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Biological Psych Part 2

Key Concepts:

Terms in this set (44)

Sexual Preferences
Males: attractiveness, health, youth, chastity
Females: health, education, education, industriousness, financial stability,
Natural Phobias
Fear of poisonous such as snakes and spiders. Believed to be because avoiding these species helped humanity survive.
Evolutionary Psychology
Attempts to explain current common behavior by looking at what was helpful to the survival of a species.
Adoption Studies
Studies traits of adopted children compared to their adoptive parents, meant to support the nurture argument.
Heritability
The study of genes and nature.
Family Studies
Looks at family traits, meant to support the nature argument.
Twin Studies
Looking at similar traits found between twins, meant to support the nature argument.
Natural Selection
Over time, beneficial traits that help an individual survive will be continuously passed on to their offspring to help them survive.
(Survival of the Fittest / Survive and Thrive)
Pineal Gland
The gland that produces melatonin, the hormone responsible for your sleeping/waking schedule.
Pituitary Gland
Referred to as the "master gland," this gland is responsible for growth, thirst, childbirth, regulating other glands, uterus contractions, sex, behavior, sexual orientation, and blood pressure.
Thyroid Gland
Produces thyroxin and a few other chemicals that control metabolism.
Adrenal Gland
Produces adrenaline, the chemical responsible for the "fight or flight sensation".
Pancreas
Produces Insulin and Glucagon which regulae blood sugar levels.
Endocrine System
The system of glands that produce hormones.
Hormones
Chemical messengers produced by glands that travel through the bloodstream to various locations in the body.
EEGs
Meant for Sleep Research, this is a machine that measures electrical activity while you're asleep.
CAT Scans
Uses radiation in X-Rays to map out a patient's brain.
It's known as a structural imaging technique.

(Disclaimer: No involvement of cats)
P.E.T. Scans
Uses radiation to measure radioactive glucose in the brain.
It's known as a functional imaging technique.
fMRI
Functional MRI. It's basically using a magnet to measure the iron in blood as its flowing.
It's known as a functional imaging technique.
MRI
A giant tube that uses a magnet to create a model of the brain. Useful for looking at specific structures to see if they look different from normal.
Phineas Gage
Pole-in-head guy.
He lost the ability to weigh decisions before he made them, and was known to act entirely on impulse. His injury gave insight on the parts of the brain responsible for emotional reasoning/decision making.
Central Nervous System
The two main parts of this system are the Brain and Spinal Cord.
Brain
Composed of the Cerebral Cortex, Limbic System, and Brain Stem.
Brain Stem
The area where the Medulla, Pons, Reticular Formation, Cerebellum, and Thalmus are.
Thalamus
Sorts sensory information
Cerebellum
Responsible for mobility, balance, and coordination
Reticular Formation
Wakes you up, selective attention
Pons
Puts you to sleep
Medulla
The 4 B's.
Blood Pressure, Blinking, Breathing, Barfing
Limbic System
The area where the Hypothalamus, Amygdala, and Hippocampus are
Hippocampus
STM (Short Term Memory) to LTM (Long Term Memory)
Hypothalamus
Controls the 3 primary drives: Thirst, Hunger, and Sex
Amygdala
The area of the brain responsible fear and the Fight or Flight response.
Cerebral Cortex
The area of the brain that houses the Left Hemisphere, Right Hemisphere, Corpus Callosum, Frontal Lobe, Temporal Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Occipital Lobe, Wernicke's Area, Broca's Area, Motor Cortex, and Somatosensory Cortex.
Left Hemisphere
Controls right half of body.

Think: Language and Learning.
Right Hemisphere
Controls left half of body.

Think: aRt and cReativity.
Broca's Area
Produces speech
Wernicke's Area
Interprets speech
Parietal Lobe
Processes spatial reasoning.

Example: parallel parking.
Temporal Lobe
Auditory processing
Occipital Lobe
Visual Processing
Frontal Lobe
Decision making

Example: The frontal lobe makes you decide to make a sandwich. The frontal lobe makes you decide to pet a dolphin.
Motor Cortex
Controls movement
Somatosensory Cortex
Controls senses/sensations
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