University High School
AP Psychology
Unit 1 Review
What is Psychology?
➢ The study of scientific behavior and mental processes
➢ Roots of Psychology primarily in physiology and philosophy
Physiology
➢ The study of the biological workings of the body
o Hippocrates’ Humours:
▪ Balance among humours=health, imbalance=effects on personality and health
▪ Relevant ideas of Hippocrates: homeostasis, diet, and exercise
o Phrenology:
▪ 19th century science that predicted personality based on bumps and fissures in the skull
▪ Relevant ideas of Phrenology: localization of brain function
Philosophy
➢ The use of logic and speculation to understand the nature of reality, experience and values
o Rene Descartes:
▪ Dualism: distinction between mind and body
o John Locke:
▪ Tabula rasa: the person you are today is because of things that have happened to you
The Dawn of Psychology
➢ William Wundt:
o Wundt set up first psychology lab and more interested in mental processes than behavior, and founder of structionalism.
➢ Structionalism:
o The psychology of the “is.” Viewed psyche as a complex set of related parts. Primary research tool of structuralists is introspection.
o Introspection:
▪ “looking within.” Thinking about of mental processes and then reporting them.
➢ Functionalism:
o The psychology of the “is for.” Difficulties with structuralism led to functionalism
o William James:
▪ James sought to understand the way in which the mind helps people function or adapt
➢ Gestalt Psychology:
o Focused on the whole being more than the sum of its parts.
▪ Perceptual units: A whole formed from individual parts
Psychodynamic Psychology (Psychoanalysis)
➢ Sigmund Freud—Viennese physician focused on neurology
o push/pull of conscious/unconscious
➢ Primary Notion: Mind is NOT a unitary construct -- separate components of mind (unconscious)
o Unconscious: outside of awareness, doesn’t come to consciousness by will
▪ Freud believed that many urges are sexual/aggressive
▪ Urges=unacceptable at conscious level; so we banish them to the unconscious
➢ Psychodynamic view of behavior:
o Push/Pull between conscious/unconscious
▪ Compulsive hand washing= dirt of unconscious desire
Frustrations of the Unseen
➢ Problems with early approaches
o Concerned with inner workings of the mind
▪ Difficult to study- especially with limited technologies of the time
Behaviorism
➢ School of Psychology focused on Stimulus & Response Relationship (cause & effect)
▪ 1930-1950
▪ Emphasis on observable behavior
▪ Easier to study than mental processes
o Ivan Pavlov
o BF Skinner
o John Watson
➢ Extreme behaviorists: mental processes don’t even exist
➢ Learning operates on principles of:
o Reinforcement and Punishment
➢ Problems with behaviorism?
o Self wants/desires drive emotions
▪ People do stuff because they want, not because they register it with something
Humanistic Psychology
➢ Growth potential of healthy people
➢ Love, belonging, acceptance
o Carl Rogers
o Abraham Maslow
Cognitive Psychology
➢ Cognitive Revolution
o Computers: technological development that provided a new analogy for the mind
▪ Brain= hardware
▪ Mental processes= software
➢ Cognitive Psychology: information processing approach; characterize how information is stored and operated internally
o Memory, language, etc.
The Great Debate
➢ Nature vs. Nurture
o Relative contributions that genes and experiences make the development of psychological traits and behaviors
3 Levels of Analysis in Psychology
1) Biological Influence—genetic predispositions, genetic mutations, natural selection, genes responding to the environment
2) Psychological Influence—learned fears, emotional responses, cognitive processing, perceptual interpretations, learned expectations
3) Social-Cultural Influence—presence of others, peer/group influences, cultural/societal/familial expectations, compelling models (media)
Biopsychosocial Approach—integrates the 3 levels of analysis to explain psychology
Kinds of Psychologies
• Basic vs. Applied Research
UNIT 1
• Hindsight Bias = After learning an outcome, the tendency to believe that you would have foreseen it; “I knew it all along…”
• Psychology = Study of what people do (behavior) and what people think (mental processes)
o Physiology = Study of physical workings of body and brain
▪ Hippocrates’ 4 humors (=fluids of body critical to health and well being; blood, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm)
• 4 in balance = health; imbalance = affected personality and health
▪ Phrenology = “Science” that predicted personality based on bumps and fissures of skull
• Assumption that brain size proportional to ability; certain bump reflects certain characteristic
o Philosophy = Use of logic and speculation (not scientific research, therefore not necessarily true) to understand the nature of reality, experience, and values
▪ Rene Descartes
• Dualism = Idea that mind and body are separate
▪ John Locke
• Tabula rasa = new born is blank slate, come in to world with nothing; person completely based on environment
• Structuralism (1st formal psych movement) = “psych is..”; identify what mental processes ARE; Idea that psyche is a complex set of related parts, like puzzle
o Wilhelm Wundt – wanted to identify psyche
▪ Set up 1st psych lab (Germany)
▪ 1st father of psychology
▪ Founder of Structuralism
• Introspection = primary research tool
• Think about mental processes then report them
• Functionalism = “psych is for…”; wanted to understand how psyche works/how it works
o William James – understand how psyche functions
▪ 2nd father of psych
▪ Founder of Functionalism
• Gestalt Psychology = Idea that brain groups things in bigger pictures; based on idea of pragnanz = concise
o Perceptual units = whole formed by the small parts, easier to deal with; ie flock of birds
• Psychodynamic Psychology = Push-pull interactions of conscious/unconscious forces
o Sigmund Freud
o Mind not a unitary construct; separate components, some conscious and other unconscious
▪ Unconscious = not able to be brought to consciousness by will
• Full of biological/natural/primal instincts: sex and anger
• BUT cannot fulfill urges b/c not socially acceptable
▪ Behavior = product of push pull between unconscious desires vs. trying to be appropriate for the day-to-day
← Early approaches /\ : difficult to study (no technology, cannot explain all mind does), created frustration therefore \/
• Behaviorism = stimulus-response relationship; ie (Pavlov) ring a bell causes drooling
▪ Behavior = cumulative response to stimuli
o Pavlov, Skinner, Watson
o Extremists: argued mental processes did not exist, “computerized”
o Impact on principles of reinforcement and punishment (both stimuli, good or bad, that bring out a response in people)
• Humanistic Psychology
o Maslow
o Emphasized growth potential of healthy people
▪ Peak potential of people? Being best you can be, you’ll be happy
• Cognitive Psychology = Attempts to characterize how information is stored and operated internally
o Cognitive Revolution -> computer analogy
▪ Brain = Hardware
▪ Mental Processes = Software
• NATURE (heredity/genes) VS. NURTURE (tabula rasa/environment)
o 3 levels of explanation in psych:
▪ Biological influences
• Wundt
▪ Psychological influences
▪ Social-cultural influences
o Biopsychosocial approach = integrates all 3 levels to explain the psychology more fully
• Psychologists do..?
o Research
▪ Basic = aims to increase knowledge and understand more the mind
▪ Applied = Aims to solve practical problems
o Professional Services
▪ Clinical psychologists = Studies, asses and treats people with psychological disorders using talking
▪ Psychiatrists = Treats disorders using therapy and often medication
▪ Counseling psychology = Helps people deal with daily life problems (marriage, work…)
Unit 1: History & Approaches
Psychology: scientific study of behavior & mental processes
• Behavior-what people do
• Mental processes- what people think
Roots of Psychology
Physiology- study of the biological workings of the body(including the brain)
• Phrenology- “science” that predicted personality based on bumps & fissures in the skull , assumptions of brain specialization , size of brain region proportional to ability, skull adapted to shape of brain
Ideas that are still releavant: localization, brain function, brain region size
• Hippocrates- Hippocrates’ 4 Humours-4 liquids in body, if they’re balanced then you’re healthy, blood,black bile, yellow bile, phlegm
Was correct that Imbalance(diet ,activity) =effects on personality & health
Ideas that are still relative: homeostasis, diet & exercise
Philosophy- the use of logic & speculation to understand the nature of reality, experience & values
• Rene Descartes- dualism: distinction between mind and body
Relevance today: Realized 2 are more connected, although separate entities, mind effects how body acts (philosophy)
• John Locke- “tabula rasa” or blank slate, you’re born with nothing and who you become is from your experiences
Relevance today: Empiricism-knowledge comes from experience, scientific testing, observation/experiment (philosophy)
The 2 Father’s of Psychology
Wundt- set up 1st psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany; interested in mental processes more than behavior; founder of structuralism
William James- other father of psychology (along w/ Wundt); sought to understand ways mind helps people “function” or adapt to the world(Functionalism
Development of Psychology
Structuralism-
a. Psychology complex set of related parts, Wundt, interested in structures of mind with different functions
b. A certain area in the brain triggers emotions.
c. First formal movement in psychology
d. What are the mental processes & how do they operate? How do you do something in your mind?
e. Introspection: primary research tool of structuralism; means looking within; thinking about our mental processes & then reporting them (NOT every mental process is available to us)
Functionalism
a. James, sought to understand the ways the mind helps people to function or adapt to the world. Why do humans think, feel, and behave like they do?
b. influenced by Darwin
c. groundwork for psychological research on animals
d. Pragnanz- German for “conciseness”: we organize our experiences in ways that are regular, ordinary, symmetric, and simple
Gestalt Psychology
a. Whole is more than the sum of its parts, based on Pragnanz, German for “conciseness”. We organize experiences in ways that are regular, ordinary, symmetric and simple.
b. Our brain puts information into perceptual units
c. Pragnanz- German for “conciseness”-we organize our experiences in ways that are regular, ordinary, symmetric, and simple ex) illusions
d. Categorize thoughts into simple emotions-happy/sad/angry. Lots of parts come together from how you feel, results in how you act
Psychodynamic Psychology
a. Freud focused on neurology, push & pull interaction of conscious & unconscious forces which result in our behavior, many unconscious urges are sexual and/or aggressive
b. People don’t have emotions; they have urges which are suppressed and then result in behaviors. Consciously express something other than unconscious emotions. Unconscious trying to go out.
Behaviorism
a. Stimulus response: cause & effect, observable behavior, reinforcement and punishment
b. NO emotions because no mental processes. Ex. Liking dogs is unobservable mental process the dog is a stimulus which we respond to with our behavior such as petting. OR don’t care
c. Formative research on learning, using principles of reinforcement and punishment
d. Humanistic Psychology and Cognitive Psychology are responses to Behaviorism
e. Pavlov, Skinner, Watson
Humanistic Psychology
a. Emphasized growth potential of healthy people, good/peak potential of people?
b. Love, belongingness, acceptance needs
c. Emotions how you get to be self-actualized.
Cognitive Psychology
a. characterizes how info is stored and operated on internally, thinking(memory, language, etc)
b. Emotions, how we think about it.
Contemporary Psychology
a. 3 levels of analysis: differing complementary views for analyzing any given phenomenon-Biological, psychological, and social-cultural influences
b. biopsychosocial approach: integrate all three levels of analysis to explain psychology more fully
What do Psychologists do?
1. Research
-Basic: aims to increase knowledge and understanding of the mind
-Applied: aims to solve practical problems
2. Professional Services
-Clinical psychology: studies ands treats people with psychological disorders and uses psychological therapy techniques
-Psychiatry: treats disorders using therapy and medication
-Counseling psychology: helps people deal with daily life problems (marriage, work, school)
Book Terms
• Empiricism-view that knowledge comes from experience via the senses and science flourishes through observation and experiment.
• Neuroscience-how the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences
• Evolutionary-How the natural selection of traits promotes the perpetuation of ones genes
• Behavior genetics-How much our genes and our environment influence our individual differences
• Psychodynamic-how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts
• Behavioral-How we learn observable responses
• Cognitive-How we encode, process, store, and retrieve info
• Social Cultural-How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures
Unit 2 Research Methods
The Scientific Method-A 5 step approach to science
1. Identify a problem
2. Form a hypothesis about the relationship between variables
3. Test the hypothesis by collecting data using operational definitions-a definition of a variable that specifies how it is measured or manipulated
4. Formulate a theory-set of principles that explain a set of observations
5. Test the theory by generating a new hypothesis.
There are 3 major types of research
Descriptive Research
This characterizes the who, what, when, where, and how of a certain population
There are 3 types of Descriptive research
Case Study
A research technique in which one person is studied in depth
This is typically used to examine exceptional or rare cases
Pros
Allows for a detailed understanding of the individual
Can suggest ideas for future research
Cons
The individual will not be representative of the general population
Surveys
A set of questions, typically about beliefs, attitudes, preferences, or behavior
This draws conclusions about a population based upon a sample
Pros
Cheap and easy to get done quickly
Cons
People lie and you may get a lot of biased responses
Naturalistic Observations
Watching and recording the behavior of organisms in their natural environment
Pros
Observation of behavior in natural settings (no artificial influences)
Cons
Difficult to be truly obtrusive and not noticeable while observing
There are ethical concerns with this
Correlation Research
Correlation-a measure of how closely related two variables are
2 correlated variables are predictive of each other, a change in one variable
predicts a change in the other
Correlation Coefficient (r)-statistic that measures correlation. Ranges from -1—1
There are two key components, direction and size.
Direction is positive or negative, size is the number
No matter the sign of the number, the bigger the number is the more correlation.
A positive correlation means an increase in one variable predicts an increase in the other
A negative correlation means an increase in one variable predicts a decrease in the other
Pros
Demonstrates a correlation of variables
Easy to do, low cost
Good when a variable can’t be manipulated
Cons
Correlation does not imply causation
Third variable problem-is there a 3rd variable influencing the other two?
Sometimes they appear related when they aren’t
Experimental Research
Designed to determine the causal relationship between two or more variables
Predictive and explanatory
Independent Variable-The aspect of the experiment that is manipulated
The variable whose effect is being studied
Dependent Variable-The aspect of the situation that is being measured, the outcome
This depends on the manipulations of the IV
3 Steps to Experimental Research
1. Form a hypothesis about the causal relationship between the variables
2. Manipulate the IV, creating 2 or more groups
Control Condition-Group that serves as the comparison to the experimental one
3. Measure the DV in all conditions and compare the results
It is very important that the different groups are treated identically
Confound – A variable that varies, besides the ones in interest
To make experiments work you need to have random assignment
Random Assignment – Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, minimizes preexisting differences.
Experiments should strive to be reliable and bias-free.
Reliability – The consistency of results in repeated experiments.
Validity – The extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure.
Internal validity – The extent to which a study is methodologically accurate.
External validity – The extent to which the findings of a study can be generalized to situations outside the laboratory.
Response bias – A tendency to respond in a particular way regardless of the respondent's actual knowledge or beliefs (the question influences the answer).
Sampling bias – Occurs when participants are not chosen randomly.
Demand characteristics – Effects that occur when a researcher's expectations lead him (consciously or unconsciously) to treat participants in a way that encourages them to produce the expected results.
Double-blind experiment – The solution to the demand characteristics problem. The participant is “blind” to the predictions of the study and the experimenter is “blind” to the condition assigned to the participant. So, in a medical experiment, neither the doctor nor the patient would know if the patient was given the placebo or the real medicine.
Statistics – Numbers that summarize or indicate differences or patterns of differences in measurements. In psychology, statistics generally describe central tendencies and variabilities.
Descriptive statistics – a concise way of summarizing properties of sets of numbers (they describe things!)
Standard deviation – the average variability in a set of measurements.
Inferential statistics – the results of tests which indicate whether differences or patterns in measurements reveal true differences or just chance variations.
Statistical significance – A statistical statement of how likely an obtained result occurred by chance.
Meta-analysis – analyzing analyses. Essentially taking many studies and analyzing their results to come up with one “big picture” result.
Unit 3-Biological Bases of Behavior
Biopsychology/Neuroscience-studies the link between biology and behaviors, mental processes
-NEURON-[pic]
Nerve Cell, basic building of nervous system.
Glial Cell- cells that fills the gaps, aids communication, helps and upkeeps in between neurons.
Cell Body(soma)- central part of the neuron, contains nucleus, regulates cell functioning
Dendrites- branching parts of neuron that receive messages from other neurons and relay them to cell body
Axon- long, cable-like extension that relays messages to other neurons
Myelin Sheath- layer of fatty tissue that insulates axon and speeds up message transaction
Terminal Buttons- releases chemicals into space between neurons
*Multiple sclerosis- deterioration of myelin leads to slowed communication with muscles & impaired sensation in limbs
3 types of neurons-
1) Sensory neurons-respond to input from sensory organs
2) Motor neurons-send signals to muscles to control movement
3) Interneuron-connects the sensory neurons and motor neurons
3. functions of neurons-
1) Receives signals from other neurons or sensory organs
2) Processes signals
3) Sends signals to other neurons, muscles, or bodily organs
How a Neuron Works.
Resting Potential-negative charge maintained within neurons that are at rest: sodium (NA+) builds up outside neuron, potassium (K-) build up inside neuron.
Messages come in 2 forms-excitatory or inhibitory.
Threshold-the level of stiumulation required to trigger a neural impulse: (“All or none law”)
-SYNAPTIC CLEFT-
The gap between axon and dendrite cell body across which neural transmission occurs.
[pic]
Neurotransmitter-a chemical that send signals from one neuron to another over synaptic cleft
Vescicles-bind to Receptors on cell membrane of next neuron ***each receptor can only bind with one kinds of neurotransmitter***
Reuptake-reabsorbing the remaining neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft back into vesicles
|6 Important Neurotransmitters |
|Acetylcholine |Voluntary muscle movement, learning & memory |Deficits( Alzheimer’s |
|Dopamine |Influences movement, learning, attention & emotion |Deficits(Parkinson’s |
| | |Surplus(Schizophrenia |
|Serotonin |Affects mood, hunger, sleep, arousal |Deficits(Depression |
|Norepinephrine |Helps control alertness & arousal, “fight or flight” |Deficits(Depression |
|GABA |Inhibitory Neurotransmitter | |
|Glutamate |Excitatory Neurotransmitter | |
Neurotransmitters at Work
SSRIs- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; used to treat depression
Endorphins- released in response to pain
2 classes of drugs/chemicals that influence neurotransmission-
1) Agonists-excites: mimics neurotransmitters effects due to similar structure (morphines and endorphins), or may block reuptake(SSRI)
2) Antagonists-inhibits: may be similar enough to occupy receptor (curare), or to prevent release of neurotransmitter(botox)
The Nervous System
[pic]
Central Nervous System-
Spinal Cord-bundle of neural fibers that connects the brain to rest of body
Reflex-an automatic response to sensory stimulus
Peripheral Nervous System-
Skeletal/Somatic nervous system-allows for voluntary control of skeletal muscles
Autonomic nervous system-controls many of the self-regulatory functions of the body
Sympathtic nervous system: excites bodily functioning *norepinephrine
Parasympathetic nervous system: counteracts the sympathetic nervous system
Endocrine System
Hormones- chemical messengers that are created by one organ and affect another via
bloodstream
Pituitary Gland- most influential gland in the endocrine system; tiny structure in interior of
brain, controlled by hypothalamus, that regulates bodily growth and releases hormones
that regulate other endocrine glands
Mapping Brain Functions
* How do we know that different parts of the brain are responsible for different functions?
- By studying brain damage patients such as Phineas Gage OR…
|EEG (function) |An amplified recording of the pulses of electrical |Pros: high temporal (time) |Cons: low spatial resolution |
| |activity that sweep across the brain’s surface |resolution; non-invasive | |
|CT/CAT Scan |Produces 3D image of brain structure using x-rays |Pros: allows direct view of level |Cons: potential for damage due to |
|(structure) | |of interest; high-contrast spatial |high levels of radiation |
| | |resolution | |
|PET scan (f) |Technique that uses small amounts of radioactive |Pros: allows view of brain |Cons: radiation exposure; lengthy |
| |glucose to track energy consumption in the brain |functioning in each part of the |process; expensive equipment |
| | |brain |required. |
|MRI (s) | Uses magnetic properties of atoms to take sharp |Pros: non-invasive; high spatial |Cons: can be uncomfortable |
| |photos of the structure of the brain (and other soft |resolution; quick process | |
| |tissue) | | |
|fMRI (f) |Detects amount of blood flow in different regions of |Pros: same as above |Cons: same as above; does not |
| |the brain | |describe brain function at rest |
The Brain
[pic]
* The human brain is comprised of “older” and “newer” parts (relative to evolution)
Older- lower level structures (physically and functionally), responsible for basic survival
mechanisms
Newer- higher level structures, responsible for more advanced human faculties
3 Regions of the Brain
1) Hindbrain: “older” brain region comprised of brainstem & cerebellum
- Life-sustaining, bodily processes
2) Midbrain: Thalamus
- Aids communication between hindbrain & forebrain
3) Forebrain: “newer” brain region comprised of limbic system & cerebrum
- Emotion, personality, decision-making, moral judgments, etc
Brainstem & Thalamus-
Medulla- connects spinal cord with brain-controls heartbeat, breathing, swallowing
Reticular formation- regulates alertness and autonomic nervous system activity
Pons- bridge from brainstem to cerebellum-controls sleep, coordination of motor movements, posture, and control of facial muscles
Thalamus- brain’s sensory switchboard-receives signals from sensory neurons, and higher brain structures.
Cerebellum-
Physical movement, posture, balance; Integration of sensory information, and contributes to estimating time and paying attention ***cerebellum and other lower level brain structures occur without conscious effects***
The Limbic System-
Emotion & Motivation
Amygdala- Anger and Fear
Hypothalamus- motivation; regulation of body’s temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate; controls pituitary gland and hormone production
Hippocampus- triggers processes that store memories
The rest of the brain-
Cerebral Cortex- higher level mental processes
Cerebral Hemispheres- controls opposites sides of the body
Association Areas- areas of cerebral cortex not directly involved in motor control, sensory processing.
Sulcus- a crease in the brain
Gyrus- a bulge between sulci in the cerebral cortex
Lobes- regions in the brain
Frontal Lobe- behind the forehead
Motor Cortex- backmost gyrus of frontal lobe, controls fine movements
Parietal Lobe- center rear of the head
Sensory Cortex- foremost gyrus of parietal lobe, registers sensation of the body
Temporal Lobe- under the temples, in front of ears: process sounds, comprehending language
Occipital Lobe- located in the back of the brain-vision
Divided Brain-
Corpus Callosum- a large band of neural fibers that transmits messages between hemispheres:
Left Hemisphere- specializes in written language, spoken language, and reasoning
Right Hemisphere- specializes in insight, art awareness, imagination/creativity, music awareness
Split Brain Patients: people with damaged corpus callosums
Epilepsy-disease that results in large amounts of uncontrolled neuronal firing, aka seizures
Split brain and vision- information is confined to the left hemisphere
Plasticity-
The brain’s ability to modify itself
Blind- expanded sense of touch
Deaf- enhanced peripheral vision
Neuroprosthetics- developed artificial aids for impaired nervous systems, relied on plasticity to incorporate devices
Handedness-
Language- Right-handers 95% process language in left hemisphere
Left-handers -50% left hemisphere, 25% right, 25% evenly split
Unit 3: Biological Bases of Behavior
Study Unit 3 Terms with Online Flashcards Here:
• Biological Psychology: Studies the link between biology, behaviors, and mental processes
• The Neuron
o Neuron: A nerve cell that constitutes the basic unit of the nervous system
▪ Types of Neurons:
• Sensory Neurons: Respond to input from sensory organs
• Motor Neurons: Send signals to muscles to control movement
• Interneurons: Connect the sensory neurons and motor neurons
▪ Neuron Structure:
• Glial Cells: Cells that fill the gaps between neurons
• Dendrites: The branching parts of the neuron that receives messages from other neurons
• Cell Body: Also known as the Soma, the central part of the neuron
• Nucleus: The “brain” of the neuron that regulates cell functioning
• Axon: The long extension that delivers messages to other neurons
• Myelin Sheath: The layer of fatty tissue that insulates the axon and speeds up message transmissions
• Schwann Cells: The segments of myelin sheath that run down the axon
• Nodes of Ranvier: The gaps between schwann cells along the axon
• Axon Terminal Button: Structure at the end of an axon’s branches that releases chemicals into the space between neurons
▪ Neuron Functions:
• Receive signals from other neurons or sensory organs
• Process signals
• Send signals to other neurons, organs, etc
▪ Neural Impulses:
• Messages to a neuron can be excitatory or inhibitory
• To send a neural impulse, a neuron must reach its threshold
o Threshold: The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
• When a neuron reaches its threshold, neurotransmitters stored in vesicles are released
o Neurotransmitters: A chemical that sends signals from one neuron to another
o Vesicle: Pockets within axon terminal buttons
• Neurotransmitters travel across the synaptic cleft, and bind to receptors on the cell membrane of the next neuron
o Synapetic Cleft: The gap between the axon and the dendrite across which neural transmission occurs
• Neurotransmitters that remain in the synaptic cleft are reabsorbed into vesicles through reuptake
o Reuptake: A chemical reaction that reabsorbs neurotransmitters into vesicles
• A neuron that is not sending a neural impulse is at resting potential
o Resting Potential: The negative charge maintained within neurons that are at rest
▪ Sodium ions (Na+) build up outside the neuron
▪ Potassium ions (K-) build up inside the neuron
• A neuron sending an impulse is at action potential
o Action Potential: The neural impulse
▪ The shifting change in electrical charge that moves down the axon to the terminal buttons
• Neurotransmitters
|Neurotransmitter |Function |Examples of Malfunction |
|Acetylcholine |Muscle movement |Alzheimer’s Disease |
|Dopamine |Increasing “good feeling” |Schizophrenia/Parkinson’s disease |
|Serotonin |Affects mood |Depression |
|Norepinephrine |Alertness and arousal |Depression |
|GABA |Inhibitory neurotransmitter |Seizures, tremors, insomnia |
|Glutamate |Excitatory neurotransmitter |Seizures, over stimulation of brain |
o Important Neurotransmitters:
o Low levels of Serotonin are negatively correlated with depression
▪ Depression is often treated with SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)
o Endorphins: Naturally occurring painkillers released in response to pain and exercise
▪ Literally “morphine within”
o Agonists vs Antagonists
▪ Agonists: Excite, cause function
• Mimic neurotransmitters
▪ Antagonists: inhibit, stop or forbid function
• Occupy receptors to block neurotransmitters
• The Endocrine System
o The body’s chemical communication system
o Endocrine organs secrete hormones
▪ Hormones: Chemical messengers that are created by one organ and affect another by traveling through the bloodstream
o Pituitary Gland: Tiny structure in interior of brain that releases hormones that regulate other endocrine glands
▪ Controlled by hypothalamus
• The Nervous System
o The body’s electro-chemical communication network
o Central Nervous System
▪ Contains the brain and spinal cord
• Spinal Cord: Bundle of neural fibers that connects the brain to the rest of the body
o Reflex: An automatic response to a sensory stimulus
▪ Reflex Arc: Sensory neurons detect stimulus ( send signals to interneurons in spinal cords ( send signals to motor neurons
o Peripheral Nervous System
▪ Links central nervous system to organs
• Skeletal Nervous System: Allows voluntary control of skeletal muscles
• Autonomic Nervous System: Controls many self-regulating functions of the body
o Sympathetic Nervous System: Excites bodily functioning
▪ “Fight-or-Flight” response – caused by norepinephrine
• Faster heart rate, increased breathing rate, increased blood sugar, slowed digestion, dilated pupils
o Parasympathetic Nervous System: Counteracts effects of sympathetic nervous system, calms the individual down
▪ Acts as energy conservation system
• The Brain
o 3 regions of the brain:
▪ Hindbrain
• Brain region comprised of the brainstem and the cerebellum responsible for life-sustaining, mostly automatic bodily processes
▪ Midbrain
• Brain region comprised primarily of the thalamus which aids communication between the hindbrain and forebrain
▪ Forebrain
• Brain region comprised of the limbic system and the cerebrum responsible for higher level mental faculties such as personality, decision making, moral judgments, planning, projecting self, etc
o Hindbrain
▪ Brainstem: The set of neural structures at the base of the brainstem, including the medulla, the pons, and the reticular formation
• Medulla: Spot where spinal cord slightly swells and connects with brain, controls heartbeat, breathing, and swallowing
• Pons: Bridge from brainstem to cerebellum, controls sleep
• Reticular Formation: Regulates alertness and autonomic nervous system activity
o Midbrain
▪ Thalamus: Receives signals from the sensory neurons, relays them to the appropriate parts of the brain. Also receives signals from higher brain structures and relays them to the medulla and cerebellum
▪ The Cerebellum: Area extending from rear of brainstem, coordinates physical movements, posture, and balance, integrates sensory information, and contributes to the estimation of time and paying attention
o Forebrain
▪ The Limbic System
• System of neural structures involved in the basics of emotion and motivation: fighting, fleeing, feeding, and sex
o Amygdala: A pair of structures that play a critical role in anger and fear
o Hypothalamus: Brain structure that sits under the thalamus plays a central role in eating and drinking, regulates the body’s temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate. Also controls the pituitary gland
o Hippocampus: Pair of brain structure primarily responsible for storing new experiences in memory
o The Cerebral Cortex
▪ The visible surface of the brain where most high-level mental processes occur
• Sulcus: A crease in the brain
• Gyrus: A bulge between sulci
▪ Cerebral Hemispheres: The two halves of the brain, separated by a deep fissure
• Left Brain: Written language, spoken language, number skills, analytical and reasoning skills
• Right brain: Insight, art, awareness, imagination, creativity, intuitive and perceptual skills
• Hemispheres control opposite sides of the body
• Corpus Callosum: A band of neural fibers that connect the cerebral hemispheres
o Occasionally surgically severed to treat severe epilepsy. Split brain patients…
▪ When looking through the right eye: can see and name object
• Left hemisphere: language
▪ When looking through the left eye: can see but not name object
▪ The cerebral cortex is divided into four lobes:
• The Frontal Lobe: Controls planning, memory search, reasoning, emotions, decisions, morality, personality, and finer motor control
o Motor Cortex: The backmost gyrus of the frontal lobe that controls fine movements
• Parietal Lobe: Controls attention, registers spatial location, and motor control
o Sensory Cortex: The frontmost gyrus of the parietal lobe that registers sensation on the body
• Temporal Lobe: Processes sounds, helps commit information to memory, and plays a role in comprehending language
• Occipital Lobe: Responsible for vision, and contains separate areas for shape, color, motion, etc
o Plasticity
▪ The brain’s ability to modify itself
• The brain is most plastic during childhood
▪ Neuroprosthetics: Field developed to developing artificial aids and replacements for impaired nerves (ie cochlear implant)
• Relies on brain’s plasticity
• Important people
o Phineas Gage
▪ Survived an accident in which a pole was driven completely though his head, damaging much of Gage’s frontal lobe. He retained his ability to function normally, but experienced significant personality changes, demonstrating that different portions of the brain controlled different processes and attributes
o HM
▪ Had his hippocampus removed to treat severe epileptic seizures. Following the operation, HM was unable to make new memories (anterograde amnesia), but his old memories remained. He was still able to form long-term procedural memories
• Neuroimaging Techniques
|Name |Method |Monitors |Advantages |Disadvantages |
|Electroencephalograph (EEG) |Amplifies recordings of |Brain Function |Tracks electrical activity |Doesn’t provide precise |
| |pulses of electrical | |over time; high temporal |location of electrical |
| |activity across brain’s | |resolution; non invasive |current; low spatial |
| |surface | | |resolution |
|Computer Assisted Tomography (CAT scan) |Utilizes X-rays to |Brain Structure |Direct view of level of |Potential for damage from |
| |produce 3D brain | |interest; high spatial |high levels of radiation |
| |structure | |resolution | |
|Positron Emission Tomography (PET scan) |Employs small amounts of|Brain Function |Produces an estimate of the |Radiation exposure; |
| |radioactive glucose to | |amount of glucose |expensive equipment; |
| |track energy consumption| |consumption in each part of |lengthy process |
| |in the brain | |the brain | |
|Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) |Uses the magnetic |Brain Structure |Non-invasive |Can be uncomfortable for |
| |properties of atoms to | | |recipient |
| |take pictures of the | | | |
| |brain | | | |
|Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging |Detects the amount of |Brain Function |High spatial resolution; |Can be uncomfortable for |
|(fMRI) |blood flow in different | |quick process; non-invasive |recipient |
| |regions of the brain | | | |
• Handedness
o 90% of people are right handed; 10% left handed
o Evidence that individuals are predisposed to become right-handed even before effects of culture
▪ Division of Labor Theory of Handedness
• Language and hand control both require fine motor control
o Therefore more efficient to have one hemisphere control both
BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOR
Biological Psychology: studies link between biology, behavior, and mental processes (neural science)
THE NEURON
• Neuron: unit of the nervous system, nerve cell.
Human brain has 100 billion neurons
• Glial cell: fills gaps between neurons, aids communication between neurons, and helps in the care and upkeep of neurons
• Types of neurons:
o Sensory neurons: respond information input from sensory organs
o Motor neurons: send signals to muscles to control movement
o Interneurons: connect sensory and motor neurons, most common type
• Functions of neurons:
o Receive signals from other neurons and sensory organs
o Answer signals
o Send signals to other neurons, muscles, or organs
[pic]
• Parts of the neuron:
o Cell body- central part of neuron, contains nucleus, regulates all functions
o Dendrites- branching part of neuron that receive messages from other neurons and relay them to the cell body
o Axon- long cable-like extension that delivers messages to other neurons
o Myelin sheath- layer of fatty tissue that insulates the axon and helps speed up messages’ transmissions
▪ Segments are Schwann Cells
▪ Gaps are Nodes of Ranvier
• Multiple Sclerosis: deterioration of myelin sheath. Slows communication with muscles and impairs reception of sensations from the limbs
o Terminal Button- structure at the end of an axon branch that releases neurotransmitters into the space between neurons when a neuron is fired
o Synaptic Cleft- gap between axon and dendrite/cell body across which neuron transmission occurs
o Neurotransmitter- chemical that sends signals from one neuron to another over the synaptic cleft
o Vesicles- store neurotransmitters in the terminal buttons
o Receptors- on the cell membrane of the next neuron. Bind with neurotransmitter. They are specialized, so they only bind with one neurotransmitter
ACTION POTENTIAL
[pic]
• Resting Potential: The negative charge maintained within neurons that are at rest. Sodium ions build up outside neuron and potassium builds up inside. Neurons remain in resting potential until triggered to fire by adjacent neurons.
• Threshold: the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.
• Action Potential: Neural impulse. The shifting change in electrical charge that moves down the axon to the terminal buttons. At a speed of 2-200 mph, depending on the part of the body
• Reuptake: when some of the neurotransmitter remains in the synaptic cleft, a special chemical reuptakes (reabsorbs) the neurotransmitter into vesicles
NEUROTRANSMITTERS
|Neurotransmitter |Function |Examples of malfunctions |
|Acetylcholine (ACh) |Enables muscle action, learning & memory | Decreased ACh production ( Alzheimer’s Disease |
|Dopamine |Influences movement, learning, attention, & emotion | Excess ( Schizophrenia |
| | | |
| | |Undersupply ( Parkinson’s |
|Serotonin |Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal | Undersupply ( Depression |
|Norepinephrine |Helps control alertness & arousal | Undersupply ( Depressed mood |
|GABA |Inhibitory neurotransmitter | Undersupply ( Seizures, tremors, insomnia |
|(gamma-aminobutyric acid) | | |
|Glutamate |Excitatory neurotransmitter involved in memory | Excess ( Over stimulation of brain, seizures |
*Not all neurotransmitters are in all neurons. There are neurotransmitter pathways in different parts of the brain, specialized for specific functions.*
• Pert and Snyder (1973): Injected rats with morphine and radioactive tracers. Found that there were receptors for morphine in the brain in areas linked with pain and mood because of…
o Endorphins- natural opiates released in response to pain and exercise
• Drugs and Chemicals that influence neural transmission:
o Agonists EXCITE by mimicking neurotransmitter shape, they fit into receiving neurons receptors, or by inhibiting reuptake.
o Antagonists INHIBIT by occupying receptor site, blocking the neurotransmitter without being similar enough to activate the next neuron or by preventing the release of the neurotransmitter
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
Nervous System
Central Nervous System Peripheral Nervous System
Autonomic Nervous System Skeletal Nervous System
Sympathetic Nervous System Parasympathic Nervous System
• Central Nervous System
o Spinal Cord- bundle of neural fibers connecting the brain to the rest of the body. It takes sensory information from the brain and delivers it to the muscles. Enclosed in the vertebral column.
o Reflex- Involuntary reaction to sensory stimulus. Sensory neuron receives stimulus and sends the signal to the spinal cord. The signal is then sent to the motor neurons. The brain is not involved until after the reflex.
• Peripheral Nervous System
o Skeletal Nervous System- allows voluntary control of skeletal muscles
o Autonomic Nervous System- self-regulating systems, automatic actions (digestion, circulation). Focused on glands, control of internal organs
▪ Sympathetic Nervous System- Excites bodily functions, prepares body for defense action against threats: FIGHT OR FLIGHT
▪ Parasympathic Nervous System- counteracts sympathetic nervous system. Calms body down. Energy conservation system
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
body’s chemical communication system, works slowly
o Hormones: secreted by endocrine organs. Chemical messengers that affect organs via the bloodstream. Some are chemically identical to neurotransmitters. They are slower, but last longer.
o Pituitary Gland: tiny structure in the interior of the brain, controlled by hypothalamus. Regulates body growth through the human growth hormone and releases hormones that regulate other endocrine glands. It is the Godfather of the Endocrine System.
METHODS OF STUDYING THE BRAIN
o EEG: amplified recording of pulses of electrical activity (brain waves) that go across the brain’s surface. Monitors brain function, but brain waves are always there, so EEGs look for spikes and differences.
o Pros: tracks electrical activity over time, so we can see when activity happens. Fast, accurate = high temporal resolution. Non-invasive.
o Cons: Electrodes on scalp don’t demonstrate exact location of electrical currents = low spatial resolution
o CT Scan: makes a 3D image of brain structure with x-rays.
o Pros: allows direct view of level of interest in the brain, high contrast spatial resolution
o Cons: Potential damage due to high levels of radiation
o PET Scan: uses small amounts of radioactive glucose (sugar) to take energy consumption in the brain. Measure brain functioning
o Pros: Provides estimate of when the brain is working hard.
o Cons: Radiation exposure, lengthy process= poor temporal resolution, expensive
o MRI: uses magnetic properties of atoms to take sharp pictures of brain structure and other soft tissue
o fMRI: type of MRI that detects the amount of blood flow in different areas of the brain. Measures brain function
o Pros: Super high spatial resolution, non-invasive, and quick
o Cons: Brain is constantly is using blood, so fMRIs have to look for spikes in consumption. Uncomfortable for patient
THE BRAIN
o Older parts of the brain: basic survival functions, physically lower in the brain
o Newer parts: advanced human facilities, physically higher in the brain
REGIONS OF THE BRAIN
o Hindbrain: old brain, life-sustaining, mostly automatic bodily processes
o Brainstem- controls communication between brain and spinal cord
▪ Medulla- where spinal cord slightly swells and connects with brain. Controls heartbeat, breathing, swallowing.
▪ Reticular formation- Bundle of nerves that regulates alertness and autonomic nervous system activity
▪ Pons- bridge from brainstem to cerebellum that controls sleep, coordination of motor movements, posture, and facial muscles
o Cerebellum- extends from rear of brainstem. Controls physical movement, coordination, and balance. Involved in integration of sensory information and contributes to estimating time and paying attention.
o Midbrain:
o Thalamus- aids communication between hindbrain and forebrain.
o Forebrain: made of limbic system and cerebrum. Consists of higher-level mental facilities
o Limbic System- EMOTION AND MOTIVIATION (fighting, fleeing, feeding, sex. The emotional brain)
▪ Amygdala- two almond-shaped structures. Play critical role in anger and fear.
o Kluver and Bucy (1939): lesion amygdala of monkeys. They became mellow and unangerable. Electrically stimulate amygdala of cats and they get mad.
▪ Hypothalamus- sits under thalamus. Controls motivations (eating and drinking), body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, Pituitary gland. Links endocrine and nervous system. Pleasure center in the brain (because of the dopamine pathway)
o Hippocampus: responsible for storing new experiences in memory.
▪ HM: had epilepsy. Removed hippocampi to control seizures. This resulted in memory issues. Had anterograde amnesia, but could form procedural memories.
o Cerebral Cortex- outer surface of brain where most high-level mental processes occur. Wrinkled for increased surface area.
▪ Sulcus- crease in the brain
▪ Gyrus- bulge between sulci
▪ Cerebral Hemispheres: the brain is divided into 2 sections by a deep fissure. Hemispheres control opposite sides of the body (left hemisphere controls right hand).
• Corpus callosum- band of fibers that transmit messages between hemispheres. (see split-brain patients)
• Left Hemisphere- written/spoken language, number skills, reasoning
• Right Hemisphere- insight, art, awareness, imagination and creativity, music
• **The two hemispheres work together on most tasks, except language**
|SPLIT-BRAIN PATIENTS |
|People who have their corpus callosum cut |
|Information confined to the hemisphere that receives it |
LOBES OF THE BRAIN
Each lobe is responsible for different higher-level functions, but they all work together
[pic]
o Frontal Lobe: directly behind forehead. Planning, decisions, memory searches, complex motor control, reasoning, emotion, morality, personality, things that make us uniquely humans
o Phineas Gage: (1823-1860) took a metal rod to the brain (frontal lobe), while remaining conscious and communicative. Recovers and lives, physically fine. But… personality changes! He becomes impulsive, meaner, and child-like.
[pic]
o Motor Cortex: backmost gyrus of frontal lobe. Controls fine movements and is controlled by body part
[pic]
o Parietal Lobe: top and center of brain. Controls attention, registers spatial location, motor control, math, perceptual processing
o Sensory Cortex: front most gyrus of parietal lobe. Registers sensation on the body and is organized by body part
o Temporal Lobe: under the temples, in front of ears. Processes sound, commits information to memory, comprehends language
o Occipital Lobe: back of the brain. VISION. Separate sections for shapes, colors, motion, etc.
|PLASTICITY |
|The brain’s ability to modify itself. Most evident in brain reorganization after damage. Most plastic during childhood. |
|-the blind: sensory cortex for Braille finger expands as sense of touch takes over visual cortex |
|-the deaf: enhanced peripheral vision |
|-Neuralprostheitics: field that develops artificial aids/replacements for impaired nervous systems. Relies on plasticity to |
|incorporate devices into existing systems. |
Unit 3: Biological Bases of Behavior
Biological psychology: A Branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior. (Some biological psychologists call themselves behavioral neuroscientist, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, psychological psychologists, or bio psychologists)
Neuron: a nerve cell; the basic building blocks of the nervous system. Average human brain= 100 billion neurons.
Glial cell: are non-neuronal cells that maintain homeostasis, form myelin, and provide support and protection for the brain's neurons. In the human brain, there is roughly one glia for every neuron with a ratio of about two neurons for every three glia.
3 types of neurons:
1. Sensory neurons: respond to input from sensory organs (skin, eyes, etc.) None in the brain.
2. Motor neurons: send signals to muscles to control movement.
3. Interneurons: Connect sensory and motor neurons (Most common type)
3 functions of neurons: (Relay station)
1. Receives signals
2. Processes signals
3. Send signals out
Structure of the Neuron
[pic]
Cell body: Central part of neuron contains
Nucleus (Regulates cell functioning)
Dendrites: the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron the receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body. (Input)
Axon: the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands.
Myelin sheath: a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulses hops from one node to the next. (Segments= Schwann cells; Gaps= Nodes of )
Multiple sclerosis: Deterioration of myelin sheath ( slowed communication with muscles and impaired sensation in limbs.
Terminal buttons: Structure at the end of one axon’s branches; Release chemicals into space between neurons when the neuron is fired.
Resting potential: Negative charge maintained with neurons that are at rest. Neuron remains resting state until triggered to fire by adjacent neuron:
Sodium ions (Ka+) build up outside
Potassium ions (K-) build up inside
Messages from other neurons are either Excitatory (gas pedal) or Inhibitory (brakes)
Action potential: a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon to the terminal button. The action potential is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in an out of channels in the axon’s membrane. Speeds at 2-200 mph.
Synapse: the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or cleft.
Threshold: The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.
Neurotransmitter: Chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.
Vesicles: bubble-like containers of neurotransmitters, located at the end of an axon.
Receptors: Each reptor can only bind with one kind of neurotransmitter. (Lock and key)
Reuptake: Some neurotransmitter remains in synaptic cleft. Need special chemical reaction to re-absorb neurotransmitter into vesicles.
|Neurotransmitter |Function |Examples of malfunctions |
|Acetylcholine (ACh) |Enables muscle action, learning & memory | With Alzheimer’s disease, ACh-producing neurons deteriorate. |
|Dopamine |Influences movement, learning, attention, & emotion | Excess dopamine receptor activity linked to |
| | |Schizophrenia. |
| | |Undersupply of dopamine, brain produces the tremors and decreased |
| | |mobility of Parkinson’s disease. |
|Serotonin |Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal | Undersupply linked to depression; Prozac and some other |
| | |antidepressant drugs raise serotonin levels. |
|Norepinephrine |Helps control alertness & arousal | Undersupply can depress mood. |
|GABA |Inhibitory neurotransmitter | Undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia. |
|(gamma-aminobutyric acid) | | |
|Glutamate |Excitatory neurotransmitter involved in memory | Excess can over-stimulate brain, producing migraines or seizures |
| | |(which is why some people avoid MSG, monosodium glutamate, in food). |
Serotonin and depression:
SSRIs: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are a class of compounds typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, and some personality disorders. They are also typically effective and used in treating some cases of insomnia.
Endorphins: “morphine within” --- natural, opiate like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.
2 classes of drugs/chemicals that influence neurotransmission:
1. Agonists, such as some of the opiates, excite by mimicking particular neurotransmitters or by blocking their reuptake
2. Antagonists, such as curare, inhibit a particular neurotransmitter’s release or block its effect.
The Nervous System, The Endocrine System, & Brain Research Methods
[pic]
The Nervous System: the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system.
Central Nervous System: The Brain and Spinal cord.
Spinal cord: Bundle of neural fibers that connect the brain to the body sensory information; Enclosed in vertebral column.
Reflex: A simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee jerk response. Brain is not involved until after reflex. Allows brain to prevent reflex responses when appropriate.
Peripheral Nervous System-the sensory and motor neurons that
connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body (organs)
Skeletal nervous system: Allows for voluntary control of skeletal muscles.
Autonomic nervous system: controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic divisions calms.
Sympathetic nervous system: Arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations (defensive). “Fight-or-Flight response.” Fater heart rate, increase breath rate, increased blood sugars, etc. Norepinephrine.
Parasympathetic nervous system: Calms the body, conserving its energy. Counteracts effects of sympathetic nervous system.
Neural networks: interconnected neural cells. With experience, networks can learn, as feedback strengthens or inhibits connections that produce certain results. Computer simulations of neural networks show analogous learning.
The Endocrine System-The body’s “slow” chemical communication system;
Asset of glands that secrete hormones into the blood stream.
Hormones: chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands that are produced in one tissue and affect another. Some hormones chemicals are identical to neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters deliver information in fraction of a second, hormones may take several seconds or more from organ to organ.
Adrenal: A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys. The adrenals secrete the hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline), which help to arouse the body in times of stress.
Pituitary gland: Most influential gland; tiny structure in interior brain controlled by hypothalamus:
1) Regulate growth/ Human growth hormone (HGH)
2) Releases hormones that regulate other endocrine glands
Methods of Studying the Brain
A. Brain Damage & EEG
1. Brain damage patients: Phineas Gage (1831-1860) was an American railroad construction worker remembered for surviving an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, and for that injury's reported effects on his personality and behavior – effects so profound that friends saw him as "no longer Gage".
2. EEG: record the overall electrical activity (brainwaves) in the brain via electrodes placed on the scalp. Looks for spikes and differences and monitors brain function.
Advantages: Tracks electrical activity in response to specific stimulus over time. High temporal resolution, Non-invasive, and not painful.
Drawbacks: Electrodes on scalp do not determine precise location on electrical current. Low spatial resolution.
B. Neuroimaging Techniques
3. CT scan: a number of x-rays are taken of the brain from different angles. A computer then combines the x-rays to produce a picture of a horizontal slice through the brain. (Structure)
Advantages: allows direct view of levels of interest. High-contrasted spatial resolution
Drawbacks: Potential damage due to high levels of radiation.
4. PET scan: researchers inject people with a harmless radioactive chemical, which collects in active brain areas. The researchers then look at the pattern of radioactivity in the brain, using a scanner and a computer, and figure out which parts of the brain activate during specific tasks, such as lifting an arm or feeling a particular emotion. (Function)
Advantages: Provides estimate of amount of glucose consumption in each part of the brain. “Where the ‘food for thought’ goes.”
Drawbacks: Radiation exposure. Lengthy process. Expensive equipment necessary to create radioactivity isotopes.
5. MRI: uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images that distinguish among different types of soft tissue; allows us to see structures within the brain.
6. fMRI: revealing blood flow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. MRI scans show brain anatomy; fMRI scans show brain function.
Advantages: Indicates specific regions of activity, High spatial resolution. Non-invasive, quick process.
Drawbacks: Brain is never “off.” Constantly consuming oxygen. Can be uncomfortable for patients.
Forebrain:
Midbrain:
Hindbrain:
The Brainstem & Thalamus
Medulla:
• Base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing.
Reticular formation:
• Nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal.
Pons:
• Bridge from the medulla to the midbrain.
Thalamus:
• Brain’s sensory switchboard
• Located on top of the brainstem
• Directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.
The Cerebellum
• Processes sensory input
• Coordinates movement output
• Balance
The Limbic System
Amygdala:
• Lima-bean shaped structure that is linked to emotion,
especially FEAR & ANGER
Hypothalamus:
• Structure below the thalamus that directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature)
• Helps govern the endocrine (hormonal) system via the pituitary gland
Hippocampus:
• Involved primarily with memory
• Helps to form new memories
Cerebral cortex:
• The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center.
Corpus callosum:
• Structure that enables the transmission of information between the left and right hemispheres.
Left hemisphere:
• Language & Speech
Right hemisphere:
• Math, Artistic skills
Split-brain:
• Condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers between them. (NO MORE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE HEMISPHERES)
Epilepsy:
• Causes seizures
• Cutting the corpus callosum reduces seizures
• Split-brains and vision:
Lobes of the brain
1. Frontal lobe:
• Speaking
• Muscle movements
• Making plans
• Judgment and reasoning
[pic]
Motor cortex:
• Area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements
2. Parietal lobe:
• Receives sensory input for touch and body position
[pic]
Sensory cortex:
3. Temporal lobe:
• Receives auditory information primarily from the opposite ear.
4. Occipital lobe:
• Receives visual information
Plasticity:
The brain’s capacity for modification, as evident in brain reorganization following damage and in experiments on the effects of experience on brain development.
UNIT 3: BIOLOGICAL BASES OF BEHAVIOR
• The Neuron – Basic Unit of the Nervous System
o Three types of Neurons
▪ Sensory neurons - respond to input from sensory organs
▪ Motor Neurons – send signals to muscles to control movement
▪ Interneurons – connect the sensory and motor neurons
o Three Neuron functions
▪ Receive signals from neurons or sensory organs
▪ Process signals
▪ Send out other signals
o Neuron Structure
▪ (Soma) Cell Body – central part of neuron contains nucleus
▪ Dendrites – branching parts of neuron that receive messages from other neurons and relay to cell body and nucleus
▪ Axon – long extension from cell body that delivers neural messages
▪ Myelin Sheath – layer of fatty tissue that insulates the axon and speeds up signal transmission. Comprised of two parts:
• Schwann Cells – each segment of myelin
• Nodes of Ranvier – gaps between Schwann cells
▪ Terminal button – structures at end of axon that create synapses with other neuron’s dendrites
o How a neuron works: two states
▪ Resting Potential: the negative charge (K-) contained in the neurons and the positive charge (NA+) outside causes them to be at rest.
▪ Action Potential (the neural impulse): shifting change in electrical charge that moves down the axons to the terminal buttons
• First the threshold must be reached: the level of stimulation required to trigger the electrical charge shift
o From neuron to neuron
▪ Synaptic Cleft – the “synapse” is the space between terminal button and dendrite of other neuron
▪ The action potential stimulates the vesicles to release neurotransmitters into space to be received by other neuron receptors
▪ Not all neurotransmitters received. The transmitting neuron “reuptakes” the neurotransmitters left in the synapse
o Neurotransmitters
▪ Acetylcholine: responsible for muscle action and memory
▪ Dopamine: influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion
▪ Seratonin: affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal
▪ Norepinephrine: controls alertness and arousal
▪ GABA: inhibitory neurotransmitter
▪ Glutamate: excitatory neurotransmitter
o Neurotransmitters at work
▪ SSRI (selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors)
• To counter depression (caused by low serotonin levels), SSRI’s inhibit the reuptake process so more neurotransmitters will be received by the other neuron
▪ Pert & Snyder (1973)
• Discovered by injecting morphine into rats that neurons have receptors for it even though it is manmade. This led to the discovery of endorphins: naturally occurring pain killers
o 2 classes of drugs that influence neurotransmitters
▪ Agonists: chemicals that excite by mimicking neurotransmitters with similar structure
▪ Antagonists: chemicals that inhibit by blocking receptors from real transmitters through similar structure
• The Nervous System – the body’s electrochemical communication network
o 2 branches
▪ Central Nervous System
• Contains brain and spinal chord, which connects brain with the rest of the body
• Reflex: an automatic response to a sensory stimulus
o Reflex arc: sensory neuron detects stimulus --- sends signal to interneurons in spinal chord --- signal to motor neuron (brain not involved in reflexes)
• Spinal chord acts as middle man of interneurons so the brain can prevent reflex responses when appropriate
▪ Peripheral Nervous System
• 2 parts
o Skeletal Nervous System: allows for voluntary skeletal muscle control
o Autonomic Nervous System: controls many self regulatory body functions, primarily on glands and internal organs
▪ 2 parts
• Sympathetic nervous system: “Fight or Flight” response with norepinephrine
• Parasympathetic nervous system: counteracts sympathetic nervous system
• Endocrine System – the body’s chemical communication system
o Hormones: chemical messengers created by some organs for communication
o Pituitary Gland: controlled by the Hypothalamus and releases hormones that regulate other endocrine glands
• Mapping Brain Functions
o Phineas Gage (1823-1860)
▪ Metal rod through the front part of brain. Changed personality but not body functioning. Showed that different parts of the brain are responsible for different things
o Neural impulses – electrical impulses down the neuron
▪ Electroencephalograph (EEG) – an amplified recording of the pulses of electrical activity that sweep across the brain’s surface
• Monitors brain FUNCTION by detecting changes in brain activity
• Advantages – very high temporal resolution to get precise time and noninvasive
• Disadvantages – poor special resolution to get location of activity
o Neuroimaging Techniques
▪ Computer Assisted Tomography (CT Scan) – produces 3D brain image using X-rays
• Advantages – direct view of location interest in brain
• Disadvantages – potential for damage due to high X-ray radiation
▪ Positron Emission Tomography (PET Scan) – small amounts of radioactive glucose to track energy consumption in brain to locate most active parts at a certain time
• Advantages – good tracking
• Disadvantages – radiation exposure, lengthy process, expensive
▪ Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) – uses magnetic properties of atoms to take pictures of soft tissues
• Magnetic field aligns all atoms in brain in same direction then second magnetic field turns on and off to dealing them. Creates a picture
▪ Functional MRI – detects amount of bloodflow in brain regions to detect oxygen delivery and consumption
• Advantages – high spatial resolution, noninvasive, quick
• Disadvantages – can be misread, very uncomfortable
The Brain [pic]
• Structure of the Brain
o The human brain is comprised of “older” and “newer” parts
▪ “older”: lower level structures, responsible for basic survival mechanisms
▪ “newer”: higher level structures, responsible for more advanced human faculties
• 3 Regions of the Brain
o Hindbrain: “older” brain region comprised of the brainstem and the cerebellum
▪ responsible for life sustaining, mostly automatic bodily processes
o Midbrain: brain region comprised primarily of the thalamus
▪ aids communication between hindbrain and forebrain
o Forebrain: “newer: brain region comprised of the limbic system and the cerebrum
▪ higher level mental faculties such s personality decision-making, moral judgments, planning, projecting self, etc
• Hindbrain and Midbrain
o Brainstem: the set of neural structures at the case of the brain including the medulla, the pons, and the reticular formation
▪ Facilitates communication between the brain and spinal cord
• The Brainstem
o Medulla: spot where spinal cord slightly swells , connects with brain
▪ controls heartbeat, breathing, and swallowing
o Pons: bridge from brainstem to cerebellum
▪ controls seep, coordination of motor movements, posture and control of facial muscles
o Reticular formation: regulates alertness and autonomic nervous system activity
• The Brainstem and Thalamus
o Thalamus: the brain’s sensory switchboard (except smell)
▪ Receives signals from sensory neurons, relay them to the appropriate parts of the brain
▪ Receives signals from higher brain structures, relays them to medulla and cerebellum
• The Cerebellum
o “little brain” extending from rear of brainstem
▪ Coordinated physical movement, posture, and balance
▪ Integration of sensory information
▪ Contributes to estimating time and paying attention
• *Cerebellum and other lower level brain structures occur without conscious effort *
o Much of our brains activity occurs outside of our conscious awareness
• The Limbic System
o “limbus”: latin for “border”
▪ System of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and cerebral hemisphere
o Involved in the basics of emotion and motivation and flighting, fleeing, feeding, and sex (“The Emotional Brain”)
o Comprised primarily of the amygdala, the hypothalamus, and the hippocampus
• The Amygdala
o Amygdala: pair of almond shaped structures (one on each side) that play a critical role in anger and fear
o Kluver and Bucy (1939) what happens if he lesion (natural or experimental destruction of brain tissue) the amygdale?
▪ Lesioning amygdale of rhesus monkey turns into a mellow “unangerable” creature
o Electrically stimulating one part of the amygdale leads to anger response in cats. Another part leads to fear response.
• Hypothalamus
o Hypothalamus: brain structure that sits under (“hypo-”) the thalamus
▪ Motivations: plays a central role in controlling eating and drinking
▪ Regulates the body’s temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate
▪ Controls the pituitary gland and thus hormone production (links nervous and endocrine systems)
▪ Olds and Milver (1954): hypothalamus a “pleasure center”/”reward center”
• Accidentally attached electrode to hypothalamus of a rat
• Hippocampus
o Hippocampus: pair of brain structures primarily responsible for storing new experiences in memory (and probably new information too)
o IMPORTANT: hippocampus does not contain memories itself.
o ***Memories are not stores in one place in the brain***
o Triggers processes that store memories of facts, events, etc throughout the brain
• H.M.
o One of the most famous case studies in psychology history (died 2008)
o Suffered from epilepsy (childhood bicycle accident?)
▪ Age 27: hippocampus surgically removed to control seizures
o After operation: Anterograde amnesia: unable to form new memories
o Short term memory intact, but unable to commit information to long-term memory
▪ as opposed to: Retrograde amnesia: inability to retrieve old memories
o Could not remember most of 3-4 days before operation, some events up to 11 years before operation, but… (childhood memories intact)(evidence for memory consolidation?
o Was able to form long-term procedural memories (how to do things) but didn’t remember learning the behaviors
• Our Divided Brains
o Brain is divided into two halves (Cerebral hemispheres) separated by a deep fissure
▪ hemispheres control opposite side of body (e.g right handers writing controlled by the left hemisphere
o Corpus callosum: A large band of neural fibers that transmits messages between hemispheres. Connects the cerebral hemispheres
o Evidence of hemispheric specialization?
▪ Left brain: written language, spoken language, number skills, reasoning (analytical and verbal)
▪ Right brain: insight, art, awareness, imagination/creativity, music awareness (intuitive and perceptual)
o Not as simple as “left-brained” or “right-brained” the two hemispheres work together on most tasks…
▪ Except language! (almost entirely left hemisphere)
o Left hemisphere as “interpreter”
▪ More active with slow deliberate decisions
o Right hemisphere for quick intuitive responses
▪ Better at recognizing faces, interpreting and expressing emotion
• Split Brains and Split Brain Surgery
o Know hemispheric specialization from split-brain patients (people whose corpus callosum has been severed for medical purposes)
▪ Split brain surgery to treat severe epilepsy: a disease that results in massive amounts of uncontrolled neuronal firing, leading to seizures
▪ Surgery prevents spasm from engaging both hemispheres, limiting severity
▪ Split brain patients typically function well, personality and intelligence intact
o Left half of both eyes field of vision sent to right hemisphere; right half sent to left hemisphere
▪ Corpus callosum allows hemispheres to share information
o In split brains, information is confined to the hemisphere that receives it
▪ Left hemisphere (right visual field) can see and name object
• Language capabilities typically located mostly in the left hemisphere
▪ Right hemisphere (left visual field) difficult or impossible to name and/or describe objects (but they are still seen)
• The Visible Brain
o Cerebral cortex: the convoluted pinkish-gray surface of the brain, where most higher level mental processes take place
▪ Thin surface layer of neural cells covering cerebral hemisphere
▪ Highest level control and information processing center
o Cortex has “wrinkles” to increase surface area while keeping brain compact
▪ Sucrus (sucri): a crease in the brain
▪ Gyrus (gyri): bulge between sulci in the cerebral cortex
• Structure of the Cortex
o Cerebral cortex divided into lobes (regions)
o ***Each lobe is (roughly) responsible for different higher level functions*
• The Frontal Lobe
o Lobe located directly behind forehead
▪ Planning, memory search, sophisticated motor control, reasoning, emotions, decisions, morality, personality, & other high-level functions
o Is what makes us uniquely human
• Motor Cortex
o The backmost gyrus of the frontal lobe (immediately in front of central sulcus)
▪ Controls fine movements and is organized by body part
• Parietal Lobe
o Lobe at the top and center/rear of the head
▪ Attention, registers spatial location, and motor control
▪ Also involved in arithmetic
• Sensory Cortex
o The front must gyrus of the parietal lobe (immediately behind the central sulcus)
▪ Registers sensation on the body, & organized by body part
• Temporal Lobe
o Lobe under the temples, in front of the ears
▪ Many functions including: processing sounds, committing information to memory, and comprehending language
• Occipital Lobe
o Lobe at the back of the head
▪ Responsible primarily for vision
▪ Separated areas for shape, color, motion, etc
• Association Areas
o Areas of cerebral cortex not directly involved in motor control, sensory processing
▪ 75% of human brain
• Plasticity
o Plasticity: the brains ability to modify itself
▪ Happened in all people to some extent
▪ Often most evident in brain reorganization following damage
▪ *brain most plastic in childhood, easier to recover from brain damage*
o Plasticity and the Blind
▪ Sensory cortex for blind person’s Braille finger expands sense of touch takes over visual cortex
• Temporarily “knocking out” visual cortex with magnetic stimulation ( blind making more errors on language tasks
o Plasticity and the Deaf
▪ Temporal lobe gets no auditory signal, eventually seeks signal from other systems (particularly vision)
• Enhanced peripheral vision
o Plasticity and Neuroprosthetics
▪ Neuroprosthetics: field devoted to developing artificial aids/replacements for impaired nervous systems
• Often relies on brain plasticity to incorporate artificial devices (prosthetics) into existing neural networks
▪ Most common neuroprosthetic: cochlear implant “bionic ear”
• Stimulated auditory neurons according to sound, picked up by microphone
▪ Motor neuroprosthetics under conscious control?
• Computer cursors (move with their mind)
• 2004: FDA approved first trials of neuroprosthetics in paralyzed humans
o First patient: tiny chip with 100 micro electrodes, recording motor cortex activity
▪ Can control tv, draw shapes on computer, play video games
• Handedness
o Division of Labor theory of Handedness
▪ Most widely accepted theory of handedness
▪ Language and hand control both require fine motor control
• More efficient to have one hemisphere control both
• Left hemisphere: language, thus right handedness
o Right Handedness
▪ Close to 90% right handed
▪ Been around for long time (studies of prehistoric cave drawings, tools, and arm/hand bones)
▪ All human cultures right-handed
• Even before culture: 9/10 fetuses suck the right hands thumb and 2/3rds of newborns (first two days) lie with their head to the right
▪ Language
• 95% process language primarily in left hemisphere
▪ PROS
• Lefties more likely to experience reading disabilities, allergies, migraine headaches
• Society designed for righties (scissors, tools etc)
• Lefties disappear with age? (see below)
o Left Handedness
▪ Close to 10% left-handed (more common for men than women)
▪ Long linguistic history of disparaging left handers
▪ Language
• 50% process language primarily in left hemisphere, 25% primarily in right hemisphere, 25% in both
▪ PROS
• More common among renowned musicians, mathematicians, architects, artists
• Advantage in one-on-one sports like tennis
• May be more likely to be high-achievers
o Consistently outperform righties in all subjects in Iranian university entrance exam
o Lefty men who attended college, 15% richer than righty men (for those that graduated, 26% richer)
▪ Oh no, where’d the lefties go?
• Disappear with age, possibly due to…
o Older people forced to be right handed?
o Learn to be right-handed? (however, handedness doesn’t usually change)
o Die younger than righties? (maybe)
Unit 3: Biological Bases of Behavior
PART 1
I. The Neuron
II. [pic]
a. Neuron- a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
b. Dendrite- the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body
c. Axon- the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands
d. Myelin sheath- a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next
e. Action potential- a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. The action potential is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the axon’s membrane
f. Threshold- the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
g. Synapse- the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap/ cleft.
h. Node of Ranvier- non-insinuated gap in between myelin sheath
i. Schwann cell-any cell that covers the nerve fibers in the peripheral nervous system and forms the myelin sheath
III. How Neurons Work
a. Resting Potential- the negative charge maintained within the neuron that are in rest
i. Sodium ions build up on the outside and Potassium ions build up on the inside
ii. Stay in resting potential until triggered to fire
b. Action Potential- the positive charge maintained within the neuron that is triggered
i. Messages are either excitatory or inhibitory
1. threshold- the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
2. “all or none” Law: threshold must be met completely otherwise there will no reaction
c. Neurotransmitters- chemical stored in the terminal that travel across the synapse to trigger other neurons by binding to receptor sites
i. Some remain in the cleft and are returned into vesicles by reuptake
EACH RECEPTOR CAN ONLY BIND WITH ONE KIND OF NEUROTRANSMITTER
IV. Neurotransmitters
a. ACh- muscle movement
b. Dopamine- emotion influences
c. Serotonin- mood and sleep
d. Norepinephrine- controls and arousal
e. GaBA- inhibitory neurotransmitter
f. Glutamate- Excitatory neurotransmitter
V. Neurotransmitter Pathways
a. Neurotransmitters are located where they are needed
VI. The Nervous System
a. Body’s electrochemical communication network
b. Central Nervous System (contains the brain and spinal cord)
i. Spinal Cord- bundle of neural fibers that connects the brain to the body
1. sensory info from body to the brain
2. motor info from the brain to the body
ii. Reflex- an automatic response to sensory stimulus
1. Reflex Arc: sensory neurons detect stimulus > sends signals to the interneurons in the spinal cord > signal to motor neurons
2. brain is NOT involved until after reflex
c. Peripheral Nervous System
i. Links central nervous system to organs
ii. Skeletal Nervous system: allows voluntary movement of skeletal muscles
iii. Automatic Nervous System- controls many of the self-regulatory functions on the body (focused on glands and internal organs)
1. Sympathetic Nervous System: excited bodily functions to prepare for defensive actions against threats
a. Flight of Fight- norepinephrine
2. Parasympathetic Nervous System- counteracts the sympathetic system and calms us down (acts as energy conservation)
VII. Endocrine System
a. Chemical communication systems that works with hormones
b. Hormones- chemical messengers that are created by one organ to affect another via the bloodstream
i. Is a slower process that neurotransmitters
c. Pituitary Gland- tiny structure controlled by the hypothalamus that regulates bodily growth (Human Growth Hormone) and release hormones to the other glands (Master Gland)
VIII. Mapping Brain Functions
a. Phineas Gage- had a pole rocketed through his head and suffered a complete personality change because it severed his frontal lobe
b. EEGs- amplified recording of pulses of brainwaves
i. Monitors brain function by looking for spikes/differences
ii. Advantages
1. track electrical activity in response to specific stimulus
2. non-invasive
iii. Disadvantages
1. nodes don’t demonstrate precise location of electrical current
IX. Neuroimaging Techniques
a. Brain scanning techniques that produce a picture of the structure/functioning of the neurons
b. CT Scan- produces 3D images of the brain structure via X-rays
i. Advantages
1. direct view of level of interest
2. high-contrast spatial resolution
ii. Disadvantages
1. potential damage due to high levels of radiation
c. PET Scan- use small amounts of radioactive glucose to track energy consumption in the brain
i. measures brain functioning
ii. Advantages
1. provides estimate of amount of glucose consumption in the brain’s functioning
iii. Disadvantages
1. radioactive exposure
2. lengthy process and pretty costly
d. MRI- uses magnets to take picture of the brain’s structures
e. fMRI- type of MRI that detects amount of blood flow (function)
i. Advantages
1. high spatial resolution
2. non-invasive
3. quick process
ii. Disadvantages
1. brain is never off because it is constantly consuming oxygen
2. can be uncomfortable for the patient
X. The Brain
a. Hindbrain (older brain)
i. responsible for life sustaining, mostly automatic bodily functions
ii. brainstem- set of neural structures at the base of the brain
1. Medulla- spot where the spinal cord swells and connects with the brain that controls heartbeat, breathing, and swallowing
2. Pons- bridge from the brain to cerebellum that controls sleep, coordination of motor neurons, posture, and facial muscles
3. Reticular Formation- the nerves going through the medulla and Pons that controls alertness and automatic nervous system activity
iii. Cerebellum- “little brain” that extends from the rear of the brainstem and coordinates physical movement, posture, and balance, integrates sensory information, and contributes to estimating of time and alertness
b. Midbrain- middle brain region that aids in communication between hindbrain and forebrain
i. Thalamus- Sensory switchboard that receives sensory information and relays them to the appropriate areas of the brain and receives signals from higher brain structures and relays them to the medulla and cerebellum.
c. Forebrain-the newer brain that is responsible for higher level facilities and is comprised of the limbic system and cerebrum
PART 2
I. Limbic System (the Emotional Brain)
a. Amygdala
i. Almond shaped structures that are responsible for fear and anger
b. Hypothalamus (does a load of stuff)
i. Plays a role in motivation
ii. Controls eating and drinking
iii. Regulates body temp., blood pressure, heart rates
iv. Controls the Pituitary Gland (hormone production)
c. Hippocampus
i. Pair of brain structures responsible for storing new experiences in memory
ii. H.M.- man that had hippocampus removed in order to ease epilepsy (leading to anterograde amnesia)
1. loss of memory (short term memory= intact, long term memory=kaput)
2. still had long term procedural memories
II. The Visible Brain
a. Convoluted pinkish-gray surface of brain where higher thinking and mental processes take place
b. Cerebral Hemispheres
i. Brain divided into 2 halves.
III. Our Divided Brain
a. Corpus Callosum
i. A large bond of neural fibers that connect the two hemispheres
b. Left Brain- analytical and verbal side (interpreter)
i. More active with slow deliberate decisions
c. Right Brain- intuitive and perceptual side (quick intuitive responses)
i. Better at recognizing faces and interpreting/expressing emotions
IT’S NOT AS SIMPLE AS LEFT-BRAINED AND RIGHT BRAINED BUT THE 2 CONTINUALLY WORK TOGETHER ON MOST TASKS EXCEPT LANGUAGE
IV. Split Brains
a. A patient whose corpus callosum has been removed so that neural impulses don’t pass from one hemisphere to another
b. Done on epileptic people (epilepsy- massive amount of neural firing)
c. Live normally however surgery affects vision
i. Left hemisphere controls right visual field
ii. Right hemisphere controls left visual field
V. The Cerebral Cortex
a. Thin surface of neural cells covering cerebral hemisphere and has the highest level control and is the information processing center
b. Cortex has wrinkles to increase surface area and keep brain compact
i. Sulcus- Crease in the brain
ii. Gyrus- Bulge between sucli and cortex
VI. Structures of the Cortex (divided into lobes)
a. Frontal Lobe
i. Behind the forehead
ii. Center of control (emotions, decisions, planning morality, personality memory search sophisticated memory control, reason)
iii. Motor Cortex- the backmost gyrus that controls fine movement and is organized by body part
b. Parietal Lobe
i. Top and center/rear of the head
ii. Controls attention, spatial location, and motor control (and arithmetic)
iii. Sensory Cortex- front most gyrus that controls that registers sensation in the body (organized by body part)
c. Temporal Lobe (Hearing and language)
i. Under the temples, in front of the ears
ii. Processes sounds and commits info into memory
iii. Comprehends language
d. Occipital Lobe (Vision)
i. Back of the brain
ii. Responsible for vision and is separated by areas
e. Association Areas
i. Areas of the cortex that are NOT directly involved in motor control or sensory processing
VII. The Brain’s Flexibility
a. Plasticity
i. The brain’s ability to modify itself
ii. Happens to everyone to some extent
b. Amputation
i. Brain reassigns tasks of lost fingers areas so that other fingers become more sensitive
c. Blind people
i. Visual cortex is taken over by the sensory cortex for the person’s Braille finger
d. Deaf
i. Temporal lobe reassigned to increase peripheral vision
e. Neuroprosthetics
i. Field devoted to developing artificial limbs or aids
THE BRAIN IS MORE PLASTIC IN CHILDHOOD, BECAUSE IT IS EASIER TO RECOVER FROM BRAIN DAMAGE
VIII. Handedness
a. 90% of population is right handedness
b. Division of Labor Theory of Handedness
i. Language and hand control both require fine motor controls
ii. More efficient to have 1 hemisphere that controls both
iii. Left hemisphere= language thus right handed
c. Pro Lefties
i. More common among renowned musicians, mathematicians, architects, and artists
ii. Advantage in one-on-one sports
iii. Do better than righties (in life)
d. Pro Righties
i. Less likely to experience reading disabilites, allergies, migraine, and headaches
ii. Society is designed for righties
iii. Lefties disappear with age
Unit 3 Biological Basis of Behavior Review
Neuron: a nerve cell
Sensory Neuron: receives signal from environment via sensory organs (eyes, skin, etc.) and sends signal to Interneuron
Interneuron: receives signal from Sensory Neuron and sends it to Motor Neuron
Motor Neuron: receives signal from Interneuron and sends signal to muscles to react to environment
Glial cell: fills gaps between neurons and tidies up neural connections for faster communication
[pic]
Resting Potential: resting state of neurons, sodium ions (Na+) outside of neuron and potassium ions (K+) inside neuron, making inside more negative then outside)
Threshold: stimulation required to trigger neural impulse
*Messages from other neurons are either excitatory (gas pedal analogy) or inhibitory (brake analogy)
Action Potential: the neural impulse, sodium moves inside of neuron causing inside to be more positive, electrical charge moves down axon to terminal button to trigger next neuron
[pic]
Neurotransmitter: a chemical that sends signals from one neuron to another over synaptic cleft
Receptors: binding site for neurotransmitters, unique for each type of neurotransmitter
Reuptake: reabsorbing leftover neurotransmitters into vesicles into terminal buttons
|Neurotransmitter |Function |Cases of Malfunctioning |
|Acetylcholine |Voluntary muscle movement Memory |Paralysis |
| | |Alzheimers |
|Dopamine |Attention |Schizophrenia |
| |Involuntary Movement |Parkinson’s Disease |
| |Feel-Good emotions |Drug addictions (agonists) |
|Serotonin |Mood |Depression |
| |Arousal |OCD |
|Norepinephrine |Control of Alertness and Arousal |Depression |
| | |Bipolar Disorder |
| | |Panic Disorder |
|GABA |Inhibitory |Insomnia |
|Glutamate |Excitatory |Seizures |
Agonists: mimics neurotransmitter, fits into particular neurotransmitter receptor and passes signal along
Antagonists: fits into particular neurotransmitter receptor but blocks signal
[pic]
The Nervous System:
the body’s electrochemical communication network
The Endocrine System:
the body’s chemical communication system
[pic] [pic]
Hormones: chemical messengers that are created by one organ and affect another through the bloodstream
*Adrenaline ≈ Epinephrine, Noradrenaline ≈ Norepinephrine
*Neurotransmitters work quickly (fractions of a second), Hormones work slowly (possibly hours)
Pituitary Gland (The Master Gland): controlled by hypothalamus, releases hormones that regulate other endocrine glands
Methods of Studying the Brain:
Brain Damage Patients allow us to map function of different brain structures (Phineas Gage and Frontal Lobe Damage)
[pic]
EEG (Electroencephalograph): records brain waves. Monitors brain function.
+ High temporal resolution (1 millisecond)
+ Non-invasive
- Low spatial resolution (not good for studying brain structure)
[pic] [pic]
CT (Computer-assisted Tomography) Scan: 3D image of brain structure using x-ray
+ High spatial resolution
+ Direct view of level of interest
- Potential damage from radiation
[pic]
PET (Position Emission Tomography) Scan: use radioactive glucose to track energy consumption to measure brain functioning
- Radiation exposure
- Lengthy process
- $$$
[pic]
MRI (Magnetic Response Imaging): use of magnetic properties of atoms to take sharp picture of brain and other soft tissue structure
[pic]
fMRI (Functional Magnetic Response Imaging): detects blood flow to different brain regions to reveal functioning of brain
[pic]
+ Non-invasion, no radiation
+ Quick
- What is fMRI telling us? (Blood is always flowing to brain…)
- Uncomfortable experien
Hindbrain: “older” region of brain responsible for automatic, life-sustaining bodily processes
[pic] [pic]
Brainstem: facilitates communication between brain and spinal cord
Medulla: lowest structure of brain, first swollen part of spinal cord, controls heartbeat, breathing, and swallowing
Reticular Formation: regulates alertness and autonomic nervous system activity
Pons: connects brainstem to cerebellum; controls sleep, coordination of motor movements, and posture
Cerebellum: “little brain” located at rear of brain; coordinates physical movement, posture, and balance
Midbrain: aides communication between hindbrain and forebrain
Thalamus: receives signals from sensory neurons, relays them to appropriate parts of brain, also receives signals from forebrain and relays them to medulla and cerebellum
Forebrain: “newer” brain region, higher level mental faculties (decision-making, planning, etc.)
Limbic system: involved in the basics of emotion and motivation
Amygdala: play critical role in feelings of anger and fear (Rhesus monkey study)
[pic]
Hypothalamus: regulations homeostasis (balance) in the body’s various systems, controls pituitary gland with links nervous system to endocrine system, also known as “pleasure center” (Olds and Milner rat study)
Hippocampus: responsible for storing new experiences in memory, but does not contain memories (H.M. anterograde amnesia, unable to form new memories)
[pic]
Cerebral Cortex: surface of the brain where most high-level mental processes take place
Sulcus: a crease in the cortex
Gyrus: a bulge between sulci in the cortex
[pic]
Cerebral Hemisphere: control opposite sides of the body (right side brain to left side body and vice versa)
[pic]
Left Hemisphere: language, logic, calculations, reasoning (analytical + verbal
Right Hemisphere: insight, artsy, creativity, musical (intuitive + perceptual
*Left active with slow deliberate decisions, Right active with quick responses
Corpus Callosum: band of neural fibers that transmits messages between two halves of the brain
*Remember split-brain patients have severed corpus callosum in order to control epileptic seizures (unable to name objects seen in left field of vision)
Lobes of the brain:
Plasticity: the brain’s ability to modify itself, brain reorganization after damage is inflicted
*Sensory cortex takes over visual cortex in blind people
*Temporal lobe seeks out non-auditory signals in deaf people
Handedness
Division of labor theory of handedness is the most widely accepted theory of handedness. It states that language and hand control both require fine motor control. The side of your brain you lean on for language is the side of handedness. Therefore, since left hemisphere is for language it leads to right-handedness.
• close to 90% of people are right- handed and 10% are left handed, with left handedness being more common in males
Unit 4 Study Guide
What is the difference between sensation and perception?
-Sensation: process by which sensory receptors and nervous system create an awareness of the properties of an object/event in the environment (outside info ( in)
-Perception: Organizing/ interpreting sensory input enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
Types of Processing
A. Bottom-Up Processing: processing that is initiates by stimulus input; begins with senses and works up to brains integration of sensory information.
B. Top Down Processing: Processing that is guided by knowledge, expectations, or beliefs
- Ex) You watch a scary movie late at night alone in your dark house with all the lights off. When the movie ends, you frightfully creep to bed, when all of a sudden you "see" the chainsaw murderer from the movie.
C. Parallel: process information simultaneously - We process all information at once to come to the conclusion what an object is
Absolute threshold: the smallest amount of sensory stimulus needed to notice at least 50% of the time that the stimulus is there
Just Noticeable Difference: the size of a difference in a stimulus property needed to notice that a change has occurred
Weber’s Law: the size of a JND depends on the overall magnitude of the stimulus
Subliminal: a sensory signal that is not registered by our conscious awareness
Priming: The tendency for recently used words or ideas to come to mind easily and influence the interpretation of new information
Signal detection theory: theory explaining why people detect signals.
People detect signals among noise when:
1. 1. They expect the signal
2. 2. It is important that the signal is detected
3. 3. They are alert.
Sensory adaptation: decreased sensitivity due to constant stimulation
-allows us to focus on changes in our environment
Transduction: transforming sensory input into neural impulses that the brain can interpret
Light
Amplitude: determines brightness
Wavelength: determines hue
Serial vs Parallel Processing
Serial: processing step by step in a specified order
Parallel: procession several aspects simultaneously
Color Vision
Trichromatic Theory of Color Vision: color vision is combinations of neural impulses from 3 different kinds of cones which respond differently to wavelength. (Long=red, medium=green/yellow, short=blue)
Opponent process theory of color vision: The presence of one color of a pair inhibits perception of the other color in that pair. (red-green)(yellow-blue)(black-white)
Evidence for this theory from:
Afterimages: the image left behind by a previous perception.
Colorblindness: most commonly not able to see red-green
Depth Perception
Binocular cues to depth: cues that come from both eyes working together
Retinal Disparity: the difference between the images striking the retinas
Monocular cues to depth: cues to depth perception that can be perceived by one eye alone
Relative size: the larger an object appears, the closer we think it is
Interposition: objects that block the view of another are perceived as being closer
Relative Clarity: hazy objects are perceived as being further away
Texture Gradient: progressive changes in the texture of an object
Relative height: objects higher in field of vision appear further away
Relative motion: as we move stationary objects seem to move too
Linear Perspective: parallel lines seem to converge with distance
Light and Shadow: nearby objects reflect more light to our eyes
Motion Perception
Phi Phenomenon: an illusion of movement created where 2 or more lihts are blinkning on and off in rapid succession
Stroboscopic Movement: perception of movement in a series of still images flashed quickly in a sequence
Attention
Selective attention: the process of picking out a particular quality, object, or event for relatively detailed analysis. We attend to things that grab our attention
Pop Out: occurs when a stimulus is sufficiently different from the ones around it that is immediately evident.
Superior Colliculus: brainstem structure underneath the thalamus. Activated by sudden changes in environment that grabs our attention
Change Blindness: Failure to detect large changes in a visual scene
Stroops Task: When the name of a color (e.g., "blue," "green," or "red") is printed in a color not denoted by the name (e.g., the word "red" printed in blue ink instead of red ink), naming the color of the word takes longer and is more prone to errors than when the color of the ink matches the name of the color.
Sensation and Perception Mismatches
1. Signal detection theory: detect a signal when there wasn’t, or don’t detect when there was
2. Subliminal ads: exposed briefly to something in which we are in the long run, affected by.
3. Stroops Task: When the name of a color (e.g., "blue," "green," or "red") is printed in a color not denoted by the name (e.g., the word "red" printed in blue ink instead of red ink), naming the color of the word takes longer and is more prone to errors than when the color of the ink matches the name of the color.
Role of Attention in Perception
Attention allows us to focus on particular information, allowing information to be processed more fully than that no attended to. **in interpreting sensory inputs, attention sometimes blurs our comprehension of what we really experience**
Ex.) Change Blindness: phenomenon that occurs when a person viewing a visual scene apparently fails to detect large changes in the scene.
- Disruption requires a comparison of one image to another one held in memory
- can occur due to a failure to store the information in the first place or to a failure to compare the relevant information from the current scene to the representation
Ex.) Stroop Task: Read off color of a word
**Attention determines what we perceive, but not completely conscious control**
EX.) Cocktail Party: not being aware of the content of peoples conversations until name is mentioned; although we have attention on something else, we unconsciously are drawn to self-relevant information.
Synesthesia: merging of the senses; phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to automatic experience in a 2nd sense.
1. Grapheme: Color synesthesia; letters aznd numbers are associated with a color
Ex.) A⋄Red, 0⋄Black or White, S⋄Yellow
2. Music Synesthesia: specific tones/songs associated with a color
Ex.) Song may remind them of purple, a song may sound yellow
**Explanation: Rewiring of brain, areas of the brain in close proximately have tendency to stimulate a different area for certain sensations.
[pic]
The Eye
Cornea: transparent covering of the eye. Bend light to provide focus
Pupil: small adjustable opening that allows light to enter the eye
Iris: circular colored muscle that adjusts the size of the pupil
Lens: changes shape to focus image
Ciliary Muscle: controls curvature of the kens to achieve focus
Retina: light sensitive inner surface of the eye
Rods: detect black, white and shades of gray. Necessary for twilight and peripheral vision
Cones: detect color or fine detail
Fovea: best point of focus
Optic Nerve: bundle of nerve fibers from retina to thalamus.
Hearing
definition: sound waves received by the ear transacted nut neural signals
amplitude = volume (brightness)
large = louder sound
small = softer sound
wavelength = pitch
longer = lower
shorter = higher
The Ear / Hearing
Pinna = funnel part of the ear
sound wave --> eardrum (tympanic membrane) --> vibrates 3 bones (malleus, incus, stapes) --> amplify vibrations --> oval windows --> basilar membrane (inside the cochlea)
Smell & Memory
evolutionary explanation: smell is used by most mammals to detect food and poison
biological explanation: 2 major neural tracks that deliver smell info
1. through the thalamus to hippocampus (memory)
2. throughout the limbic system (emotion)
pheromones: chemicals proceed by the body that serve as a means of interpersonal communication
- associated with physical attraction
Taste
taste buds: microscopic structure on the bumps of the tongues surface, back of throat, and inside cheeks.
umami: savory, meaty flavor (e.g. MSG)
Somasthetic Senses
definition: senses that have to do with perceiving the body and its position is space
1. Kinesthetic Sense = the sense that registers the movement and position of the body
- tendon (connect muscle to bone) and muscle cells important to kinesthetic sense
2. Vestibular Sense = provides info about the bodies orientation relative to gravity
- rely on semi circular canals (inner ear) ----filled with fluid and cilia (tiny hairs) which detect balance by sensing fluid movement
3. Magnetic Sense = tiny bits of magnetite (iron) in bird neurons clustered near the beak
- in humans: magnetite in ethomoid bone in the nose
- unsure if humans have it or not
Extrasensory Perception
definition: perception can occur without sensory input
telepathy: the ability to send or receive thoughts directly from anthers mind
clairvoyance: ability to know about distant events without sensory infuriation
precognition: ability to predict future events
Unit 4: Sensation and Perception
How do we create mental representations of the outside world?
• Sensation: the process by which sensory receptors and nervous system create and awareness of the properties of an object/event.
• Perception: the act of organizing and interpreting sensory input -> enables us to recognize meaningful objects/events.
• Our senses and perceptions can mismatch
Types of processing
• Bottom up: process that is initiated by stimulus input beginning with senses and works its way up to the brain’s integration of sensory info
• Top down: processing that is guided by knowledge expectation or beliefs-> fit sensations to perceptions
Basic Principles of sensation
• Absolute threshold: the smallest amount of a sensory stimulus needed to notice at least 50% of the time that the stimulus is there.
• Just Noticeable Difference (JND): the size of a difference in a stimulus property needed to notice that a change has occurred.
• Weber’s Law: the size of a JND depends on the overall magnitude of the stimulus (1 candle vs 100 candles, does one make a difference?)
• Subliminal: below the threshold-> can a stimulus below the threshold still affect us?
• Priming: the tendency for recently used words, ideas, and thoughts to come to mind more easily and influence the interpretation of new information
o Higgins et al (1977): if you are read a list of positive/negative words and then read and unrelated story, you are more likely to associate the type of word/emotion with the main character of that story.
o Non Chinese Speaking Americans: sad/happy face immediately followed by a Chinese character. How much do you like that character?
• Signal Detection Theory: explains why people detect signals embedded in background noise. You are better at detecting a signal when: you expect it, it is important that the signal is detected, and when you are alert
• Sensory Adaptation: decreased sensitivity due to constant stimulation-> allows us to focus on changes in the environment.. -> things disappear from sight when we stare at them (e.g. BEER-> PEER->PEEP->BEE->BE
• Perceptual Adaptation: ability to adjust to new modalities of perception
o Stratton (1896)- the inverted glasses guy.
• Transduction: transforming sensory input (light waves, sound waves, etc.) to neural impulses that the brain can interpret.
Vision: Visual Sensation
• Eyes register light waves reflected from or produced by objects in the visual field.
• Amplitude: the height of the peaks in a light wave-> determines brightness.
• Wavelength: the distance between the peaks of a light wave-> shorter wavelengths= higher frequency
• Frequency: the rate at which light waves moves past a given point-> determines hue (short= blue, long = red
• Cornea: transparent covering of the eye, protects eye, bends light to provide focus
• Pupil: black center right in the middle of the eye, bigger the pupil is, more light let in.
• Iris: circular colored muscle that adjusts the size of the pupil
• Lens: transparent structure right behind the pupil that changes shape to focus image on the back of the eye
• Ciliary Muscles: control curvature of lens to achieve focus
• Retina: light-sensitive inner surface of the eye. Receptors in the retina are called rods and cones
o Rods: black, white and shades of grey, we are reliant on rods at dusk and night and for peripheral vision.
o Cones: detect colors and fine details
• Fovea: central part of the retina with the highest density of cones and highest resolution (almost no rods) -> the point of clearest and most detailed vision
• Info goes from retina to the thalamus
[pic]
• Inversion of images: image projected upside down on retina once it passes through lens. Vision is constructed by brain, rather than merely received.
• Feature Detection Neurons: nerve cells in the visual cortex that respond to very specific features of a stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.
• Parallel Processing: processing of several aspects of info simultaneously
• Serial Processing: processing of info step by step in a specific order. Brain uses parallel processing
• Objects do not possess color (tomato isn’t red, its everything but red. It does not absorb red light waves, they bounce off and are picked up by the eyes.)
• Trichromatic Theory of Color Vision: color vision = combinations of neural impulses from 3 different kinds of cones which respond to different wave lengths. ( long=red, medium=green/yellow, short=blue)
• Opponent Process Theory of Color Vision: the presence of one color of a pair of colors inhibits perception of the other color in the pair (red/green, yellow/blue, black/white)
o Afterimages: evidence for this theory= the image left behind by a previous perception
Color Blindness= the inability (either acquired by brain damage or inherited) to perceive hue
• Very rarely a complete inability to perceive any color, and never swapping colors
• Usually due to 1 of the 3 color receptors absent or not functioning. (red/green color blindness most common) Color blindness is most common in men.
Visual Perception: first step is to organize sensory input into shapes that correspond to objects and specify their sizes and locations
• Figure: the set of characteristics that correspond to an object (shape, color, texture, etc)
• Ground: the background which must be distinguished in order to pick out figures.
• Depth Perception: the ability to see the world in three dimensions. Judge distances
o We are able to perceive depth through binocular cues and monocular cues
o Binocular Cues=both eyes, 2 slightly different perspectives.
▪ Retinal Disparity: the difference between the images striking the retinas (more disparity= closer object, less disparity= farther object)
o Monocular Cues= cues to depth perception that can be perceived by one eye alone.
▪ Relative size
▪ Interposition
▪ Relative clarity
▪ Texture gradient
▪ Relative height
▪ Relative motion
▪ Linear perspective
▪ Light and shadow
• Motion Perception: we see movement that isn’t actually there
• Phi Phenomenon: an illusion of movement created when 2 or more lights blink on and off in quick succession
• Stroboscopic Movement: perception of movement in a series of still images flashed quickly in sequence
• We don’t get confused when things change because of
o Perceptual Consistency: the perception of characteristics of objects remains the same
o Size Consistency: seeing an object as being the same size, viewed at different distances
o Shape Consistency: seeing objects as having the same shape even when the image on the retina changes
o Muller-Lyer Illusion- they’re the same length!!
o [pic]
Past Experiences and perception
• Perceptual Set: mental pre disposition to perceive one thing and not another, determined by schemas
• Schema: a concept or a framework that organizes and interprets information
• The Thatcher Illusion: schemas for upside down faces are less, we rarely see them.
• [pic]
Attention, the gateway to awareness
• Attention: the act of focusing on particular information, allows info to be processed more fully than info that is not attended to
• Selective Attention: the process of picking out a particular quality, object, or event, for relatively detailed analysis
What grabs our attention?
• Pop-out: occurs when a stimulus is sufficiently different from the ones around it.
• Superior Colliculus: Brain stem structure underneath the thalamus activated by sudden changes in the environment
• Change blindness: failure to detect large changes in a visual scene
• Stroop Task: Name the color of the font-> attention is not necessarily always in our conscious control
Hearing
• Sound Waves: received by ears and translated into neural signals. A vibrating object creates a pressure wave in molecules, creating sound waves that the ear feels.
• Amplitude: volume. Larger Amplitude= louder sound
• Wave Length: pitch. Longer wave length= lower pitch
• Sound intensity measured in decibels
• Structure of the ear (pg 217 of text book)
o Sound Waves go to the eardrum and that vibrates 3 tiny bones ( the malleus, incus, stapes) that amplify vibrations . They go through the “oval window” to the basilar membrane inside the cochlea
• Basilar Membrane is lined with cilia (hair cells)
o Cilia : hearing :: rods and cones : vision
• Vibrations move hair cells creating a neural impulse that goes to the thalamus, and then the auditory cortex in the temporal lobe.
• Cocktail Party Effect: not being aware of the content of other people’s conversations until your name is mentioned, then suddenly hearing it-> bottom up processing until attention is drawn by self relevant info
• Dichotic Listening task: different stimuli delivered in 2 ears via headphones, instructed to monitor only one signal-> still perceive some info (like the speaker’s gender) from ignored ear
Deafness
• Nerve Deafness: hair cells destroyed by loud sounds- tinnitus= constant ringing in the ears
• Conduction Deafness: physical impairment of the outer or middle ear (like a broken eardrum)
Smell and Taste: Chemical Senses
• Rely on sensing the presence of certain chemicals
• Sensory interaction: the principle that one sense may influence another
• Smell: Olfaction
o Odor sensed by around 5 million receptor fibers on the roof of each nasal cavity. There are different receptors for different smells. Like color, we detect smell by the combination of receptors that fire
o Smell and memory liked: evolutionary explanation of detecting food and poison. Biological explanation of olfactory info delivered through hippocampus and limbic system
• Pheromones: chemical means of communicating between people. They are substances produced by the body that serve as a means for interpersonal communication
Taste
• Taste buds: microscopic structures on the bumps on the tongue surface, at the back of the throat, and inside the cheeks.
• All foods are a combination of bitter, salty, sour, sweet, and possibly umami, the savory, meaty flavor
• Taste and smell are closely related. They converge in the same region of the frontal lobe.
Somasthetic Senses- senses that have to do with perceiving the body and its position in space
• Touch, Kinesthetic Sense, Vestibular Sense, and Magnetic Sense (possibly)
o *Skin= Largest organ
Touch: Atleast four skin senses (heat, cold, pressure, pain). Other sensations are just combinations/ degrees ( Tickle: Gentle stoke on adjacent pressure spots. Itch: Gentle stroke on pain spot.
• Pain—it’s a good thing for us! Alerts when something’s wrong, signals for change in behavior.
• Congenital Analgesia: Rare condition in which a person is unable to feel physical pain.
*Pain is both bottom up and top down. Bottom Up= damage to portion of the body(thalamus( sensory cortex in the parietal lobe. Top Down= Brain anticipates pain, body feels expected pain. (Like, bending back rubber fingers)
• Experience of pain= combination of signals from three types of nerve fibers in spinal cord.
1. Long nerve fibers- conduct most sensory info, but not pain
2. Two types of short fibers conduct pain signals
a. Fast myelinated neurons for sudden intense pain
b. Unmyelinated nerves for slower, more consistent chronic pain
• Pain Relief = stimulation of long nerves (massage, acupuncture etc.)
Somasthetic Senses
• Kinesthetic sense: The sense that registers the movement and position
• Two specialized cells:
1. In tendons, triggered by tension
2. In muscles themselves, triggered by length of muscles
*Can be temporarily impaired during growth/bodily change. Used as sobriety test.
• Vestibular Sense: The sense that provides information about the body’s orientation relative to gravity. Relies on semicircular canals in the inner ear.
*Vision, Vestibular and Kinesthetic Sense combine to give us balance.
• Magnetic Sense: Birds migrate by sensing the earth’s magnetic field.
*Some evidence of weak Magnetic Sense in humans.
Extrasensory Perception (ESP)- The claim that perception can occur without sensory input
• Telepathy: Ability to send and receive thoughts mind to mind.
• Clairvoyance: The ability to know about distant events without sensory information.
• Precognition: The ability to predict future events.
• Psychokinesis: Ability to move things with your mind.
Synesthesia
• Syn(union)+ Aisthises(of the senses)- phenomenon in which stimulation of one sense leads to automatic experiences in a second sense.
• grapheme to color, music to color, lexical to gustatory, number to form etc.
*Why does Synesthesia happen? Increased communication between specialized parts of the brain that are physically close to one another?
Unit 4: Sensation and Perception Study Guide
• Sensation: process by which sensory receptors and the nervous system creates an awareness of the properties of an object/event in the environment.
• Perception: the act of organizing and interpreting sensory input.
o Sensation and perception can sometimes mismatch.
Types of Processing
• Bottom-up Processing: stimulus-input processing; processing that begins with senses and works up to brain’s integration of sensory information.
• Top-down Processing: processing that is guided by knowledge, experience, or beliefs.
• Absolute Threshold: the smallest amount of a sensory stimulus needed to notice at least fifty percent of the time that the stimulus is preset (bare minimum amount of information needed).
• Just-Noticeable Difference (JND) : the size of a difference in a stimulus property needed to notice a change has occurred
o Weber’s Law: size of JND depends on the overall magnitude of the stimulus; stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage rather than a constant amount.
• Subliminal Sensation: a sensory signal below the threshold that is not consciously registered
• Priming: The tendency for recently used words or ideas to come to mind easily- which influences the interpretation of new information.
o Priming: Immediate short term effect on simple judgements and actions
o Subliminal Messages: aim for long term effects on consumer purchases, voter sentiment, or even suicide. Subliminal messages may have the ability to affect our short term decisions, for example, striking while the iron is hot.
• Signal Detection Theory: a theory explaining why people detect signals, which are always embedded in noise, in some situations and not others.
• Sensory Adaptation: decreased sensitivity due to constant stimulation.
• Perceptual Adaptation: the ability to adjust to new modalities of perception. The brain can adapt to new ways of perception, such as the right/left up/down flipped glasses
• Transduction: transforming sensory input into neural impulses that our brain can interpret
Vision: Visual Sensation: Eyes register light waves reflected from objects in the visual field.
[pic]
• Rods: retinal receptor cells that detect white, black, and gray. Necessary for peripheral and twilight vision
• Cones: retinal receptor cells that detect colors and fine detail. Function in daylight and well-light conditions
• Fovea: the point of clearest most detailed vision
• Ganglion Cells and Bipolar Cells: rods and cones are connected to these cells which transmit visual information from light receptors to the brain
• Feature Detector Neurons: nerve cells in visual cortex that respond to very specific features of a stimulus, such as a shape, angle, or movement
• Parallel Processing: processing several aspects of information simultaneously
• Serial Processing: processing of information step-by-step in a specific order. Vision is NOT serial processing.
Color Vision: Objects do not possess color, but rather color is a product of our brain’s transduction of light waves.
• Trichromatic Theory: combinations of neural impulses from three different kinds of cones which respond to different wavelengths
• Opponent Process Theory: the presence of one color of a pair inhibits perception of the other color in the pair
• Afterimage: the image left behind by a previous perception
• Color Blindness: the inability to see color
Visual Perception: first step of visual perception; organize sensory input into shapes that correspond to objects and to specify their sizes and locations.
• Figure: the set of characteristics that correspond to an object such as shape, color, texture, etc.
• Ground: the background which must be distinguished in order to pick out figures
o Figure-ground relationship can be ambiguous; in that case the mind organizes the visual world.
Depth Perception: the ability to see objects in three dimensions.
• Visual Cliff Studies (Gibson & Walk 1960)
• Binocular Cues: cues to depth perception that comes from the use of eyes working together.
o Retinal Disparity
• Monocular Cues: cues to depth that can be perceived by one eye alone
o Relative Size
o Interposition
o Relative Clarity
o Texture Gradient
o Relative Height
o Relative Motion
o Linear Perspective
o Light and Shadow
Motion Perception: we see movement that is “actually” there
• Phi Phenomenon: an illusion of movement created when two or more lights blink on and off in quick succession
• Stroboscopic movement: perception of movement in series of still images flashed quickly in sequence
Perceptual Constancy: Perceptions of characteristics of objects remain the same, even though sensory information changes.
• Size Constancy: seeing an object as being the same size when viewed at different distances
• Shape Constancy: seeing objects as having the same shape even when image retina changes
• Perceptual Set: mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another, determined by schema.
• Schema: concept/framework that organizes and interprets information like computer folders in the mind.
• Attention: the act of focusing on particular information
• Selective Attention: the process of picking out a particular quality, object, or event for relatively detailed.
• Pop-out: occurs when a stimulus is sufficiently different from the ones around it that it is immediately evident
• Grabbing Attention: sudden changes in the environment that grab our attention
o Superior Colliculus: brainstem structure underneath the thalamus activated by the sudden changes that grab our attention
• Voluntary Attention: when you are searching for something
o Frontal and Parietal Lobes
• Change Blindness: failure to detect large changes in a visual field
Hearing: sounds waves received by ears, transduced into neural signals, measured in decibels.
Structure of ear: Sound waves -> eardrum (tympanic membrane) -> vibrates 3 tiny bones (Malleus, Incus, Stapes) that amplify vibrations -> oval window -> basilar membrane (inside cochlea)
Basilar membrane: lined with Cilia
• Cilia: hair cells, vibration -> move hair cells, creating neural impulses -> thalamus -> auditory cortex( temporal lobe)
• Cocktail Party Effect: not being aware of the content of other people’s conversations until your name is mentioned, then suddenly hearing it.
• Dichotic Listening Task: different stimuli delivered to two ears via headphones, instructed to only monitor one signal in one of your ears.
• Sensory Interaction: the principle that one sense may influence another
Smell and Pheromones
• Pheromones: chemical substances produced by the body that serve as a means of interpersonal communication
• Taste Buds: microscopic structures on the bumps of the tongue surface at the back of the throat, and inside the cheeks
o Bitter
o Salty
o Sweet
o Sour
o Umami: savory, meaty flavor
Somasthetic Senses
• Kinesthetic Sense: the sense that registers the movement and position of the body
• Vestibular Sense: the sense that provides information about the body’s orientation relative to gravity
• Magnetic Sense: sensing Earth’s magnetic field- birds magnetic sense to flock
• Extrasensory Perception (ESP): the claim that perception can occur without sensory input
o Telepathy: the ability to send and receive thoughts directly, mind to mind
o Clairvoyance: ability to know about distant events without any sensory info
o Precognition: ability to predict future events
o Psychokinesis: ability to move things with your mind
Synesthesia: Phenomenon in which stimulation of one sense/sensory pathway leads to automatic experiences in a second sense/sensory pathway
• Color Synesthesia: letters and or numbers associated with specific colors
• Music/Color Synesthesia: specific tones or songs associated with specific colors
• Lexical/Gustatory Synesthesia: individual words and sounds associated with experience of specific tastes (Very rare!)
• Number Form Synesthesia: mental map of numbers, oriented in
space
Unit 4- Sensation and Perception
Sensation: process by which sensory receptors and the nervous system create an awareness of the properties of an object or event in the environment
Perception: the act of organizing and interpreting sensory input
Bottom-up processing: started by a stimulus input- begins with senses and moves up to the brain’s integration of sensory information
Top-down processing: started or guided by knowledge, expectations, or belief- then we make perception fit that belief
Absolute threshold: the smallest amount of a stimulus needed for us to notice at least 50% of the time that the stimulus is there
Just-noticeable difference: the size of a difference in a stimulus needed to notice that a change has occurred
Weber’s Law: the size of a just-noticeable difference in a stimulus needed to notice that a change has occurred
Subliminal sensation: a sensory signal not registered by our conscious awareness
Priming: the tendency for recently used words or ideas to come to mind easily and influence the interpretation of new material
▪ This can happen even on the subliminal level, for example if a positive image is flashed so quickly that you don’t see it consciously, it can still influence your perception of things you sense afterward
Signal detection theory: why people detect signals, which are always embedded in noise, in some situations but not others
▪ People faster to detect signal among noise when they expect the signal, when it’s important to detect it, and when they are alert
Sensory adaptation: decreased sensitivity due to constant stimulation
Transduction: transforming sensory input into neural impulses the brain can interpret
Amplitude: height of the wave
Wavelength: the distance between peaks of light waves
Frequency: the rate at which light moves past a given point
Cornea: transparent covering of the eye, which protects it and bends light to give focus
Pupil: opening that lets light into the eye
Iris: circular, colored muscle that adjusts the size of the pupil
Lens: transparent structure behind pupil that changes shape to focus image on back of the eye
Ciliary muscles: control curvature of lens
Retina: light-sensitive inner surface of the eye
Rods: cells in the retina that detect black and white and are needed for peripheral and twilight vision
Cones: retinal cells that detect color and fine detail, needed in daylight and well-lit conditions
Fovea: central part of the retina with the highest density of cones, providing the clearest and most detailed vision
Optic nerve: bundle of nerve fibers that carry messages from the retina to the thalamus (there is a blind spot where the optic nerve is)
Nearsightedness: seeing well close
Farsightedness: seeing well far away
Inversion of images: the image you are looking at is projected upside down on the retina after passing through the lens
Feature detector neurons: nerve cells in the visual cortex that respond to very specific features of a stimulus, like shape, angle, or movement
Serial processing: processing of information step by step in specific order
Parallel processing: processing several aspects of information at the same time
Opponent process theory of color vision: visual information is analyzed in terms of the opponent colors red and green, white and black, and blue and yellow
Trichromatic theory of color vision: the retina has 3 kinds of color receptors, respectively sensitive to red, green, and blue, and other colors are seen when combinations of the different cones are stimulated
Afterimages: when you stare at one color for a while, you see its opposite when you look away
Color blindness:
Perceptual constancy: perception of characteristics of objects remains the same, even though sensory information changes- relies on top down processing
Size constancy: seeing an object as the same size even when it’s viewed from different distances
Shape constancy: seeing an object as having the same shape even when the image on the retina changes
Perceptual set: mental predisposition to perceive on thing and not another, as determined by schema
Schema: a person’s concept, framework, or prior knowledge that organizes and interprets information
Attention: the act of focusing on particular information
Selective attention: the process of picking out a particular quality, object, or event for relatively detailed analysis
Pop-out: occurs when a stimulus is sufficiently different from the ones around it that it’s immediately evident
Change blindness: failure to detect large changes in a visual scene
Stroop task: colors printed in different color ink
Sound waves ( Tympanic membrane (eardrum)( 3 bones in the ear (malleus, incus, stapes) amplify vibrations (oval window (basilar membrane (lined with cilia- hair cells) ( neural impulse ( thalamus ( auditory cortex
Place theory: we hear different pitches because different sound waves trigger activity at different places in the basilar membrane
Frequency theory: the whole basilar membrane vibrates, at a different speed according to the sound wave, so we hear different pitches
Cocktail party phenomenon: not being aware of the content of other people’s conversations until (your name or other pertinent personal information) is mentioned, then suddenly hearing it
Nerve deafness: hair cells destroyed by loud sounds
Conduction deafness: physical impairment of outer or middle ear
Evolutionary explanation for smell: smell used by most mammals to detect food (good and bad) and poison
Biological explanation: there are 2 major neural tracks that deliver olfactory information: through the thalamus to hippocampus (memory), and through the limbic system (emotion)
Pheromones: chemical substances produced by the body that serve as a means of interpersonal communication
Taste buds: microscopic structures on the bumps of the tongue surface, at the back of the throat, and inside the cheek
5 basic tastes: bitter, sweet, salty, sour, and umami- savory, meaty, flavor
Somasthetic Senses: senses that have to do with perceiving the body and its position in space- touch, kinesthetic sense, vestibular sense, and possibly magnetic sense
Gate-control theory of pain: long nerve fibers can interfere with functioning of short nerve fiber functioning, possibly inhibiting pain
Long nerve fibers: conduct most sensory information, but not pain
Short nerve fibers: conduct pain signals
Kinesthetic Sense: registers movement and position of the body
Vestibular Sense: provides information about the body’s orientation relative to gravity, relying on the semicircular canals of the inner ear
Magnetic Sense: sensing of the earth’s magnetic field, may or may not occur in humans
Extrasensory Perception (ESP): the idea of perception without sensory input- telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, psychokineses
Synesthesia: a phenomenon where stimulation of one sense leads to an automatic experience in another sense. May happen because of increased communication between parts of the brain that are close to each other, like color processing and letter recognition
UNIT 5: States of Consciousness
Consciousness:
A person's awareness of his or her own existence, sensations, cognitions, and environment. Usually arises from several areas in the parietal and frontal lobes.
*** Consciousness is not merely perception***
Normal/Waking Consciousness:
Occurs during the usual waking state.
Altered Consciousness:
Other than normal waking state (e.g. sleep, hypnosis and psychoactive drugs).
Sleep:
Naturally recurrent experience during which normal consciousness is suspended; essential to mammals and most other animals.
Circadian Rhythm:
The biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur within a roughly 24 hour cycle, includes blood pressure, pulse rate, body temperature, blood sugar level, hormone levels and metabolism.
• Regulated through hypothalamus, specifically through the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the light sensitive portion of the hypothalamus that receives info on light of day through receptors in eyes.
Stage 1 Sleep:
Transition from wakefulness to sleep (hypnogogic sleep).
Characterized by alpha waves: relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed awake state.
May "see" flashing lights/geometric patterns.
May feel Hypnic Jerk: Experience a falling/floating sensation and jerk violently.
Easily awakened from stage 1.
Lasts for about five minutes.
Stage 2 Sleep:
Characterized by the following:
Sleep Spindles: brief bursts of rapid rhythmic brain activity.
K-Complexes: single high amplitude waves.
Relatively easily awakened.
Lasts for about 20 minutes.
Stage 3 & 4 Sleep:
Marked by production of delta waves: slow, high-amplitude waves.
Stage 3: 20-50 % delta waves
Stage 4: more than 50% delta waves.
Marked by decreases in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate and body temperature. Lasts about 30 minutes.
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep:
Brain activity similar to stage 1.
Rapid and irregular breathing and heart rate, bursts of eye movement behind closed lids.
REM dreams: emotional, story like, rich and vivid unlike earlier stage dreams.
Visual and auditory cortices in brain more active in REM than any other stage.
Sleep Cycle:
1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, REM, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, REM (repeat).
Repeats about every 90 minutes and 4-5 times per night.
Why Do We Sleep?
Restorative Theory: helps the body recover from the day’s events.
Evolutionary Theory: keeps people out of trouble at night
Cognitive Theory: helps consolidate memories.
Parasomnias: sleep disorders involving transitions in and out of sleep, or between sleep stages.
Sleep Walking (somnambulism): moving around, sometimes performingnother actions, as if awake even though the person is asleep. Positively correlated with stress/anxiety.
Sleep Talking (somniloquy): talking out loud during sleep. Usually occurs during transitions between non REM stages but occasionally occurs during REM.
Sleep Disorders
Insomnia: repeated difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up to early.
Usually due to stress, anxiety or excitement.
Treatments:
Medications: sedatives that depress central nervous system activity.
Non-Medication: restrict sleeping hours to same schedule every night.
Stimulus Control: association between bed and sleep by using bed for sleep only.
Narcolepsy: overwhelming sleep attacks that last 5-20 minutes. Sufferers slip into REM sleep within 10 minutes. Possibly due to deficit in hypocretin, a neurotransmitter that keeps us alert.
Treatments:
Medication: stimulants, similar to amphetamines.
Sleep Apnea: person temporarily stops breathing during sleep, usually accompanied by loud snoring. Airway muscles relax during sleep, narrowing passage to lungs. Decreased blood oxygen wakes sleeper, sometimes up to 400 times per night. Person usually doesn’t remember these occurrences.
Treatments:
Non-Medication:
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine: stream of compressed air directed down airway that keeps airway open.
Night Terrors: Vivid and extremely frightening experiences while you are sleeping. Person wakes up gasping, sometimes screaming, sweating and breathing heavily. Usually impossible to wake up, typically no memory of incident. Positively correlated with stress and anxiety.
Treatments:
Medication: antidepressants
Non-Medication: therapy
Dreams:
Sequence of images, emotions and thoughts passing through a sleeping persons mind.
One can dream during any stage of sleep.
Why Do We Dream?
Freud: "royal road to the unconscious."
Dreams allow us to express and fulfill our unconscious desires.
Manifest Content: the obvious memorable content of a dream
Latent Content: the symbolic content and meaning of a dream
Modern Explanation:
Activation-Synthesis Theory: dreams are a product of random bursts of neural activity. Activate auditory and visual areas; brains attempts to make sense of the hodgepodge of info using stored info.
Consolidated Memories Theory: dreams may help consolidate memories by strengthening neural passageways
Hypnosis: a state of mind characterized by increased focus attention of vivid imagined experiences, increased suggestibility, and decreased awareness of the external environment. Often attained using relaxation techniques that suggest heavy limbs, eyelids, etc.
Trance Theory: a hypnotized person experiences a true altered state of consciousness and is susceptible to suggestions.
Sociocognitive Theory: a hypnotized person expects hypnosis to work and thus enacts the role of a hypnotized person.
Uses Of Hypnosis?
Decreased compulsive habits (smoking, eating, and bedwetting).
Reduce pain and stress (childbirth, surgery).
Dissociation: a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others.
Selective Attention: focusing away from pain stimulus
Drugs and Consciousness
Psychoactive Drugs: chemicals that alter perceptions and or moods (illegal drugs, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, etc).
Substance Abuse: pattern of use that leads to distress and for difficulty functioning in major areas of life.
Addiction: compulsive drug craving and use.
Tolerance: requiring more and more of a substance to achieve the same effect.
Withdrawal: discomfort and distress that occurs after stopping the use of an addictive drug.
3 Classes of Psychoactive Drugs
1. Depressants: reduce central nervous system activity and slow bodily functions and awareness.
Alcohol: has inhibitory effects on excitatory neural transmitters. Magnifies our tendencies and impulses.
Focused attention on current situations, not consequences.
Reduced REM sleep (memory interference).
Reduced self-awareness.
Barbituates (a.k.a. tranquilizers): cause sedation and drowsiness, often used as sleep aids and anti-anxiety medication
Can be lethal alone or especially with alcohol.
Opiates: opium and its derivates (morphine, codeine, heroine)
Can alleviate physical pain and anxiety but highly addictive.
Activate dopamine-based reward pathway, mimic endorphins.
Bind to endorphin receptors, so body produces less endorphins, so person craves more opiates to relieve pain.
2. Stimulants: stimulate the central nervous system and speed up bodily functions. Increase heart rate and breathing, cause pupil dilation, and increase energy
Cocaine: typically sniffed, leads to 15-30 minute euphoric rush.
Depletes the supply of dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine.
Results in a depressive crash after drug wears off.
MDMA: aka. Ecstasy
Euphoric moods, feelings of social connectedness.
Triggers release of dopamine and serotonin
Even one use can permanently damage serotonin-producing neurons
3. Hallucinogens: class of drugs that distort perceptions and can evoke sensory images (hallucinations). Includes marijuana, LSD, PCP.
Marijuana: major active ingredient is THC
Chemical similar to cannabanoids: neurotransmitters involved in appetite regulation, memory and pain. Can lead to distortions in perception.
Near Death Experiences
NDE (Near Death Experience): Altered state of consciousness sometimes reported after a close brush with death.
Usually experienced after person has been declared clinically dead.
12-40% recall NDEs
Steps of NDE
1. Unpleasant/uncomfortable sound (buzzing ringing)
2. Experience of pleasant emotions (calmness)
3. Out-of-body experience
4. Moving toward bright lights, through long tunnels
5. Meeting the dead, religious figures, etc.
6. Encountering a "being of light" (life review)
7. Reunified with body (often reluctantly)
Unit 5 -- States of Consciousness
• What is Consciousness
• Early psychology all about consciousness
• Then behaviorism….
• Consciousness like a speedometer?
• Just something that lets us know what's going on inside
• Then came a re-emergence of mental processes
• Today's psychological definition:
• A person's awareness of his or her own existence, sensations, cognitions, environment
• Different parts of brain involved in experiencing consciousness, depending what the person is aware of at a given time
• Does not arise from perceptual areas of brain (primary visual/auditory cortices -> occipital/temporal lobes)
• Instead arises from several areas of brain in parietal and frontal lobes
• ***CONSCIOUSNESS IS NOT MERELY PERCEPTION***
• Conscious vs. Unconscious
• Great deal of processing occurs unconsciously (parallel), but some also conscious (serial)
• Sergent & Dehaene (2004) -- surpassing certain intensity threshold of brain activity = consciousness?
• Types of Consciousness
• Normal/waking consciousness: state of awareness that occurs during the usual waking state
• Altered states of consciousness: states of awareness other than normal waking state
• e.g. sleep. Hypnosis, psychoactive drugs
• Timing of Consciousness
• Consciousness of action lags slightly behind the brain events that evoke it. (Libet, 1985, 2004)
• Decision to move becomes conscious~ .2 sec. before movement, but…
• Motor cortex activity begins about .35 seconds before movement
• Brain gets the ball rolling before we are ever consciously aware of our decision…
• Are decisions ever truly "conscious"? Is consciousness simply awareness of what our brain is already doing?
Sleep
• What is Sleep?
• Naturally recurrent experience during which normal consciousness is suspended
• Essential to survival of humans/mammals, most studied animals on earth
• Circadian rhythm -- the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur within a (roughly) 24 hour cycle
• Cycles in blood pressure, pulse rate, body temperature, blood sugar level, hormone levels, and metabolism
• Hypothalamus reminder: regulates bodily functioning (hunger, thirst, temperature, blood pressure, heart rate
• ***regulation ebbs and flows in a daily rhythm***
• Circadian rhythm regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus
• Light-sensitive portion of the hypothalamus
• Receives information about time of day, seasons from light receptors in eyes (via optic nerve)
• SCN -- pineal gland: endocrine gland that secrete the hormone melatonin
• Melatonin: hormone that makes people feel sleepy
• "hormone of darkness"
• The Rhythm of Sleep
• Circadian rhythm sensitive to external cues of dark and light…
• But also cultural cues to time (eg. Clocks, TV shows)
• People deprived of such cues end up living on a 24.9 hour day.
• Same with blind people
• ***Our 24 hour schedule, dictated by daily rotation of Earth, is not "Natural" but maintained by exposure to light-dark cycles and artificial cues like clocks and radios. (about 25 hour cycle in reality)***
• Why care?
• Jet lag: disruption of circadian rhythm as a result of rapid travel between time zones
• Symptoms: fatigue & irregular sleep patterns, loss of appetite, irritability, disorientation, loss of appetite, nausea
• Daylight/darkness cycle not aligned with body's expectations
• Unidirectional -- most disruptive from west ~ east
• Lose an hour, shorten our 24 hour cycle
• East ~ west adds an hour, caters to our "natural" 24.9 hour circadian rhythm
• "Monday morning blues"?
• Bad moods occur (in part) when we are awake while our circadian rhythm tells us we should be sleeping
• Staying up late/getting up late on weekends puts you in another time zone (metaphorically) for the weekend
• MONDAY LAG?!?! I think so.
Stages of Sleep Diagram of Stages of Sleep with pictures
• Brain does not "turn off" during sleep
• Sleep not a single state, but several different stages (accidental EEG discovery in 1952)
• Stage 1 Sleep (hypnogogic sleep)
• Lasts for about 5 minutes, transition from wakefulness to sleep
• Alpha waves -- relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state
• Become less regular, lower amplitudes in stage 1
• May 'see' flashing lights/geometric patterns, experience a falling/floating sensation, or feel body jerk violently and suddenly (hypnic jerk)
• Easy to be awakened from stage 1
• Would easily report that you weren't asleep at all
• Stage 2 Sleep
• Lasts for about 20 min
• Marked by sleep spindles (brief bursts of rapid rhythmic brain activity) and K-Complexes (single high-amplitude waves)
• Relatively easy to be awakened, but would most likely report that you were asleep
• Stage 3 and 4
• Marked by production of delta waves: slow, high-amplitude associated with deep sleep
• Stage 3: 20-50% of brain activity comprised of delta waves
• Stage 4: more than 50% of delta waves
• Lasts for about 30 minutes
• Stage 5 (REM sleep)
• Pattern of sleep
• 1,2,3,4,3,2,REM
• EEG shows marked brain activity, similar to that of stage 1 sleep (when you are nearly awake)
• Rapid & irregular breathing and heart rate, quick bursts of eye movement behind closed lids
• Stage where you are most likely to have dreams that you remember
• REM dreams: emotional, story like, rich and vivid
• Earlier stage dreams: fleeting images, less story like
• Visual and auditory cortices in brain more active during REM than other stages
• Sleep Cycle repeats about every 90 minutes, 4-5 times per night
• Stages 3-4 get shorter and shorter, eventually disappear
• REM gets longer; 20-25% of night's sleep is REM
• Sleep Deprivation
• 40% of adults are so sleepy during the day that their daily activities are affected (National Sleep Foundation, 2002)
• Cognitive, emotional and physical difficulties after 3 nights of inadequate sleep
• Responding quickly to visual cues more difficult after 2 nights of sleep deprivation
• Sleepy drivers account for at least 100,000 accidents per year (20% of American traffic accidents)
• Less than 6 hours per night = increased impatience and aggravation at minor frustrations, greater dissatisfaction with life as a whole
• Why do we sleep?
• Restorative theory: helps the body recover from the wear and tear of the day's events
• Evolutionary theory: keeps people out of trouble at night, when poor night vision makes us susceptible to predators, falling off a cliff, etc.
• Cognitive theory: helps consolidate memories and thought processes
• Dreams!!!
• Sequences of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind
• Can dream during any stage of sleep
• Awakened during REM sleep: recall dreams 78% of times
Sleep Disorders See Table at the End
• Why Do We Dream?
• First psychological dream theory proposed by Sigmund Freud (“royal road to the unconscious”)
-dreams allow us to express and fulfill unconscious desires
-The interpretation of Dreams (1899)
• 2 Levels of dream interpretation
-manifest content: the obvious memorable content of a dream
-latent content: the symbolic content and meaning of a dream
-”sometimes a cigar is just a cigar...”
• not much empirical evidence still under investigation to this day
• Modern Explanations of Dreams
• activation-synthesis theory: dreams = a product of random bursts of neural activity
-especially during REM sleep (high brain activity)
-activate auditory and visual areas => brain attempts to make sense of the hodgepodge of information using stored information
-may explain why dreams can seem so random and disconnected
• dreams may help consolidate memories
-better performance on learned tasks after REM sleep
• dreams may strengthen neural pathways by providing periodic stimulation (especially during REM sleep)
-infants: lots of REM sleep (quickly-developing neural networks)
• Sleep Disorders See Table at the End
Parasomnias (includes sleep talking): sleep disorders involving transitions in and out of sleep, or between sleep stages
• Hypnosis
• Roots
• Franz Mesmer (1734-1815)
• German doctor who proposed animal magnetism
• Patients drank solution with trace amounts of iron
• Magnets waved over different parts of body as pain relief?
• 'artificial tide' running through body
• Later eliminated magnets, waved hands in patients' faces
• Abbe Faria (1746-1819) -- Indo-Portuguese monk who established scientific study of hypnotism
• Based on studies of Mesmer's work, but
• Believed effects were due to suggestibility, not animal magnetism
• Definition
• A state of mind characterized by:
• Increased focused awareness of vivid, imagined experiences
• Increased suggestibility
• Decreased awareness of the external environment
• Hypnotic induction: process of attaining a hypnotic state
• Often using relaxation techniques that suggest heavy limbs, eyelids, etc.
• 2 perspectives on hypnosis:
• 1 Trance theory: a hypnotized person experiences a true altered state of consciousness, and is susceptible to (and responsive to) suggestions
• Sociocognitive theory: a hypnotized person expects hypnosis to work, and thus enacts the role of a hypnotized person
• Hypnotic behaviors simply an extension of everyday social behavior?
• Is hypnosis 'real'?
• Highly hypnotizable people see a picture in color when instructed to, even when the actual picture is black and white (and vice versa) (Kosslyn et al., 2000)
• In pet scans the color area of occipital lobe (de)activates with suggestion (turns on and off as a person is suggested to)
• ***That is outside conscious control! Does that suggest that hypnosis is indeed a 'real' altered state of consciousness?
• Some people are more hypnotizable than others
• Most people at least moderately hypnotizable (losing ourselves in trances, daydreams, etc.)
• Not correlated with absorption: the capacity to concentrate totally on material outside oneself
• Variety of behavioral, medical uses
• Reduce anxiety, fears (e.g. phobias)
• Decrease compulsive habits (e.g. smoking, overeating, bedwetting)
• Treat medical conditions (e.g. asthma, insomnia)
• Applications of Hypnosis
• Mehl (1994): 100 pregnant women with babies in feet-first position
• IV: women hypnotized/not hypnotized
• Hypnotized: relax and let nature take it's course
• DV: % of babies that re-oriented to headfirst position
• 50% in DV turned around
• 80% in IV turned around
• Hypnotized persons experiences pain stimulus, but not pain (e.g. bucket of ice water)
• Some post-op patients recover faster (and with less medication) when hypnotized
• May work due to dissociation:
• A split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others
• e.g. sensation (cold water) dissociated from perception (pain)
• May work due to selective attention
• Focusing away from pain stimulus
• Bottom line:
• Evidence for both sides
• Hypnosis likely a product of both altered state AND social phenomena
Drugs and Consciousness Psychoactive drugs
Near Death Experiences
• Altered state of consciousness sometimes reported after a close brush with death
• Usually experienced after a person has been declared clinically dead
• 12-40% recall Near Death Experiences
• Sometimes interpreted as a window to the afterlife (consciousness without brain activity?
• Typical progression of an NDE
• Unpleasant/uncomfortable sound (Buzzing, ringing)
• Experience of pleasant emotions (calmness)
• Out of body experiences
• Moving toward bright light, through a long tunnel
• Meeting the dead, religious figures, family/friends, etc.
1. Encountering a 'being of light' (life review)
1. Reunified with body (often reluctantly)
• Other altered states
• Descriptions of NDEs, Hallucinogenic experiences very similar
• Recalling old memories, out-of-body sensations, visions of tunnels and bright lights
• Also similar to temporal lobe seizures
• Electrically stimulating temporal lobe = sensations of floating and seeing self from above
• Oxygen deprivation can produce hallucinations, tunnel vision
• Deactivation of inhibitory neurons = increased visual cortex activity, resulting in growing patch of light
• Siegel (1980): NDEs are "hallucinatory activity of the brain"
• Differences between NDEs and drug-induced hallucinations?
|Disorder |Description |Biology |Groups at Risk |Treatment |
|Sleep walking |Moving around, sometimes performing other actions, as if |Occurs during slow |7% of girls, 6% of boys, 3% adult | |
| |awake even though person is asleep |wavelength sleep (3-4) |women, 4% adult men (more prevalent| |
| | | |in children, possibly because kids | |
| | | |spend more time in stages 3-4) | |
|Sleep Talking |Somniloquy - talking out loud during sleep |Occurs during transitions |About 50% of children, and about 5%| |
| |Simple sounds --> complete sentences / streams of thought |b/w non-REM stages, or |of adults | |
| |Often simple, nonsensical language |during REM | | |
| | | | | |
|Insomnia |Repeated difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or |N/A | |With medication: |
| |waking up too early (more than just b/c of stress or anxiety| | |xanax, valium, |
| | | | |lunesta, ambien, |
| | | | |alcohol |
| | | | |Stimulus Control: hot |
| | | | |showers or reduced |
| | | | |activity right before |
| | | | |bed |
|Narcolepsy |Uncontrollable overwhelming sleep attacks during which the |Possibly due to a deficit in| | |
| |sufferer falls into REM sleep every 10 min |Hypocretin (neurotransmitter| | |
| | |that keeps us alert) | | |
|Sleep Apnea |Person temporarily stops breathing while asleep |Airway muscles relax during | |CPAP Machine |
| | |sleep, narrowing passage to | | |
| | |lungs, decreased blood | | |
| | |oxygen wakes up sufferer | | |
| | |(sometimes up to 400x / | | |
| | |night) | | |
|Night Terrors |Vivid Extremely frightening experiences while asleep: NOT |Person wakes up gasping, |Most common among 3-7 year olds | |
| |NIGHTMARES, night terrors are not remembered |sometimes screaming, not |(about 15%) | |
| | |able to wake up on command |More common among boys than girls | |
| | |Stress, or anxiety caused? |Can occur among men and women of | |
| | | |any age | |
|Class |Purpose |Example |Effects |Pros |Cons |
|Depressants |Reduce central nervous system | | | | |
| |activity; slow bodily functions and | | | | |
| |awareness | | | | |
| | |Alcohol |Inhibitory effect, magnifies |Person can become more |Person can commit sexual |
| | | |tendencies, focused attention on |helpful, nicer |assults, be more aggressive |
| | | |the short term, reduced REM | | |
| | | |(memory Interference), reduced | | |
| | | |self-awareness | | |
| | |Barbituates (e.g. |Cause sedation and drowsiness | | |
| | |Tranquilizers) |(often used as sleep aids and | | |
| | | |anti-anxiety medication, can be | | |
| | | |lethal alone or especially in | | |
| | | |conjunction with alcohol | | |
| | |Opiates |Pain-killer, activate dopamine to | |Binding to endorphin receptors |
| | | |mimic endorphines | |cause lack of natural |
| | | | | |production |
|Stimulants |Stimulate the central nervous system | | | | |
| |and speed up bodily functions | | | | |
| | |Caffeine |Increase heart rate and breathing,| | |
| | | |cause pupil dilation, and increase| | |
| | | |in energy | | |
| | |Cocaine |Depletes supply of dopamine, | | |
| | | |serotonin, and norepinephrine | | |
| | |Ecstacy (MDMA) |Euphoric moods, feelings of social| | |
| | | |connectedness, triggers release of| | |
| | | |dopamine and serotonin | | |
|Hallucinogens |Distort perceptions and can evoke | | | | |
| |sensory images (hallucinations) | | | | |
| | |Marijuana |Major ingredient is THC, chemical | | |
| | | |like cannabinoids, | | |
| | | |neurotransmitter linked with | | |
| | | |appetite regulation, memory, and | | |
| | | |pain, distorts senses | | |
Unit 5: States of Consciousness
Important terms:
Consciousness- A person’s awareness of his/her own existence, sensations, cognitions and environment.
Sleep- Naturally recurrent experience during which normal consciousness is suspended.
Circadian Rhythm- The biological clock. Regular bodily rhythms that occur within a roughly 24 hour cycle. However, when people are deprived of external and cultural cues to time they end up living an approximately 24.9 hour day.
Jetlag- Disruption of the rhythm as a result of rapid travel. It’s more disruptive going West to East, which subtracts an hour, where as going East to West adds an hour and caters to the natural 24 hour day.
Stages of Sleep- Sleep is not a single state, but rather multiple stages including Stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 and Rapid Eye Movement (REM).
Sleep Deprivation- Cognitive, Emotion, and Physical difficulties after 3 nights of inadequate sleep. Less than 6 hours per night equals increased impatience, and aggravation at minor frustrations, greater dissatisfaction with life as a whole.
Dreams- Sequences of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind. It’s possible to dream during any stage of sleep, but they are most memorable during REM.
Sleep Walking- (Somnambulism) Moving around, sometimes performing other actions as if awake, even though the person is asleep.
Sleep Talking- (Somniloquy) Talking out loud during sleep.
Sleep Disorders- A disturbance of sleep, such as: Insomnia, Narcolepsy, Sleep Apnea, and Night Terrors.
Hypnosis- A state of mind characterized by increased focused awareness of vivid imagined experiences. Increased suggestibility in decreased awareness of the external environment.
Classes of Psychoactive drugs- Depressants, Stimulants, and Hallucinogens.
Near Death Experiences- Alerted State of Consciousness, sometimes reported after a close brush with death. Usually experiences after person has been declared clinically dead.
Further Explanation of :
Stages of Sleep-
Stage One:
· Lasts for about 5 minutes, transition from wakefulness to sleep (Hypnogogic Sleep)
· Alpha Waves- relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state.
· May see flashing lights/geometric patterns experiencing a falling/floating sensation or feel body jerk violently and suddenly. (Hypnic Jerk)
· Easily awakened from Stage One and would likely report not being asleep at all.
Stage Two:
· Lasts for about 20 minutes.
· Marked by sleep spindles (brief bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain activity) and K- complexes (single high-amplitude waves)
· Relatively easily awakened, but would now report being asleep.
Stages Three and Four:
· Combined, lasts for about 30 minutes.
· Marked by production of Delta Waves (slow, high-amplitude waves associated with deep sleep.)
-Stage 3: 20-50% Delta Waves
-Stage 4: More than 50% Delta Waves
· Marked by decreases in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, and body temperature (all the lowest part of the day during Stage 4.)
Rapid Eye Movement (REM):
· EEG shows marked brain activity similar to that of Stage One sleep (where you are nearly awake)
· Rapid and irregular breathing and heart rate.
· Quick bursts of eye movements behind closed lids.
· Stage where you are most likely to have dreams that will be remembered. (Visual and Auditory Cortex in brain more active during REM than other stages.)
-Sleep Cycle occurs about every 90 minutes, 4 to 5 times per night.
-As is progresses, the REM stage gets longer.
-Pattern of Sleep: 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, REM, 2, 3, 4...
Why Do We Sleep?
·Restorative Theory: helps the body recover from the wear and tear of the day’s event.
·Evolutionary Theory: keeps people out of trouble at night, when poor night vision makes us susceptible to predators, falling off a cliff, etc.
·Cognitive Theory: helps consolidate memories (memory of how to perform tasks is better after sleep).
Why Do We Dream?
·First psychological dream theory proposed by Sigmund Freud (“royal road to the unconscious”): dreams allow us to express and fulfill unconscious desires.
·Manifest Content: the obvious, memorable content of a dream.
·Latent Content: the symbolic content and meaning of a dream.
·Modern explanations of dreams:
·Activation-synthesis Theory: dreams are a product of random bursts of neural activity especially during REM sleep when visual and auditory areas of brain are especially active, making sense of the hodgepodge of information using previously stored information.
·Dreams may help consolidate memories.
·Dreams may strengthen neural pathways by providing periodic stimulation, especially during REM sleep.
Insomnia:
· Defined as repeated difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too easily.
· More than the occasional difficult sleeping due to stress, anxiety.
Treatment (With Medication):
· Typically sedatives that depress the activity of the central nervous system.
· Treated with medications such as Xanax, Valium, Lunesta, Ambien (Alcohol is dangerous, but some suffers do use it at treatment)
· Medication suppresses REM Sleep, is addictive, and causes a tolerance to develop.
Treatment (Without):
· Restrict sleeping schedule to same hours every night. (including weekends and days off)
· Use of Stimulus Control: Create Association between bed and sleep.
· Getting out of bed, hot showers, lights dimmed help. No caffeine or exercise.
Narcolepsy:
· Uncontrollable overwhelming sleep attacks that last 5 to 20 minutes.
· Suffers slip into REM sleep within 10 minutes.
· Possibly due to a deficit in hypocretin (a neurotransmitter that keeps us alert).
Treatment:
· Usually treated with stimulants.
Sleep Apnea:
· A person temporarily stops breathing during sleep, usually accompanied by loud snoring.
· Airway muscles relax during sleep, narrowing the passageway to lungs.
· Decreased blood oxygen wakes sleeper, sometimes up to 400 times per night, but the person typically doesn’t remember waking or having trouble breathing.
· Usually diagnosed by others watching person sleep, or effects on the body (extreme exhaustion for unknown reasons).
Treating Sleep Apnea:
· Most common treatment: CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine
·stream of compressed air directed down airway, via mask, keeping airways open and allowing unobstructed breathing.
Night Terrors:
· Vivid and extremely frightening experiences while sleeping.
* NOT just nightmares.
· Person wakes up gasping and screaming, suddenly sits up sweating and heavily breathing.
· Sometimes an imagined object of fear.
· Wake up typically with no memory and with a pure experience of fear.
· Correlated with stress and anxiety.
Occur among:
· 3- 7 year old children.
· More commonly among boys.
· 15% of kids experience night terrors.
Hypnosis:
· Modernly defined as a state of mind characterized by: increased focused awareness of vivid, imagined experiences, increased suggestibility, decreased awareness of external environment.
· Created by Franz Mesmer, a German doctor who proposed Animal Magnetism, a new cure of physical ailments.
· Patients drank solution with iron, and magnets waved over different parts of body for “pain relief.” Later the magnets were eliminated, and he waved his hands instead.
· Trance Therapy- a hypnotized person experiences a true altered state of mind, consciousness, and is susceptible to suggestions.
· Some people more hypnotizable than others.
· Used to treat anxieties and fears
Near Death Experiences: altered state of consciousness sometimes reported after a close brush with death, usually experienced after person has been declared clinically deceased (12-40% recall NDE when revived); sometimes interpreted as a window to the afterlife (consciousness without brain activity?)
-Typical Progression of NDE:
1. unpleasant/uncomfortable sound (buzzing, ringing)
2. experience of pleasant emotions (calmness)
3. out-of-body experience (floating sensation, looking down on body)
4. moving toward bright light, through long tunnel
5. meeting the dead, religious figures, etc.
6. encountering a “being of light” (life review, see life flash before your eyes)
7. reunified with body (often reluctantly, steps reversed)
Unit 5 Review
What is Consciousness?
*A person’s awareness of existence, sensations, cognitions, and environment.
Conscious vs. Unconscious
*Parallel processing occurs unconsciously.
*Serial processing occurs consciously.
*Sergent and Dehaene (2004)
*Surpassing certain thresholds of brain activity
*Activity from different places merges to become consciousness
*a music chord
Types of Consciousness
*Normal/Waking Consciousness: the Everyday conscious
*Altered states of Consciousness
*sleep, hypnosis, drugs
Timing of Consciousness
*Libet (1985, 2004)
*decision to move become conscious .2 seconds before movement occurs
*motor activity in the brain occurs .35 seconds before movement occurs
Sleep
*naturally recurrent experience when normal consciousness is suspended
*Circadian Rhythm: on a 24 hour cycle
*Suprachiasmatic Nucleus: light-sensitive portion of hypothalamus
*receptors sensitive to time of day and seasons
*Pineal Gland releases melatonin (making you sleepy)
*Disruptions:
*Cultural cues: w/out cultural cues circadian rhythm becomes a 25 hour cycle
*Jet lag: daylight/darkness cycle not aligned w/ bodies expectations
Stages of Sleep
*Stage 1
*just starting to fall asleep (hypnogogic)
*alpha waves: a relaxed, awake brain stage
*becomes less regular as you fall asleep
*flashing lights/ geometric patterns
*hypnic jerk: jerk violently
*easily woken up
*Stage 2
*about 20 minutes
*Sleep Spindles: brief burst of rapid brain activity
*dark concentration on EEG
*K-complexes: single high amplitude waves
*high peaks on EEG
*Stage 3 & 4
*about 30 minutes
*Delta waves: slow, high amplitude waves (deep sleep)
*Stage 3: 20-50% delta waves
*Stage 4: more than 50% of delta waves
*Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep
*about 1 hour of sleep
*EEG similar to Stage 1 sleep
*rapid irregular breathing and heart rate
*quick bursts of eye movement
*most likely remember your dreams
*REM dreams: emotional, story like, rich and vivid
*earlier stage dreams: fleeting images, less story like
*visual & auditory cortices more active during REM sleep
Sleep Deprivation
*difficulties occur after only 3 nights of deprivation
*response to visual cues slow after 2 nights of deprivation
*increased impatience and aggravation
*greater life dissatisfaction
Why Do We Need Sleep?
*Restorative theory: recovery from the day
*Evolutionary theory: keep people out of trouble
*poor night vision
*Cognitive theory: consolidate memories
*memory to perform tasks better after sleep
Dreams
*images, emotions, thoughts passing through sleeping mind
*can dream at any time during sleep
Why Do We Dream?
*First theory proposed by Sigmund Freud
*dreams allow us to express and fulfill unconscious desires
*Manifest Content: obvious memorable content of dream
*Latent Content: symbolic content and meaning of dream
*Activation-synthesis theory: dreams are products of random bursts of neural activity
*especially during REM sleep
*activate auditory and visual areas ( brain makes sense of info
*Help consolidate memories
*strengthen neural passageways
Sleepwalking and Sleep talking
*parasomnias: sleep disorders involving transitions in and out of sleep
*sleepwalking (somnambulism): during slow wave sleep cycles
*sleep talking: during transition between non-REM
Sleep Disorders
*insomnia: repeated difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early
*Medication: sedatives that depress the central nervous system activity
*Therapy: schedule sleep hours
*stimulus control: bed is only for sleep (& sex…)
*Narcolepsy: uncontrollable sleep attacks
*A deficit in hypocretin (keeps us alert)
*treated with stimulants
*Sleep Apnea: temporarily stop breathing during sleep, followed by loud snoring
*airway muscles relax and close in on air passage to lungs
*decreased blood oxygen wakes sleeper (400 times)
*no memory of waking up or trouble breathing
*CPAP Machine: forces oxygen into air way
*night terrors: vivid and extremely frightening experiences while sleeping
*wake up gasping or screaming
*Suddenly sit up, sweating, heavy breathing
*almost impossible to wake up and typically no memeory
Hypnosis
*Franz Mesmer (1734-1815) German Doctor
*animal magnetism: cure for physical ailments
*drink iron filament solution with water
*drag magnets over body toward hunting body part
*Abbè Faria (1746-1819) Monk from Portuguese
*believed effects of magnetism due to suggestibility
Modern Definition: state of mind
*very focused on awareness on the person
*increased suggestibility
*a decreased awareness of external environment
*Hypnotic Induction: process of going into a hypnotic state
*Trance Theory: a person experiences a true altered state of consciousness and is susceptible to suggestions
*Sociocognitive Theory: a person expects hypnosis to work, and enacts the role of a hypnotized person
*Who is Hypnotizable?
*most people= moderately hypnotizable (daydreaming)
*slightly correlated with absorption
*capacity to concentrate on material outside of self
*Applications
*reducing anxiety and fears
*decrease compulsive habits
*treat medical conditions/ reduce pain and stress
*Mehl (1994)
* hypnotizing pregnant women with babies turned feet first
*dissociation: a split in consciousness, allowing some thoughts to occur simultaneously with others
* selective attention: focusing away from pain stimulus
Drugs and Consciousness
*Psychoactive Drugs
*chemicals that alter perception and/or moods
*Depressants: depress the central nervous system
*alcohol: inhibitory effect on excitatory nervous system
*amplify small impulses, reduced memory, reduced self-awareness
*tranquilizers: feeling drowsy and sedated
*barbiturates
*opiates: pain killers
*opium (morphine, codeine, heroine)
*mimic endorphins or increase dopamine
*Stimulants: get the body going
*Cocaine: euphoric rush, good feelings
*depletes dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine= a depressive crash
*Ecstasy: euphoric moods, social connectedness (social bonds)
*triggers dopamine and serotonin receptors
*can damage the serotonin neurons
*Hallucinogens: distort perceptions, evoke images, danger w/ motor tasks
*Marijuana: effect appetite regulation, memory and pain
*cannabaniods regulations
Near Death Experiences
*altered state of consciousness reported after close brush w/ death
*conscious w/out brain activity?
*Progression
#1: uncomfortable/ loud sound (buzzing, ringing)
#2: experience of pleasant emotions (calmness, relaxation)
#3: out-of-body experience (consciousness floating away)
#4: moving toward the bright light (feeling of movement)
#5: meeting dead family members
#6: encounter a “being of light” (life flashing before eyes)
#7: reunified w/ body (steps go in reverse)
*Siegel (1980): NDE’s are “hallucinatory activity of brain”
*Kinseher (2006): brain is scaning memory for similar feeling of death
Unit 6 Review
Learning- a relatively permanent change in organisms behavior due t experience.
Human can learn by association
Our minds naturally connect events that occur in events
1. For example, after seeing and smelling freshly baked bread, you eat some and you find it satisfying, then the next time you see and smell fresh bread, your experience will lead you to expect that eating it will be satisfying again.
Complex animals can learn more response-outcome associations.
2. Seals in aquariums repeat behaviors, such as slapping and barking, that prompt people to toss them herring. By linking these events that occur close together, the seal exhibits associative learning.
* Conditioning- the process of learning associations
In classical conditioning, we learn to associate two stimuli, and thus to anticipate events.
For example- we learn that a strike of lightening signals an impending crack of thunder, so we start to brace ourselves when lightening comes.
In operant conditioning, we learn to associate a response (our behavior0 and its consequence, thereby increasing the tendency followed by x to repeat x followed by good or bad result.
Observational learning, we learn from others experiences and examples.
By conditioning with observation, he humans learn and adapt to our environment.
We learn to expect and prepare for significant events, such as food or pain. We also learn to repeat acts that bring good results and avoid acts that give us bad results.
Classical conditioning
The idea of learning associations had long crated a philosophical discussion for Ivan Pavlov.
Through many experiments, Pavlov explored the phenomenon we now call classical conditioning
1. Classical conditioning- a type of learning in which an organism comes to associate two stimuli. A neutral stimulus that signals and unconditioned response that anticipates and prepares for the unconditioned stimulus.
2. Pavlov Experiments
Salivating dogs
Noticed that when he worked with the same dog repeatedly, the dog began salivating to stimuli associated with food.
Just before placing food in the dog's mouth ti produce salivation, Pavlov sounded a tone.
Pavlov found that after several pairings of tone and food.
Because salivation in response to food was unlearned, pavlov called this an unconditioned response
The unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus, such as salvation when food is in the mouth.
Food in the mouth automatically, unconditionally triggers a dogs salivary reflex. This pavlov called the food stimulus an unconditioned stimulus.
A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response.
Salivation in response to the tone was conditioned upon the dogs learning the association between the tone and the food. Pavlov called this the conditioned response.
The learned response to a previously neutral( but now conditioned) stimulus.
The previous tone stimules that now triggered the conditional salivation is called the conditional stimulus
An originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditional response.
Acquisition
Initial learning of a stimulus response relationship.
A question arose how much time should elapse between the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus, and the unconditioned stimulus.
Extinction
What happens if the conditional stimulus occurs repeatedly with the unconditional stimulus
Pavlov found that when he sounded the tone again and again without presenting food, the dog salivated less and less. This elicits extinction.
The diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus; occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.
Spontaneous recovery
Pavlov found, however, that if allowed several hours before sounding the tone again, the salivation to the tone would reappear spontaneously. This spontaneous recovery.
The reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.
Generalization
Pavlov and his students noticed that a dog conditioed to the sound of one tone, also responded somewhat to the sound of a different tone never paired with food.
This tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus is called generalization.
The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus, to elicit similar responses.
Discrimination
Pavlov's dogs also learned to respond to the sound of a particular tone and not to other terms.
The learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other irrelevant stimuli.
2. Applications of Classical Conditioning
Drug Users
Former crack cocaine users often feel a craving when they again encounter cues associated with previous highs. Thus, drug counselors advise addicts to steer clear of settings and paraphernalia associated with the euphoria of previous drugs.
John B. Watson
Little Albert
Little Albert was an 11 month old infant child, and like most new borns, little albert feared loud noises, but nor white rats. Watson and his associates would present a white rat to little albert, but everytime little albert would reach to touch it, Watson would make a lound sound, which would scare Little Albert. After several repititions, Albert eventually became frightened every time he saw a white rat.
Application to generalization
Watson showed generalization of his conditioned response be making Little Albert react to rabbits dogs and many other things that slightly resembled a white rat.
Operant conditioning
A type of learning in which a behavior is strengthened if not followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher.
Operant conditioning involves Operant behavior, which is a behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences.
Law of Effect
Rewarded behavior is likely to recur.
Skinner's Experiments
Skinner Box/ Operant Chamber
The box has a bar or key that an animal presses or pecks to release a reward of food or water, and a device that records these responses.
Skinner used shaping, which is a procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.
Types of reinforcements
Reinforcements are any events that strengthen, or increase the frequency of a preceding response.
Continuous Reinforcements
reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs
under such conditions, learning occurs rapidly.
Positive reinforcements
Any stimuli that, such as food, that when presented after a response, strengthens the response.
Negative reinforcement
Any stimulus that, such as a shock, when removed after a response, strengthens the response.
Primary reinforcers
an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological lead, such as getting foo when hungary.
Conditioned reinforcers/ Secondary reinforcers.
a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer.
Partial reinforcement
reinforces a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than continuous reinforcements.
ex. Slot machines reward gamblers occasionally and unpredictably. This intermittent reinforcement affects them much as it affects pigeons: they keep trying, sometimes interminably.
Fixed Ratio Schedules
a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.
Most effective method
Variable-Ratio schedule
a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses.
Fixed interval schedule
a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a resonse after a specified time has elapsed
Variable interval schedule
a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable intervals.
Punishment
decreases the behavior that it follows
Positive punishment
administer an aversive stimulus
ex. a parking ticket
Negative Punishment
The withdrawal of a desirable stimulus
ex. revoked drivers license
Pros of punishment(parenting)
Lets children know that they have done wrong
effective in the short run
Cons of punishment(parenting)
Children can become violent
Children may suppress the punished action
Skinner did not really take emotion into consideration, which is why he is critisized by many today.
Latent learning
learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to show it.
Cognitive map
a mental representation of the layout of ones environment
ex. after exploring mazes several times, rats act as if they have learned a map of the maze by making it through the maze quicker
Intrinsic motivation
a desire to preform a behavior for its own sake
Extrinsic motivation
a desire to preform a behavior due to promised rewards or threat of punishment.
|Classical conditioning |[pic]
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Unit VI: Learning (part one)
Terms
Classical conditioning: A type of learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus becomes paired or associated with a second stimulus.
Unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that automatically elicits a response.
Unconditioned response: the automatic, reflexive response to the unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned stimulus: an originally neutral stimulus that acquires significance through repeated pairings with the unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned response: the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus.
Acquisition: initial learning of the association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus. Level of acquisition depends largely on the timing of the stimulus presentation.
Forward conditioning: procedure in which the conditioned stimulus begins before the unconditioned stimulus is presented.
Delayed conditioning: conditioned stimulus occurs both before and during unconditioned stimulus.
Trace conditioning: when the conditioned stimulus ends before the unconditioned stimulus begins.
Backward conditioning: conditioning procedure in which the unconditioned stimulus is presented before the conditioned stimulus.
Simultaneous conditioning: conditioning procedure in which the unconditioned stimulus and conditioned stimulus are presented at the same time.
Extinction: the process by which a conditioned response is eliminated through repeated presentations of the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus.
Reacquisition: once classical conditioning has occurred, connection between conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus never completely disappears, therefore reacquisition of the learned behavior happens much faster.
Stimulus discrimination: the ability to distinguish among similar stimuli and to respond to only actual conditioned stimulus.
Biological preparedness: a built-in readiness for a certain conditioned stimulus to elicit a certain conditioned response.
Taste aversion: classically conditioned avoidance of a certain food or taste that makes/made a person sick; typically occurs after a single conditioned/unconditioned stimulus pairing.
People
Ivan Pavlov: Russian psychologist, did the learning studies on his dogs.
John Watson: inspired by Pavlov, father of behaviorism. Known for the Little Albert study.
Studies
Pavlov’s Dogs: Ivan Pavlov successfully conditioned his lab dogs to salivate at the ring of a bell through the process of classical conditioning.
Little Albert: in this study an infant was conditioned through operant conditioning to fear a white rat that he was once fond of, using loud noise as the punishment for affiliating with the rat. Little Albert also then feared white coats, white dogs, and white beards.
Unit XI (part two)
Biological preparedness: built in readiness for conditioned stimuli to elicit conditioned response: less learning necessary to produce conditioning for dark, heights, ect)
• Ex: Taste Aversion- classically conditioning avoidance of a certain food that makes one sick
• Adaptive: allows animals to avoid poisonous foods in the future
Garcia+ Koeling: effects of radiation on rats, rats drank less water from bottles with radiation (plastic) than those in home cage (glass)
IV: Drinking sweet water followed by no radiation/ mild radiation/ strong radiation, then given choice to drink sweetened or regular tap water
DV: how much of each type of water consumed by rats
Operant conditioning
Positive punishment: when behavior leads to intro of undesired consequence (add)
Negative punishment: removal of a pleasant event/ circumstance following behavior (take away something)
3 characteristics of effective punishment:
1. Must be swift, immediately after undesired behavior
2. Consistent
3. Adversative without causing fear, anxiety, injury, ect
Problems:
• Skinner= punishment teaches to avoid it, punished behavior suppressed
• Physical punishment may increase aggressive behavior
• May lead to fear of punishment
• Tell what not to do, rather than what to do
Punishment and reinforcement together= best
Latent learning: learning that’s not immediately acted on, but stored for later use
Tolman+ Honzik: 3 groups of rats completing maze
1. regularly rewarded= less efforts
2. no food reward until day 11= errors until get food
Mental processes such as expectations, memory, perception, ect. Involved in learning
Insight learning: when an organism suddenly grasps the meaning of something and incorporates that into new knowledge
Woflgang Kohler: studied insight learning in chimpanzees, they need to think creatively and use tools to retrieve out of reach food= consistently demonstrated “aha moment” after initial frustration
Observational Learning
Social learning theory: learning occurs in a social context and is as much product of watching others as it is of making associations
Modeling- process of observing and initiating a specific behavior
Bandura et Al: learning by watching others, bobo doll study= how to behave from watching others
Mirror neurons: neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing someone else engaging in those actions
-heaviest concentration in frontal lobe, near motor cortex
- 1st discovered in macque monkeys with tasks like grasping, holding, and tearing
- Understanding others’ intentions
- Theory of mind: ability to infer another’s mental state
- Empathy: mirror neurons for emotional experiences, stronger activiation of mirror neuron system for women
- language development
- connections to autism (hard to be socially connecting= problem with mirror neurons
Pervasiveness of TV, Violence and TV, exposure to media violence= positively correlated with getting into fights, violence and video games= strong ties with video games and real life violence
Psychological effects of media violence
1. imitation (as young as 14 months)
Ex: after power rangers kids have 7xs as much violent acts
2. desensitization
more indifference to future events of violence
Learning
1 Associative learning
1 Associating two different stimuli
2 Classical Conditioning
1 Pavlov
1 Found out that he could teach his dogs to drool with the sound of a bell
• Unconditional response (UR)- the food in the dogs mouth automatically makes him drool
• Unconditional stimulus (US) the food was an unconditional stimulus
• Conditioned response (CR) the dogs drooling at the sound of the bell
• Conditioned stimulus (CS) the bell being associated with food
2 Acquisition
• Pavlov had to find out when to give the food to make the strongest connection
• Found that doing the CS before the food came out that the acquisition would be the strongest
3 Extinction
• When CS is no longer being paired with US then the CR dimishes
4 Spontaneous recovery
• After a period of time the CS will illicit the CR but only briefly after the response has been extinct
5 Generalization
• Learning to generalize fears
Example: a toddler learns to fear a moving car will carry that generalization to fear motorcycles, and trucks too.
6 Discrimination
• The ability to distinguish between CS and an irrelevant stimulus
7 Taste Aversion
• After becoming violently ill eating something a person will avert the taste or sometimes the sight of that particular food because it made them sick eating it
• Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
1 A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher
1 Classical conditioning also involves respondent behavior
▪ Behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus; Skinner’s term for behavior learned through classical conditioning
• A CS and the US it signals (stimulus)
• Learning associations between events that it does not control
2 Operant conditioning involves operant behavior
▪ Behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences.
• Learning associations between its behavior and resulting events
2 Skinner’s Experiments----
1 Skinner became behaviorism’s most influential and controversial figure
2 He elaborated a simple act of life that psychologist Edward L. Thorndike called the Law of Effect
• Principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely
3 Skinner designed an operant chamber, popularly known as the skinner box
1 Containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer, with attached devices to record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking- Used in operant conditioning research
2 Shaping Behavior------
1 In his experiments, Skinner used Shaping
1 A procedure which reinforcers, such as food, gradually guide an animal’s actions toward a desired behavior
2 Types of Reinforcers----
1 Reinforcer
2 In operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows
o Positive reinforcement
▪ Increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforcer is any stimuli that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response
o Negative reinforcement
▪ Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer, is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response
o Reinforcement is any consequence that strengthens behavior
o Primary and Conditioned Reinforcers-----
▪ Primary reinforcers- An innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need
▪ Conditioned reinfocers- A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforce; also known as secondary reinforce
• Reinforcement Schedules------
o Continuous reinforcement- Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs
o Partial reinforcement- Reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement
▪ Acquisition is the strengthening of a reinforced response, Extinction occurs when a response is no longer reinforced
o Fixed-ratio schedules- A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses
o Variable-ratio schedules- Provide reinforcers after an unpredictable number of responses
o Fixed-interval schedules- Reinforce the first response after a fixed time period
o Variable-interval schedules- Reinforce the first response after varying time intervals
• Punishment------
o Punishment- An event that decreases the behavior that it follows
o Extending Skinner’s Understanding-----
▪ Cognition and Operant Conditioning-----
• Latent learning- Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it
o Cognitive map- A mental representation of the layout of one’s environment
• Intrinsic motivation- A desire to perform a behavior for its own sake
o Extrinsic motivation- A desire to perform s behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishment
o Contrasting Classical and Operant Conditioning
▪ Response
• C- Involuntary/automatic, O- Voluntary
▪ Acquisition
• C- CS announces US, O- Associating response with consequence
▪ Extinction
• C- CR decreases when CS is repeatedly presented alone, O- Responding decreases when reinforcement stops
▪ Cognitive Processes
• C- Organisms develop expectation that CS signals the arrival of US, O- Organisms develop expectation that a response will be reinforced or punished
Observable behavior
1 Imitating a specific behavior is often called modeling
2 Mirror neurons
1 In frontal lobe and are the neural basis for observational learning
3 Albert Bandura
• After the columbine shootings he set up a study to see if kids got violence from their parents and found that kids learn a lot of their behaviors from their parents which is the basis for most people saying that violent video games make kids more violent
1. UNIT 6: Learning [pic]
Learning: a relatively permanent change in thought/behavior that results from experience
We learn largely by association: mentally pairing events together when they occur together
Conditioning: the process of learning associations between events
• Classical conditioning: paired events are 2 stimuli
• Operant Conditioning: paired events are behavior and consequences
CLASSICAL
• a type of learning that occurs when a neutral stimuli (stimulus A) becomes paired (associated) with a second stimulus (stimulus B)
• Stimulus B causes an automatic reflexive behavior
-in time Stimulus A is sufficient to produce that behavior by itself
Ex) Pavlov’s dogs
Ivan Pavlov 1849-1936
• Russian physiologist Nobel Prize winning work on the digestive processes
• noticed dogs salivated when they saw people with food, then turned attention to studying learning
Classical conditioning
Conditioned = learned, unconditioned = unlearned
Unconditioned stimulus (US): a stimulus that automatically elicits a response (food)
Unconditioned response (UR): the automatic reflexive response to the us (salivation due to food)
Before conditioning a neutral stimulus (e.g. tone from a toning fork) does not elicit response
-During conditioning, US (food) is presented with the neutral stimulus (tone)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS): an originally neutral stimulus that aquires significance through repeated pairings with the unconditioned stimulus (US)
Conditioned response (CR): the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (salivation due to the tone)
Acquisition: initial learning of the association between a neutral stimulus (tone) and a US (food)
Level of acquisition depends on the timing of stimuli presentation
Forward conditioning: procedure in which the CS (tone) begins before the US (food) is presented
1.delayed conditioning: CS occurs both before and during US
2. Trace conditioning: CS ends before US begins
Non-forward conditioning
3. Backward conditioning: conditioning procedure in which the US (food) is presented before the CS (tone)
4. Simultaneous conditioning: conditioning procedure in which the US (food) and CS (tone) are presented at the same time
Extinction: the process by which a CR (salivation) eliminated through repeated presentations of the CS (tone without the US(food))
Reacquisition - once classical conditioning has occurred, connection between the CS (tone) and US (food) never completely disappears
Spontaneous recovery: the reappearance , after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response
Stimulus generalization: tendency for the CR (salivation) to be elicited by neutral stimuli that are similar to, but not identical to the CS (tone)
Ex) dogs began to salivate when a slightly different tone sounded
Stimulus Discrimination: the ability to distinguish among similar stimuli and to respond only to actual conditional stimuli
The Behaviorist Zeitgeist
Attitudes: an overall evaluation of an object, ranging from positive o negative (likes and dislikes)
Conditional emotional response: an emotional response elicited by a previously neutral stimulus. Can lead to phobias
Watson and Raynor 1920: Case of little Albert
• Baby Albert was presented with a white rat, he enjoyed playing with it, but when he would approach the rat, he would be startled with extremely loud noises ultimately causing him to have a phobia towards the white and later, an immense fear of furry white things.
Taste aversion: classically conditioned avoidance of a certain food or taste that makes/made a person sick
Can treat alcoholism using the drug Antabuse
1.physical/medical phenomena = conditioning in order to boost the immune system
Chemotherapy as a medical example
-anticipating nausea: classically conditioned response to chemotherapy, triggered by previously neutral CS
2. Drug addictions and overdoses: taking drug in a place repeatedly in a specific setting develops CR to that place. Body compensates for expected drug. Taking drug in a new setting can cause an overdose due to missing CR
3. Advertising: viewing political slogans (CS) while eating food (US) leads to more positive/negative evaluations of slogans.
4. Therapy techniques
Systematic desensitization: a behavior therapy technique that teaches people to be relaxed in the presence of a feared object or situation. Pairs feelings of being relaxed with thoughts of fears.
OPERANT CONDITIONING: type of learning in which I specific behavior becomes associated with its consequence
• What’s the difference?
o Classical: association between 2 external stimuli, typically out of organism’s control, relevant behavior is an automatic reflexive response
o Operant: association creatwed between organisms behavior and its consequences, typically within organism’s control, relevant behavior is voluntary, operating on environment
• Thorndike’s puzzle box
o Thorndike put cats in a box where they had to push a lever in order to escape
o Learn the law of effect: rewarded behaviors are more likely to be repeated
• B.f. Skinner – influential behaviorist
o Developed principles behind operant conditioning through the use of a “skinner box”
o Shaping: The gradual process of reinforcing an organism for behavior that gets closer and closer to the desired behavior
• Reinforcement
o Reinforcer: object or event that comes after a behavior that increases the likelihood of engaging in THAT behavior again
• 2 Types of Reinforcement: positive and negative
o Positive = adding something; Negative = take something away
o Positive reinforcement: desired reinforce is given after a a behavior, increasing the likelihood of that behavior in future
o Negative reinforcement: an unpleasant event/circumstance is removed following a desired behavior, increasing the likelihood of that behavior
• Some principles of classical conditioning are relevant to operant conditioning too
o Generalization: ability to generalize from a learned behavior to a similar behavior
o Discrimination: ability to distinguish between learned behavior and a similar
o Extinction: after the withdrawal of reinforcement, the fading out of a learned behavior following an initial burst of the behavior
o Spontaneous Recovery: process by which an old response reappears if there is a break after extinction
• Schedules of Reinforcement
o Interval schedules: reinforcement given after a specified period of time
▪ Fixed: reinforcement given for the behavior after a certain interval of time
▪ Variable: reinforcement given for desired response after varying interval of time
o Ratio Schedules: reinforcement given after a specific number of desired behaviors
▪ Fixed: reinforcement after a set number of responses
▪ Variable: reinforcement after a variable number of responses
• Punshment: consequence; not negative reinforcement
o Positive punishment: when behavior leads to the introduction of an undesired consequence
o Negative punishment: removal of a pleasant event or circumstance following a behavior
Cognitive Learning Models
• Wolfgang Kohler- insight learning
o Made chimps creatively use tools to retrieve a reward
o Consistently demonstrated that “aha!” moment
• Social learning theory: learning occurs in a social context and is as much a product of watching others as it is of making associations
• Albert Bandura: bobo doll studies
o Results: children act the same way towards the doll as their parents did
[pic]
-----------------------
Applied: To solve problems-- biological, developmental, cognitive, personality, social and industrial/organizational psychologists
Basic: To improve knowledge—biological, developmental, cognitive, personality and social psychologists
Clinical Psychologists
• assess and treat mental, emotional, and behavior disorders
• administer and interpret tests
• provide counseling and therapy
Counseling Psychologists
• help people cope with challenges by recognizing strengths and resources
o academic
o vocational
o marital
• administer and interpret tests
• provide counseling and therapy
Psychiatrists
• can provide medication to treat problems
• provide counseling and therapy
Cell Body (Soma): central part of neuron, regulates cell function, contains nucleus
Dendrites: receive messages from other neurons and relay them to cell body
Nodes of Ranvier: gaps between Schwann Cells
Terminal Button: releases vesicles containing neurotransmitters into synaptic cleft (space between neurons)
Axon: long extension that delivers messages to other neurons
Myelin Sheath: layer of fatty tissue, insulates axon, speeds up neural impulses
Schwann Cell: segments of myelin sheath
Nucleus: it is there…
Nervous System
Peripheral Nervous System: links central nervous system to organs
Central Nervous System: Brain and spinal cord (bundle of neural fibers, connects the brain to the rest of the body)
Skeletal Nervous System: allows for voluntary control of skeletal muscles
Autonomic Nervous System: controls many of the self- regulatory functions such as digestion and circulation.
Parasympathetic Nervous System: counteracts effects of the sympathetic nervous system, calms us down. Acts as energy conservation
Sympathetic Nervous System: excites bodily functioning, prepares us for defensive actions against threats. (Fight or flight) where norepinephrine, the neruotrans that gets you ready to go, comes into play
= Kind of a Jerk…
She is happy!
Attention, registers spatial location and motor control, also involved in arithmetic,
Sensory Cortex is first gyrus
Planning, memory, sophisticated motor control, reasoning, emotions, decisions, personality,
Motor Cortex is backmost gyrus
Responsible primarily for vision
Process sounds, committing information to memory, comprehending language
Cornea: the outermost, transparent covering of the eye
Pupil: the small adjustable opening that allows light to enter the eye
Iris8?šž¨©´äåúüE F „ † ‡ ’ “ ”: the circular colored muscle that adjusts the size of the pupil
Lens: the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to focus imagine on the back of the eye
Retina: the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye
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