Heredity and Environment
Theory that uses 'Natural Selection'
What is... Evolution
Brain and Spinal cord
communication network that connects the CNS to the rest of the body
PNS
These are what receive chemical information from adjacent neurons through receptor sites
Dentrites
the basic functional uni of the nervous system - They communicate by using electrical impulses and chemical signals to send information throughout the body
Neuron
neurons within the brain and spinal cord, these neurons communicate internally and connect the sensory neurons to motor neurons, also known as efferent neurons within the CNS.
Interneurons
the brain’s ability to change and adapt, even after it is injured. Ability to re-wire itself, form new neural pathways or strengthen existing ones.
Plasticity
(little brain in latin): located at the base of the rear brain: Controls muscle movement, balance, procedural learning
Cerebellum
outer layer of the brain
Cerebral Cortex
your awareness of yourself and environment - Thoughts, emotions, behavior & what is happening around you.
Consciousness
internal process of sleep and wakefulness cycle over 24 hours. - controls Sleep patterns, Hormone release, body temperature, blood pressure…
Circadian rhythm
needs a stimulus strong enough to get noticed by your sensory organ
Sensation
Conversion process of a stimulus to a neural signal.
allow you to see fine details, allow for clear vision, and help you see color
Cones
Where the cones are located on the retina
Fovea
The mathematical measure to estimate how much variation there is in a population related to its genes.
What is Heritability
Send signals from the sensory receptors to the central nervous system – Send signals to the brain and spinal cord
Afferent Neurons
the skeletal nervous system - skeletal muscle movements and 5 senses. Consciously and voluntary movements.
Somatic Nervous system
end point of a neuron - where neurotransmitters are released into the Synaptic gap and sent to receiving neurons.
Axon terminal
send messages to the muscles
Motor Neurons
Helps with movement, learning, attention, and emotions
Neurotransmitter
Dopamine
a bundle of nerves that run through the brainstem - Key role in arousal and consiousness - helps control wake/sleep cycle & alerness.
Reticular Activating System
Thalamus, Hypothalamus, Hippocampus, Amygdala - Big role in Emotion, Memory, Learning, Motivation
Limbic System
Measures electrical activity in the brain by placing electrodes on an individual's scalp. Record electrical activity
EEG
are fast in frequency but low in amplitude
Beta Waves
When dreams occur
REM sleep
when you are exposed to a constant, unchanging stimul
Sensory adaptation
specialize in dim light - do not provide any color information or fine details
Rods
When a sensation is pronounced enough to be noticed. ** Smallest amount of a stimulus that a person can detect at least 50% of the time.
Absolute threshold
types of cones
Blue, Green, Red
Main purpose of Twin studies
What is determining Nature v Nurture
(fight or flight): gets your body mobilized and ready for action. This makes your heart beat faster, your eyes dilate, and increases your breathing. Slows down digestion
Symapthetic division
provides stability for our internal environment.
Homeostasis
Sensory neurons in skin
Afferent neurons
enables muscle action, learning, and helps with memory
Neurotramitter
Acetylocholine (ACH)
Helps with transiting pain signals from the sensory nerves to the CNS
Neurotranmitter
Substance P
receives sensory information, except f
Thalamus
plays a key role in forming new long-term memories, especially explicit memories- Does not store memories.
Hippocampus
involved in emotion - Fear & Aggression. Helps to form emotional memories
Amygdala
brief, dream-like experiences that feel real. Happens during transitions from wakefulness to sleep
Hypnagogic sensations
sleepwalking, usually during stage 3. Most common in children. No treatment
Somnambulism
when the senses work together. One sense helps the other to make sense of the input.
Sensory interaction
face blindness): can see faces but cannot recognize who they belong to, even people they know well like family members and close friends.
Prosopagnodia
Focusing the image with the lens on the retina.
Accomodation
Examines how the environment and a person’s behaviors affect a person’s genes and how they work.
What is Epigenetics
send signals from the central nervous system to the peripheral nervous system – Send messages from the brain and spinal cord
Efferent Neurons
slower compared to the nervous system - helps regulate hormones
Endocrine system
helps with the body’s response to high emotional situations and helps form memories. Helps with breathing
Hormone
Adrenaline
produced in the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland. Also known as the love hormone because it promotes feelings of affect and emotional bonding.
hormone
Oxytocin
Thick band of neural fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres so they can communicate with each other.
Corpus callosum
Helps maintain homeostasis. Controls Hunger, Thirst, Body’s temperature, sexual behavior
Hypothalamus
refers to the way the brain is setup, each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body.
Contralateral Organization
means the next time they go to sleep, they will go into REM sleep more quickly and spend more time there to make up for lost sleep.
REM rebound
a condition where a person acts out their dream during REM sleep. Paralysis is absent or incomplete. May be at risk for self injury. Make safe, Melatonin
RBD- REM sleep behavior disorder
for us to notice a difference between two stimuli, the two stimuli must differ by a constant percent, not a constant amount. It is the percentage of difference not the amount.
Weber's law
the smallest difference between two stimuli that a person can detect at least 50% of the time.
JND - Just noticeable difference
happens when there is damage to the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe. Appear to be blind in part of their visual field. Cannot consciously see or respond to visual stimuli, but they can respond to stimuli without conscious awareness. Might duck or move out of the way if something was coming at them.
Blindsight
Having a natural aversion to things that will hurt or harm us
What is Fear responses
(Rest and digest): slows your heart rate, increases your digestion, and helps you focus on saving and storing energy.
Parasympathetic Division
shows which areas of the brain are active by measuring changes in blood flow
FMRI
provide support for neurons, they help hold the nervous system together. They help insulate neurons to speed up signal transmission, facilitate communication between neurons, Transport nutrients, remove waste products.
Glial cells
drugs: increases the effectiveness of a neurotransmitter: mimic neurotransmitters or boost production of the neurotransmitter: anti-anxiety, Xanax
Agonist
highly addictive. Provide pain relief. morphine/oxycodin. Usage leads to developing tolerances and increasing dependency.
Opioids
‘Master Gland’ - Releases hormones that affect growth, metabolism, and other glands throughout the body.
Pituitary Gland
responsible for language and comprehension - if damaged may lose ability to speak in a meaningful way. Words and sentences can be formed but won’t mean anything.
Wernicki's area
back of the brain - process visual information, everything that you see gets interpreted here
Occipital lobe
Brain waves during this period are similar to wakefulness but the body is at its most relaxed
Paradoxical sleep
when a person has trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or keeps waking up too early- caused by medication, stress, pain, irregular sleep schedule. Treat with CBT
Insomnia
explains how cones in the retina detect color, according to this theory we see different colors by combining signals from different cones.
Trichromatic theory
explaining how color is processed after the cones: once the cones detect color, that information is passed to ganglion cells.
Opponent-process theory
Red-green, blue-yellow, white-black