Unit 1 Slides PDF

Unit 1 Biological Bases of Behavior  Notes Format - I will NOT be giving you a blank notes sheet - You are responsible for taking HANDWRITTEN notes for each topic that we will talk about. - Before the quiz, I will check notes just like the last unit. - You are...

Unit 1 Biological Bases of Behavior  Notes Format - I will NOT be giving you a blank notes sheet - You are responsible for taking HANDWRITTEN notes for each topic that we will talk about. - Before the quiz, I will check notes just like the last unit. - You are still responsible for information in the textbook, slides, topic questions and any other resources I have given. - Make sure you have taken good notes over the whole unit. - Taking notes over three or four terms is not enough.  Topic 1.1 Interaction of Heredity and Environment Textbook Module 14  Terms to Know - Heredity - Environment - Nature-Nurture Issue - Genetic Predisposition - Evolutionary Perspective - Natural Selection - Eugenics - Twin Studies - Family Studies - Adoption Studies  Nature vs. Nurture - Heredity - The passing on of traits and characteristics from parents to their offspring. - DNA, chromosomes, recessive/dominant traits, etc. - Nature - Heritability - The extent to which variation among individuals can be attributed to varying genes - Environment - Every nongenetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us. - Home life, family interactions, education, etc. - Nurture  How can we study this? - Twin Studies - Identical vs. Fraternal Twins - Type of Study? - Adoption Studies - Family Studies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw3S35wGgT8  John Locke John B. Watson “Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified “The human mind at birth is a world to bring them up in, and I’ll complete, but receptive, blank guarantee to take any one at random slate(Tabula Rasa) upon which and train him to become any type of experience imprints knowledge”. specialist I might select–a doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant chief, and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.”  How does this affect us? - Genetic Predisposition - Means that there is an increased likelihood that a person will develop a disease based on their genetic makeup - Diabetes - Heart Disease - Cancer - Asthma - Obesity - Addiction - Autism - Etc.  Evolutionary Perspective - Approach to Psychology that studies the mental and behavioral processes using the principle of natural selection - Natural Selection - Process by which organism better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. - Through Genes/DNA - Can humans use this to aid our society?  Eugenics - The study of how to arrange reproduction within a human population to increase the occurrence of heritable traits regarded as desirable. - Extreme misuse of power and information - What is the main example of this? - Are there any other examples of this?  Epigenetics - The Study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work, without changing the DNA sequence. - Focus on how environments and upbringings can trigger or block genetic expression. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/what-is-epigenetics-and-ho w-does-it-relate-to-child-development/  Topic 1.2 Overview of the Nervous System Textbook Module 10  Terms to Know - Central Nervous System - Autonomic Nervous System - Sympathetic Nervous System - Peripheral Nervous System - Somatic Nervous System - Parasympathetic Nervous System  Nervous System What does the Nervous System do? - The Nervous System is the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, made up of neurons that communicate via chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. - You have tens of billions of neurons in your body. - One estimation is that your brain contains 128 billion neurons. - Made up of two systems: - Central Nervous System - Peripheral Nervous System  Central Nervous System - The body’s main control system and decision maker - Consists of two parts: - Brain - Perception - Motor Control - Homeostasis - Sleep - Etc. - Spinal cord - Your body’s “information highway” - Ascending neurons send sensory information up, and motor information back down - Governs reflexes  Somatic Nervous System - Responsible for voluntary movement. It enables you to control your body. - When a friend taps your shoulder, your somatic nervous system reports to your brain the current state of your muscles, and carries instructions back. - Sensory neurons - Motor neurons  Autonomic Nervous System - Part of the Peripheral Nervous System - Controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs - Autonomic = Self-regulating - Involuntary, not under conscious control - Heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, etc.  Autonomic Nervous System Sympathetic Nervous System Parasympathetic Nervous - “Fight or Flight” Response System - Increases bodily activity, making - “Rest and Digest” you alert and preparing for action - Produces the opposite effect of - Accelerated heart rate the Sympathetic. - Raises blood pressure - Conserving energy to calm you - Slows digestion - Does the opposite of what is listed - Increases respiration in the SNS - Releases “stress hormones”, Epinephrine/Cortisol Both of these systems work together to keep our bodies in a steady state called homeostasis.  Topic 1.3 The Neuron and Neural Firing Textbook Module 9  Terms to Know - Ghrelin - Neuron - Dopamine - Agonist Drugs - Sensory Neurons - Glutamate - Stimulants - All-or-Nothing Principle - Endorphins - Depressants - Resting Potential - Adrenaline - Marijuana - Reflex Arc - Addiction - Multiple Sclerosis - Interneurons - Melatonin - Inhibitory Neurotransmitter - Antagonist Drugs - Refractory Period - Norepinephrine - Caffeine - Threshold - Substance P - Alcohol - Excitatory - Opioids - Hormones Neurotransmitter - Withdrawal - Glial Cells - Serotonin - Oxytocin - Motor Neurons - GABA - Reuptake - Depolarization - Acetylcholine - Cocaine - Hallucinogens - Reuptake - Heroin - Myasthenia Gravis - Tolerance  Types of Neurons - Sensory Neurons - Carry information from the sense organs to the brain - Motor Neurons - Control voluntary muscle activity, carrying messages from nerve cells in the brain to muscles. - Interneurons - Make connections between sensory and motor neurons. Located exclusively in the brain and spinal cord. - Does your body produce neurons during your life, or are they all there when you are born?  Neurons - Most of your neurons that you have will be there when you are born. - However, new research has recently shown that your brain will create new neurons, a process called neurogenesis. - Many neuroscientist disagree about how many and how often more neurons are created in the brain. - Neural Migration - Some neurons must travel to the place in the brain where it will work. - Some researchers believe that misguided neurons are the cause of certain disorders such as schizophrenia and dyslexia. - Neurons are the longest living cells in the body, however, some of them die or lose the ability to communicate as you live. - In Alzheimer’s disease, unusual proteins build up around the part of the brain that controls memory. - Parkinson’s disease.  The Neuron - Dendrites - Tree root shaped part of the neuron, receive and transmit electrical signals to the cell body. Covered in Synapses, which allow them to receive signals from other neurons. - Cell Body/Soma - Contains the nucleus, the cell’s life-support center. - Axon - Passes messages away from the cell body towards axon terminals. - Myelin Sheath - Layer of fatty tissue encasing the axon of some neurons. It is meant to insulate the axon, and enables vastly greater transmission speed. This is a glial cell. - Axon Terminals - End of axon that branches out and passes the message to other neurons. - Dendrites listen, Axons speak  Glial Cells - Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons. They also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory. There are multiple types: - Astrocytes - Oligodendrocytes - Microglia - Ependymal - Schwann Cells - Satellite Cells - Problems with your Myelin Sheath lead to Multiple Sclerosis. - They are thought to outnumber neurons 10 to 1. - The Glial cells are the support cells for neurons. Ex: Myelin Sheath. Neuron Structure Neuron Structure Pt. 2  Resting Potential - Before the neuron fires, it is in a state called Resting Potential. - When a neuron is not sending signals, the inside of the neuron has a negative charge, while the outside has a positive charge. - The cell membrane of the neuron allows certain ions to pass through, showing that it is selectively permeable. - This is the state that the neuron is ready to receive signals. - As soon as your brain sends a signal to your body to do something, we get:  Action Potential - Action potential is the neuron sending a message by firing an impulse down its body. - To start this process, the first section of the axon opens its gates, and positively charged ions flood in. - Once the neuron reaches a certain threshold of positive to negative charge, it will fire an action potential. - This loss of charge difference is called depolarization. - After the neuron has fired, it can not fire again until it returns to it’s resting potential. This means it has a refractory period. A brief resting period after the neuron has fired. (Generally lasts one millisecond) - Increasing the charge WAY above the threshold will do what?  All or Nothing Response - Nothing. It will not increase the intensity of the neural impulse. This is what we call the All or Nothing Response. It either fires, or it doesn't. - Why then do we feel different levels of intensity of pain among other things? How does our body do that? - The stronger the input to a neuron, the quicker it fires. - More neurons firing increase the intensity.  Neural Communication - Scientists used to believe that all neurons were attached/connected, but we now know that this is not true. - The meeting point of neurons is called a Synapse. - There is a tiny, tiny gap between neurons called a synaptic gap. - When action potentials reach the axon terminals, it triggers the release of chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters. - Neurotransmitters - Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate an impulse.  Myasthenia Gravis - Autoimmune disease that destroys the receptors on a nerve, inhibiting communication between neurons. - Visual problems, including drooping eyelids (ptosis) and double vision (diplopia) - Muscle weakness and fatigue may vary rapidly in intensity over days or even hours and worsen as muscles are used (early fatigue) - Facial muscle involvement causing a mask-like appearance; a smile may appear more like a snarl - Trouble swallowing or pronouncing words - Weakness of the neck or limbs  Excess Neurotransmitters - 2 things can happen to the excess neurotransmitters, the ones that did not flow into the next neuron. - They can drift away and be broken down by enzymes - They can be reabsorbed by the sending neuron, a process called Reuptake. - Some antidepressants block the reuptake of mood-enhancing neurotransmitters.  Types of Neurotransmitters - Neurotransmitters transmit one of three actions: - Excitatory - Increase the likelihood that a neuron will fire an action potential in the receiving neuron. - Ex: Glutamine, Epinephrine, Norepinephrine - Inhibitory - Decrease the likelihood that a neuron will fire an action potential in the receiving neuron. - Ex: GABA, serotonin. - Modulatory Topic 1.3 Part 2  Endocrine System - The body’s secondary communication system. - Made up of a complex network of glands and organs, it uses hormones to control and coordinate your body’s metabolism, energy level, growth and development, etc. - The endocrine system releases another form of chemical messengers: hormones. - Hormones are very similar to neurotransmitters. - Hormones communicate slower than neurotransmitters, and stay in your body longer.  Hormones to Know - Adrenaline(Epinephrine) - Plays a key role in your body’s fight or flight mode. - Leptin - Helps regulate appetite and energy balance. - Ghrelin - “Hunger hormone”. A hormone that your stomach produces, signaling your brain when your stomach is empty and it’s time to eat. - Melatonin - Hormone that your brain produces in response to darkness. Helps with the timing of circadian rhythms and sleep. - Oxytocin - Manages key aspects of the female and male reproductive systems.  Agonist vs. Antagonist Agonist - A drug or substance that binds to a receptor and activates it to promote a reaction. - Ex: Opioids or Heroin. Both substances bind to receptors in your brain and mimic reactions of endorphins, your body’s natural painkillers. Antagonist - A drug or substance that binds to a receptor and inhibits its reaction. - Ex: Naltrexone binds to receptors and prevents the euphoric effects of opiates. - Let’s imagine a day in the life of a legal-drug-using adult. The day begins with a couple shots of espresso to feel alert, then an Adderall pill to help focus on a morning meeting. At midday, an energy drink offsets post-lunch drowsiness, and vaping calms anxiety before a presentation. Later, a friend suggests meeting for after-work drinks. It used to take only a drink or two to feel relaxed, but now it’s three or four. Back home, two Advil PMs before bed help induce sleep. The alarm beeps just a few hours later. Then the daily cycle of drug use resumes. - Is this a problem? Why?  Psychoactive Drugs - Psychoactive drugs - Chemicals that alter the brain, producing changes in perceptions and moods. - This happens through the release/blocking of certain neurotransmitters. - When does drug use cross the line between moderation and substance abuse disorder?  APA’s Substance Use Chart - Diminished Control - Uses more substance, or for longer than intended. - Tries unsuccessfully to regulate use of substance. - Spends much time acquiring, using, or recovering from effects of substance. - Craves the substance. - Diminished Social Functioning - Use disrupts commitments at work, school, or home. - Continues use despite social problems. - Causes reduced social, recreational, and work activities. - Hazardous Use - Continues use despite hazards. - Continues use despite worsening physical or psychological problems. - Drug Action - Experiences tolerance (needing more substance for the desired effect). - Experiences withdrawal (unpleasant mental or physical reactions) when attempting to end use. Mild = 2-3 indicators Moderate = 4-5 indicators Severe = 6-7 indicators  Tolerance and Addictions - With the use of drugs, users develop tolerance as their brain chemistry adapts to offset the drug effect. - To experience the same effect, users require larger and larger doses, which increase the risk of becoming addicted. - When trying to stop, the person may be subject to withdrawal.  Types of Psychoactive Drugs - Depressants - Substances that slow neural activity and body functions. - Alcohol, Heroin, Opioids - Stimulants - Excite neural activity and speed up body functions. - Caffeine, Nicotine, Cocaine, Methamphetamine - Hallucinogen - Distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input. - LSD, Ecstasy, Marijuana Topic 1.4 The Brain Phineas Gage