Bio 103 - Midterm Study Guide (PT. 2)

Everything psychological is simultaneously. . .

Biological psychologists study the links between our behaviors and our biology.

[blank_start]Neurons[blank_end] are nerve cells; the basic building blocks of the nervous system.

What are neuron extensions that pass messages through their branches?

What are a neuron's often bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body?

Action potential is a dendrite activation, a long electrical charge that travels upwards to the brain. Ions are not exchanged.

The absolute threshold is the smallest level of stimulus that can be detected, usually defined as at least half the time.

The [blank_start]synaptic gap[blank_end] is the tiny gap at the junction of a synapse on the synaptic cleft.

What is a neurotransmitter and what is its function?

Acetylcholine (Ach) play a role in action and skill; it is a messenger between motor neurons and skeletal muscles.

Endorphins are naturally occurring opiates produced in the brain.

The [blank_start]Central Nervous System[blank_end] (CNS) includes the brain--neural networks, neuron work groups clusters--and the spinal cord. It is a two-way system of ascending and descending neural fibers and reflexes: spinal reflex and pathway and pain reflex. The [blank_start]Peripheral Nervous System[blank_end] (PNS) involves sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body; it has a somatic system and an autonomic system.

The PNS consists of the autonomic and somatic nervous system. What are these?

What nervous system arouses and expends energy by putting the body into "fight or flight" mode?

Which nervous system calms the body by causing it to go into "rest and digest" mode?

The [blank_start]endocrine system[blank_end] is the slow chemical communication system; a set of glands that secret hormones into the bloodstream.

What is the oldest region of the brain? What is the little brain?

The brainstem is the oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; it is responsible for automatic survival functions.

The cerebellum is considered the oldest region of the brain, and is at the brainstem rear; it processes sensory input, coordinates voluntary muscle movement output and balance, and enables nonverbal learning and memory.

What are hormones?

What are the 4 lobes of the cerebral cortex?

Where are the 4 lobes of the cerebral cortex located?

What are the functions of the Frontal and Parietal lobes?

What are the functions of the occipital and temporal lobes?

[blank_start]Plasticity[blank_end] is the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience.

The corpus callosum is a large band of neural fibers that connects the two brain hemispheres. The [blank_start]left[blank_end] hemisphere gives rational goal-related orders (math tasks, language control, quick, literal interpretations); the [blank_start]right[blank_end] hemisphere gives conflicting demands (increased activity with perceptual tasks, modulates speech, allows for making inferences, organizes self-awareness).

Memory is the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.

What is the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system?

What is the activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while calling, before the information is stored or forgotten?

What is the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system; which includes knowledge, skills, and experiences?

The two types of sensory memory are [blank_start]iconic[blank_end]--picture image memory of visual stimuli lasting no more than a tenth of a second; and [blank_start]echoic[blank_end]--sound memory of auditory stimuli that can be recalled for 3 - 4 seconds.

What is the process of getting information into the memory system?

What is the process of retaining encoded information over time?

What is the process of getting information out of memory storage?

What is automatic processing? What part of the brain processes it?

What is effortful processing? What part of the brain processes it?

Using the SQ3R method is a good way to enhance your memory.

[blank_start]Anterograde[blank_end] amnesia is the inability to form new memories. [blank_start]Retrograde[blank_end] amnesia is the inability to retrieve information from one's past.

Filtering, altering, losing memory (encoding failure, storage decay, retrieval failure, retroactive interference, motivated forgetting, memory construction errors, misinformation, and imagination effects) ONLY happen to older people.

What is declarative memory? How is it encoded, and what part of the brain is it associated with?

What is nondeclarative memory? How is it encoded, and what part of the brain is it associated with?