Psychology Terms

An Agonist mimics a neurotransmitter and causes similar effects

An Antagonist blocks the receptor cite of a neuron, preventing the detection of a neurotransmitter

ACh is involved in muscle action, learning and memory

• Serotonin is involved in mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal
• Low levels are linked to depression
• Serotonin pathways in the brain

• Dopamine is involved in movement, learning, attention, and emotion
• Pleasure
• Excess can lead to hallucinations
• Linked to Schizophrenia

• Norepinaphrine helps control alertness arousal
• Fight or Flight response
• Hormone comes adrenal glands

• Gamma-aminobutyric acid
• A major inhibitory neurotransmitter

• Excitatory neurotransmitter
• Involved in memory

Dendrites, Cell Body, Axon and Myelin Sheeth, Axon Terminals

Cortex, Limbic System, Brain Stem

Dendrites detect neurotransmitters and initiate the action potential

The action potential has traveled all the way down the axon and a neurotransmitter is secreted into the synapse

• Positive ions enter the neuron
• The neuron is more likely to fire an action potential

• Negative ions enter the neuron
• The neuron is less likely to fire and action potential

• Brain and Spinal Chord
• Interneurons 

• Sensory Neurons: carry sensory information to the brain
• Motor Neurons: carry instructions to muscles and glands

Glial cells provide nutrition to neurons and make up the Myelin sheeth

• Somatic: Controls skeletal muscles; uses thought
• Autonomic: Controls glands and automatic processes (e.g. Sympathetic and Parasympathetic)

• Sympathetic: arousal (fight or flight response)
• Parasympathetic: calming

Reflexes happen when sensory neurons detect a harmful stimulus and the spinal chord intersects the signal and directs motor neurons to take action.

• Hormonal communication system of the body
• slow

• Electrochemical communication system of the body
• Fast

• The Pituitary is called the "Master Gland". It directs other glands
• Located in the Brain

Regulates metabolism

• Secretes Epinephrin and Norepinephrin
• On pancreas
• Regulate salt and carbohydrate metabolism during stress.

• Secrete sex hormones
• Regulate growth and developement
• Male: testes. Secret testosterone
• Female: ovaries. Secrete estrogen

• Measures brain waves on the cortex
• Function

• How radioactive glucose is being used by the brain
• Function

Shows the structure of the brain a magnetic field

• Heartbeat and breathing
• base of Brain Stem

• Controls arousal
• Damage = coma and death
• Nerve network in brain stem

• Directs messages to the correct regions of the brain
• Sits on top of brain stem

• "Little Brain" located at the base of the brain
• Coordination and Balance

• In Limbic system
• Amplify anger and fear

• Located under the Thalamus in the Limbic system
• Eating, drinking, body temperature, and emotion
• Helps govern the Endocrine System

• Frontal (forehead) Thinking and Reasoning
• Parietal (crown) Sensory
• Temporal (side) Hearing
• Occipital (back) Vision

The black of the frontal lobe

The front of the parietal lobe

• Brocca's area is in the left frontal lobe and allows us to use muscles to speak.
• Aphasia: broken speech or unable to talk

• Wernicke's Area is located in the left parietal lobe and is responsible for understanding speech.
• Aphasia: unable to understand language.

The brain's ability to modify itself

• Left Brain: Logical thinking. Skills
• Right Brain: Artistic. Insight.

When the Corpus Colosum is severed objects seen in the left visual field can be drawn with the left hand. Objects seen in the right visual field can be names out loud.

• How we experience sensations
• Selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory information into meaningful units 

Seeing the same object from different perspectives but only being able to see one perspective at a time

• When we fail to see a stimulus that is right in front of us
• Gorilla in the basketball game

• When we fail to notice change
• Not noticing the person we are now talking to is not the person we were originally talking to

• A Binocular Cue
• Each eye sees a slightly different image, creating a 3D effect
• "Finger Sausage"

• Binocular cue
• The more the eyes come together, the closer we perceive the object to be

• Monocular cue
• An object that takes up more space on the retina is perceived to be closer to us than something that takes up less space, assuming both objects are the same size.

• Monocular cue
• Objects that appear to block others are perceived as being closer to us.

• Monocular cue
• Objects that are hazy appear to be farther away

• Monocular cue
• Textures that are finer signal objects that are farther away

• Monocular cue
• Objects that are higher in our visual field are perceived as being farther away

• Monocular cue
• Objects closer to a fixation point move faster and in opposing directions to those objects that are farther away from a fixation point, moving slower and in the same direction.

• Monocular cue
• Parallel lines appear to converge into a single point. The more they converge, the farther away they are.

• Monocular cue
• Closer objects reflect more light than those farther away.

• As objects come closer, they appear to grow larger
• Motion

When lights flash one after another, they appear to be moving

Even though the object looks as if it is changing shape, we perceive it as being unchanging

We believe that size of an object does not change even though an object appears smaller

In a 2D picture, an object that is higher up will be perceived as larger even when the objects are the same size

• They would be able to utilize distance cues, indicating that distance dues are nature
• They would have a hard time telling shapes apart, indicating that is nurture

You would have difficulty perceiving horizontal lines

The ability to adapt to changed perception

It has to do with designing things so they are easier for people to use.

• Clairvoyance: "seeing" events happen
• Telepathy: mind to mind communication
• Precognition: seeing into the futur

Concepts that organize and interpret unfarmiliar information