PSY 2012 Exam 2 Study Guide Biopsychology Neurons nerve cells specialized for communication the body s information system environment Nerves Collections of neurons make up nerves and nerves respond to stimuli Action Potential Action potential is a nerve impulse It s a brief electrical charge that travels down axon to its terminal branches It has an all or nothing response neuron either fires or it doesn t and the intensity stays the same throughout the length of the axon Axon A long extension of a neuron tail which is covered in myelin sheath to insulate and speed up messages through neurons Its job is to send signals Dendrite Branchlike extensions that receive information from other neurons Terminal Buttons branched endings of an axon that transmit messages to the other neurons Synaptic Cleft Synapse The gap at end of a terminal button into which neurotransmitters are released from the axon terminal Myelin Sheath fatty tissues that encase the fibers of many neurons enables faster transmission speed of impulses Cell Body the life support of the neuron Intensity action potential remains the same throughout the length of the axon Parasympathetic Nervous System division of autonomic nervous system lowers levels of arousal calming Sympathetic Nervous System division of the autonomic nervous system arousal Central Nervous System The CNS contains the brain and the spinal cord that controls the mind and behavior Peripheral Nervous System sensory and motor neurons that connect to the rest of the body Somatic System part of the nervous system that conveys information between the CNS and the body controlling and coordinating voluntary movement Autonomic System part of the nervous c system that controls the involuntary actions of our internal organs and glands which participate in emotion regulation Limbic System the emotional center of the brain plays a key role in smell motivation and memory Contains the thalamus hypothalamus amygdala and hippocampus Neurotransmitters chemical messengers specialized for communication from neuron to neuron All or None Response a neuron fires or it doesn t Lesion damage to body tissue Thalamus conveys sensory information to the cortex Corpus Callosum a large band of fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres and permits them to communicate Hypothalamus oversees the endocrine and autonomic nervous system Amygdala part of the limbic system that plays key roles in fear excitement and Hippocampus plays a role in spatial memory Cerebellum the brain structure responsible for our sense of balance Medulla part of the brain stem involved in basic functions such as heartbeat and Lateralization is the cognitive function that relies more on one side of the brain arousal breathing than the other Motor Cortex the part of the frontal lobe responsible for body movement Sensory Cortex area of the brain that receives messages from a sense organ Think about brain lesions Know that lesions occurring in different brain areas are going to have different impacts on behavior Can you recover from brain lesions or injuries Does it matter how old you are when this happens Think about brain plasticity and recovery Recovery from brain lesions is possible The younger the damage occurs the better the chance of recovery Ability to recover from brain injury decreases with age Brain does have the potential to reform neural connections neural plasticity Some specialization in hemispheres will be impacted left side language Know all the parts of the neuron and the process by which the action potential travels through the neuron Understand the process by which neurons communicate with one another Know approximately how many neurons are in the brain Dendrites cell body axon myelin sheath around axon terminal branches Impulse direction from dendrites to terminal branches 40 100 billion neurons in the brain Know the relationship between brain size and complexity Does a bigger brain mean a smarter brain Think of this in terms of human human brain differences and human other species brain differences Brain size does not equate to intelligence The ration of forebrain to total brain size larger ration means higher intelligence Example human brain vs elephant brain Know the four lobes of the cerebral cortex and some of the most important functions that occur within each respective lobe Understand what injury or disease does within each of these regions and how it alters or diminishes specific functions within each lobe 1 Occipital Lobes 2 Parietal Lobes a Hindbrain visual processing b Reading and vision a Spatial awareness b Sense of touch and appreciation of form c Compresses multiple sensory inputs d Special manipulation of objects maps a Important for memory emotion language some hearing b Projects from ear to frontal lobe c Memory and fear d Object recognition projects to parietal lobe to understand 3 Temporal Lobes where 4 Frontal Lobes e Damage affects language impacts object recognition a Higher functioning especially planning and inhibitions b Last to fully develop often expressed as risky behavior in YA c Complex and abstract ideas creative thoughts d Ability to inhibit responses to stimuli self control and see long term consequences planning attention e ADHD f Frontal lobes under stimulated difficulty in activating inhibitions g Create external simulation hyperactivity h Medications are stimulants internally stimulates the brain and allows users to engage in inhibition process Know the two divisions of the nervous system and all of the subdivisions of the peripheral nervous system and the roles of each one of the subdivisions 1 Central Nervous System a The brain and spinal chord a The sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the 2 Peripheral Nervous System b Somatic System c Autonomic System body i Controls volitional portion of movements i Controls involuntary processes heartbeat digestion etc ii Sympathetic Nervous System 1 Responds to heightened states of arousal 2 Dilates pupils faster heartbeat increased release of epinephrine iii Parasympathetic Nervous System 1 Conserves energy and lowers your levels of arousal 2 Calming contracts pupils slows heart rate stimulates digestion Understand the evolutionary development of the brain and the increase in complexity from the hindbrain midbrain and to the forebrain 1 Increased development in the forebrain 2 Increased complexity moving from hindbrain to forebrain 3 Forebrain controls higher order thinking associated
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