AP Psychology
College-level introduction to psychology following the College Board AP Psychology CED. Covers biological bases of behavior, cognition, development and learning, social psychology and personality, and mental and physical health.
Ämne: Annat · Nivå: Gymnasium (16–19) · 509 kort
Innehåll
- A neuron is the basic cell of the nervous system that receives, integrates, and transmits information through electrochemical signals.
- Dendrites are branch-like extensions of a neuron that receive incoming signals from other neurons at synapses.
- The axon is the long fiber of a neuron that carries the electrical signal (action potential) away from the cell body toward axon terminals.
- The myelin sheath is a fatty insulating layer around many axons that speeds up neural transmission and is degraded in multiple sclerosis.
- An action potential is a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon when the neuron reaches its firing threshold; it follows the all-or-none principle.
- The synapse is the tiny gap between an axon terminal and a receiving neuron's dendrite where neurotransmitters carry the signal chemically.
- Reuptake is the process by which neurotransmitters released into the synapse are reabsorbed by the sending neuron; SSRIs block serotonin reuptake.
- Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in movement, motivation, and reward; low levels are linked to Parkinson's disease, high levels to schizophrenia.
- Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal; low levels are associated with depression and OCD.
- Acetylcholine (ACh) is the neurotransmitter at neuromuscular junctions; it enables muscle movement and is depleted in Alzheimer's disease.
- GABA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain; low GABA activity is linked to anxiety and seizures, and benzodiazepines enhance GABA effects.
- Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter; excess glutamate is associated with migraines and is involved in learning and memory.
- Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter and hormone that helps regulate alertness and arousal; low levels are associated with depression.
- Endorphins are the body's natural painkillers and pleasure-related neurotransmitters; they are released during exercise, excitement, and pain.
- Substance P is a neurotransmitter involved in transmitting pain signals from the body to the brain.
- Agonists are drugs that mimic or enhance a neurotransmitter's effect; antagonists block the neurotransmitter's effect at its receptor.
- The central nervous system (CNS) consists of the brain and spinal cord; the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is everything else.
- The somatic nervous system controls voluntary movement of skeletal muscles; the autonomic nervous system controls involuntary functions like heart rate.
- The sympathetic nervous system arouses the body for fight-or-flight; the parasympathetic nervous system calms the body and conserves energy.
- A reflex arc is a simple, automatic neural pathway through the spinal cord that produces a response without involving the brain (e.g., knee-jerk reflex).
- The endocrine system uses hormones released into the bloodstream by glands; it is slower than the nervous system but its effects last longer.
- The pituitary gland, controlled by the hypothalamus, is the 'master gland' that regulates other endocrine glands and releases growth hormone.
- The adrenal glands sit atop the kidneys and release epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine during stress to trigger fight-or-flight.
- The medulla, in the brainstem, controls heartbeat and breathing; damage to it can be fatal.
- The cerebellum (the 'little brain') coordinates voluntary movement, balance, and is involved in some implicit memory and motor learning.
- The thalamus is the brain's sensory relay station, directing messages from sense organs (except smell) to the appropriate cortical areas.
- The hypothalamus regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst, sexual behavior, and the pituitary gland; it is part of the limbic system.
- The hippocampus, part of the limbic system, is essential for forming new explicit (declarative) long-term memories.
- The amygdala, part of the limbic system, processes emotions — especially fear and aggression — and is critical for emotional memory.
- The reticular formation (or activating system) runs through the brainstem and helps regulate arousal, alertness, and the sleep-wake cycle.
- The cerebral cortex is the wrinkled outer layer of the brain responsible for higher-order thinking; it is divided into four lobes per hemisphere.
- The frontal lobes, behind the forehead, are involved in speaking, muscle movements, planning, and judgment; they include the prefrontal cortex.
- The parietal lobes, at the top and back of the head, process sensory information from the body (touch, temperature, pain) via the somatosensory cortex.
- The occipital lobes, at the back of the brain, contain the primary visual cortex and process visual information.
- The temporal lobes, above the ears, include the auditory cortex and are involved in hearing and language comprehension.
- The motor cortex, at the back of the frontal lobes, controls voluntary movements; body parts requiring fine control (hands, face) take up more cortical area.
- Broca's area, usually in the left frontal lobe, controls the production of speech; damage causes Broca's aphasia (halting, telegraphic speech).
- Wernicke's area, usually in the left temporal lobe, controls language comprehension; damage causes fluent but meaningless speech (Wernicke's aphasia).
- The corpus callosum is the wide band of axon fibers that connects the two cerebral hemispheres and allows them to communicate.
- Split-brain research by Roger Sperry on patients with severed corpus callosums revealed that the hemispheres specialize — left for language, right for spatial tasks.
- Phineas Gage (1848) was a railroad worker whose personality changed after an iron rod destroyed parts of his prefrontal cortex — a classic case of brain-behavior linkage.
- Patient H.M. (Henry Molaison) had his hippocampi removed in 1953 to treat epilepsy and could no longer form new explicit memories — a foundational case in memory research.
- Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change by forming new neural connections, especially in response to learning or after injury.
- Neurogenesis is the birth of new neurons; in adults it occurs primarily in the hippocampus and is supported by exercise and learning.
- An EEG (electroencephalogram) records the brain's electrical activity through scalp electrodes and is used to study sleep stages and seizures.
- fMRI (functional MRI) shows brain activity by detecting blood flow changes; it reveals which brain regions are active during specific tasks.
- A PET scan tracks radioactive glucose to show which brain areas are most active during particular activities.
- Behavior genetics studies the relative power of genes and environment on behavior; key methods include twin and adoption studies.
- Heritability is the proportion of variation among individuals in a trait that can be attributed to genes; it applies to populations, not individuals.
- Epigenetics is the study of how environmental factors (diet, stress) can switch genes on or off without altering the DNA sequence.