Princeton Review Psychology Gre - Chapter 11 (Physiological Psychology)

Front 1

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Back 1

- Made up of two parts: 1) Brain, 2) Spinal cord

Front 2

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Back 2

- The pathway that runs to and from the CNS.

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Afferent fibers

Back 3

- run towards the central nervous system

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Efferent fibers

Back 4

- run away from the central nervous system

Front 5

Somatic Nervous System

Back 5

- part of the PNS
- controls voluntary movements of striated muscles

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Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

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- part of the PNS
- controls the involuntary physiology of smooth muscles, such as digestion, blood circulation, and breathing.
- the ANS responds more slowly than the somatic nervous system, which is why we act first in an emergency and then feel the fear.

Front 7

Sympathetic Nervous system

Back 7

- part of the ANS
- controls arousal mechanisms
- e.g. temperature control, blood circulation, puil dilation, and threat and fear responses
- Lie detector tests rest on the premise that lying activates the sympathetic nervous system

Front 8

Parasympathetic

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- is responsible for recuperation after arousal
- activates processes that allow the body to save and store energy (e.g. slow heart rate, reduce blood pressure, and promote digestion)

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Spinal cord

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- inner core consists of GRAY MATTER (cell bodies and dendrites)
- outer covering consists of WHITE MATTER (nerve fibers, axon bundles, and myelin sheathing)

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Hindbrain

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- consists of: 1) Medulla oblongata, 2) Cerebellum, 3) Pons 4) Base of the reticular formation

Front 11

Medulla Oblongata

Back 11

- Part of the hindbrain
- Controls breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure
- regulates reflexes such as sneezing, couging, and salivating

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Cerebellum

Back 12

- Part of the hindbrain
- Controls muscle coordination, balance, posture; its size is related to amount of muscular activity

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Pons

Back 13

- Part of the hindbrain
- connects brain part to spine
- also contains several clusters of cell bodies involved with sleep and arousal

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Base of reticular formation

Back 14

- part of the hindbrain
- considered the OLDEST PART of the brain
- controls alertness, thirst, sleep, and involuntary muscles such as the heart

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Midbrain

Back 15

- consists of: 1) the rest of the reticular formation, 2) tectum, 3) tegmentum

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Tectum

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- part of the midbrain
- controls vision and hearing

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Tegmentum

Back 17

- part of the midbrain
- controls sleep, arousal, and eye movements

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Forebrain

Back 18

- the largest and most complex region of hte brain, encompassing a variety of structures
- consists of: 1) corticospinal tract, 2) thalamus, 3) hypothalamus, 4) limbic system, 5) cerebrum

Front 19

Corticospinal tract

Back 19

- the connections between the brain and spine

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Thalamus

Back 20

- a structure in the forebrain through which all sensory information (except smell) must pass to get to the cerebral cortex (aka. "waystation")

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Hypothalamus

Back 21

- a structure found near the base of the forebrain that is involved in the regulation of basic biological needs
- controls ANS biological motivations, such as hunger and thirst, and the pituitary gland

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Pituitary gland

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- "master gland" of the endocrine or hormone system

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Limbic system

Back 23

- a group of structures around the brainstem involved in emotional activity and pleasure centers

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Hippocampus

Back 24

- part of the LIMBIC SYSTEM
- thought to be involved in memory by the encoding of new information

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Amygdala

Back 25

- part of the LIMBIC SYSTEM
- controls emotional reactions, such as fear and anger

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Cingulate Gyrus

Back 26

- part of the LIMBIC SYSTEM
- links areas in the brain dealing with emotion and decisions

Front 27

Cerebral hemispheres

Back 27

- the largest part of the brain
- responsible for movement and higher functions
- each hemisphere controls the limbs on the opposite side

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Corpus collosum

Back 28

- connects the hemispheres, so they can communicate

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Left hemisphere

Back 29

- controls speech and motor control

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Right hemisphere

Back 30

- controls spacial perception and musical ability

Front 31

Cerebral cortex

Back 31

- the outer half-inch of the cerebral hemispheres
- the seat of sensory and intellectual functions
- split into lobes
- also known as the NEOCORTEX
- GYRI (bumps) and SULCI (fissures) are seen on the cortex surface.

Front 32

Frontal Lobe

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- controls motor, speech, reasoning, and problem solving
- houses BROCA'S and WERNICKE'S areas for speech

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Occipital Lobe

Back 33

- responsible for vision

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Parietal Lobe

Back 34

- responsible for somatosensory

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Temporal Lobe

Back 35

- responsible for hearing

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Meninges

Back 36

- tough connective tissues covering the brain and spinal cord

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Ventricles

Back 37

- chambers filled with cerebrospinal fluid that insulate the brain from shock

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Superior colliculus

Back 38

- controls visual reflexes
- appears as a bump on the brainstem

Front 39

Inferior colliculus

Back 39

- controls auditory reflexes
- appears as a bump on the brainstem

Front 40

Basal ganglia

Back 40

- control muscle movements
- their degeneration is related to motor dysfunction in Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases

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Cortical association areas

Back 41

- areas on the cortex that correspond to certain functions. The larger the area, the more sensitive and highly accessed is the corresponding function.

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Apraxia

Back 42

- inability to organize movement

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Agnosia

Back 43

- difficult processing sensory information

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Aphasia

Back 44

- language disorder - see Broca's and Wernicke's

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Alexia

Back 45

- inability to read

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Agraphia

Back 46

- inability to write

Front 47

Broca's aphasia

Back 47

- caused by damage to Broca's area in the brain
- someone with Broca's aphasia can understand speech but has difficulty speaking (often speaking slowly and laboriously and omitting words)

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Wernicke's aphasia

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- caused by damage to Wernicke's area in the brain
- person can speak but no longer understands how to correctly choose words
- speech is fluent but nonsensical

Front 49

Hyperphagia

Back 49

- overeating with no satiation of hunger
- leads to obesity
- damage to the ventromedial region of the hypothalamus has produced this in animals

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Sham rage

Back 50

- incredible rage easily provoked when the cerebral cortex is removed

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Stereotaxic instruments

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- used to implant electrodes into animals' brains in experiments

Front 52

Blooming and pruning process

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- a process in which neutral pathways are connected and then some are allowed to die out

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Dendrites

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- neuron branches that receive impulses
- their branching patterns change throughout life

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Cell body (SOMA)

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- the largest central portion of the nerve
- it makes up GRAY MATTER
- has a nucleus that directs the neuron's activity

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Axon hillock

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- where the soma and the axon connect

Front 56

Axon

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- transmits impulses of the neuron
- bundles of these are nerve fibers, also known as WHITE MATTER
- the wider a nerve fiber, the faster its conduction of impulses

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Myelin sheath

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- a fatty, insulating sheath on some axons that allows faster conduction of axon impulses
- it looks like beads on a string

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Schwann cell

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- the beadlike part of the myelin sheath

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Nodes of Ranvier

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- the dips between the "beads" on the myelin sheath
- they help send the impulse down the axon

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Terminal Buttons

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- the jumping-off points for impulses
- they contain SYNAPTIC VESSELS that hold NEUROTRANSMITTERS

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Cell membrane

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- covers the whole neuron and has selective permeability
- sometimes it lets positive charges (ions) through

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Synapse (synaptic gap)

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- the space between two neurons where they communicate

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Persynaptic cell

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- the end of one neuron (the terminal buttons)
- fires and releases neurotransmitters from its terminal buttons

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Postsynaptic cell

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- the beginning of another neuron (the dendrites)
- postsynaptic receptors detect the presents of neurotransmitters and cause the ion channels to open

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Resting potential

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- the inactivated state of a nueron
- the neuron is negatively charged at this point, and the cell membrane does not let positive charges in

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Postsynaptic potentials

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- changes in a nerve cell's charge as the result of stimulation.
- two form: excitatory postsynaptic potential and inhibitory

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Excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP)

Back 67

- in this case, positive charges from the outside are allowed into the cell in a process called depolarization
- this may case the nerve to fire

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Inhibatory postsynaptic potential (IPSP)

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- in this case, the few positive charges in the cell body are let out, and the cell becomes HYPERPOLARIZED (or even more negative compared to the outside)
- this makes the cell even less likely to fire a nerve impulse

Front 69

Action potential (nerve impulse)

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- begins when a cell becomes stimulated with enough positive ions and "fires"

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All-or-none law

Back 70

- refers to the fact that once a minimum threshold for stimulation is met, the nerve impulse will be sent
- the intensity of the nerve impulse is always the same, regardless of the amount of stimulation
- intensity of stimulation is indicated by how many signals are fired, not by how strong the signals are

Front 71

Absolute refractory period

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- the time after a neuron fires in which it cannot respond to stimulation

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Relative refractory period

Back 72

- the time after the absolute refractory period when the neuron can fire, but it needs a much stronger stimulus

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Neurotransmitter after nerve firing

Back 73

- after the neurotransmitter has done its job, it is either reabsorbed by the presynaptic cell via REUPTAKE, or it is deactivated by enzymes
- these processes keep the messenger from continually stimulating neurons

Front 74

Acetylcholine

Back 74

- contracts skeletal muscles
- appears to contribute to attention, arousal, and perhaps memory

Front 75

Monoamines

Back 75

- comprise two classes of neurotransmitters:
- IDOLAMINES, which include SEROTONIN (linked to depression)
- CATECHOLAMINES - include dopamine (lack of which is associated with Parkinson's and too much is associated with schizophrenia)

Front 76

Neuromodulators

Back 76

- are like neurotransmitters, but they cause long-term changes in the postsynaptic cell

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Androgens

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- in the bloodstream determine whether an infant mammal will be a male.

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hormones at adolescence

Back 78

- males receive a dose of androgens, and females receive a dose of estrogens.

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Follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone

Back 79

- regulate the development of sperm and ovum.

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Proclactin

Back 80

- stimulates milk production

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Antidiuretic hormone

Back 81

- causes water retention

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Thyroid Gland

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- is triggred by a hormone from the pituitary, the THYROID-STIMULATING HORMONE

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Electroencephalograms (EEGs)

Back 83

- measure brain-wave patterns and have made it possible to study waking and sleeping states.

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Non-REM sleep

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- altogether it takes about a half hour to pass through the first four stages of sleep

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Stage 0 sleep

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- prelude to sleep
- low-amplitude and fast-frequency alpha waves appear in the brain; these waves are also known as NEURAL SYNCHRONY
- a person becomes relaxed and drowsy and closes his eyes.

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Stage 1 sleep

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- the eyes begin to roll
- alpha waves give way to irregular THETA WAVES (lower in amplitude and slower in frequency)
- the person loses responsiveness to stimuli, experiences fleeting thoughts

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Stage 2 sleep

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- The THETA WAVE stage, characterized by fast frequency bursts of brain activity called SLEEP SPINDLES
- is also marked by muscle tension and accompanied by gradual decline in heart rate, respiration, and temperature

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Stage 3 sleep

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- Takes about 30 minutes after falling asleep
- Fewer sleep spindles occur
- high-amplitude and low-frequency DELTA WAVES appear

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Stave 4 sleep

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- DELTA WAVES occur more than 50 percent of the time
- these delta waves demarcate the DEEPEST LEVELS OF SLEEP, when heart rate, respiration, temperature, and blood flow to the brain are reduced and growth hormones are secreted
- a person roused from stage 4 sleep will be groggy and confused

Front 90

REM

Back 90

- approximately 20 PERCENT of sleep time is spent in REM
- REM is interspersed with non-REM sleep every 30 to 40 minutes
- is when dreams are experienced
- characterized by the same fast-frequency, low-amplitude BETA WAVES (NEURAL DESYNCHONY) that characterize waking states

Front 91

REM 2

Back 91

- REM sleep is also known as PARADOXICAL SLEEP
- beta waves and a person's physiological signs - heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure - resemble those in a wakign state, but muscle tone decreases to the point of PARALYSIS, with sudden twitches, especially in the face and hands
- lasts from 15 minutes at the beginning of a sleep cycle to 1 hour at the end of it

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Rebound effect

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- occurs when people are deprived of REM sleep
- they will compensate by spending more time in REM sleep later in the night

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Sleep cyles

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- people complete four to six complete sleep cycles each night
- each cycle lasts about 90 minutes
- early in the night most of the time is spend in Stage 3 and 4 sleep
- stage 2 and REM sleep predominate later in the night

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Infants and sleep

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- infants sleep about 16 hours a day
- REM sleep comprises about half of toal sleep at birth, and eventually decreases to only 25 percent