PSYCH Ch.

3
Neurosystem

(Central Nervous System) CNS Brain & Spinal Cord

(Peripheral) PNS
Soma cell body, contains nucleus and much of chemical
machinery common to most cells
Dendrite part of neuron that is specialized to receive
information
Axon transmits information away from the soma to other
neurons/muscles/glands
Action potential brief period where channels open and it
changes chemical reaction within cell
Absolute Refractory Period minimum length of time after an
action potential during which another action potential cannot
begin
All or None Law either fires or doesnt fire (activating or not)
Thicker axons -- more rapid than thinner
o Two neurons never touch
o Seizure change in an electrical energy
o ECT electroshock therapy
Excitatory
Inhibitory
Reuptake

Neurotransmitters
Acetylcholine
o Alzeheimers
o Voluntary muscles & Motor neurons
o Attention, arousal, memory
o Agonist chemical that mimics action of neurotransmitter
o Antagonist opposes the action the of the
neurotransmitter
Dopamine
o Parkinsons
o Schizophrenia
Dopamine hypothesis having too much causes
abnormal activity
o voluntary
o Drugs
Amphetamines increase dopamine levels
Seratonin

o
o
o
o

Insomnia
OCD
Depression, bipolar
Anorexia, bulimia

Norepinephrine
o Mainly depression
o Eating disorders, compulsive disorders
GABA
o Anxiety disoreers
Glutamate
o Learning and memory
o Schizophrenia
Endorphins

Endogenous
Short term language visual processing
Hindbrain
Vital parts of the brain to function
o Medulla unconscious but vital functions circulating
blood, breathing, muscle tone, regulating reflexes
If damaged, causes death
o Cerebellum little brain
Coordination of movement
Balance, equilibrium
Drunk intereference
o Pons connects brain stem with cerebellum
Sleep and arousal
Midbrain between hindbrain & forebrain
o Sensory processes (vision hearing)
o Reticular
Muscle functioning, pain, breathing
Regulation of sleep and arousal
Forebrain largest part of the brain
o Cerebrum center of complex thought
o Cerebral cortex outer layer
o Thalamus sensory processes go through EXCEPT FOR
SMELL
o Hypothalamus regulation of basic biological needs
Fighting
Fleeing
Feeding

Mating
Endocrine system different glands produce
different hormones
Corpus Callosum line of fibers that connect halves of brain
4 lobes
1. Occipital vision (back of head)
2. Parietal intergrates visual input monitoring of
space(top & middle)
a. feeling of touch
3. temporal hearing
4. frontal primary motor cortex
a. muscle contraction
b. mirror neurons brain imitates what someone is
doing
i. study with monkeys
c. pre-frontal cortex highest most abstract
intellectual functioning
i. problem solving, abstract thinking, prioritizing

Limbic System along border of cerebral cortex

Hippocampus - memory (short/long)
Amygdala emotions
o Pleasure
o Hippocampus & amygdala are close to
other memories are
emotional things
Medial forebrain bundle
o Dopamine
Plasticity
brain trying to repair any
damage
damange to one area is
made up for in another
area
experience shapes brain
neurogenesis creation of new neurons
(frontal lobe & hypocampus)
plasticity declines with age

each

Left Side
Brocas comprehension of language
Wernicke reproduction of language
Reasoning, remembering, planning, problem solving
Right
Visuospatial, creative, analytical, perception of emotion
Split Brain
Hormones (controlled by hypothalamus)
Pituitary gland = master gland
o Melatonin
o Adrenal releases stress hormones
In a burst
o Sex hormones testosterone, estrogen, progesterone
o Oxyotocin cuddle/trust hormone
Released while giving birth
Genetics
Chromosomes carry genetic material
o 46
o XX/XY
o Homozygous two genes in specific pair are the same
o Heterozygous dominant or recessive
o Genotype actual genetic makeup
o Phenotype physical appearance
o Polygenetic inheritance some genes that load onto
several strands on several different chromosomes
o Heritability - the extent to which genetic individual
differences contribute to individual differences in observed
behavior (phenotypic)
Genetics which are observed
Statistical estimate of a population variance. Most
behaviors range from .3 (30%) to .6 (60%)
o Heritability and environmentability are abstract concepts.
No matter what the numbers are, heritability estimates tell
us nothing about the specific genes that contribute to a
trait. Similarly, a numerical estimate of environmentability
provides no information about the important environmental
variables that influence a behavior.
o Heritability and environmentability are population
concepts. They tell us nothing about an individual. A
heritability of .40 informs us that, on average, about 40%
of the individual differences that we observe in, say,
shyness may in some way be attributable to genetic

individual difference. It does NOT mean that 40% of any

person's shyness is due to his/her genes and the other 60%
is due to his/her environment.
o Heritability depends on the range of typical environments
in the population that is studied. If the environment of the
population is fairly uniform, then heritability may be high,
but if the range of environmental differences is very large,
then heritability may be low. In different words, if everyone
is treated the same environmentally, then any differences
that we observe will largely be due to genes; heritability
will be large in this case. However, if the environment
treats people very differently, then heritability may be
small

Twin studies benefits

Adoption studies