in the parietal lobe behind the central fissure; receives messages from skin senses all over the body

Amygdala

located near the bottom of the limbic system; a part of the limbic system that apparently facilitates stereotypical aggressive responses.

Cerebellum

o - located behind the pons; referred to as the "little brain"; a part of the hindbrain involved in muscle coordination & balance Reticular formation- a part of the brain involved in attention, sleep, & arousal

Charles Darwin

o Voyage on H.M.S. Beagle to the Galapagos Islands that led to the development of his theory of evolution. Those individuals whose traits are better adapted are more likely to survive (naturally selected). Survival permits them to reach sexual maturity, to reproduce, & to transmit their features/traits to the next generation.

Phenotype

one's actual development and appearance, as based on one's genotype and environmental influences. Represents the interaction of your nature and your nurture in the origins of your behavior.

Estrogen

produced by the ovaries along with progesterone & small amounts of testosterone; fosters female reproductive capacity & secondary sex characteristics such as fatty tissue in the breasts & hips

Polygenetic

referring to traits that are influenced by combinations of genes.

Prolactin

regulates maternal behavior in lower mammals & stimulates production of milk in women ormones.

Growth hormone

regulates the growth of muscles, bones, & glands

Progesterone

stimulates growth of the female reproductive organs & prepares the uterus to maintain pregnancy.

Oxytocin

stimulates labor in pregnant women & is connected with maternal behavior in some mammals; obstetricians can induce labor by injecting pregnant women with oxytocin.

Sex chromosomes

the 23rd pair of chromosomes whose genetic material determines the sex of the individual. XY=male XX=female

Natural Selection

the concept that holds that adaptive genetic variations among members of a species enable individuals with those variations to survive and reproduce.

Nature

the inborn, innate character of an organism.

Secondary sex characteristics

the presence of a beard & a deeper voice, differentiate males from females but are not directly involved in reproduction

Cerebral cortex

the wrinkled surface area (gray matter) of the cerebrum; two hemispheres

Polarize

to ready a neuron for firing by creating an internal negative charge in relation to the body fluid outside the cell membrane

Broca's aphasia

understand language, but speak slowly & laboriously, in simple sentences. Don't use important grammatical words such as "the, is, as and".

Brain

· Damage to the left side of the _____________ is connected with loss of sensation or movement on the right side of the body, or vice versa. · Wilder Penfield- painlessly stimulated parts of the human brain with electrical probes. His patients reported perceiving certain memories.

Cerebral cortex

· Part of the brain that you usually think of as your brain; the outer coating of the cerebrum; involved in almost every bodily activity, including most sensations & responses; enables humans to think deeply about the world outside & make decisions · Two Hemispheres- left & right. Each of the hemispheres is divided into four lobes Frontal, Parietal, Temporal, & Occipital Lobes

The Central Nervous System

· The Body's Central Processing Unit · Consists of the brain & spinal cord

Evolutionary psychology

· The branch of psychology that studies the ways in which adaptation & natural selection are connected w/ mental processes and behavior. Has given a rise to physical traits and also to such diverse activities such as language, art, committed relationships, & warfare.

Genes

· a basic unit of heredity, which is found at a specific point on a chromosome; regulate the development of specific traits; can be controlled by a single pair or combination of genes; segments of chromosomes o Blood type is controlled by a single pair of jeans Intelligence is believed to be controlled by combinations of genes.

Adrenal cortex

· secretes hormones known as corticosteroids, or cortical steroids. These hormones regulate heartbeat, increase resistance to stress, promote muscle development, & cause the liver to release stored suga

Genetics

· the area of biology that focuses on heredity; looks at both species- specific behavior patterns and individual differences among the members of a species. Behavioral genetics- focuses on the contribution of genes to behavior.

DNA

· the substance that forms the basic material of chromosomes; it takes the form of a double helix and contains the genetic code. Demonstrated first by James Watson & Francis Crick in the 1950s.