(p)Physiological Psychology Flash Cards

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Title: (p)Physiological Psychology
Description: Use to study for GRE.
Focus: Nervous System
Number of Cards: 133
Save Count: 11
Author: schwinmajeski11
Created: 2002-09-01
Tags: gre
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    • Question
    • Answer
    • Side 3
    • 3 Brain Divisions.
    • 1)Forebrain
      2)Midbrain
      3)Hindbrain
    • What two sections is the Hindbrain divided into?
    • 1) Metencephalon (reticular formation, pons, cerebellum)
      2) Myelencephalon (medulla)
    • Divisions of Midbrain?
    • Midbrain's 2 main division:
      1)tectum(inferior & superior colliculi)
      2)tegmentum (rostral part of reticular formation, periaqueductal grey, cerebral aqueduct, red nucleus, substantia nigra).
    • What part of the cell manufactures proteins?

    • The cell body
    • Central Sulcus
    • Divides frontal and parietal lobes.
      (fig.)
    • Reticular Formation
    • -located in the tegmentum of of the midbrain. Located in the central region of the brain stem from the medulla to the diencephalon. A large network of neural tissue that recieves sensory info from various pathways & projects axons to the cerebral cortex, thalamus & spinal cord.
      Involved in sleep & arousal, attention, muscle tone, movement & various vital reflexes.
    • Main divisions of the Hindbrain?
    • Hindbrain's 2 main divisions:
      a) Metencephalon 1)Reticular Formation
      2)Pons
      3)Cerebellum
      b) Myelencephalon 1)Medulla
    • Describe the charge of a neuron.
    • Inside the neuron, the ions are mostly negatively charged.
      Outside the neuron, the ions are mostly positively charged.
      In this state (with mostly negative charge inside and positive charge on the outside) the neuron is said to be Polarized.

    • Lateral Fissure
    • Divides temporal lobe from overlying frontal and parietal lobes.
      (fig)
    • What happens when the primary visual cortex is damaged?
    • May cause blindsight-an inability to recognise objects conciously that may be detected unconciously.
    • Autosomes?
    • Autosomes - all chromosomes except sex chromosomes, which regulate such things as eye color, hair, body size, etc.
    • Describe the theory of dualism.
    • Dualism is the theory that the mind and body (including the brain) are separate entities made of different subtances.
    • What is the Parietal Lobe control?
    • The Parietal Lobe is involved in perception. Contains the somatosensory cortex.
    • Primary Visual Cortex.
    • -Located in the Occipital Lobe.
      -L. visual field from both eyes goes to the R. visual cortex. Info from the R.visual field from both eyes goes to the L. visual cortex.
      The visual cortex is surrounded by the visual association areas.
    • Parasympathetic nervous system?
    • The parasympathetic nervous system - slows body down, conserves bodily resources: slows heart rate, reduces blood pressure, etc.
    • What is the all-or-none law?
    • A neural impulse will either occur or not. There is no in between. Once the threshold is reached, there is no going back, the neural impulse will begin and will go through the complete cycle.


    • Wernicke's aphasia?
    • Wernicke's aphasia is caused by damage to Wernicke's area in the brain.
      Individual can speek but nolonger understands how to comprehend, or produce meaningful speech.
      The person's speech will be FLUENT but NONSENSICAL.
    • Primary auditory cortex
    • Primary auditory cortex-performs the basic analysis of sound.
      L. auditory cortex recieves input from the R. ear and vice versa.
    • Sympathetic nervous system?
    • The sympathetic nervous system - prepares the body for emergencies. Responsible for the fight-or-flight response: brings blood from internals to externals (muscles), slows down digestion, signals adrenal glands to release hormones, etc.
      It is in sympathy with the body's emotions and mobilizes the body to fight or flight.
    • Which brain structure was cut in the "split-brain" experiments?
    • The corpus callosum
    • Meninges?
    • Meninges are tough connective tissues covering the brain and spinal cord.
    • Red Nucleus
    • Large nucleus in the midbrain that recieves inputs from the cerebellum & motor cortex & sends axons to the spinal cord via the rubrospinal tract to various subcortical motor nuclei.
    • Dominant genes?
    • Genes that are expressed when paired genes are mixed
    • What is the definition of a neuron?


    • A self-sufficient, specialized cell in the nervous system that receives, integrates, and carries information throughout the body.
    • What is the Right hemi's function?
    • R.Hemi-controls spatial perception and musical ability.
    • Auditory association areas
    • Make more detailed analysis of sound.
    • Chromosomes?

    • Chromosomes are thread-like strands of DNA molecules that form the DNA segments. Every cell in the human body has 46 chromosomes; 23 from mom, 23 from dad.
      Each parent's chromosomes can be scrambled 8 million ways to give approx. 70 trillion possible configurations. The more closely related we are the more genes we have in common, the more similar we are to one another.
    • Describe the theory of monism.
    • Monism is the theory that the mind and brain are the same thing and they are composed of the same physical subtance.
    • Describe cerebral hemispheres (hemis).
    • Constitutes the largest part of the brain.
      Responsible for movement and higher functions.
      Each hemi controls movements on the opposing side.
    • What is the function of the Cerebellum (located in the Hindbrain)?
    • Impt sensorimotor structure
      The cerebellum controls muscle coordination, balance, & posture. It's size is related to the amount of muscular activity.
      Damage causes an inability to precisely control one's movements & to adapt them to changing conditions.
      Contains the two hemis & is covered with the cerebellar cortex.
    • Substantia Nigra
    • Darkly stained region which communicates with the neostraitum via the nigrastriatal bundle-part of motor system.
    • Describe the study of genetics.
    • Genetics is the study of heredity (characteristics transmitted by the genes a person is born with).
    • What is the Synapse?

    • The Synapse is the area where the axon terminal of one neuron meets the dendrite of another neuron. They do not connect, but there is a small gap called the SYNAPTIC CLEFT/GAP.
    • What is the function of the pituitary gland? (controled by the hypothalamus; Housed in forebrain)
    • The pituitary gland is "the master gland" of the endocrine or hormone system. It releases a variety of hormones that fan out around the body, stimulating actions in other endocrine glands.
    • Divisions of the Forebrain?
    • I)Forebrain
      A)Telecephalon 1)cerebral cortex (sulci, gyri, fissures, corpous callosum, 4 lobes)
      2)basal gaglia(caudate nucleus, putamen, globus, pallidus, amygdala)
      3)Limbic System (anterior thalamic nuclei, hippocampus, limbic cortex, farnix, cingulate cortex, mamillary bodies, septum)
      B)Diencephalon 1)Thalamus
      2)Hypothalamus
      3)Optic Chiasm
      4)Pituitary Gland
    • Sex chromosomes?

    • Sex chromosomes - one pair of the 23 chromosomes from each parent which determines your gender.
    • What is the white, fatty covering made by glia cells to surround the axons of some neurons?
    • The myelin sheath
    • What does the Frontal Lobe control?
    • The Frontal Lobe involved in planning, execution and control of movements.
      Houses primary motor cortex and Broca's Area.
    • Visual Association Areas
    • 1 part interprets object motion-> damage causes akinetopsia-the inability to see moving objects.
      1 part interprets color-> damage causes achromatopsia-an inability to see or remember color.
    • Homozygous genes?
    • The combination of two similar genes in a pair (bb, BB, etc)
    • Describe the permeability of a Neuron?
    • The the outer membrane of the neuron is selectively permeable, and selectively allows some ions to pass back and forth. The way it selects is easy - it has pores that are only so big. So, only very small ions can fit through. Any large ions simply can't pass through the small pores.

    • What does the Occipital Lobe control?
    • The Occipital Lobe is responsible for vision. It houses the primary visual cortex.
    • Periaqueductal Grey
    • Consists mainly of cell bodies (gray matter). Contains neural circuits that control sequences of movements that constitute species-typical behaviors, such as fighting and mating
    • What is the fight-or-flight response?
    • The fight-or-flight response - Walter Cannon (1932) - found that when confronted with dogs, cats responded by : 1. preparing to fight; 2 preparing to flee. People are the same.
    • Describe what dendrites are.
    • Dendrites are tree-like branches of a neuron that extend from the cell body. These parts often recieve incoming messages from other neurons and then transfer that message to the cell body.
    • What is the Temporal Lobe control?
    • The Temporal Lobe is responsible for hearing and language. The auditory cortex is located here.
    • Cerebral Aqueduct
    • Narrow tube interconnecting the 3rd & 4th ventricles of the brain.
    • What is a phenotype?
    • Phenotype - the expression of your genetic makeup (eye color, height, hair color, etc).
    • What is a Neural Impulse?
    • A Neural Impulse is the electrical and chemical transmission of information from one neuron to another.

      A Neural impulse takes the same path all the time - it is a process of conducting information from a stimulus by the dendrite of one neuron and carrying it through the axon and on to the next neuron.

    • Hyperphagia?
    • Hyperphagia is overeating with no satiation of hunger. Leads to obesity. Has been associated with damage to the ventromedial region in animals.
    • Describe an action potential.
    • The action potential is a brief spike of positive voltage sent from the soma down the axon to the synaptic terminal. At the terminal endings, vescicles containing neurotransmitters, release them into the synapse.
    • What is a genotype?
    • Genotype - all of the genes you are born with (the combination of these genes and environmental influences form a person's observable characteristics).

    • What is the axon hillock?
    • The axon hillock is the area where the axon connects to the soma.
    • Differentiate between the superior and inferior colliculus.
    • The superior colliculus controls visual reflexes.
      The inferior colliculus controls auditory reflexes.
      Both appear as bumps on the brainstem.
    • What percent of the brain do the neurons take up (by volume)?
    • Neurons are 50% of the volume.
    • Recessive genes?
    • Genes that are masked when paired genes are mixed.
    • What is the axon?
    • The axon is a thin, tail-like fiber that extends from the soma to the terminal buttons. This can range from as small as a red blood cell to 3 ft long.
    • What is the function of the hippocampus (part of the limbic system)?
    • Thought to be involved in memory by the encoding of new info.
    • Name the two most important ions for the electrical properties of an action potential.
    • Sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+)
    • Heterozygous genes?
    • Heterozygous genes - the combination of two dissimilar genes in a pair (Bb, etc)
    • What is RESTING POTENTIAL?
    • Resting potential is when the neuron is Polarized. The polarized Neuron is in a stable, negatively charged, inactive state. The charge is approx. -70 millivolts, and it means that the neuron is ready to fire (receive and send information). O-(organic ions) inside cell K+(potassium ions) inside cell Na+ (sodium ions) outside the cell
    • Stereotaxic instruments?
    • Stereotaxic instruments are used to implant electrodes into animals brains in experiments.
    • What is the function of the thalamus? (Housed in forebrain)
    • The thalamus is a 2 lobes structure that constitutues the top of the brain stem.
      Contains nuclei that project info to specific regions of the cerebral cortex and recieve info from it.
      It is the sensory relay station of the brain, as it relays messages from higher parts of the brain to movement control centres in the brainstem.
    • What cells are the basic building blocks of the nervous system?

    • Neurons
    • What is a gene?
    • Genetics (this is going to be covered very, very, briefly)

      the study of heredity (characteristics transmitted by the genes a person is born with).

      Gene - DNA segments that serve as the key functional units in hereditary transmission.
    • What is the soma?
    • The soma is the neuron's cell body which contains the nucleus, cytoplasm, etc. Everything needed for survival. It collects and integrates these incoming signals to determine whether the neuron should initiate its own signal called an action potential.
    • What is the function of the
      amygdala (part of the limbic system)?
    • The amygdala controls emotional reactions such as fear and anger.
    • Def'n the study of physiological psych.
    • A biological based study of the mind.
    • The basal ganglia is composed of what for components?
    • 1) caudate nucleus
      2) putamen
      (1&2 are refered to together as the striatum)
      3) globus pallidus
      4) amygdala
    • What is the speed of an action potential?

    • An action potential can travel from 10120 meters/sec, or 2-270 miles/hour.
    • Describe the structure and basic function of the spinal cord.
    • The spinal Cord is composed of bundles of neurons that extend from the base of the skull to just below the waist, and act as an information link between the brain and the rest of the body.
    • What is the ratio of glia cells to neurons?
    • 10 glia cells to 1 neuron
    • The 2nd section of the forebrain, the DIENCEPHALON houses which structures?
    • 1)thalamus
      2)hypothalamus
      3)optic chiasm
      4)pituitary gland
    • How does a neuron achieve action potential?
    • Eventually (while polarized), some stimulation occurs (ex.hand to close to a flame), and the information is brought into the body by a sensory receptor and brought to the dendrites of a neuron.
      Action potential is when the stimulation (the heat) reaches a certain threshold and the neural membrane opens at one area and allows the positively charged ions to rush in and the negative ions to rush out. The charge inside the neuron then rises to approx.+40 mv. This only occurs for a brief moment, but it is enough to create a domino effect.
    • What is the "blooming and pruning process?"
    • Children go through the "blooming and pruning process" in which neural pathways are connected and then some are allowed to die out.