Chapter 2

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Key: O: Optional, it is your choice whether to read it R: Read the material, but you wont be tested on it M: Learn only the major points of the section D: Learn the material in detail (but not names or individual studies) Pp. 49-54: D Neurons 1. What are neurons and how do they transmit information? o Neurons: nerve cells that are building blocks of our bodys neural info system Sensory: carry messages from the bodys tissues and sensory organs to the brain and spinal cord for processing Nervous system has a few million of these Motor: carries instruction from the brain and spinal cord to the bodys tissues Few million Interneurons: processes information from the sensory and motor neurons in the brains internal communication system Our complexity resides here Billions and billions o Each aspect of a neuron consist of a cell body and its branching fibers Dendrite: fibers that receive info and conduct it toward the cell body Listens to axons Short Axon: passes the message from dendrites along to the other neurons or muscle glands Speaks to dendrites Long (project several feet through the body) Myelin sheath: layer of fatty tissue that insulates the axons of some neurons and helps speed their impulses

Laid down (forming) until up to age 25 If sheath degenerates, multiple sclerosis results (communication to muscles slow and eventually can lose muscle control) o Neural impulses travel at speeds ranging from 2 mph to 200+ mph depending on the type of fiber Brain activity is measured in milliseconds Brain is more complex than a computer but slower o Neurons transmit messages when stimulated by signals from our senses or when triggered by chemical signals from neighboring neurons Action potential: impulse of a brief electrical charge that travels down its axon Generate electricity from chemical events Involves the exchange of ions Resting potential: when fluid inside of a resting axon has an excess of charged ions while the outside has more + charged ions Axon surface is selectively permeable o Process of neuron fire 1. Axon open its gates and + charged sodium ions flood through the membrane depolarization other axon channels to open like a domino effect 2. Resting pause (refractory period) where the neuron pumps + ions back outside to fire again o Excitatory and inhibitory signals from neurons If excitatory signals minus inhibitory signals exceed a minimum intensity (threshold), it triggers an action potential o Neurons reaction is an all or none response 2. How do nerve cells communicate with other nerve cells? o Synapse: meeting point between neurons Coined by Sir Charles Sherrington, who noticed that neural impulses were taking a long time to travel a neural pathway and inferred there must be a brief interruption

o Synaptic cleft: a gap that separates the axon terminal from the receiving neuron (less than a millionth of an inch wide) o Neurotransmitters: chemical messengers released when an action potential reaches the terminals at an axons end Bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron Unlocks tiny channels at the receiving site, letting electrically charged atoms flow in Reuptake: process in which sending neurons reabsorb the excess neurotransmitters 3. How do neurotransmitters influence behavior, and how do drugs and other chemicals affect neurotransmission? o Acetylcholine (ACh) Best understood neurotransmitter Role in learning and memory Messenger at every junction between a motor neuron and skeletal muscle Causes muscle contraction o Endorphins One naturally occurring opiates that body produces Help with painkilling o Drugs and other chemicals affect brain chemistry at synapses (amplifying or blocking neurotransmitter activity) Agonist molecule: either mimic effects of neurotransmitter or block its reuptake Antagonist molecules: block a neurotransmitters functioning

Pp. 55- 58 (top): M The Nervous System What are the functions of the nervous systems main divisions? o Nervous system: bodys speedy electrochemical communications network o Central Nervous System (CNS): brain + spinal cord Communicates with bodys sensory receptors, muscles and glands via the PNS Neuron cluster work in groups called neural networks

Spinal cord is the information highway connecting the PNS to brain Governs reflexes o Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): somatic + autonomic Somatic nervous system Enables voluntary control of our skeletal muscles Autonomic nervous system Controls glands and the muscles of our internal organs Influences functions as glandular activity, heartbeat, and digestion 2 basic functions Sympathetic nervous system: arouses and expends energy o If something alarms, enrages, or challenges you Parasympathetic nervous system: opposite o Conserves energy and calms you

Pp. 61-62 (top): M The Brain Brain + body = mind

How do neuroscientists study the brains connections to behavior and mind? o We can now lesion (destroy) tiny clusters of normal or defective brain cells o Electroencephalogram (EEF): amplified read-out of the waves of electrical activity in the brains neurons o Positron emission tomography scan (PET): depict brain activity by showing each brain areas consumption of sugar glucose (its chemical fuel) o Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): scanning of brain that provides detailed pictures of the brains soft tissues o Functional MRI (fMRI): reveals the brains functioning as well as its structure

Pp. 68-81: M The Cerebral Cortex Cerebral cortex: thin surface layer of interconnected neural cells o Ultimate control and info processing center What functions are served by the various cerebral cortex regions? o Glial cells provide nutrients and insulating myelin guide neural connections mop up ions and neurotransmitters play a role in learning and thinking o Parts of the brain Frontal lobes (behind your forehead) Parietal lobes (at the top and to the rear) Occipital lobes (at the back of your head) Temporal lobes (just above ears) *lobes are separated by prominent fissures (geographic subdivisions) o Functions of the cortex Motor function Motor cortex (left hemisphere section of brain controls the bodys right side) Controls the actions of the body

Sensory function Sensory cortex (left hemisphere section receives input from the bodys right side) Gives you the senses of the body Association areas Link sensory inputs with stored memories Found in all four lobes Enable judgment, planning, and processing of new memories To what extent can a damaged brain reorganize itself? o Plasticity: brains ability to modify itself after some type of damage Some neutral tissue can reorganize in response to damage Constraint-induced therapy: aims to rewire brains by restraining a fully functioning limb and forcing use of the bad hand or the uncooperative leg o Amount of plasticity correlates with amount and type of damage

What do split brains reveal about the functions of our two brain hemispheres? o Severing the corpus callosum 1961: 2 LA neurosurgeons, Vogel and Bogen, speculated that major epileptic seizures were caused by an amplification of abnormal brain activity bouncing between two cerebral hemispheres Corpus callosum: wide band of axon fibers connecting the two hemispheres and carrying messages Splitting brains did not eliminate seizures, but the patients were surprisingly normal o Understanding the hemispheres complementary functions Left hemisphere is more active when a person deliberates over decisions (rational) Right hemisphere understands simple requests, easily perceives objects, and is more engaged when quick, intuitive responses are needed

Undivided brains Right hemisphere Perceptual tasks (brain waves, bloodflow) Makes inferences Helps modulate our speech to make meaning clear Orchestrate sense of self Left hemisphere Speaks or calculates Makes quick, literal interpretations of

language How does handedness relate to brain organization? o 90% of us are primarily right-handed Right-handers process speech primarily in the left hemisphere (tends to be slightly larger) Left handers more diverse

Chapter 4

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Pp. 134-135 (top): M Behavior Genetics What are genes and how do behavior geneticists explain our individual differences? o Each parent gives you 23 chromosomes (composed of DNA) DNA composed of genes, which can be active or inactive Environmental factors can turn on genes o Most traits are influenced by multiple genes Pp. 135 (bottom)-143 (top): D Twins Identical twins (genetically identical; develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two) o Have the same genes but dont always have the same number of copies of those genes (explains why one twin may be more at risk for a certain illness) o Most share a placenta, but some have separate placentas Fraternal twins (develop from separate fertilized eggs but share a fetal environment; not more genetically similar than normal siblings) Shared genes can lead to shared experiences o Identical twin with Alzheimers disease, other twin has 60% chance of getting it too o Fraternal twin with Alzheimers disease, other twin has 30% chance of getting it too o Divorce rates are more similar for identical than fraternal twins Separated twins o Ex: Jim Lewis and Jim Springer Twins separated 37 days after birth and are pretty much the same person, down to the names of their sons and dogs Biological vs. Adoptive o Genetic relatives: biological parents and siblings) o Environmental relatives: adoptive parents and siblings

o People who grow up together dont necessarily resemble each other in personality o Genetic leash may limit the family environments influence on personality, but parents do influence their childrens attitudes, values, manners, faith, and politics o Adoptive parents may treat the kids better than biological would have (adoptive parents are screened and natural are not) Temperament and Heredity Temperament: emotional excitability (whether reactive, intense, fidgety, easygoing, quiet, placid) o Ex: infants Difficult more irritable, intense, and unpredictable Easy cheerful, relaxed, and predictable in feeding and sleeping Slow-to-warm-up tend to resist or withdraw from new people and situations o Temperament differences tend to persist Heredity predisposes temperament differences

Heritability What is heritability and how does it relate to individuals and groups? o Heritability: the extent to which variation among individuals can be attributed to their differing genes Genetic influence explains 50% of the observed variation among people Ex: if the heritability of intelligence is 50%, this does not mean that your intelligence is 50% genetic ***WE CAN NEVER SAY WHAT PERCENTAGE OF AN INDIVIDUALS PERSONALITY OR INTELLIGENCE IS INHERITED Heritability refers to the extent to which differences among people are attributable to genes Heritability increases if the environment in which the people are exposed to are equal o Group differences

Heritable individual differences need not imply heritable group differences One person acting a certain way/having certain traits doesnt imply that the entire group is the same way as well o Nature and Nurture Among our similarities, the most important is our enormous adaptive capacity Ex: go barefoot for a summer and youll develop toughened, callused feet (adaptation to friction) Genes are self-regulating o Gene-environment Interaction Genes and experience interact Baby genetically predisposed to be attractive, sociable, and easygoing vs. baby and was not Baby 1 gets/seeks more attention and thus grows into an even more sociable person Baby 2 does not and thus deviates more from baby 1 Evocative interaction: actions and experiences that happen to a person that causes them to react in a certain way and influences their personality Molecular Genetics What is the promise of molecular genetics research? o Molecular genetics seeks to identify specific genes influencing behavior o Goals: To find some of the many genes that influence normal human traits body weight, sexual orientation, and extraversion To explore the mechanisms that control gene expression o Search links between certain genes or chromosome segments and specific disorders Pp. 143 (bottom)-146 (top): M

Evolutionary Psychology How do evolutionary psychologists use natural selection to explain behavior tendencies? o Darwins principle of natural selection Organisms varied offspring compete for survival Certain biological and behavioral variations increase their reproductive and survival chances in their environment Offspring that survive are more likely to pass their genes to ensuing generations Over time, population characteristics may change o Natural Selection and Adaptation When certain traits are selected (by conferring a reproductive advantage to an individual or a species) those traits over time will prevail Mutations: random errors in gene replication We adapt very easily, contributing to our fitness our ability to survive and reproduce o Evolutionary Success Helps Explain Similarities Our shared human traits are shaped by natural selection acting over the course of human evolution We have a common logic across cultures No more than 5% of the genetic differences among humans arise from population group differences 95% of genetic variation exists within populations o Outdated tendencies Sweets and fats used to protect ancestors from famine, which is why we love them so much We are biologically prepared for a world that no longer exists

Human Sexuality How might an evolutionary psychologist explain gender differences in mating preferences? o Males are more likely than females to initiate sexual activity o Men often misattribute womens friendliness as sexual advancements

Natural selection and mating preferences o Womens approach to sex is more rational while mens are more recreational o Men are more attracted to women with signs of fertility but with a youthful appearance o Women are attracted to men who seem mature, dominant, bold, and affluent o Nature selects behavior that increases the likelihood of sending their genes to the future

Pp. 148 (bottom)-152: M Parents and Peers To what extent are our lives shaped by early stimulation, by parents, and by peers? o Early Stimulation Both nature and nurture sculpt our synapses Our experiences trigger a pruning process Brains development does not end with childhood o Parents Power of parenting shape our differences Parenting accounts for less than 10% of shaping the childrens personalities o Peer Influence Peers have high power Peer pressure

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