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25 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What are the divisions of the Nervous System?
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Central Nervous System (Brain and Spinal Cord)
Peripheral Nervous System (Everything else) |
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What two systems make up the Peripheral Nervous System?
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Somatic Nervous System (Voluntary Movements)
Autonomic Nervous System (Automated, self-regulated actions of internal organs) |
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What two system make up the autonomic Nervous System?
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Sympathetic Nervous System (arousing the body for fight-or-flight)
Parasympathetic Nervous System (calming down the body) |
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What are the locations and functions of the lobes of the brain?
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Frontal Lobe: Located at the front of the brain; motor control and executive functions
Parietal Lobe: Attention and spatial learning Temporal Lobe: Located on the sides of the brain (temples); primary auditory cortex Occipital Lobe: Located at the back of the brain; primary visual cortex. |
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What are the parts of a neuron? What are their functions?
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Soma (Cell Body): Fires action potentials; excitation and inhibition happen here
Dendrites: Receiving centers for neurotransmitters Axon: The tail; action potentials travel along the axon Myelin Sheath: Protective layer on the axon; also speeds up the traveling of the action potential Axon Terminal: Sends neurotransmitters to adjacent cells Synapse: Small gap in between two neurons |
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How do neurons communicate?
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Electrically: Nerve impulses are electrical signals
Chemically: Neurotransmitters are released in the neuron and tell it to fire (or to not fire) |
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What do PET and fMRI measure?
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PET: Gamma radiation from the decaying of radioactive isotopes that are released into the blood stream. Cerebral blood flow is measured
FMRI: Blood-Oxygen-Dependent-Levels. The scanner tracks where oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood are in the brain, so we can tell which regions of the brain are activated during specific tasks. |
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What is the Subtraction Method?
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Researchers scan during blocks of interest and then during control blocks. The control blocks are "subtracted" from the interest blocks and all that is left over is the activation that is present during the interest block.
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What are Neurophysiological Methods and what do they Test?
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Allow us to identify problems in the brain; help to diagnose neural disorders or brain damage.'
Examples: Draw-Clock Test, Rey-Osterreith Complex Figure, Tower of Hanoi, Wisconsin Card Sorting Task |
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What are the main functions of:
Acetylcholine Dopamine Serotonin GABA ? |
Acetylcholine: Muscle contraction, learning, memory
Dopamine: Movement, pleasure, cognition Serotonin: Mood, sleep, arousal GABA: Inhibition |
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How might stress affect the hippocampus?
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High levels of the stress hormone cortisol may be toxic to the hippocampus, shrinking it. It is also possible that having a smaller hippocampus is a risk factor for PTSD. Cortisol in large amounts causes cell death.
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How does our brain keep circadian rhythm "time"?
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The brain keeps time based on environmental cues called zeitgebers.
Example: Sunrise, Sunset Zeitgebers are any stimuli that reset the circadian rhythm. |
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What are the sleep stages and associated phenomena?
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Stage 1: Between sleep and wakefulness; theta waves
Stage 2: Light sleep; theta waves Stages 3 & 4: Deeper sleep; delta waves REM: Sleep paralysis occurs in this state. Beta waves (same as awake) |
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Explain the Activation-Synthesis theory of dreaming
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The random firing of the pons activates the amygdala (emotions), occipital cortex and thalamus (visual experiences)
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Explain the Parallel Consciousness theory of dreaming
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We are always dreaming; random activation can occur at any moment.
Note: It is possible that problems in schizophrenia occur as a result of a breakdown between REM and wakefulness |
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Explain the Threat-Simulation theory of dreaming
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We dream in order to practice our responses to evolutionary relevant threats
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Explain the Memory Consolidation theory of dreaming
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When we sleep, the brain goes through a memory trace and consolidates all that we have learned. Information is stored for later possible use or learning
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What are the differences between explicit and implicit memory at the level of the brain?
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Implicit memories are stres in mid-brain areas. Information is received, but it does not project back to the cortex.
Explicit memories are stored in the cortex |
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Explain the Resting State technique for studying mental illness
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We compare the resting states of affected and healthy individuals in order to see if there is a difference between the two.
Con: We don't know what people are reacting to while they're in the scanner, so the state may not really reflect the person at rest |
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Explain the Symptom Capture technique for studying mental illness
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We try to capture the moments in which a patient experiences one of his or her symptoms. Any captured scans will reflect the disorder.
Con: A person who is waiting for a symptom to happen is monitoring his own behavior, so he will behave differently. Also, it is possible that he will not experience a symptom. |
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Explain the Symptom Provocation technique for studying mental illness
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Provoking symptoms in order to see how the brain reacts under that particular condition. This is mostly done for patients suffering from mood or anxiety disorders.
Con: Is this ethical? |
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Explain the Cognitive Activation technique for studying mental illness
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Identify cognitive proceses or brain structure of interest. Patients engage in that cognitive task that is known to activate specific structures while they are in the scanner.
Con: We only see scans for that particular task or brain area. |
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What is the main framework for how we understand risk for mental illness?
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Risk for mental illness can stem from neurotransmitters, brain structures, damage to neurons, heritability, brain function, and even medications.
Example: Schizophrenia has a huge genetic link, but may not onset unless certain environmental requirements are met. |
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Define Diffusion tensor Imaging
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A non-invasive MRI in which rate of diffusion of different molecules (usually water) is tracked through the white matter of the brain. We can also see the direction fo diffusion using this technique. Mostly used in patients with neuropsychiatric disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, aging, dementia, and schizophrenia
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What do we know about how brain function is altered in patients with schizophrenia?
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Larger ventricles than unaffected individuals (seen in identical twins in which only one twin is affected)
Frontal lobe is less active, and hippocampal function is abnormal (memory link) It is possible that excessive dopamine levels may be toxic, causing the larger ventricles (or smaller frontal lobes) |
