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210 Cards in this Set
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The field studying how the nervous system communicates and how behavior is influenced by it
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behavior neuroscience
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Preprogrammed tendencies that are essential to a species's survival
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instincts
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Qualities or characteristics existing from birth
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innate
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The tendency for learned behavior to drift toward instinctual behavior over time
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instinctual drift
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The debate concerning the relative importance of heredity (nature) and learning or experience (nurture) in determining development and behavior
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nature-nurture controversy
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An unlearned response elicited by specific stimuli that have biological relevance for an organism
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reflex
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The network of glands that manufacture and secrete hormones into the bloodstream
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endocrine system
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Located in the brain, the gland that secretes growth hormone and influences the secretion of hormones by other endocrine glands.
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pituitary gland
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The chemical messengers, manufactured and secreted by the endocrine glands, that regulate metabolism and influence body growth, mood, and sexual characteristics
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hormones
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What are the phases of the Sexual Response Cycle?
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1. Excitement
2. Plateau 3. Orgasm 4. Resolution |
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The causes of, or factors related to, the development of a disorder
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etiology
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An organization of neurons, neurotransmitters, and brain structures that serve as the framework for moving information throughout the body
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nervous system
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Components of the central nervous system
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brain and spinal cord
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This part of the nervous system includes the sensory and motor neurons that connect the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body
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peripheral nervous system (PNS)
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Part of the nervous system that conveys information from muscles/sense organs to the CNS, and from the CNS to skeletal muscles, facilitating movement
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somatic nervous system
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This part of the nervous system is responsible for sensations of pain, termperature, and pressure
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somatic nervous system
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This part of the nervous system maintains homeostasis in the body and controls functioning of organs, glands, and some muscles
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autonomic nervous system (ANS)
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Part of the ANS that prepare the body for action
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sympathetic nervous system
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Part of the ANS that facilitates relaxation
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para-sympathetic nervous system
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Constancy or equilibrium of the internal conditions of the body
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homeostasis
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The area of study that evaluates the genetic component of individual differences in behaviors and traits
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Human behavior genetics
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The biological transmission of traits from parents to offspring
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heredity
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A statistical estimate of the degree of inheritance of a given trait or behavior, assessed by the degree of similarity between individuals who vary in their extent of genetic similarity
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heritability estimate
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How neurons in the brain work together
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through neural networks, comprised of neurons with similar functions
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When divided into three parts based on position, how are the parts of the brain identified?
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forebrain
midbrain hindbrain |
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This part of the brain contains olfactory obes, the cerebrum, thalmus, hypothalmus, and pituitary gland
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forebrain
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This part of the brain contains the optic lobes
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midbrain
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This part of the brain contains the cerebellum and medulla oblongata
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hindbrain
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Nerve tissue within the brain
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gray matter
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Insulated nerve cells
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white matter
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Oldest part of the brain (in terms of evolution)
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brainstem
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Newest part of the brain (in terms of evolution)
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frontal lobes
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Sometimes called the Reptillian Brain
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hindbrain
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Contains the spinal cord, medulla oblongata, the pons, and the cerebellum
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hindbrain
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Carries information to the brain and instructions from the brain
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spinal cord
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Part of the brain that regulates basic life processes, such as breathing, pulse, arousal, sleep, and movement
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central core
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Helps control the body's autonomic functions such as respiration, digestion and heart rate, as well as acting as a relay station for nerve signals
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medulla
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Regulates and coordinates movement, posture and balance. Also involved in learning movement.
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cerebellum
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Relays sensory information between the cerebellum and cerebrum; aids in relaying other messages in the brain; controls arousal, and regulates respiration. Some believe it has a role in dreaming.
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pons
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Area sometimes called the "old mammalian brain" or emotional brain
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limbic system
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Where the amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus are located
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limbic system
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Performs a primary role in the formation and storage of emotionally-charged memories, as well as triggering responses of fear and anger.
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amygdala
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Plays important role in the formation of new memories about experienced events, as well as spatial orientation or "place" memory.
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hippocampus
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Influences hunger, thirst, and sexual behavior; regulates the pituitary gland; controls circadian rhythms and body temperature.
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hypothalamus
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Part of the brain where the thalamus, pons, cerebellum, reticuar formation, and medulla are located
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central core
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Relays most sensory signals within the brain and plays a function in motor control.
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thalamus
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Where the frontal lobes, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe, Broca's Area, and the Corpus Callosum is located.
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neocortex
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Sometimes called the Rational Brain or "neomammalian brain."
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neocortex
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What separates the brain hemispheres.
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longitudinal fissure
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The neural bridge that connects the two hemispheres and facilitates communication between them.
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corpus callosum
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Linear reasoning and language functions, as well as a sense of past and present, are often lateralized to part of the brain.
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left hemisphere
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Holistic reasoning language functions (such as intonation and accentuation), spatial reasoning, artistic ability, and imagination, are often lateralized to part of the brain.
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right hemisphere
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Controls speech, language recognition and facial nerves.
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Broca's area
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Part of the brain that oversees all aspects of conscious experience
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cerebral cortex
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Part of the brain containing the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes
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cerebral cortex
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An evolved portion of the brain that handles reasoning, problem solving, judgment, and impulse control; also higher emotions such as empathy and altruism; motor control and memory.
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frontal lobe
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Integrates sensory information to form a single perception, constructs a spatial coordinate system to represent the world around us, and processes pain.
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parietal Lobe
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Involved in semantics both in speech and vision, auditory sensation, and emotion and memory. Houses the auditory cortex.
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temporal Lobe
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Controls visual sensation and processing. Houses the visual cortex.
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occipital Lobe
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Responsible for the comprehension of speech and the selection of content words.
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Wernicke's area
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This influences the release of hormones from other glands.
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pituitary gland
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This neurotransmitter modulates anger, aggression, body temperature, mood, sleep, sexuality, appetite, and metabolism. Low quantities can contribute to anxiety and impulsive behavior.
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serotonin
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This neurotransmitter triggers wakefulness or arousal and, when scarce, can lead to depression.
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norepinephrine
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This neurotransmitter lowers arousal and reduces anxiety through its inhibitory functions.
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GABA
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This neurotransmitter is involved with pleasure and love, desire, and voluntary movement and motivation. Drugs that act on it, causing euphoria, tend to be addictive.
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dopamine
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Three types of substances that can act as neurotransmitters.
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amino acids
peptides monoamines |
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This excitatory neurotransmitter is involved in arousal and alertness.
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epinephrine (aka adrenalin)
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This neurotransmitter is involved in arousal, focused attention, energy, and feelings. Can cause agitation and anxiety.
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norepinephrine (aka noradrenalin)
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If so much serotonin is available throughout the body, why can't the brain use it?
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Serotonin in the brain is independently synthesized from tryptophan transported across the blood-brain barrier.
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Of all neurotransmitters, this is the most strongly affected by diet.
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Serotonin
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Parts of the body that detect sensory input (heat, light, touch) and pass this along to the brain
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sense receptors
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Nerve cells
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neurons
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Non-neuronal cells that maintain homeostasis, form myelin, and provide support and protection for the brain's neurons
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glial cells
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Three types of nerve cells
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sensory neurons
motor neurons interneureons |
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These neurons transmit sensory information from body tissue and sense organs to the brain
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sensory neurons (or afferent neurons)
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These neurons send information from the brain to the rest of the body
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motor neurons (or efferent neurons)
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These neurons communicate with other neurons
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interneureons (or association neurons)
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Components of a neuron
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cell body
dendrites axons myelin sheath (on some neurons) |
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An electrical impulse that travels down the axon of a neuron and triggers activity in the neurons, muscles, or glands that connect with its axon
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action potential
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What does a resting axon contain?
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negatively-charged ions
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State where negatively-charged ions are contained with the an axon's fluid, while the fluid outside the axon contains positively-charged sodium ions
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resting potential
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What happens when part of a neuron's axon is depolarized?
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Positive ions are allowed in
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The period when a neuron pumps out positive ions so that it can fire again
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refractory period
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The rule that the size of the action potential is unaffected by increases in the intensity of stimulation beyond the threshold level
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All-or-none law
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Junction between neurons
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synapse
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Chemical molecules (of various types) that neurons release in response to a signal, to bind to receptors in the dendrites of another neuron
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neurotransmitters
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Sacs within the axon terminal of a neuron that contain neurotransmitters
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vesicles
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End of a neuron's axon
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axon terminal
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Re-absorption of neurotransmitters back into the neuron
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reuptake
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Drugs that mimic a neurotransmitter or make more of it available by blocking reuptake
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agonists
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Drugs that block receptor sites for a neurotransmitter or inhibit its release
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antagonists
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Mentally creating an image of the outside world
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perception
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Transforming energy from the stimuli outside us into neural energy that can be used for perception
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sensation
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Area of psychology that focuses on sensation, our response to stimuli, and how psychologic factors affect our ability to sense stimuli
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psychophysics
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The form-forming capability of our senses, particularly with respect to the visual recognition of figures and whole forms instead of just a collection of simple lines and curves
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gestalt effect
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Processing of sensory information that precedes attention to specific objects
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preattentive processing
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Ability to focuse on certain portions of sensory information while ingoring others
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selective attention
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The period during which exposure to appopropriate stimuli is required in order for the various perceptual skills to develop
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critical period
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A neurological condition in which one sense is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses
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synesthesia
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The processes that put sensory information together to give the perception of a coherent scene over the whole visual field
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perceptual organization
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The optical image on the retina; contrasted with the distal stimulus, the physical object in the world
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proximal stimulus
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Electromagnetic radiation that travels in the form of waves
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light
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Three features of light that people experience
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color, brightness, and saturation
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Three characteristics of light waves
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wavelength
wave amplitude complexity |
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What defines wavelength
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distance between the peaks of waves
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Height of light waves
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wave amplitude
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Charactistic of wavelengths that defines saturation
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complexity
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Color is a result of this light wave characteristic
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wavelength
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Transparent, protective outer membrane of the eye
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cornea
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Ring of muscle that expands and contracts around the pupil
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iris
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Part of the eye that controls how much light comes into the eye
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pupil
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Part of the eye that adjusts its shape to focus light from objects based on their distance
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lens
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Thin layer of neural tissue on the back of the eye, that receives incoming light
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retina
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Center of the retina, where vision is usually the sharpest
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fovea
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Specialized cells that respond to light stimuli
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photoreceptors
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Photoreceptors that are highly sensitive to light
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rods
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Photoreceptors that are highly sensitive to color
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cones
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In low-light conditions, this type of vision is likely to be sharper
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peripheral
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Photoreceptors contained in the fovea
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cones
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Rods and cones connect to these
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biolar neurons
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What bipolar neurons in the eye connect to
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ganglion cells
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What axons of all the ganglion cells in the retina come together to create
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optic nerve
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Spot in the retina where the optic nerve connects
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optic disk (blind spot)
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Hemisphere of the brain that processes information from the left eye
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right hemisphere (and vice versa for the right eye)
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Process of the eye lens adjusting its shape to focus light based on the distance of an object
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accommodation
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Part of the brain that does the most visual processing
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primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe (cerebellum)
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Cells in the visual cortex that respond to specific visual signals (based on their type)
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feature detectors
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Theory of what happens to trigger perception
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A large number of neurons in different parts of the brain activate
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Theory that the retina contains red, green, and blue cones that respond to these wavelengths, and activation of these in combinations result in perception of color
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trichromatic or Young-Helmholtz theory
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Theory that the visual system has receptors that are paired opposites: red vs. green, blue vs. yellow, and black vs. white which respond to one or the other color
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Ewald Hering's opponent process theory
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Illusion of movement created when a series of images flutter by quickly in succession
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phi phenomenon or stroboscopic movement
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Gestalt principle regarding how people divid visual information into the foreground and background
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figure and ground
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Gestalt principle that states that things which are closer together will be seen as belonging together
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proximity principle
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Principle that people fill in gaps in incomplete, familiar forms to create something they recognize
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closure principle
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In visual perception, people tend to group similar objects together
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similarity principle
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The idea that when people see interrupted lines or patterns, they perceive them as continuous by mentally filing in the gaps
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continuity principle
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The principle that visually, people tend to perceive forms as simple, symmetrical figures rather than irreguar ones
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simplicity principle
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A binocular cue that detects the difference between two object images in each eye and calucates the estimated distance from the person
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retinal disparity
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A binocular cue created when the brain processes the muscle contraction required to turn the eyes inward, which suggests that an image is being viewed close up
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convergence
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The perception of distance when objects overlap and the overlapped object is considered further away
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interposition
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A source of information about depth in which the relative distances of objects from a viewer determine the amount and direction of their relative motion in the retinal image
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relative motion parallax
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The cue that smaller objects in the retina are perceived as further away
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relative size
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The cue that sharper, clear objects appear closer than hazier objects
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relative carity
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The density, perspective, and distortion of texture elements when viewed from different distances
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texture gradients
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The property of parallel lines converging at infinity that allows the brain to reconstruct the relative distance of two parts of an object, or of landscape features
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linear perspective
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Patterns that suggest the form of a three-dimensional object
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light and shadow
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The ability to recognize that an object remains the same even when it produces different images on the retina
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perceptual constancy
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Types of constancy that the brain maintains with vision, despite the differences in image details
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shape constancy
size constancy brightness constancy color constancy location constancy |
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Readiness to see objects in a particular way based on expectations, experiences, emotions, and assumptions
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perceptual set
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The visual ability to perceive the world in three dimensions
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depth perception
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The cues that provide depth information when viewing a scene with both eyes
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binocular cues
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Cues that provide depth information when viewing a scene with one eye
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monocular cues
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The point where light rays originating from a point on the object converge
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fixation point
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The cells that integrate information across the retina; rather than sending signals toward the brain, horizontal cells connect receptors to each other.
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horizontal cells
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The cells that integrate information across the retina; rather than sending signals toward the brain, horizontal cells connect receptors to each other.
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amacrine cells
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Changes in pressure generated by vibrating molecules
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sound waves
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Aspect of a sound wave that is perceived as loudness
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amplitude or height
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Unit of measure for amplitude
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decibel
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Perception of increase in loudness with every 10-decibel amplitude increase
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doubling
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Auditory system damage can occur at this level of loudness
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120 decibels
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Aspect of sound that depends on the frequency of sound waves
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pitch
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The number of times per second a sound wave cycles from the highest to the lowest point
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frequency
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How is a higher-pitched sound perceived?
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as louder
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Frequency rante of human hearing
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20-20,000 hertz
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Characteristic of a sound wave that defines timbre (or quality)
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complexity
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Three basic parts to an ear
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outer ear, midde ear, and inner ear
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Exterior part of ear that collects waves and passes them along the auditory canal
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pinna
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Where sound waves hit and vibrate inside the ear
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tympanic membrane (eardrum)
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Three bones in the middle ear that receive the vibrations from the eardrum
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hammer (malleus)
anvil (incus) stirrup (stapes) (all ossicles) |
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Purpose of the movement of the ossicles in the ear
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amplify sound vibrations
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Fluid filled, coiled tunnel that recieves vibrations of the ossicles
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cochlea (in the inner ear)
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Membrane that vibrations pass through from the middle to inner ear
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oval window
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Receptors in the cochlea that move and trigger impulses with connecting neurons
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cilia
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Where cilia are embedded in the inner ear
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Organ of Corti
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Axons of the neurons that connect to cilia come together to create this
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auditory nerve
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Where the auditory nerve sends information
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thalamus and the audio cortex in the temporal lobe (cerebellum)
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A theory of how pitch above 5000 Hz is differentiated, suggesting that soundwaves of different frequencies trigger receptors at different places on the basilar membrane, and the brain interprets itch based on the position of the triggered cilia
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place theory
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A theory suggesting that below 1000 Hz, pitch is detected by the rate at which the basilar membrane vibrates, as a whole, affecting the speed of neural impulses to the brain
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frequency theory
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Theory that explains pitch interpretation between 1000 and 5000 Hz.
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both place theory and frequency theory together
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How the brain perceives the origin of sounds
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based on the difference of processing speed beween the left and right ear input
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An experimental technique in which a different auditory stimulus is simultaneously presented to each ear
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dichotic listening
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Chemical senses
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taste and smell
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Sense of taste
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gustation
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Receptors that detect taste
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taste buds
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Location of taste buds
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papiae
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Lifespan of taste buds
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approximately 10 days
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Types of tastes
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salty
sweet sour bitter umami |
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Sense that influences taste
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smell
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Trigger for smell
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when chemicals are inhaled into the nose and reache smell receptors
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Where smell receptors send input
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along olfactory nerve to olfactory bulb (base of brain)
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Sense most closely connected with memory
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smell
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Inability to perceive odors
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anosmia
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Bodily perception
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somesthesis
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Sense concerned with bodily position and movement of the body parts relative to each other.
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kinesthetic sense
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Location of kinesthetic receptors
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muscles, joints, tendons
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System that controls the sense of balance or equilibrium
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vestibular system
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Main structures in the vestibular system
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semicircular canals
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Location of the vestibular canals
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inner ear
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Senses making up the sense of touch
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pressure, pain, cold, and warmth
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Thoery that pain signals must travel to the brain via the spinal cord, and signals from the brain can stop the pathway and decrease the pain
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gate-control theory (Melzack and Wall)
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Perceptual analyses based on the sensory data available in the environment; results of analyses are passed upward toward more abstract representations
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bottom up processing
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Perceptual processes in which information from an individual's past experience, knowledge, expectations, motivations, and background influence the way a perceived object is interpreted and classified
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top down processing
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The smallest physical difference between two stimuli that can still be recognized as a difference; operationally defined as the point at which the stimuli are recognized as different half of the time
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difference threshold
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Minimum stimulation needed for a person to detect a given stimulus
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absolute threshold
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A means to quantify the ability to discern between signal and noise.
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signal detection theory
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The smallest difference a person can detect between two similar stimuli
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just noticeable diference (jnd)
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The just noticeable difference increases in proportion to the intensity or magnitude of the stimuli
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Weber's Law
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A phenomenon in which receptor cells lose their power to respond after a period of unchanged stimulation; allows a more rapid reaction to new sources of information
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sensory adaptation
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A perceptual object that may have more than one interpretation
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ambiguity
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Experiment that analyzed how animals from various species used depth perception to guard against an apparent sudden drop
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Visual cliff experiment
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