Cognitive Neuroscience Quiz

Biological Bases of Behavior

• AP Psychology Unit One

Learning Targets

• Explain the relationship between heredity and environment in shaping behavior and mental processes.
• Differentiate among the subsystems of the human nervous system and their functions.
• Explain how the structures and functions of typical neurons in the central nervous system affect behavior and mental processes.
• Explain how the basic process of neural transmission is related to behavior and mental processes.
• Explain how psychoactive drugs affect behavior and mental processes.
• Explain how the structures and functions of the brain apply to behavior and mental processes.
• Explain how the sleep/wake cycle affects behavior and mental processes throughout the day and night.
• Explain how the process of sensation is related to behavior and mental processes.
• Explain how the structures and functions of the visual sensory system relate to behavior and mental processes.
• Explain how the structures and functions of the auditory sensory system relate to behavior and mental processes.
• Explain how the structures and functions of the chemical sensory systems relate to behavior and mental processes.
• Explain how the structures and functions of the touch sensory system relate to behavior and mental processes.
• Explain how the structures and functions of the pain sensory system relate to behavior and mental processes.
• Explain how the structures and functions that maintain balance (vestibular) and body movement (kinesthetic) relate to behavior and mental processes.

Interaction of Heredity & Environment

• Nature vs. Nurture is a significant debate in psychology, questioning whether traits or behaviors are determined by genes and heredity or by environment.
• A popular example in psychology is the study of serial killers.

Survival of the Fittest

• Behavior geneticists observe the genetic and environmental foundations of human variances.
• Evolutionary psychologists investigate what makes humans similar, focusing on Charles Darwin's principles.
• Natural selection implies that traits advantageous for survival and reproduction are more likely passed down through generations.
• Adaptation is the process by which a species adapts to its environment through natural selection.
• Mutation is a random error in gene replication that can lead to changes in genes, driving evolution.

Twin & Adoption Studies

• Evolutionary psychologists suggest all human behaviours reflect physical and psychological predispositions that helped human ancestors survive and reproduce.
• Identical (monozygotic) twins develop from a single fertilized egg that splits, sharing identical genes.
• Fraternal (dizygotic) twins develop from separate fertilized eggs, sharing similar genes as other siblings.
• Twin studies provide an effective approach to analyze the nature vs nurture debate.
• Identical twins raised in different environments show similarities, indicating the significance of the environment.
• Epigenetics is a field of research studying how environmental factors influence gene expression without altering DNA.

The Nervous System

•  The nervous system is the body's rapid electrochemical communication network, made up of nerve cells called neurons.
•  Nervous system is divided into smaller systems based on function.
•  Central nervous system (CNS) consists of the brain and the spinal cord.
•  Peripheral nervous system (PNS) includes nerves connecting to the CNS.
•  Autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls involuntary functions (heartbeat, digestion).
•  Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) prepares the body for stress (fight or flight).
•  Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) calms the body (rest and digest).
•  Somatic nervous system (SNS) controls voluntary movements.  -Afferent nerves: Sensory neurons
• Efferent nerves: Motor neurons
• Interneurons: Nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that serve as intermediaries between sensory and motor neurons, coordinating information throughout the CNS for processing.

Other Parts of the Nervous System

• Reflexes are automatic responses to stimuli, processed primarily by the spinal cord without the direct involvement of the brain.  A reflex arc is the path taken by nerve impulses in a reflex.

The Neuron & Neural Firing

• Neurons are the fundamental units of the nervous system, each with a specialized structure that facilitates communication: soma, dendrites, axon, myelin sheath, axon terminals
• A neuron's electrical activity, from resting potential to action potential to repolarization, is crucial for transmitting signals.
• The "all-or-nothing" principle implies that a neuron either fires or doesn't; the intensity of the stimulus determines the frequency of firing.

Exchanging Energy

• Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that carry information across the synapses (gaps) between neurons.
• Neurotransmitters are released from axon terminals to initiate the transmission of a signal.
• They are absorbed/reabsorbed by the axon terminals in a re-uptake process, ending the signal.

Nervous System Disorders

• Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease.
• Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disorder.

Excitatory vs. Inhibitory

•  Excitatory neurotransmitters increase the likelihood of a neuron firing.
•  Inhibitory neurotransmitters decrease the likelihood of a neuron firing.

Neurotransmitters

• Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit signals across the synapse.
• Different neurotransmitters play essential roles in various bodily functions, and their malfunctions are linked to various mental health conditions.  

The Endocrine System

• The endocrine system is a slow chemical communication network that influences behavior.
• Hormones are the chemical messengers in the endocrine system, impacting various functions (e.g., metabolism, growth, and mood).

How do drugs work?

• Psychoactive substances affect behavior by altering neurotransmitter activity.
• Some drugs act as agonists, mimicking or increasing the effects of neurotransmitters.
• Other drugs function as antagonists, blocking the effects of neurotransmitters.

Altering Consciousness

• Many psychoactive substances have the ability to alter our perception, mood, and behavior.
• Some substances can be used in moderation for medicinal purposes (e.g., pain relief, concentration), but others can lead to addiction.
• Addiction is a disorder characterized by compulsive drug use despite significant disruptions in daily life.

Types of Drugs

• Classes of psychoactive substances such as Hallucinogens, Depressants, Opiates, and Stimulants have different effects on the body.

Drug Use as a Disorder

• Drug use transforms into a disorder when control is lost, functioning declines, and individuals require greater quantities of the substance to achieve the same effects.

The Brain

• The brain stem is composed of the medulla and pons, essential for the regulation of vital bodily functions such as breathing, heart rate, and sleep-wake cycles.
• The cerebellum, located at the rear of the brainstem, controls movement and balance.
• The thalamus serves as a sensory "switchboard," directing sensory information to the appropriate areas of the cerebral cortex.
• The amygdala is associated with emotions concerning fear and aggression.
• The hippocampus' function is to process and store memories (explicit memory).
•  The hypothalamus is responsible for regulating various bodily functions (e.g., hunger, thirst, body temperature, and maintaining balance).
• The corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres of the brain.
• The cerebral cortex is the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells, is the body's ultimate control and information processing center
• The cerebral cortex is categorized into different lobes (frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital) each with specific functions.
• The frontal lobe is responsible for higher-level thinking like planning and decision-making.
• The parietal lobe processes sensory information like pressure, touch, and temperature.
• The temporal lobe is important for auditory processing as well as verbal comprehension.
• The occipital lobe is in charge of visual processing.

Neuroplasticity & Neurogenesis

• Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to continually reorganize and adapt to new experiences, even with brain damage.
• Neurogenesis is the creation of new neurons, a brain function that is more active at earlier stages in life.
• Aphasia describes the disruption of speech production and/or comprehension due to damage to the brain.

Viewing the Brain

• Technologies like EEG, MEG, CT, PET, MRI, and fMRI are utilized to visualize and study the functions of the human brain. 

Split Brain Research

• Split-brain research, where the corpus callosum is severed in patients with severe epilepsy, reveals neural specialization in the brain.

Sensory Systems

•  The sense of touch refers to our experience of pressure, warmth, cold, and pain. Sensory receptors in our skin identify these sensations and transmit corresponding signals via the parietal lobe to the brain.
• Olfaction, taste, and touch are chemical senses. Sensory receptors detect chemical substances (e.g., odorants in the nose and taste molecules in the mouth) and transmit signals to the brain for processing and interpretation. The olfactory bulb in the brain sends signals to the temporal lobe without using the thalamus.
• Pain is a complex experience involving sensory, neurological, psychological, and social/cultural influences.
• Vestibular and kinesthetic senses are responsible for body position and movement. Receptors in the inner ear, muscles, and joints provide essential information about equilibrium and movement, which is then interpreted by the cerebellum to create a coordinated response.

Sleep

• Sleep is a biological rhythm crucial for survival.
• Sleep is characterized by stages, including NREM-1, NREM-2, NREM-3, and REM.

Dreams

• Dreams are sequences of images, emotions, and thoughts experienced during sleep.
• The theories surrounding dreams cover aspects like wish fulfillment, information processing, activation synthesis, and physiological function.
• Memory consolidation is a theory suggesting that sleep is essential for storing memories. 
• Disorders such as insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and night terrors, can negativelyimpact people's health.

Sensation

• Sensation refers to how our brain receives and represents external stimuli such as pressure, warmth, cold, pain., These stimuli are identified by sensory receptors and the corresponding sensory input is processed by the parietal and frontal lobe via the thalamus.
• Perception refers to the interpretation of sensory information.
• Sensory receptors in various parts of the body detect different sensations and send corresponding signals to the brain.  
• Absolute threshold is the minimum amount of stimulus needed for a sense receptor to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
• Different Threshold is the minimum difference in stimulation between two stimuli required for the brain to recognize a difference.
• Sensory Adaptation refers to the brain's ability to adjust sensitivity to constant stimulation.

The Eye

• Light enters the eye through the cornea and pupil, focusing through the lens to land on the retina.
• The retina contains photoreceptor cells, namely rods and cones. The fovea is the area of the sharpest vision.
• Rods are responsible for night vision.
• Cones are essential for color vision.

Visual Processing

• Processing in the eye: Rods and cones transform light into signals that bipolar cells relay to ganglion cells; axons of the ganglion cells form the optic nerve, sending to the brain.
• The optic nerve transmits information to the thalamus, then to the visual cortex.
• Color Blindness: People may struggle with seeing certain colours. Some types of colour blindness are genetically caused and people might notice a delay or deficiency in seeing the colour.

Colour Theory

• Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory: The retina contains red, green and blue cones, which, when stimulated together, can create other colours.
• Opponent process theory: Neurons in the retina and visual brain areas function in pairs (red-green, blue-yellow, black-white), turning one “on” and the other “off.”

Facial Recognition

• The brain's feature detectors in the temporal lobes are specialized cells that respond to particular aspects of stimuli such as angles, edges, and movement
• Prosopagnosia, or face blindness, describes a neurological condition in which the ability to recognize faces is impaired.

Hearing Loss, Losing Audition

• Sensorineural hearing loss involves damage to the inner ear's receptor hair cells or the auditory nerves.
• Conductive hearing loss results from impairments in the eardrum or middle ear bones.

Theories of Hearing

• Place theory argues that sound pitch depends on the specific location on the basilar membrane where vibrations are the highest.
• Frequency theory posits that the speed of the basilar membrane vibration relates to pitch perception.
• Volley principle details how neurons of the auditory system respond in a staggered manner to manage high frequencies.

Sound Localization

• The precise localization of the location of a sound source relies on the time difference in sounds detected between the two ears. 

Other Senses

• Touch is a vital sense, critical for survival and development, and is processed in the parietal lobe, which interprets pressure, temperature, and pain.
• The vestibular sense detects head and body position and balance
• The kinesthetic sense monitors the position and movement of our body parts; receptors are found in the muscles and joints.