Psychology Chapter 2

Front 1

preparedness in classical conditioning
ex) monkeys, humans

Back 1

- animals are predisposed to develop conditioned responses to some "NEUTRAL" stimuli more than others
- monkeys can be classically conditioned to fear snakes but not flowers
- humans are not biologically prepared to fear knives and guns- we are conditioned to

Front 2

conditioned taste aversion. "belongingness"

Back 2

- developing avoidance reactions to the taste of food
- single trial learning
- little stimulus generalization (someone may avoid spaghetti but still ear lasagna)
- "belongingness"- innate tendency to LEARN some associations but not others

Front 3

biological psychology

Back 3

- that area of psychology that studies the interaction of biology, behavior, and mental processes
- why do we have the types of bodies we have?
- how does our body type influence our behavior and mental processes?

Front 4

Darwin earlier works

Back 4

- voyage of the beagle- studied on some coast
- on the origin of species- discovered that all creatures have common ancestry and organisms adapt to their environments

Front 5

Darwin- evolution

Back 5

- struggle for survival because organisms produce more offspring than the environment can support
- offspring show individual differences

Front 6

Darwin- natural selection

Back 6

- "survival of the fittest"= individuals who are best ADAPTED to their environments survive to reproduce
- individuals that reproduce PASS ON THEIR ADAPTATIONS (characteristics)
- as environments change, the traits that are adaptive change
- evolution is an ongoing process

Front 7

the human genome

Back 7

- humans have 46 chromosomes in each cells nucleus (23 from each parent)
- x and y determine our physical sex characteristics (the 23rd chromosome)

Front 8

chromosomes

Back 8

- tightly coiled structures of DNA and PROTEIN
- where genes are organized
- each 1 DNA molecule

Front 9

double helix

Back 9

- 2 strands make a twister latter
- sugar and phosphate backbone
- connected by bases- adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine

Front 10

genes

Back 10

- segment of a DNA molecule
- about 20,500 in humans
(human genome project 2003)
- contain information needed for PROTEIN SYNTHESIS (composition) in the sequence of bases

Front 11

genotype

Back 11

- set of genes we inherit (GENETIC MAKEUP)

Front 12

phenotype

Back 12

- OBSERVABLE TRAITS- how genes are EXPRESSED

Front 13

how natural selection works

Back 13

- environmental pressure (changes in environment)>
- competition (for resources)>
- selection of fitterst phenotype (from among a variety of phenotypes)>
- reproductive success (genotype corresponding to fittest phenotypes are passed to next generation)>
- that phenotype continues and increases (into the next generation)

Front 14

what determines genotype and phenotype?

Back 14

- dominant v. recessive genes
- impact of prenatal environment
- impact of environment during development

Front 15

how are genes and behavior linked through evolution?

Back 15

- evolution favorts genotypes (genetic variations) that favor adaptive behavior

Front 16

brain evolution. what advantage does the size of a humans brain allow and provide for?

Back 16

- rapid increase in brain size, relative to body size
- humans are proportionally the biggest brained animal relative to body size
- this allows greater behavioral flexibility which provides an adaptive advantage

Front 17

nervous system

Back 17

- network of neurons that extends all through the body

Front 18

endocrine system

Back 18

- hormone system
- the body's chemical messenger system

Front 19

structure of the neuron: dendrites

Back 19

- receiving message and carries into neuron

Front 20

structure of the neuron: cell body

Back 20

- contains cells DNA
- interprets message- determines if cell "fires" or "doesn't fire"

Front 21

structure of the neuron: axon

Back 21

- sending portion of the neuron

Front 22

Glial cells (B, MS, NS, RI)

Back 22

- bind the neurons together- act as support cells of the nervous system
- provide an insulated covering of the axon(the myelin sheath)
- help form new synapses (act as conductor)
- respond to injury

Front 23

Myelin Sheath

Back 23

- covering of axons formed by glial cells

Front 24

electrical responses of neurons: resting potential

Back 24

- the electrical charge of the axon in its inactive state, when the neuron is ready to "fire"
- at rest, the inside of a neuron is more charged than the outside
- ions- electrically charged chemicals

Front 25

electrical responses of neurons: action potential

Back 25

- when nerve cell "fires"- electrical impulse travels down axon (axon becomes permeable)
- positive ions flow rapidly into cell
- ion pump then pumps them out

Front 26

ions

Back 26

- electrically charged chemicals

Front 27

absolute retractory period

Back 27

- cell cannot fire for a brief millisecond pause

Front 28

synapse

Back 28

- serves as communication link between neurons
- cell membranes separated by a synaptic cleft

Front 29

axon terminal

Back 29

- end of axon
- contains synaptic vesicles with neurotransmitters until needed

Front 30

neurotransmission. how is it halted?

Back 30

- the release of NT from axon terminal into synapse
- float across synapse and bind to receptor site on receiving cell dendrite
- activity of NT halted via chemical breakdown or reuptake into the axon terminal (recycles them back into vesicles)

Front 31

neurotransmitters: excitatory or inhibitory

Back 31

- "fire"
or
- "don't fire"

Front 32

neurotransmitters
- have numerous?
- have varying?
- underlie?
- psychotropic medications and street drugs?

Back 32

- types- serotonin, endorphins
- functions ex) voluntary movement, thinking
- psychological disorders
- mimic, enhance, or inhibit NT's

Front 33

definition of neural plasticity

Back 33

- the nervous system's ability to change with development and experience

Front 34

process of neural plasticity (G:d+a, NS, P, M)

Back 34

- process begins before birth and until maturation is complete (early adulthood)
- growth of dendrite and axons
- creation of new synapses (new connections)
- pruning- the dying off of many of the new cells that we don't need
- myelination-increases speed that impulses are conducted at

Front 35

learning

Back 35

- improved performances of synapses
- enriched environments > growth of dendrites and axons

Front 36

plasticity after injury

Back 36

- CNS neutrons have limited capacity for regeneration in adulthood
- production of new neurons in the adult brain

Front 37

efforts to increase adult neural plasticity

Back 37

- stimulating axon growth
- stem cell implantation- cells with potential to become a variety of specialized cells

Front 38

peripheral nervous system: somatic nervous system- sensory input and motor output

Back 38

- sensory input- sensory neurons carry messages from sense receptors towards the CNS
- Muscle movement- motor neurons carry messages from CNS to muscles and glands

Front 39

what is the function of the spinal cord?

Back 39

- connects brains to somatic nervous system

Front 40

what are spinal reflexes?

Back 40

- involuntary motions (do not require brain activities)
- pathway from sensory nerves (sensor neurons), to spinal cord (interneurons), to motor nerves (motor neurons)

Front 41

autonomic nervous system: sympathetic division. when is it active? what activities?

Back 41

- active during arousal
- activates fight-or-flight responses (body is prepared for action)

Front 42

autonomic nervous system: parasympathetic division. when is it active? what activities?

Back 42

- active during rest and digestion
- digestion because has avaliable energy for it to use (digestion requires a lot of energy)

Front 43

how do the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system work?

Back 43

- work in opposition of each other (when one is active, the other is passive/not)