Final Exam study guide 04 13 2014 Learning Change in an organism s behavior or thought as a result of experience occurs when parallel fibers climbing fibers activate Purkinje cells simultaneously Eventually causes disinhibition of Lateral Interpositus Nucleus increased activation of the CS Nonassociative Change in magnitude of response to environmental events habituation and sensitization o Habituation Becoming less sensitive to a steady or repeated stimulus over time to allow the brain to learn new info 800 axon terminals o Sensitization Experience of one stimulus heightens the response to a subsequent stimulus so brain can focus on dangerous stimuli 2800 axon terminals Associative Connection between two elements or events classical and operant conditioning o Classical Conditioning Unconditioned Stimulus UCS Event that elicits response without prior experience Unconditioned Response UCR Unlearned reaction to a UCS Conditioned Stimulus CS Initially neutral stimulus that acquires the ability to signal important biological events Conditioned Response CR Learned reaction to a CS o Operant Conditioning Consequences of a behavior shape future performance Reinforcement Positive increases likelihood of behavior by adding something desirable Negative increases likelihood of behavior by removing something undesirable Punishment Decreases likelihood of behavior Engram The physical trace of each memory in the brain o Memories are NOT located in one single part of the brain Distribution of memories neurons connect to other neurons and lead to activation Memory and Plasticity Memory retention of info over time The Hebb Rule neurons that fire together wire together Long Term Potentiation increase in synaptic strength following repeated high frequency stimulation o Develops rapidly associated with memory parts of the brain o GLUTAMATE ESSENTIAL IN LTP o AMPA first then NDMA second two glutamate receptors Long Term Depression decrease in the strength of a synapse that occurs when an axon of a neuron is active while the postsynaptic neuron is NOT depolarized Long term memory o Declarative memory Explicit learning that results in memories of facts people and events that a person can verbalize or declare o Nondeclarative memory implicit Memories for behaviors that a person cannot verbalize or declare Consolidation Process by which brain forms a physical representation of a memory storing Retrieval Process of accessing stored memories remembering Mechanisims o Increased activation of hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus Activity levels predict later remembering o NMDA Glutamate Receptors in hippocampus Antagonist o Prefrontal Cortex Activated during effortful attempts at o Amygdala Enhances hippocampal activity in emotional impairs memory retrieval memories Working Memory temporary register for information while it is being used o Temporarily stored in hippocampus Types of Memory loss o Retrograde amnesia Loss of memories from our past retro backwards o Anterograde amnesia Inability to encode new memories from our experiences antero forwards Hippocampus specific personal experiences from a particular Cortex world knowledge object knowledge language knowledge time and place conceptual priming Basal Ganglia motor and cognitive skills Sensory systems perceptual priming Cerebellum conditioned responses between two stimuli Reflex pathways habituation sensitization Hormones and Sex Sex Biological Characteristic of being male of female Gender Sociocultural characteristic of being masculine or feminine Turner Syndrome Normal female external genitalia but abnormal ovaries Infertile Normal intelligence deficits in spatial relationships and memory Klinefelter Syndrome Male with reduced fertility Requires hormone treatment at puberty to develop secondary sex characteristics and inhibit female characteristics Normal intelligence but social awkwardness delayed or reduced verbal skills XYY Subtle physical and behavioral correlates Controversial association with antisocial behavior Stages of Prenatal Development o The Development of Gonads Sex determining region of Y chromosome expressed at 6 weeks gestation Testis Determining factor protein turns primordial gonads into testes o Differentiation of Internal Organs Wolffian system develops into seminal vesicles M llerian sytem develops into uterus upper vagina and fallopian tubes Sex of a baby 18 22 weeks Gender takes longer to determine Androgen Type of steroid hormone that develops and maintains typically masculine characteristics or sexual interest Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome XY genotype functioning testes but no receptors disrupts normal development of the Wolffian system female appearance and gender identity Development of external genitalia No hormonal activity required for female genitalia 5 alpha dihydrotestosterone needed for development of male genitalia Congenital adrenal hyperplasia CAH genetic females exposed prenatally to excess androgens leads to masculinized genitalia Gonadotropin releasing hormone GnRH released by the o Follicle stimulating hormone FSH and luteinizing hormone LH have different effects in males and females Sex Hormones organized in prenatal life and activated in puberty o Synthesis Cholesterol progesterone testosterone o Regulation hypothalamus and pituitary gland o Menstrual cycles ovulation occurs 2 weeks after first day of hypothalamus Steroids estradiol period Premenstrual Syndrome PMS physical and psychological symptoms immediately prior to the onset of menstruation Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder PMDD premenstrual mood changes are unusually severe affecting daily life Postpartum Depression new mothers experience feelings of depression due to rapidly changing hormonal environment Female Sexual behavior o Sexual interest little control by hormones slightly more interest during ovulation Testosterone has greatest effect Male sexual behavior testosterone increases in anticipation of competition Increases in winners and decreases in losers Anabolic steroids synthetic versions of testosterone that build up tissue Improve recovery time after muscle injury build strength Masculinization of the brain Aromatization masculinizes brains of many animals Testosterone is transformed into estradiol producing masculinization Androgens play a greater role in the masculinization of the human brain Prenatal exposure to androgens influences adult sexual behavior 2D 4D ratio Problems with Levay s study INAH 3 is too small to observe in living