Introduction to Psychology PDF

INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY 1. Is Alzheimer’s a normal part of aging? NEURON’S STRUCTURE - Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging because this is a genetical disease 2. Can we grow new neurons? - We can only grow new neurons in the hippocampus and th...

INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY 1. Is Alzheimer’s a normal part of aging? NEURON’S STRUCTURE - Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging because this is a genetical disease 2. Can we grow new neurons? - We can only grow new neurons in the hippocampus and the olfactory bulb (neurogenesis) - For Alzheimer's the death of neurons is faster than the regenerating/growing new ones 3. Is the brain fully developed at birth? - Our brain fully develops at the age of 25 WHAT IS IN YOUR BRAIN - 2 Divisions of the brain: Central Nervous System (CNS) and Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) - Shaped like a small wrinkled melon, weighs about 1,350 grams (less than 3 pounds), has a pinkish-white - Dendrites: branchlike extensions that arise from the color, and has the consistency of firm JELL-O. cell body; they receive electric signals from other - The brain being wrinkly is beneficial neurons, muscles, or sense organs and pass these - Fueled by sugar (glucose) and has about 1 trillion signals to the cell body. cells. - Cell body (soma): a relatively large, egg-shaped - Two (2) Types of Brain Cells: Glial (Glia or structure that provides fuel, manufactures chemicals, neuroglia); and Neurons or nerve cells and maintains the entire neuron in working order. - About 900 billion glial and 100 billion neurons - End bulbs or terminal buttons: tiny bubbles that are GLIAL CELLS (GLIA OR NEUROGLIA) located at the extreme ends of the axon’s branches. - 3 functions: Each end bulb is like a miniature container that stores 1. providing scaffolding to guide the growth of chemicals called neurotransmitters, which are used to developing neurons and support mature neurons; communicate with neighboring cells. (could be found 2. wrapping around neurons to form insulation to inside the synaptic vesicle) prevent interference from other electrical signals; - Synapse: an infinitely small space (20–30 billionths of 3. and releasing chemicals that influence a neuron’s a meter) that exists between an end bulb and its growth and function (Verkhratsky & Butt, 2007). adjacent body organ (heart), muscles (head), or cell body - Axon: a single threadlike structure that extends from, and carries signals away from, the cell body to neighboring neurons, organs, or muscles. - Myelin Sheath: separate tubelike segments NEURONS composed of fatty material that wraps around and - Neurons are the basic building blocks of the nervous insulates an axon. The myelin sheath prevents system. interference from electrical signals generated in - A neuron is a brain cell with two specialized adjacent axons. extensions. One extension is for receiving electrical CAN A BRAIN GROW NEW NEURONS signals, and a second is for transmitting electrical - Neurogenesis: is defined as the process through signals. which new neurons are formed in the brain through - Neurons receive and transmit electrical signals at pre-natal development and as adults. speeds of up to 200 miles per hour over distances - Unlike a canary’s brain that grows new neurons, from a fraction of an inch to over 3 feet, researchers believe that most of our neurons develop - Allows us to receive sensory information, control at birth. muscle movement, regulate digestion, secrete - Besides having a limited capacity to grow new neurons hormones, and engage in complex mental processes. throughout adulthood, mature human brains also have - Synaptic Vesicle: are terminal buttons and house of a limited capacity to replace, rewire, or repair different neurotransmitters damaged neurons, such as after a stroke, gunshot wound, or blow to the head (SFN, 2007; J. Silver & Miller, 2004). PREPARED BY: YEL :P 1 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY NEUROGENESIS - Alzheimer’s is diagnosed by identifying a combination - in 1962, a young scientist named Joseph Altman of behavioral, neurological, physical, and reported in the prestigious journal Science that new psychological symptoms. neurons could form. - According to Plotnik, 2011, in 10% of the cases, - in the 1970s, another young scientist, Michael Kaplan, Alzheimer’s disease begins after age 50, while 90% of discovered neurogenesis (the birth of new neurons) in the cases begin after the age of 65 (late onset). the brains of rats. - Early onset: is when Alzheimer’s starts before the age - The few exceptions to the finding that new neurons do of 50 not grow in adult brains were found in two areas of the brain— the hippocampus (p. 80) and the olfactory bulb (Halpern, 2008). - Omega-3 fatty acids, present in fish and flaxseed, might also promote neurogenesis (Yurko-Mauro et al, 2010). - Deficits in zinc can also inhibit neurogenesis in the hippocampus of rodents (Adamo & Oteiza, 2010). - While repetition and learning strengthen some networks, others are lost due to neural pruning (synaptic pruning) HOW EXERCISE CHANGES YOUR BRAIN 1. Reduces stress and anxiety 2. Fights and prevents depression 3. Lowers risk of Dementia and Alzheimer’s CAUSES 4. Increases IQ - Cause of Alzheimer’s: is the abnormal buildup of 5. More brain cells protein (amyloid and tau) 6. Improves mood - The naturally occurring proteins (amyloid beta and ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE tau), (amyloid plaques and tau tangles) accumulation between the neurons causes memory loss - Progressive Disease and is most common type of Dementia - A family history of Alzheimer’s does not mean for sure that you’ll have it, but. It may mean you are more likely to develop it. - Alzheimer's Disease is the leading cause of dementia and results from the death of cells in the cerebral cortex, the area of the brain responsible for memory - Limbic System: Damage to the limbic system is and cognition. Alzheimer’s causes the brain to shrink common in most forms of dementia. It may change the (atrophy) and brain cells to die. way a person feels or would normally react to things - In the United States, Alzheimer’s is one of the leading RISK FACTORS causes of death among adults. Alzheimer’s disease 1. Stress currently affects 5.8 million persons in the United 2. Age – not a cause but a risk factor States (CDC, 2019). 3. Genetic contribution 4. Faulty glial cells PREPARED BY: YEL :P 2 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY SYMPTOMS Administration (FDA). This is the first FDA- - Its initial symptoms are problems with memory, such approved therapy to address the underlying biology as forgetting and repeating things, getting lost, and of Alzheimer’s disease. being mildly confused. There are also cognitive CHARLES’ CASE deficits, such as problems with language, difficulties in 1. He could no longer remember his lock combination at recognizing objects, and inability to plan and organize the firehouse tasks. 2. He had to open every compartment in the firetruck to SIGNS find the tools he needed 1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life 3. He doesn’t know the names of his coworkers and 2. Challenges in planning and solving problems other people he knew well 3. Difficulty completing tasks that used to be familiar 4. He could not remember his home phone number 4. Confusion with time or place NERVES VS. NEURONS 5. Language problems - The peripheral nervous system is made up of nerves, 6. Misplacing things which are located throughout the body except in the 7. Poor Judgement brain and spinal cord. 8. Withdrawal - Nerves in the peripheral nervous system have the 9. Changes in mood and personality ability to regrow or reattach if severed or damaged. INTERVENTION - Nerves carry information from the senses, skin, - Cognitive Stimulation Therapy: muscles, and the body’s organs to and from the spinal - a brief group treatment for people with mild-to- cord. moderate dementia, based on the theoretical - After several years of physical therapy and 20 concepts of reality orientation and cognitive operations, John can raise his reattached arms over stimulation. It involves 14 sessions of themed his head, make fists, and grip with his hands. John activities which typically run twice a week over a 7- must constantly work at maintaining mobility and week period. strength in his arms (Thompson & Grosinger, 2001). - involves activities and exercises that encourage NEUROTRANSMITTERS thinking, concentration, communication, and memory - Psychoeducation: regardless of the disease of the client, you have to educate the client’s family and relatives about their condition. Neurotransmitters - Mental Status Exam – Psychological Assessment - This could be used in different disorders that show End bulb the general awareness and responsiveness of the (terminal buttons) client - Mini Mental Status Exam is the abbreviated version - There’s no doubt that you have felt your heart 1. Orientation: Oriented x3 – place, date, person pounding when you are afraid, stressed, or angry. One 2. Registration: when you tell them 3 words reason for your pounding heart has to do with 3. Attention: when they can manipulate information neurotransmitters. o Ex: world spelled backward - Neurotransmitters are chemicals that are made by 4. Recall: Repeat or recall the 3 words said earlier neurons and then used for communication between 5. Language: neurons during the performance of mental or physical - Expressive: when one produces language activities. - Receptive: Comprehension - Although there are many different neurotransmitters, - Aducanumab: each one has a unique chemical key that fits and - Approved at 2023 opens only certain chemical locks, or receptors. - Targets amyloid beta, but not the tau tangles - When we are angry or afraid, one reason why we - Not recommended for severe cases, but for early- experience a pounding heart is because of stage cases only, since this is not strong enough transmitters or chemical messengers. - This could lead to false hope for clients since it just - They regulate autonomic responses like breathing and slows down Alzheimer’s and does not cure it. heart rate and psychological functions such as - Aducanumab (Aduhelm™) has received learning, mood, fear, pleasure, and happiness. accelerated approval as a treatment for Alzheimer’s - The neuron which released the neurotransmitters is disease from the U.S. Food and Drug called the presynaptic neuron. The neuron which PREPARED BY: YEL :P 3 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY receives the neurotransmitters is called the - Getting sunlight, exercise, and knowing the right food postsynaptic neuron. to eat helps us get a boost of serotonin NEUROTRANSMISSION - Boosts mood and seen mostly on the digestive system - Seasonal Affective Disorder: type of depression, but not diagnosed in the Philippines but on some countries, clients get diagnosed because of no sunlight that affects and lowers the serotonin levels. The intervention for this would be light therapy. - Serotonin also helps with: 1. Blood Clotting: helps the body to heal faster 2. Sleep: stimulates the areas of the brain that are in control of sleep-wake behavior 3. Sexual Function: can cause a decreased libido when levels are too high 4. Bone Health: can cause osteoporosis when levels - The process when an electrical signal (or action are too high potential) triggers the release of neurotransmitters, 5. Mood regulation: reduces feelings of depression and these chemicals are then released into the synapse anxiety and then is taken up by the receptors on the next 6. Nausea: helps the body excel food quicker than neuron normal INHIBITORY NEUROTRANSMITTER EXCITATORY NEUROTRANSMITTER - Some neurotransmitters act by making the neuron - Other neurotransmitters increase the positive charge, more negatively charged so less likely to fire. making the neuron more likely to fire. - Inhibitory neurotransmitters balance the excessive - Excitatory neurotransmitters stimulate the brain stimulations. o Ex: Glutamate, Acetylcholine o Ex: GABA, Serotonin GLUTAMATE GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID (GABA) - Glutamate and GABA are known as chemical brothers - GABA is considered an inhibitory neurotransmitter - play important roles in memory enhancement, because it blocks, or inhibits, certain brain signals and metabolic functions, and brain development. decreases activity in your nervous system. - Pain transmitter – increase in glutamate leads to feel - By inhibiting neural activity, GABA facilitates sleep, pain reduces mental and physical stress, lowers anxiety, - Major excitatory neurotransmitter and creates a calmness of mood. - Without the Glutamate, there would be no production - GABA that is below normal levels may result in anxiety of GABA disorders, insomnia, and epilepsy. But this doesn’t ACETYCHOLINE mean one need high levels - ACh is most well-known for supporting cognitive - Benzodiazepines are effective for those with anxiety function, especially memory and attention. disorders. Many studies indicate that GABA can be - Responsible for movement and memory used to enhance sleep and improve relaxation by - Alzheimer’s cases usually have low levels of reducing excitability. Acetycholine - Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that is classified as a DOPAMINE depressant, which means that it depresses the activity - Both inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters, it of the central nervous system. Alcohol affects the brain depends on which type it is by imitating GABA. - Dopamine is a chemical released in the brain that - Alcohol molecules so closely resemble those of the makes you feel good. GABA neurotransmitter that alcohol can function like - When you feel good that you have achieved GABA keys and open GABA receptors. something, it’s because you have a surge of dopamine SEROTONIN in the brain. - Also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine (or 5-HT) is a - Feel-good transmitter naturally occurring substance. - There is an increase of dopamine levels during sexual - In the brain, serotonin helps with mood regulation and activities memory but the neurotransmitter also has important - Problems with dopamine can lead to addiction jobs in other parts of the body. - Depression and other mood disorders that are linked to serotonin are multifactorial. PREPARED BY: YEL :P 4 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY OTHER NEUROTRANSMITTERS SEQUENCE OF A RELEX ENDORPHINS 1. Sensors - Inhibitory - The skin of your fingers has specialized sensors, or - In the 1970s, researchers discovered the brain makes receptors, that are sensitive to heat. its own painkiller, very similar to morphine. They called 2. Afferent (Sensory) Neuron this neurotransmitter endorphin, which is secreted to - carry information from the senses to the spinal decrease pain during great bodily stress, such as an cord. accident (Drolet et al., 2001). - From the receptors in your skin, long dendrites - Recently discovered neurotransmitter carry “pain information” in the form of electrical - Body’s natural pain reliever signals to the spinal cord. - Morphine: Medication for pain killer, not naturally 3. Interneuron occurring - Once the afferent neuron reaches the spinal cord, it ANANDAMIDE transmits the pain information to another type of - Inhibitory neuron and to other parts of the brain. - Anandamide may help people regulate emotions, - a relatively short neuron whose primary task is which would help them better cope with anxiety and making connections between other neurons stress (Moreira & Lutz, 2008). 4. Efferent Neuron - Has calming effects like GABA, but the difference is - carry information away from the spinal cord to that this is much more intense but brief produce responses in various muscles and organs - Properties: THC found in drugs like marijuana throughout the body. From the spinal cord, an NITRIC OXIDE efferent (motor) neuron sends electrical signals on - Researchers believe nitric oxide may regulate its 2- to 3-foot-long axon to the muscles in the aggressive and impulsive behaviors not only in mice hand. but also in humans (Chiavegatto et al., 2006); - carry information away from the spinal cord to improves performance of the immune system (Kantor, produce responses in various muscles and organs 2016). throughout the body. - Gas form that pass through almost everywhere MIRROR NEURONS - Helps our body be happier - help explain how we learn through mimicry and why - Make the platelets less sticky which lowers the we empathize with others. chances of blood clot PARKINSON’S DISEASE - Regulates aggressive and impulsive behavior - Parkinson’s disease includes symptoms of: OREXIN OR HYPOCRETIN - tremors and shakes in the limbs - neurotransmitter involved in the brain’s pleasure and - a slowing of voluntary movements reward system. In animal studies, researchers could - muscle stiffness initiate or reduce cravings for drugs and food by - problems with balance and coordination activating or blocking orexin (G.C. Harris et al., 2005). - and feelings of depression. Orexin is also involved in promoting wakefulness. - As the disease progresses, patients develop a peculiar - Pleasure and reward system walk and may suddenly freeze in space for minutes or - This could help treat narcolepsy and hypersomnia hours at a time. - Hypersomnia: repeatedly feel excessively tired - Problem with movement during the day (called excessive daytime - Dysfunction with basal ganglia in producing levels of sleepiness) or sleep longer than usual at night dopamine - Insomnia and Hypersomnia could be symptoms of - L-dopa: depression - Medication for low levels of dopamine REFLEX - When taking this medication, the dosage must also - A reflex is an unlearned, involuntary reaction to some go higher with time. stimulus. The neural connections or network - After 7-10 years of taking it, it wouldn’t be efficient underlying a reflex is prewired by genetic instructions. since it (could) lead to much excessive tremors - Reflexes occur so quickly that they are genetically STEM CELLS programmed and involve relatively few neural - Human cells. The primary reason for using 6- to 8- connections, which saves time. week-old fetal tissue for transplants is that they have a - A person with high reflexes has a higher chances of unique ability to survive and make connections in a surviving patient’s brain or body. - Thalamus: initial processor PREPARED BY: YEL :P 5 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - The discovery of stem cells also creates possibilities for treating various diseases. - Taken from the embryo - This can mimic whatever it gets surrounded with - Not recommended since not sure where it came from (some may come from abortions) and it could still have life - Expensive procedure STEREOTAXIC PROCEDURE - involves fixing a patient’s head in a holder and drilling a small hole through the skull. - The holder has a syringe that can be precisely guided to inject cells into a predetermined location in the brain. - Thalamotomy - Surgical removal or destruction of the thalamus to treat Parkinson's disease and relieve tremors. - Targets basal ganglia for the implant/transplant of cells - Medical version of Trephination PREPARED BY: YEL :P 6