Psych Readings

8/3/2019 Psych Readings

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Guidelines & AbbreviationsDefinitions are bold and underlinedExamples are bracketed []Abbreviations

ass associat(ed),(ion)(e)... etc, donkey, arrogant prick

chars characteristics

ea/o Each other

eval evaluate, evaluating... etc

ev/1 everyone

xpln. explanation

id (no underline) identify

persp. perspective

psycho psychology, psychological

req. Require, required etc

res(r). Research, Researchers

sy science, scientific, sciences

therefore

wh/e whenever

w/o without

ppl people


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Reading 1:

Pages 1-10

Although common sense can be useful for some purposes, its sometimes completely wrongpsychology - the scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior

spans multiple levels of analysis think of rungs on a ladder of analysis/ lower levels tiedmost closely to biological influences and higher levels tosocial influences

mind=brain in actionOne cant understand psychology by looking @ only 1 analysis level

10 Things... All False1. Most people only use 10% of their brain capacity

2. Newborn babies are virtually blind and deaf3. Hypnosis enhances the accuracy of our memories4. All people with dyslexia see words backword (like tacinstead ofcat)5. In general, its better to express anger than to hold it in.6. The lie-detector (polygraph) test is 90-95% accurate at detecting lies.7. People tend to be attracted to individuals who are opposite to them in personality and attitudes.8. The more people present at an emergency, the more likely it is that at least one of them will help.9. People with schizophrenia have more than one personality.10. All effective psychotherapies req. clients to get to the root of their problems in childhood.

5 Challenges that make pscyho complicated

1. human behavior is difficult to predict, all actions are multiply determined (caused bymany factors)

a. [violence= poverty or genetic predisposition?]b. avoid single variable explanations

2. pscyhological influences are rarely independent of each other making it difficult to pindown which cause or causes are operating

a. [anorexia nervosa - perfectionist , tend to be anxious, exercise a lot and view tvprograms that feature thin models]

3. people differ from ea/o in thinking , emotion, personality, and behavior (Individualdifferences)=Ids

a. fields of psycho like intelligence, personality, & mental illnesses focuses on Idsb. its difficult to come up w/ behavioral explanations that apply to ev/1

4. People influence ea/o, this makes psychology more difficult b/c its not simple to isolatesubjects from other influences

a. [extravert person influences similiar behavior in others, and his outgoingnessmay feedback and make the outgoing person even more outgoing]

b. Reciprocal Determinism - the fact that we mutually influence ea/os behavior(Albert Bandura ~ 1973)

5. Peoples behavior is often shaped by culture which limits generalizationsa. [tiger in wild photo: Euro-Ams see central (tiger) ; Asian-Ams see peripheral

(rocks & leaves) ]b. 2 different Cross-cultural psychological study approaches


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i. EMIC - behavior of culture studied from native/insider perspectiverelies on native personality terms,

1. pro: ids unique cultural characteristics2. con:overlooks shared characteristics with other cultures

ii. ETIC - behavior of culture studied from outsider perspectiverelies on Western personality terms

1. pro: gets a broad persp. in relation to other cultures2. con: imposes their own cultural view

We cant trust common sense: Contradictory proverbsNATIVE REALISM - belief that we see the world precisely as it is [earth seems flat it is]

applies to how we evaluate self and othersOur beliefs shape our perceptions of the world -Gilovich, 1991

Science - empirical approach to evidenceempiricism=premise that knowledge should be acquired through observation

Scientific Theory - explanation for a large # of findings in natural world- offers an account that ties multiple findings together into one pretty package

hypothesis - a testable prediction derived from a scientific theory

Theory Misconceptions

#1A theory explains a specific event [media, theory on bank robbery done by two masked men], this doesnt use a variety of

diverse observations, this doesnt generate testable predictions CONTRAST: Forensic psychologists (study the causes and treatment of criminal behavior)

have made theories to try to explain why some people steal and when people are most likelyto steal

#2A theory is just an educated guess people will dismiss a theoretical explanation o te grounds arguing that its just a thoery

i.e. its just a guess...

All general scientific explanations about how the world works are theories(The big bang theory can never be proved because its always conceivable that a better

explanation might come along one day... Not all theories are created equalScience as a safeguard against bias: protecting us from ourselves.Scientists are not whollyobjective and free from biases.Scientists are prone to self deception, just like the rest of us

Two traps scientists can fall into unless theyre careful

1. Confirmation Bias (CB) - tendency to seek out evidence that supports our heypothesis anddeny, dismiss, or distort evidence that contradicts them

a. Scientific methods are tools for overcoming it

b. [preconception leads to focusing on supporting evidence=tunnel vision]c. [our side is always right and the other side always seems wrong]d. mother of all biases - can most easily fool

2. Belief Perseverance - tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradictsthem

a. [dont confuse me with the facts]b. [Students with the suicide notes, if told they were a better detector, they were convinced

they were better at it than students told they were bad at it]


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It is important to distinguish scientific claims from methaphysical claimsmethaphysical claims - (assertion about the world that is not testable)

[existence of GOd, the soul, afterlife]doesnt mean beliefs are wrong

Science has its limits.One can quite comfortably adhere to ones religious views while embracing psychologysscientific tools and findings

Recognizing that we might be wrong: Good scientists are aware that they may be wrong:

[eating lots of chocolate reduces heart disease risk... wrong!] Good scientists never claim to prove their theories and try to avoid comitting to definitive

conclusions unless the evidence overwhelmingly supports them Scientists differ from politicians (they admit they their mistakes and dont get punished as often

when they do)

Assess your Knowledge1. T/F Psycho involves studying the mind at 1 specific level of explanation2. T/F Science is a body of knowledge consisting of all of the findings that scientists have discovered

3. T/F Scientific theories are general explanations and hypotheses are specific predictions derived fromthese explanation

4. T/F Good scientists are confident theyre right, so they doesnt need to protect themselves against CB5. T/F Metaphysical claims are not testable1. F 2. F 3. T 4. F 5. T

Pages 20-26

Scientific Skepticism

Scientific Skepticism - approach of evaluating all claims with an open mind but insisting onpersuasive evidence before accepting them

Grk. skeptikos means to consider carefullyCarl Sagan - his ideas on scientific skepticism

1st have a willingess to keep an open mind to all claims

2nd a willingness to accept claims only after researchers have subjected them to carefulscientific testsAnother feature of scientific skepticism is an unwillingness to accept claims onthe basis of authority alone

Scientific Thinkingcritical thinking - set of skills for evaluating all claims in an open-minded and careful fashion

the hallmark of sy skepticism & protects against bias critical does not = attacking all claims,


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6 Sy Thinking Principles

1. RULING OUT RIVAL HYPOTHESESa. BOTTOM LINE

=wh/e we eval psycho. claim, check if weve excluded other plausible explanations of itb. [EMDR treatment for anxiety, main reason it worked, prolonged exposure can be

therapeutic]2. CORRELATION ISNT CAUSATION

a. Correlational designs dont permit causal inferencesb. correlation-causation fallacy - error of assuming that b/c one thing is ass w/ another, it

must cause the otheri. if 2 variables correlate, cant assume one causes the other

1. variable - anything that can varyc. [Example]

Statements Better Example, Teens, Sex and music

A==> B, possible that A causes B Sexy lyrics==> sexual behavior

B==>A, possible that B causes A Sexual behavior==>teens listen to sexy music

Sometimes a third possibility is forgotten:C==> A&B

Impulsitivity causes teens to listen to sexy music and

engage in sexual behavior

The third scenario is known as the thirdvariable problem

d. BOTTOM LINE: = correlation b/t 2 things doesnt demonstrate a causal connectionbetween them

3. FALSIFIABILITYa. Karl Popper - for a claim to meaningful, it must be falsifiable = capable of being

disproved

i. this is not the same question as if a theory is false\ii. it could be proven wrong if correct evidience arisesiii. falsifiable claims must state in advance which findings would count aws evidence

for/or against the claim

b. Side Note: Theory that explains everything, accounts for all outcomes, in effect

explains nothing.

i. [Friend says that tomorrow , all MLB teams playing a game will win, lose

or tie]

c. BOTTOM LINE: w/ a psycho claim, check if it could be disproved or if it's consistent withany conceivable body of evidence

4. REPLICABILITY

a. [Example]i. researchers @ cupcake university detect new gene linked to excessive

shopping1. news media doesnt include the design of the studies2. these findings have not been replicated, failures arent popular w/ media

ii. replicability - a studys findings are able to be duplicated, ideally by independent


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investigators1. if it hasnt been replicated, dont place too much stock in it

b. Most replications arent exact, but involve minor changesi. [Examples]

1. [Best parmigiana, but no cooks can make it taste good following that recipe]

2. [ESP]

c. BOTTOM LINE: w/ a psycho claim, ask if independent investigators have replicated thefindings, otherwise the findings might be a fluke5. EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS REQUIRE EXTRAORDINARY EVIDENCE -abbrev. Extraordinary

Claims

a. David Hume - the more a claim contradicts what we already know, the more persuasiveevidence for this claim must be before we accept it

b. [Alien abductions, the claims are hard to prove a thousand occurrences w/o detection]

c. BOTTOM LINE: w/ a psycho claim, check if claim goes against what we already know & ifit does check if the evidence is extraordinary as the claim

6. OCCAMS RAZOR (principle of parsimony, parsimony=logical simplicity); Sir William of Occam

a. if two explanations account equally well for phenomenon, we should generalyselect the more parsimonius one

i. shave off needlessly complicated explanationsii. KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid

1. sometimes the best explanation is complex, but not always

2. [Crop circles Prank, David Bower and Doug Chorley]b. BOTTOM LINE: w/ psycho cliam, ask if the xpln, is the simplest, expln. that

accounts for the edata or if a simpler xpln. could equally or better account for thedata

Assess your knowledge

1. T/F Sy skepticisim requires a willingness to keep an open mind to all claims2. T/F When eval. a psycho claim, we should consider other plausible xplns for it.

3. T/F The fact that two things are related doesnt mean that one directly influences the other.4. T/ F Falsifiability means that a theory must be false to be meaningful.5. T/F When psycho findings are replicated, its important that the replications be conducted by

the same team of investigators.

6. 1.T 2.T 3.T 4. F 5.F


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Reading 2:

Pages 42-54

Research MethodsSafeguards against errorFacilitated communication - a facilitator sits next to a child w. infantile autism (a motordisorder), who sits in front of a computer keyboard or letter padFacilitated communication was put to the test:

the facilitator and child were put in adjoined cubicles with a wall separating them, but w. anopening that allows hand-to-hand contact on the keyboard. Two different pictures were shownon adjacent screens

a. [example]

i. dog on the childs screen and cat on the facilitatorsResult?- unanimous: the typed word was that of the picture shown to the facilitatorideomotor effect- unbeknownst to facilitator, their hands are guiding to fingers of children

toward the keyboard, and the resulting words are from their minds, not the childrens.Research design matters.

a. [examples]i. the infantile autism story mentioned aboveii. prefrontal lobotomy-lobotomy, a supposed effective treatment for

schizophrenia where the fibers that connect the frontal lobes of the brain to the underlying

thalamus were severed surgically1. I am a sensitive observer, and my conclusion is that a vast majority of my

patients get better as opposed to worse after my treatment2. I can see that it works- is NOT sufficient

Heuristics- mental shortcuts or rules or thumb to help streamline our thinking and make senseof our world

we are cognitive misers- mentally lazy and try to conserve our mental energies bysimplifying the worldrepresentative heuristic- heuristic that involves judging the probability of an event by itssuperficial similarity to a prototype judging a book by its cover

- can be correct or incorrect -base rate is considered -basically stereotyping

base rate- how common a characteristic or behavior is in the general population- base rate fallacy- when we neglect to consider the base rate

availability heuristic- heuristic that involves estimating the likelihood of an occurrence basedon the ease w. which it comes to our mindscognitive biases - systematic errors in thinking2 more biases besides confirmation bias:

1. hindsight bias- tendency to overestimate how well we could have successfullyforecasted known outcomes


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a. - I knew it all along effect2. overconfidence- tendency to overestimate our ability to make correct predictions

Biases and heuristics can make us think we are right when we arent, therefore we draw falseconclusions and become convinced of them.


1. T/F Psych research suggests that were all capable of being fooled by heuristics.2. T/F The psych processes that give rise to heuristics are generally maladaptive.3. T/F Representativeness heuristic often leads us to watch too closely to base rates.4. T/ F Most tend to be less confident that we should be when making predictions aboutfuture events1.T 2.F 3.F 4. F


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Advantages Disadvantages

NaturalisticObservation

High in external validity Low in internal validity,doesnt allow us to infer

causationCase Studies provides existence proofs

allows rare studies or unusualphenomena, can offerinsights for later systematictesting

are typically anecdotaldont allow us to intercausation

CorrelationalDesigns

helps us to predict behavior dont allow us to infer

ExperimentalDesigns

allow us to infer causationhigh in internal validity

can sometimes be low inextern. validity

Naturalistic Observation- watching behav. in real-world setting w/o trying to manipulate the

situation

external validity-extent to which we can generalize findings to real-world settingsinternal validity-extent to which we can draw cause-and-effect inferences from a study

Case Studies- research design that examines one person or a small # of ppl in depth, oftenover an extended time period

- provide the opportunity to study rare or unusual phenomena that are difficult orimpossible to re-create in the lab

existence proof-demonstration that a given psychological phenomenon can occurcase studies almost never lend themselves to to systematic tests of hypotheses about why agiven phenomenon occurred

Random selection: procedure that ensures every person in a pop. has an = chance ofbeing chosen to participate

larger samples arent always better when conducting surveys. its virtuallyuseless if its nonrandom.

crucial if we want to generalize our results to the broader pop.

is our meaure reliable and valid?

Reliability: consistency of measurement

test-retest reliability: a test that yields similar scores over timeinterrater reliability:the extent to which different ppl who conduct an interview, or make


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behavioral observations, agree on the characteristics theyre measuringValidity: extent to which a measure assesses what it purports (claims) to measure

-truth in advertising

Pages 54-66

Advantages and Disadvantages of Self-report measures Advantages

easy o administer S-r measures of personality traits and behaviors tend to work reasonably well

[shyness/outgoingness moderately associated w/ reports of people who know them well] Disadvantages

Assumption that respondents possess enough insight into their personality characteristicsto report them accurately

doesnt account well for narcisistic (self-centered overly self confident) Typically assumes participants are honest in their responses

[would you minimize your personality quirks] respondents engage in response sets - tendencies to distort their answers to

items often in a socially desirable direction

Two types of response sets

1. Positive impression management - the tendency to make ourselves look better than we area. makes it difficult to trust some one's reports on their abilities and achievementsb. [College Students, SAT, 17 pts. higher]

2. Malingering - the tendency to make ourselves appear psychologically disturbed with the aim ofachieving a clear-cut personal goal

a. [people trying to obtain $ compensation for an injury or mistreatment, faking insanity]

Rating DataAlt. to asking people about themselves is asking people who know them to provide a rating

[employers rating their employees work productivity and cooperativenesss] Advantage: avoids re-occurring blind spots Disadvantages

halo effect- tendency of ratings of one pos. chars. to spill over and influence theratings of othe rpos. chars. (opposite is horn effect)

[physical attraction]Correlational Designs

correlational design - research design that examines the extent to which two variables areassociatedIDing a correlational design is difficult

investigators dont use the word correlatedoften but use ass., related, linked, wenttogether etc.

Whenever researchers conduct a study of the extent to which 2 vars. travel together,their design is correlational


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Correlations - A beginner's guide

1. Correlations can be positive, zero, or negativea. (+) - direct relationship (as one increases so does the other)

i. [psycho exam score vs. % classes attended]b. (0) - no relationship (variables dont have a general relationship)

i. [psycho exam score vs. shoe size]c. (-) - inverse relationship (as one increases, the other decreases)

i. [psycho exam score vs. # of beers]2. Correlation coefficients (the statics that psychos use to measure correlations) range in

value from -1.0 to 1.0a. meanings

i. -1.0 is a perfect negative correlationii. +1.0 is a perfect positive correlation

b. to find out how strong a correlation coefficient is, we need to look at its absolutevalue (the size of the coefficients without the plus or minus in front of it)

scatterplot - grouping of pts on a 2D graph in which each dot represents a single persons data r= numerical representation of the correlation

r= -0.5, negative correlation (inverse relationship) r=0, zero correlation (no relationship) r=+0.5, positive correlation (direct relationship)

Virtually, all correlations in psycho have an absolute value of less than one,pscho is a scienceof exceptions.

[I know a person who....]

Illusory Correlation - perception of a statistical ass. b/t 2 vars where none exists[ass. b/t full moon and violent crimes, lunar lunacy effect]these form the basis of many superstitions , [rabbits foot, poor bugs bunny]

Why we fall prey to Illusory Correlation?

Did a crime occur?

YES NO

Did a Full

moon

occur?

YES (A) Full moon

+ crime

(B) Full moon

+ no crime

NO (C) No full moon+ crime

(D) No full moon

+ no crime

People pay attention more to the A cell.This fits with what we expect to see causing our confirmation bias to kick in... or the lunar lunacyWere not good at detecting and remembering nonevents


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How can we minimize this tendency?keep track of disconfirming instances (look at cells B,C, & D more)

This is why we cant rely on our subjective impressions to tell us whether two variables areassociatedCorrelation VS. Causation

Correlation designs= helpful @ predicting behavior[which inmates will reoffend after release]

THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE WE CAN MAKE WHEN INTERPRETING THESE

DESIGNS IS TO JUMP THE GUN AND DRAW CAUSAL CONCLUSIONS.Observational and case studies allow us to decr. the state of the psycho. world but rarely

allow us to make future predictions

Experimental Designs - allow one to draw cause-and-effect conclusions

experiment - research design chard by arandom assignment of participants to conditions andmanipulation of an independent variable

In correlatiional designs, the diffs among participants are measured, whereas in experimentaldesigns theyre created.

Components of an experiment

1. random assignment of participants to conditionsa. Organization

i. random assignment - randomly sorting participants into twogroups

1. The two groupsa. exp. group - recievers of the manipulation

b. control group - does not recveive the manipulationb. random selection isnt the same as random assignmenti. random selection deals w/ how we choose the participants,

random assignment deals w/ how we assign our particiapants afterweve already chosen them

2. manipulation of an independent variablea. Two variables

i. independent - variable that is manipulatedii. dependent - variable used to see if manipulation has an effect

b. When defining the IV and DV for a study, were providing what psychoscall an operational definition

i. a working definition of that is being measuredConfounding variable - term psychos use to refer to any difference between the exp. andcontrol groups other than the independent variable

Can you infer cause-and-effect relations from a study?


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1. Using the outlined criteria, ask if the study is an experiment (See definition)2. if its not an experiment, dont draw any causal conclusions

This is is a good spot to write about the acupuncture study and its answers on page 62& 63.

Pitfalls in Exp. Design

placebo effect- improvement resulting from the mere expectation for improvement

[used and tested in medication research by administering a sugar pill] to avoid placebo effects, patients cant know which pill they recieved

blind - unaware of whether one is int the exp. or control group if the blind breaks

patients in the exp. group might inprove more than patients in the control,b/c they know the treatment is real

patients in the control group might be resentful and try to beat out t theexp. group

Placebo effects are just aws real as those of the actual drug[ up to 80% of the effectiveness of antidepresants is due to the placebo effects]

nocebo effect - harm resulting from the mere expectation of harm[Carribean voo doo capitalizes on this]

experimenter expectancy effect- (rosenthall effect), occurs when researchershypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias the outcome of a study

this is avoided by using a double blind double blind - neither researchers nor participants are aware of whos in the

exp. or control group [Wilhelm von Osten and his horses math (clever hans)]

demand characteristics - cues that participants pick up from a study that allow them togenerate guesses regarding the reasearchers hypotheses

Psychomythology - lab research doesnt apply to the real worl , right?Lab research often tgeneralizes suprisingly well to the real world (r=.73)This doesnt mean we should assume that a lab study has a high external validity.


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1. T/F Case studies can sometime provide existence proofs of psycho. . phenomena2. T/F Rating data can be biased b/c some respondents allow their ratings of one pos.

chars. to spill over to the other pos. chars.

3. T/F A correlation of -.8 is just as large in magnitude as a correlation +.84. T/F Experiments are characterized by two, and only two features.5. T/F To control for experimenter expectancy effects, only participants need to be blind

to whos in the experimental and control groups.1. T 2. T 3.T 4. T 4. F


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Reading 3

66-69, Ethical Issues in Research Design

- science is value-neutral, scientific research is notTuskegee Project, see class notes

Insitutional review board (IRB) -IRB - reviews all research carefully with a n eye toward protecting participants against abuses (at

least one is found in every major Am research college and university) informed consent - researchers must tell subjects what theyre getting into before asking them

to participate deception - deliberately misleading patients about a studys design or purpose

Justifiable when... researchers couldnt have done the study w/o deception the sci. knowl. to be gained outweighs the costs

confederate - a research assistant that plays the part of a participant debriefing - researchers must inform participants what the study was about

must be performed at the end of the research session

[Stan Milgram, Yale University,tells patients the study is on effects of punishment on learning, deceives them about theuse of elect. shocks on the other patient (a confederate) and was actually studying theinfluence of authority figures on obedience]

Ethical Issues in Animal Research

theres ethical discomfort towards animal research, esp. invasive research (phys harm)invasive animal research plays a role in understanding the human brain, medications...

Asses your knowledge1. T/F The Tuskeggee study violated the principles of informed consent.2. T/F Miligrams study would be considered unethical today b/c the shock could have caused

injury or death.3. T/F In debriefing, the researcher informs the participants of what will happen in the procedure

before asking them to participate.4. T/F Before conducting invasive research on animals, investigators must weigh carefully the

potential sci. benefits of this research against the costs of animal death and suffering.1. T 2. F 3. F 4.T

70-72, Statistics

To understand psycho res. and how to interpret, must look at statisticsstatistics - application of math to describing and analyzing data

Psychologists use 2 types of statistics


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(descriptive and inferential) descriptive stats. - numerical characterizations that describe data

Example questions: [whats the average of extraversion in sample] [how much do all participants, vary in how extraverted they are]

TWO TYPES

central tendency- measure of the central scores in a data set, or wherethe group tends to cluster

mean - average of the data set

*DOES NOT best capture the central tendency* median - middle score in a data set mode - most frequently appearing score in a data set outliers -

variability - measure of how loosely or tightly bunched scores are range - diff. b/t the highest and lowest scores, measure of

dispersion standard deviation - measure of dispersion that takes into

account how far each data point is from the mean

inferential stats. - math methods that allow us to determine if we can generalize

findings from our sample to the full population (is it just a fluke?) statistically signif. - a believable result

p


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2. T/F The mode and standard dev. are both measures of variability.3. T/F All stat. sig. findings are important and large in size.4. T/F Researchers can easily manipulate stats to make it appear that their hypotheses

are confirmed even when they;re not.

1.T 2. F 3. F 4. T

74-77, Evaluating Psycho Research

All Psychological study undergoes peer reviewpeer review - outside review of studies for quality control

id flaws that could undermine a studys findings and conclusionsMost Reporters arent Scientists: Evaluating Psycho in the Media

dont assume people with news stories about psychology are trained to distinguishpsycho. fact from fiction

Stepts to Evaluate the accuracy of a psycho report in the media

consider the source reputable sci. magazine Vs. supermarket tablioid applies to websites also

lookout for excessive sharpening and leveling sharpening= tendency to exaggerate the gist, or central message of a study leveling= tendency to minimize the less central details of the study too much of either can create a misleading picture of the studys findings

Dont be misled by seemingly balanced coverage crucial diff. b/t genuine sci. controversy and the kind of balnced controversy that

reporters create by ensuring that reps. from both sides of the story receive equal

air time balanced coverage s/times createspseudosymmetry

pseudosymmetry - appearance of sci. controversy where none exists [ESP, criticisms on the evidence against, but no sci. evidence]

Asses your knowledge

1. T/F Few psycho journals use a peer-review process


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2. T/F When evaluating the quality of a study, we must be on the lookout for potentialconfounds, expectancy effects, and nonrandom assignment to exp. and control groups

3. T/F Most newspapers reporters who write stories about psycho. have advanceddegrees in psycho.

4. T/F Balanced coverage of a psyco story is sometimes inaccurate

1. F 2. T 3. F 4. T

Pages 82-93,biological psychologists/neuroscientists

-Researchers that study the relationship between the nervous system and behaviorNerve Cells: Communication portalsFuncitioning of the brain depends on cross talk b/t neuronsneurons=nerve cell specialized for communication

100 billion/ in a persons brain, they form 10s of 1000s of connections w/ other neuronsthey have long extensions that aid communciation

cell body - aka central region of the neuron manufactures cell components which consists of small and large molecules since it contains the nucleus, if damaged, fatal provides continual renewal of cell components

dendrites - branch like extensions for recieving communication b/t neurons axons - long tail like extensions protruding from the cell body, transmitting

thin near the cell body, unlike dendrites the narrowness creates the trigger zone (easily activated area)

axon terminal= knoblike structure at the far end of the axon contains synaptic vesicles synaptic vesicles, tiny spheres that contain neurotransmitters (NTs) and travel

down the length of the axon

made in the cell body when it reaches the end of the axon terminal releases the NTs neurotransmitters - specialized chemical messenger for

communication from neuron to neuron synapses

minuscule fluid filled space between two c/xn neurons through which NTs travel to chemicallycommunicate

consists of a synaptic cleft synaptic cleft - gap into which NTs are released from axon terminal

surrounded by small patches of membrane on each side 1 on the sending axon of the 1st neuron

axons release NTs

1 on the receiving dendrite of the 2 neuron

dendrites pick up NTs\ People

Charles Sherrington -1st hypothesized existence of synapses Santiago Ramon y Cajal - proved Sherrington right using a staining technique to

show individual neurons

glial cells -


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nervous syst. cell that plays a role in the formation of myelin and blood-brain barrier; respondsto injury, removes debris, and enhances learning and memory

Types Astrocytes (Grk. stars),most abundant type found in blood brain barrier

blood brain barrier- fatty coating wrapped around tiny blood vessels blocks large molecules, highly charged particles, and molecules that

dissolve in water but not fat from getting into brain protects against infection by bacteria

treatments focused on glial cells may help in depression , schizophrenia,inflammation, chronic pain, and Alzheimers disease

Ogliodendrocyte promotes new connections among nerve cells and releases chemicals for healing Produces myelin sheath

myelin sheath - glial cells wrapped around axons that act as insulatorsof the neurons signal

contains many gaps all along the axon (k.a. nodes) help neurons conduct elect. more efficiently

{Multiple Sclerosis}

myelin sheaths are eaten away neural messages are scambled phys/emot probsThe basis of all elect. responses in neurons depends on an uneven distribution of chargedparticles across the membrane surrounding the neuron.

Resting potential - electrical charge difference (-60 millivols) across the neural membrane, whenthe neuron is not being stimulated or inhibited

more neg. particles inside than out particles of both types are flowing in and out of the membrane

threshold - the membrane potential necessary to trigger an action potential occurs when the elect. charge inside the neuron reaches a high enough level relative to

the outside Neurons obey the law of all or none, they either fire or they dont

action potential - elect. impulse that travels down the axon triggering the release of NTs starts in the trigger zone and continues all the way down the axon to the axon terminal during an action potential pos. particles flow out, causing a spike in (+) charge followed

by a sudden decr in charge....inside charge ends up more neg. than its original restingvalue

these shifts in charge release elect. when the elect reaches the the axon terminal.. it tirggers NTs release into

synapse Each action potential is followed by an absolute refractory period

absolute refractory period - time during which another action potential isimpossible; limits maximal firing rate (fastest rate neurons can fire)

Chemical commmunicationElect. events transmit info within neurons, chemical events initiated by NTs orchestratecommunication among neurons

PRocess...

After NT go into synapse, they bind with receptor sites along the dendrites of neighbor neurons receptor sites - location that uniquely recognizes a NT

diff receptor sites recognize diff types of NTs


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think of a lock and key relationship Neurotransmission can be halted by reuptake of the NT back into the axon

terminal reuptake - means where the snaptic vesicle reabsorbs/recylces the NT

Different Types of NTs

Glutamate and GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) most common NTs, neurons used it virtually in every brain area Glutamate

rapidly excites neurons, increasing communication potential release ass. w/ enhanced learning and memory when elevated, may contrib. to schizophrenia and other ment. disorders

in high doses, is toxic and damages neural receptors by overstimulation GABA

inhibits neurons, decreasing neural activity most anti anxiety drugs bind to GABA receptors

plays roles in learning, memory, and sleep drugs that target it may help in treating insomnia, epilepsy and depression Acetylcholine

plays roles in arousal, selective attention, sleep, and memory

neurons w/ it progressively destroyed in Alzheimers memory loss meds that help this disease boost ACh levels

found in neurons that connect to muscles movement insectiside limit ACh breakdown uncontrolled motor activity death

i.e. more ACh sticks to the synapse Monoamines (containing one amino acid (protein building block))

Norepinephrine (NE) brain arousal and other functions like mood, hunger, and sleep

Dopamine plays a critical role in rewarding experiences that occur when we seek out or

accomplish goals brain areas rich in dopamine become active when we hear a funny joke

Serotonin mood and temperature regulation, aggression, and sleep cycles

Neuropeptides (short string of amino acids in nervous system) Enorphins

specialized neuropeptide that acts like a NT, plays a role in pain reduction is human made opiod - produces pain relief and euphoria

other neuropeptides regulate hunger , satiety, learning, or memory Anandamide

binds to the same reptor as THC (active chemical in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol) plays roles in eating, motivation, memory, and sleep

NTs and psychoactive drugs


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psychoactive drug- drug that affects mood, arousal, or behavior by interacting w/ NT systems agonists - drugs that increase receptor site activity (codeine, morphine)

reduce emotional response to painful stimuli by binding with opioid receptors & mimickingendorphins

tranqs, diminish anxiety by stimg GABA receptor sites (tamp down neur. act) by allowing NTs to stay in synapse longer than usual, medications enhance the NTs

effects on receptor sites antagonists - drugs that decrease receptor site activity by binding & blocking to recept. sites

Neural Plasticitiy

Plasticity - ability of the nervous system to change Few human behaviors are hardwired

nervous system is continually changing early development=rapid, leaps and bounds learning = subtle

doesnt change enough following injury perm. paralysis or disability

Ways that the network of neurons in the brain changes

1. growth of dendrites and axons2. synaptogenesis, the formation of new synapses3. pruning, consisting of the death of certain neurons and the retraction of axons to remove

connections that arent usefula. fewer neurons = more/faster brain processing

4. myelination, the insulation of axons with a myelin sheath

[late cortical area maturation teenagers decision making]

Our brains change as we learn potentiation =synapses simply perform better, stronger and more prolonged excitatory responses enduring form is long-term potentiation (LTP)

Structural plasticity -neuronal shape, critical for learning structural change in both axons and dendrites

exposure to enriched environments structural enhancements to dendrites

Neural plasticity following injury/degeneration

brain plasticity decreases sharply with adults human brain/spinal cord exhibit limited regen. following injury or serious illness\

stem cells - a cell, often originating in embryos, having the capacity to differentiate into a morespecialized cell

potential to be a wide variety of cells [think of an undeclared undergraduate] once specialization occurs, the cell type becomes more permanently cast

[think of an undergraduate, 3 years in pre med courses] gene therapy - genet. engineering stem cells in order to provide replacement genes Controversial

advocates: treating serious diseases

opponents: destroy lab babies

Neurogenesis - creation of new neurons in the adult brain


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why does it occur in adults? plays a role in learning

aiding recovery following brain injury may allow scientists to induce the adult nervous system to heal itself


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NT Selected Roles Drugs that interact w/ the NT system

glutamate main excitatory NT in the nervoussystemparticipates in relay of sensoryinfo and learning

Alcohol and memory enhancers interactw/ N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)receptors, a spec. type of glutamatereceptor

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) Main inhibitory NT in the nervous system Alcohol and antiaxniety drugs increaseGABA activity

Acetylcholine (ACh) Muscle Contraction (PNS)Cortical arousal (CNS)

Nicotine stimulates ACh receptorsMemory enhancers increase AChInsectisides block the breakdown of AChBotox causes paralysis by blocking ACh

Noripnephrine (NE) Brain arousal and other functions likemood, hunger, and sleep

Amphetamine and mehamphetamineincrease NE

Dopamine Motor function and reward L-Dopa, which incr. domapine, is used totreat Parkinsons disease.Antipsychotic drugs, which blockdopamine action, are used to treat

schizophrenia

Serotonin Mood and temperature regulation,aggression, and sleep cycles

Serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitor(SSRI) antidepressants are used to treatdepression

Endorphins Pain reduction Narcotic drugs--codeine, morpheine,and heroin--reduce pain and produceeuphoria

Anandamide Pain reduction, increases in appetite Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found inmarijuana produces euphoria

asses your knowledge

1. T/F Dendrites are the sending portions of neurons.2. T/F Pos. particles are flowing into the neuron inhibit its action.3. T/F Neurotransmitters send messages b/t neurons.4. T/F Some antidepressants block the reuptake of serotonin from the synapse.5. T/F Neurogenesis is the same thing as pruning.

1. F 2. F 3. T 4. T 5. F

Reading 4

Brain-Behavior Network 93-100

Nervous System (NS) - Two parts Central NS - NS part containng brain and spinal acord that controls the mind and

behavior (CNS)


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Peripheral NS - nerves in the body that extend ouside the CNS (PNS)

Central Nervous System

Central Nervous System Organization

Cortex Frontal Lobe: performs exec. functions that coordinate other brainareas, motor planning, language, and memory

Parietal Lobe: processes touch info, integrates vision and touchTemporal L.: processes auditory info, language, and

autobiographical memoryOccipital L.: processes visual information

Basal Ganglia Control movement and motor planning

Limbic System Thalamus: convey sensory info to cortexHypothalamus: oversees endocrine and autonomic NS

Amygdala: regulates arousal and fearHippocampus: processes memory for spatial locations

Cerebellum controls balance and coordinated movement

Brain Stem Midbbrain: tracks visual stimuli and reflexes triggered by soundPons: conveys info. b/t the cortex and cerebellumMedulla: regulates breathing and heartbeats

Spinal Cord conveys info b/t the brain and the rest of the body

meninges - 3 thin layers of membranes that protect the brain and spinal cord

cerebral ventricles - pockets in the brain that contain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) whichprovide the brain w/ nutrients and cushion against injury (shock absorber) CSF - runs through ventricles,

Cerebral Cortex

cerebrum\forebrain - allows advanced intellectual abilities, highly developed area

consists of 2 cerebral hemispheres 2 halves of cerebral cortex, serve distinct yet highly integrated functions connected by corpus callosum - colossal body

large band of fibers

used for communication cerebral cortex (12 to 20*10^9 neurons - outermost forebrain part, responsible

for analyzing sensory processing and higher brain functions (reason & language)

cortex = bark

four regions called lobes:

Frontal

Parietal

Temporal


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Occiptal

Frontal Lobe-lies in forward part of cerebral cortex

assists in motor funct, languatge, memory executive functioning - oversees and organizes most other brain functions Central sulcus- deep groove, separates the frontal l. from rest of cortex

motor cortex - next to central sulcus, responsible for movement prefrontal cortex - responsible for thinking, planning, and language

contributes to mood, personality, and self awareness

Gage iron post through the brain cussing, lots Brocas area - area of prefrontal cortex that helps to control

speech productionParietal Lobe

(upper middle part of the cerebral cortex)

What the Parietal lobe does

helps keep track of objectss locations, shapes, orientations

process others actions and represent numbers

[when (reach, grasp, and move our eyes) parietal l. communicatesvisual and touch info to the motor cortex]

[visualizing a CD through touching it]

somatosensory cortex - lies behind the central sulcus next to the motor cortex

sensitive to touch, pressure, pain, temperature

Temporal Lobe (lower part of cerebral cortex) plays roles in hearing, understanding language,

and memory lateral fissure - horizontal groove that separates Temp. l. from rest of

cortex auditory cortex - (top of TL), devoted to hearing

Wernickes area - area of TL devoted to language (sl. above left ear) damage hear severe difficulty in understanding speech

people speaking gibberish, self speech recognition gone

lower part critical to stooring autobiographical memories recollections of childhood, past actions, experiences

Occipital Lobe

back part of cerebral cortex, spec. for vision humans are more dependent on this part than animals visual primate

Cortical Hierarchies

info transmitted reaches primary sensory cortex regions of cerebral cortex that initially process info from the senses

info is then passed on association cortex regions of the cerebral cortex that integrate simpler functions to performmore complex functions (spread throughout all 4 brain lobes)

[putting together size, shape, color, and location info to ID an object] info then passed on to basal ganglia

processing becomes incr. complex as info is passed up the network

Basal ganglia


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- struct. in forebrain that help control movement Process

after association cortex, the basal ganglia calculates a course of action

then transmits it to the motor cortex

allows us to perform movements to obtain rewards,

[anticipating a pleasurable outcome

tasty food/hot date =

dependenceon basal ganglia] damage

Parkinson's disease lack of control over movement uncontrollable tremors

The Limbic System:A set of highly interconnected brain regions dedicated to housing emotion.

-Plays role in smell, motivation, and memory.-internal states (cortex external states)

-blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, perspiration, and emotions

There are four parts to the Limbic system

Thalamus - grk. bedroom sensory information passes through the thalamus before it travels to the cortex diff rooms connect to diff. areas of the cerebral cortex

Hypothalamus - regulates and maintains constant internal bodily states plays roles in both emotion and

motivation. Also helps adjust our body temperature, thermostat

Amygdala - almond Is in charge of excitement, arrousal and fear. Also plays a key role in fear conditioning. teens & violent video games plays a key role in fear conditioning, (predict when s/t scary will happen)

Hippocampus - Plays crucial roles in memory especially spatial memory. mental mapping Damage to the hippocampus can cause problems in forming new memories but leaves

old memories intact Multiple trace theory

memorieories are initially stored at multiple sites, over time, storage becomesstronger at some sites and weaker at others

stored in cortex strengthen overtime

The Brain Stem: (b/t spinal cord and cerebral cortex )Housed inside of the cortex and contains themidbrain, pons, and the medulla.Midbrain- Plays important role in movement also controls the tracking of visual stimuli and reflexestriggered by sound.

Reticular Activating System (RAS): Connects to the forebrain and the cerebral cortex. This system plays a role in arousal. Damage to the RAS can result in a coma


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ADHD

Ritalin incr. signal to noise ratio in the prefrontal cortex

The Hindbrain:

Below the mid brain lies the hindbrain which consists of the Cerebellum, Pons, andMedulla

Cerebellum- LITTLE BRAIN In charge of our sense of balance and enables us to coordinate

movement and learn motor skills. Also contributes to executive, spatial,and linguistic abilities.

Pons - Play a crucial role in triggering dreams and connects the cortex to the

cerebellum. Medulla -

regulates breathing heartbeat and other vital functions. Damage to the medulla can cause brain death aka irreversible coma.

persistent vegetative state/cortical death not the same as brain death Terri Schiavo, higher brain functions gone, basic were present

The Spinal Cord: thick bundle of nerves extends from our brain stem and runs down the middleof our backs, conveying information between the brain and the rest of the body.

two way highway, nerves extending from the neurons to the body in two direction sensory info goes from body to brain via sensory nerves motor commands are carried from brain to body via motor nerves interneuron

neuron that sends messages to other neurons nearbfy cnxs sensory nerves w/ motor nerves w/in spinal cord w/o having to report to the

brain explains how reflexes -auto motor responses to sensory stimuli, occurr


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The Peripheral Nervous System, 101-103

Peripheral nervous system has two parts

Somatic NS - part of the nervous system that conveys information b/t the CNS and the

body controlling and coordinating voluntary movement [Stabilizing joints, regulating posture and bodily movement] [Soda machine example]

sensory inputs cortex basal ganglia (decision about what to do) motor cortex

motor cortex spinal cord activating motor neurons send messages

to nevers that reach the muscles contractions We walk, reach, touch, and grasp. The brain triggeers the movements, but the somatic ns. carries them out

autonomic NS - part of the nervous system controlling the involuntary actions of our

internal organs and glands, which (along w/ the limbic system) participates in emotionregulation

sympathetic ns - division of the autonomic ns engaged during or crisis or afteractions requiring fight or flight

incr. heart rate, respiration, or perspiration parasympathetic ns - division of autonomic ns that controls rest and digestion

kicks in to gear when theres no threat on our mental radar screens


1. T/F The cortex is divided into the frontal, parietal, temporal, and hippocampal lobes.

2. T/F The basal ganglia controls sensation.3. T/F The amygdala plays a key role in fear.4. T/F The cerebellum regulates only our sense of balance.5. T/F There are two divisions of the autonomic nervous system.

1. F 2. F 3. T 4. F 5.T

Mapping the Mind: the Brain in Action 106-108 &108-110

Brain damage: understanding how the brain works by seeing how it doesnt:- studying psycho functioning following damage to specific brain regions


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Phrenology - bumpology, attempts to map mind onto the brain, 1800sNeuropsychologists: rely on sophisticated psychological tests, like measures of reasoning,attention, and verbal and spatial ability, to infer the location of brain dysfunction in humanpatients

- gave valuable insights into which brain areas are responsible for which behaviors

Scientists found that: Neurons use electrical activity to send infoTesting the hypothesis by recording electrical activity from nervous system:

electroencephalograph (EEG)- device that measures electrical activity generated bythe brain, can infer whether a person is awake or sleep, dreaming or not, and tells whichregions of the brain are active during specific tasks

PRO: - noninvasive/ - can detect rapid changes in electrical activity

CON: - tell us little about the neurons / - not good for finding determining exactly

where activity is occurring

Neuroimaging- brain scans, able to see its structure and function

Computed tomography (CT)- 3-D reconstruction of multiple X-rays take through a partof the body (like the brain), shows more detail than one X-ray

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)- measures the release of E from water inbiological tissues following exposure to magnetic field, images are superior to CT sansfor detecting soft tissues (brain tumors)

both allow us to visualize the brains structure, not activity

positron emission tomography (PET)-

functional imaging techniques, measures changes in brains activity in response to stimuli PRO: - requires injection of radioactive glucose-like molecules into patients (which are

short-lived, so little harm) PRO: - scanner measure where the molecules are consumed most in the brain OR when

patients take meds, to find regions that are most active during a task CON: -invasive

fMRIneural activity quickens= increase in oxygenated blood in response to demand (blood oxygenation leveldependent BOLD)

-enabled by functional MRI-measures change in blood oxygen level (indirect correlate of neuralactivity)

Used to: image brain activity in response to specific tasks (like looking at emotional faces or

solving math problems)

-relies on magnetic fields Pro: proviides detailed images of activity in small brain regions and over brief time

intervals

Con: extremely sensitive to motion

Magnetic Stimulation and Recording Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) - technique that applies strong and quickly changing


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magnetic fields to the surface for the skull that can either enhance or interrupt brain function


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only non invasive technique that allows us to infer causation all others can onlycorrelate brain activation w/ psychological processing

Repetitive TMS treatment for depression Magnetoencphalography (MEG) - detects electrical activity in the brain by measuring tiny

magnetic fields

reveals magnetic field patterns on skulls surface which parts are active in response to

stimuli tracks brain changes over extremely small time intervals (millisecond to msec)

PET/fMRI tracks changes second by second

interpreting brain scans Brain scan images

are not...photographs of the brain in action normally produced by subtracing brain activity on a control task from brain activity on

an experimental task [people w/ depression processing sad faces]

[neutral face brain activity - brain activity from sad fac] Multicolors (superimposed by researchers) dont directly correspond to the brains activity

when an area of the brain lights up = neurons in that area active

the neurons could be exciting OR inhibiting

DEad fish may have brain reactions.....How much of our brain do we use?

All regions of our brain used for something....


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Reading 6/7

Pages 122-131

illusion - perception in which the way we perceive a stimulus doesnt match its physical

reality

sensation - detection of physical energy by sense organs. which then send information

to the br\ain

perception - the brains interpretaiton of raw sensory inputs

[info from eyes, ears, skin, nose, tongue

filling in - perceptual process of the brain filling in a sensation in order to help it

make sense

Sensations - Basic Principles Transduction - the process of converting an external energy or substance into electrical

activity w/in neurons

sense receptor- specialized cell that converts external stimuli into neural activity

for a specific sensory sstyem

special eyee cells transduce light

spiral shaped cells in ear transduce sound

sensory adaption - activation is greatest when we first detect a stimulus

Psychophysics - the study of how we perceive sensory stimuli based on their physical

characteristics

Absoulute Threshold - the lowest level of a stimulus needed for the nervoussystem to detect a change 50% of the time

[clear night seeing a single candle from 30 miles away]

Just noticeable difference (JND) - the smallest change in the intensity of

a stimulus that we can detect (distinguishing between a strong and a weak

stimulus]

[ipod so low cant hare, nudge to barely hearing=JND]

Webers law - there is a constant proportional relationship b/t the JND

and original stimulus intensity

the bigger the stimulus the bigger the change needed for it to be

noticeable

Signal detection theory - theory regarding how stimuli are detected under different

conditions

[cell phone static, increase the signal by shouting over the static]

signal to noise- it becomes harder to detect a signal as background noise incr.

response biases - tendencies to make one type of guess over another when

were in doubt about whether a weak signal is present or absent under noisy

conditions


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false negative= miss

true positive= hit

false positive = false alarm

true negative = correct rejection


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Sensory systems - mixing

cross-modal processing that produce different perceptual experiences than either

modality provides by its self

McGurk effect integration of visual and auditory info when processing

language

[ba ba ba ba vs. da da da da vs. ga ga ga , see vs. hear] rubber hand illusion

synethesia - a condition in which people experience cross-modal sensations

Perception

- sacrificing small details for crisp and more meaningful representations

Parallel Processing - the ability to attend to many sense modalities simultaneously

bottom-up proce. - proce. in which a whole is constructed from parts

construct a whole stimulus from its parts

[seeing an object on the basis of its edges]

starts in primary visual cortex ass. cortex

top-down proce. - conceptually driven processing influenced by beliefs and

expectancies

starts w/ beliefs and expectations impose on raw stimuli

ass. cortex primary visual cortex

Perceptual Hypothesis: Guessing whats out there

Perceptual set - set formed when expectations influence perceptions

[mishapen letter is A or H]

perceptual constancy - the process by which we perceive stimuli consistently

across varied conditions

w/o this wed be confused continually changing world

[when reading, brain adjusts to adjusting angle]

Several types

shape constancy - a door is a door whether shut or closed

size - see objects as same size no matter how far away

color - see a color consistently over different levels of lighting

Role of attention - flexible attention critical to survival and well-being

selective attention - process of selecting one sensory channel and ignoring or

minimizing others (controlled by the RAS, Ch 3), involves frontal cortex activation

filter theory of attention - attention = bottleneck info passes through

pay attention to important things and ignore other tested using dichotic listening - two different messages played to

patients, one to the left, one to the right

shadowing- having subjects repeat messgaes listened to

cocktail party effect - ability to pick out an important message, like our

name, in a conversation that doesnt involve us

theres a filter inside the brain which selects what will and wont


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recieve our attention =more complex than on off switch

Intentional Blindness - failure to detect stimuli that are in plain sight when our

attention is focused elsewhere

change blindness - failure to detect obvious changes in ones

environment

blinding problem - how does the brain combine to different visual piecesof information [seeing an apple]

Subliminal Perception - perception below the limen or threshold of conscious

awareness

[presenting a word very quickly, emotional reactions, anger, viewing

people as hostile more]

subliminal effects often vanish when subjects become aware of or even

suspect attempts to influence them subliminally

Subliminal Persuasion - subthreshold influences over our votes in elections,

product choices, and life decisions

reversed subliminal messages

self help audiotapes

illusory placebo effect

Reading 7

Pages 135-151Light the energy of lifehue - color of light

The eye Structure

sclera- white of the eye iris - the colored part of the eye

pigments - two types, melanin=brown, lipochrome=yellowish-brown

blue light is scattered more by irises containing less pigment

pupil - circular hole through which light enters the eye pupillary reflex - reflex response to decrease the amount of light going into the

eye dilation (expansion) of the pupil has psychological significance

women w/ large pupils men find more attractive cornea - part of the eye containing curved transparent cells that focus light on the retina lens - part of the eye that changes curvature to keep images in focus

accommodation - changing the shape of the lens to focus on objects near or far [its like an internal corrective lense]


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flat lens=long, skinny= distance seeing fat len's=short, wide= nearby seeing

Shape of the eye

myopia nearsightedness, images focused in front of eyes optimal focus point steep cornea, eyes are too long

hyperopia farsightedness, images focused behind the eyes optimal focus point flat cornea, eyes are too short

The Retina - membrane at the back of the eye converts light into neural activity

Parts fovea - central portion of retina, responsible for acuity

sharpness of vision Receptor cells

rods - allows us to see in low levels of light dark adaption - time in dark b4 rods regain max light sensitivity

takes about 30 minutes [can see stars better by seeing them peripherally] cones - allows us to see in color

photopigments -chemicals that change following exposure to light rhodopsin - photopigment found in rods

Optic nerve - nerve that travels from the retina to the brain

OPTIC CHIASM- fork in the optic nerve heading toward the brain, half of

the axons cross, and half stay on the other side

optic nerve sends most of its axons to visual part of the thalamus and

then to the primary visual cortex (V1)

remaining axons go to superior colliculus, used for reflexes

[turning head to see something interesting] blind spot - part of the visual we cant see because of an absence of

rods and cones

Visual Perception

V1

many cells respond to a certain orientation of light (vert, horiz, oblique

lines or edges)

simple cells - display distinctive responses to slits of a specific orientation,

but they need to be in a specific location complex cells - orientation specific, but responses are less restricted to

one location

Feature Detector cells - cells that detects lines and edges

feature detection= ability to use certain minimal patterns to identify objects

Gestalt Principles

subjective contours - phenomena where brain provides missing information about


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outlines

Gestalt principles - rules governing how we perceive objects as wholes w/in their

overall context (Gestalt =German whole

Proximity - Objects phys. close to ea/o tend to be seen as unified wholes

Similarity - we see sim. obj. as comprising a whole much more so than

dissimilar objects [red circles mixed w/ yellow circles, randomly, nothing percieved

but horizontally line them up, one sees separate rows]

Continuity - we still perceive objects as wholes even if other objects

block part of them

Closure - when partial vis. info is present, our brains fill in whats missing

Symmetry- we perceive objs that are sym. arranged as wholes more

often than those that are not

Figure-Ground -perceptually, we make an inst. decision to focus

attention on what we believe to be the central figure, and largely ignore

what we believe to be the background

bistable image - an image we can perceive in two ways

emergence - a perceptual gestalt that jumps out from the page and hits

us all at once


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Face Recognition - ability to recognize faces and our own lies at the core of our social

selves

temporal lobe lower part responds to faces

straw man argument - grandmother cell, one neuron holds one memory...

Motion Perception

Brain judges the world in motion by comparing visual frames phi phenomenon- illusory perception of movement produced by the successive

flashing of images

our brain takes guesses on what were missing

Color Perception

Trichromatic theory - the idea that color vision is based on our sensitivity to

three primary colors--blue, red, green

we have 3 cone types, each max. sensitive to diff wave lengths

Thomas Young, Hermann von Helmholtz

color blindness - inability to see some or all colors, absence or reduced

# of one or more types of cones stemming from genetic abnormalities

monochromats - rarity, people with one type of cone and have no

color vision, make up 0.0007% of the population

dichromats - most color blind people, missing only one type of

cone

trichromats - humans, apes, and some monkeys evolution?

yes? no?

Opponent process theory - theory that we perceive colors in terms of three

pairs of opponent colors: either red or green, black or white, blue or yellow,

afterimages=opponent processing

Trichromatic theory doesnt explain afterimages, seeing a different color

of the same replica\ after looking @ s/t for a while and then looking away used my witches ahem... i mean wizards... and magicians

faint negative images surrounding objects or other individuals...

auras?

Ganglion cells of the retina and thalamus visual area cells

respond to red are inhibited by green

TWO OPPOSING IDEAS THAT SEEM CONTRADICTORY ARE SOMETIMES

BOTH PARTLY CORRECT BY DESCRIBING DIFFERING ASPECTS OF THE

SAME PHENOMENON

Depth perception - a ability to judge distance and 3D relations [accounts for ability to

reach a for a glass and grab it instead of knocking it over] depends on monocular depth

cues and binocular depth cues

monocular depth cues - stimuli that enable us to judge depth using only one

eye (pictorial)

Relative size

Texture gradient

Interposition

Linear perspective


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vanishing point

impossible figures

Height in plane

Light and shadow

Motion parallax (apictorial) - abnility to judge the dist. of moving obj. from

their speed binocular depth cues - stimuli that enable us to judge depth using both eyes

The Basis: brain makes comparisons between visual information from

both sides being sent to neighboring cells in the visual cortex

binocular disparity

binocular convergence

visual cliff- can babies see depth, or do they fall of the edge?, not the latter

Perception Deceiving Us The Moon Illusion - no universally accepted explanation

the moon appears larger near the horizon than high in the sky (not due to

magnification of the earths atomosphere)

Explanations

errors in percieved distance, ppl r not used to large dist.

theres nothing else in the sky to compare it w/

were mistaken by 3D space, we see sky as flat dome

moon by horizon > moon at top of sky

Ames room illusion - Adelbert Ames Jr. , 1946

caused by relative size principle

used in movies: Tolkiens LOTR and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Muller-Lyer illusion

Ponzo illusion

horizontal-vertical illusion Ebbinghaus-Titchener illusion

When We Cant See or Perceive Visually

Blindness - vision less than or equal to 20/2000 Sneller eye chart (worldwide below)

Cataracts, 47.8%, treatable

Glaucoma, 12.3%, treatable

Macular degeneration, 8.7%, not treatable

Diabetic retinopathy, 4.8%, not treatable

Childhood blindness, 3.9%, some types are treatable

Motion Blindness - cant seamlessly string still images processed by the brain into theperception of ongoing motion

Visual Agnosia - deficit in perceiving objects, can tell color and shape, but cannot name

it b/c theres no recognition

Blindsight - blind people w/ damage to a specific cortex area can make correct guesses

about the visual appearance of things around them

operates outside the bounds of conscious activity


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1. T/F The visible spectrum of light differs across species and can differ across

individuals.2. T/F The lens of the eye changes shape depending on the perieved distance of

objects.3. T/F Although we perceive obj. as unified wholes, different parts of our brains process

different kinds of visual info, such as shape, color, and motion.4. T/F Red green color blindness results when rods are missing but cones are intact.5. T/F We perceive depth only when we have two slightly different views from our eyes.

1. T 2. T 3. T 4. F 5. F

Hearing: The Auditory System, 148 - 151

audition - our sense of hearing

Sound: Mechanical vibration

sound =mech. energy traveling through a medium, air (best in air) (no sound, vacuum)

Pitch - corresponds to the frequency of the wave

[high frew. = high pitch], human ear = [20 to 20,000Hz]

with aging, higher pitch abilities fade [the teen only ring tone]

Loudness - the amplitude/height of the wave (measured in decibels, dB)

Timbre - the quality or complexity of the sound that makes diff instruments, diff voices

sound unique

Structure/Function of the Ear

outer ear - funnels sound waves onto the eardrum

pinna - the part of the ear that we see, (skin, cartilage flap)

ear canal

Middle ear

ossicles - 3 tiniest bones in the body hammer, anvil, stirup

vibrate at the freq. of sound waves

thus transmitting it from ear drum inner ear (cochlea)

inner ear

cochlea - bony spiral-shaped sense organ used for hearing (vibrations neural

activity) Grk. kokhlias snail, screw:


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PARTS: Outer=bony | Inner=Cavity filled w/ thick fluid

Organ of Corti - tissue containing the hair cells need for hearing basilar membrane - membrane supporting the organ of Corti and

hair cells in cochlea

Vibrations fluid cochlea base pressure release transduction

acoustic info action potentials hair cells have cilia inside protruding into cochlea fluid

sound wavescochlea, pressure deflects ciliaexcite hair cells

info auditory nerve to the brain through the thalamus

Auditory Perception

auditory nerve sends info higher up to the cortex, perception complex Pitch perception - prim. aud. cortex processes diff tones in diff areas

place theory - specific place along the basilar membr. matches a tone w/ a

specific pitch [top=low pitched tones]

only accounts for high pitches (5-20 kHz) What about low pitch?

freq. theory - rate at which neurons fire the action potential reproduces

the pitch [works up to 100Hz, proximal to maximal neuron firing rate)

Volley theory - neurons fire at their highest rate slightly out of sync

variation of freq/ theory, works 100-5,000 Hz,

sex, drugs, rock music provoking feelings, specific brain regions

Localization of Sound - brain being able to locate sound w/ respect to our body

caused by axonal crossover in the brain enabling info from both ears to reach

the same structures in the brain stem

diff route=slightly out of sync, brain compares the binaural cues loudness difference sound shadow - effect of our head where sound indirectly reaches

the opposite ear Types of cues

binaural cue ( the diff. b/t our ears) compared by brain to localize, used to

detect the source of sound, azimuth , angle b/t the vertical plane(S1)

monaural cue - elevation, angular distance above the horizon (S1)

S1 - http://www.laurenscharff.com/courseinfo/SL99/monaural.html

Echolocation - location detection through using emitted sounds

[bats, whales, stupid dolphins]

Humans - limited use nearsighted people>normal sighted people

[Ben Underwood, clicking noisesskate boards, basketball, video games]

When We Cant Hear

1/1000 people are deaf - profound loss of hearing

Causes of deafness
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genetic, disease, injury, loud noise, aging (degeneration of auditory nerve)

Conductive deafness - malfunctioning of the ear, failure of ear drum or ossicles

Nerve deafness - caused by damage to the auditory nerve

noise-induced hearing loss - loss of hearing caused by loud sounds (esp. long lasting or

repeated), damages the hair cells

accompanied by tinnitus, a ringing, roaring, hissing, or buzzing sound in ears


1. T/F Sound waves are converted to neural impulses by creating vibrations of fluidinside the cochlea.

2. T/F Place theory states that each hair cell in the inner ear has a particular pitch orfreq. to which its most responsive.

3. T/F We can determine the location of a sound b/c the pitch seems higher in thecloser ear.

4. T/F Only nonhuman animals, like bats, engage in echolocation.5. T/F As we age, we tend to lose hearing for low-pitched sounds more than high

pitched sounds.1. T 2. T 3. F 4. F 5.F

Smell and Taste, 152-155

Percieving Odor and Taste

Senses olfaction -

whats an odor gustation -

whats a taste Uses

Animals - tracking prey, estab. territories, recognizing oppp. sex

Importance What shapes it

Culture

Sense Receptors for Smell and Taste

Olfactory

triggered by lock and key interaction between olfactory receptors and effectors

Gustations


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taste buds - detect taste, sense receptor, responds to sweet salty, sour, bitter,

umami, and perhaps fat

papillae- (bumps on tongue containing numerous tastebuds

5 or 6 different receptors

Tongue mapping is a myth: fair distribution of taste buds

umami: taste bud receptor for sweet Why do we test so many flavor with sweet receptors:

b/c smell influences taste

Supertasters: 25% of people, have an overabundance of taste buds

heighten sense of taste: dont like sweet and bitter items.

Olfactory and Gustatory Perception

Olfactory:

odors receptors info received go to olfactory cortex and limbic system.

intensity of smell analyzed by parts of limbic system (ex. Amygdala)

Gustatory:

taste info (taste buds) receptors info from taste buds go to gustatory cortex,

somatosensory cortex and Limbic system.

Emotional disorders can affect taste perception

anti-depressants can increase sensitivity to taste

Smell has a huge effect on sex

pheromones- oderless chemicals signals that alters sexual behaviours of same

spieces

vomeronasal organ - organ b/t the mouth and nose used to detect

pheromones in mammals

not feasible way of contributing to sexual behavior in humans (pheromonecolognes and perfumes)

When we cant smell or taste

2 million americans suffer form loss of one or both senses (taste/smell)

Cancer patients

loss of taste/smell worse prognosis

eat less and die sooner

Both are can be either gradual or result from diseases

Smell: damage to olfactory nerve and brain by parkinsons/alzheimers disorders Taste: can be b/c diabetes and high blood pressure



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1. T/F The most critical function of our chemical sense is to sample our food before weswallow it.

2. T/F Human s can detect only a small number of odors but thousands of tastes.3. T/F Theres good evidence for a tongue taste map4. T/F The limbic system plays a key role in smell and taste perception.

5. T/F The vomeronoasal organ helps to detect pheromones in many mammals butdoesnt develop in humans.1. T 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. T

.

Body Senses, 155-159

We have 3 body senses that work together : Somatosensory, Proprioception, Vestibular Sense

Somatosensory System:accounts for our sense of touch, pain and temperature

Pressure, Temp, injury/ Specialized and free nerve endings in the skin responds to stimuli applied to skin; eg- light, heat, pain inducing mechanoreceptors - specialized nerve ending- sense light touch or deep

pressure

Most touch/heat/light with fair amount of pain is picked up by free nerveendings--mainly because there are more of them

nerve endings of all types are distrib. unevenly accross our body surface most in our finger tips fewest in the middle of our backs

how we perceive touch and pain

Travel body touch/temp/pain somatic nerves spinal cord

touch travels faster than pain (immediate surroundings), urgent pain alerts us to take care of injuries, which can wait... sometime touch and pain activate local spinal reflexes, like the

withdrawal reflex - think of touching a hot stove, instant pull back spinal reflex brainstem parts and thalamus somatosensory cortex

(parietal lobe active _ Types of pain: sharp, stabbing, throbbing, burning, and aching

relates to the pain-causing stimulus (thermal, chemical, mechanical) can also be acute (short lived) or chronic Each pain producing stimulus has a threshold: limit at which we

perceive a sense as painful differs person to person red heads need more anasthetic lolz

pain cant be localized like touch pain has a large emotional component pain info goes to somatosensory and some to the limbic system pain is assd with anxiety, uncertainty helplessness

Gate control model - idea that pain is blocked or gated from


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consciousness by neural mechanisms in spinal cord, forgetting pain accounts for pain variations from situation to situation distractions help circumnavigate painful feelings or lessens them idea that pain varies based on ethnicity is not widely accepted Fire Walking- has ev/th to do with physics, nothing to do w/ pain

Phantom pain: pain or discomfort in missing limb

Mirror box treatment

other limb is positioned so that its refleccted in the exact pos. that

the amputated limb would be

then patient performs mirror exercises that would relieve the

cramp or make the missing limb feel comfortable if it were there

illusion must be realistic, causes pain to disappear permanently

Pain Insensititivity - pain serves as an essential function

kids born w/o pain sensitivity, have a normal ability to discriminate touch,

but not nesc. temperature

Proprioception and Vestibular Sense [standing up and getting a snack] Proprioception (aka kinesthetic): helps us keep track of where we are and move

efficiently our sense of body position

used to sense stretch and force

strech receptors in our muscles

force receptors located in our muscle tendons

Path: Spinal cord~~>brain stem~~>thalamus~~>somatosensory and motor

cortex. Then brain analyzes the info.

Vestibularsense (aka sense of equilibrium): helps us sense and keep balance while

moving, our sense of equilibrium or balance

semicircular canals - 3 fluid filled canals in the inner ear resp. for sense of bal.

Vestibular info goes...

to the eye muscles triggers reflexes that coordinate head and eye

movements

to the cerebellum - controls bodily responses, catch our balance when

falling

Vestibular sense under represented int he cerebral cortex--, awareness of it is

limited

Mismatched sense b/t vestibular and visual inputs dizzziness and nausea

Ergonomics: Human Engineering

human factors - field of psychology that optimizes technology to better suit our sensoryand perceptual capabilities

used to produce ergonomic(worker-friendly) gadgets and tools of the trade by

using what we know of human psycho. and sensory systems

[designs for computer screens, keyboards, or mice ergonomic designs to increase use

efficiency, tools for surgeons, aircraft carrier panels


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164-174;

Chapter 5: Consciousnesssleep paralysis- state of being unable to move just after falling asleep or right before waking up

to of college students have had at least one episode of this caused by disruption of the sleep cycle assd with anxiety, terror, vibration feelings

humming noises, erie sense of menacing figures close to or on top of the immobileperson

consciousness- our subjective experience of the world, our bodies, and our mental

perspectives - encompasses our ever-changing awareness of thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations,events and actions

-the spotlight of our awareness and level of alertness changes continually in response toexternal (sights,sounds) and internal (bodily processes) stimuli

Biology of Sleepcircadian rhythm-cyclical changes that occur on a roughly 24-hr basis in many biologicalprocesses

- like hormone release, brain waves, body temp., and drowsinessdisruption example: jet lag

biological clock- term for the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus thatsresponsible for controlling our level of alertnessdisruption example: working late shifts

Stages of Sleeprapid eye movements (REM): darting of the eyes underneath closed eyelids during sleep

non-REM sleep (NREM):- stages 1 through 4 of the sleep cycle, where REM doesnt occur and

dreaming is less frequent and vivid

stage 1-

-light stage of sleep -lasts for 5-10 mins

-brain powers down by 50% (produce theta waves, which occur 4-7 times per sec)

as we drift to a deeper sleep, we experience hypnagogic imagery- scrambled, bizarre, dream-

like images that flit in and out of consciousness ormyoclonic jerks, where our limbs suddenly

jerk as if being startled or falling

Stage 2- brain waves slow down even more. Sudden intense bursts of electrical activity calledsleep spindles of about 12-14 cycles a second. and occasional sharply rising and falling


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waves known as k-complexes, that only appear on the EEG when we are asleep. Brain activitydecelerates, heart rate slows, body temp. decreases, muscles relax and our eye movementscease. We spend about 65% of our sleep in stage 2.Stage 3 and 4- About 10 to 30 minutes into sleep in which we can observe delta waves.delta waves appear 20-50% of the time and in stage 4 they appear more than half of the

time. Sleeping like a babyStage 5 REM Sleep- after 15 to 30 minutes we return to stage 2 before our brains shiftdramatically into high gear with high frequency, low amplitude waves resembling those ofwakefulness. REM- stage of sleep during which the brain is most active and during which vividdreaming often occurs. REM stands for rapid eye movement.

lucid dreaming - experience of becoming aware that one is dreaming

awareness through seeing something so bizarre

allows one to control dreams

no evidence that lucid dreams helps overcome anxiety, depression

Sleep Disorders

insomnia - difficulty falling and staying asleep

having trouble asleep

waking too early in the morning

waking up during the night and having trouble returning to sleep

rebound insomnia - if you take pills to fix the insomnia, once you stop

taking them, youll experience insomnia again

narcolepsy - disorder characterized by the rapid and often unexpected onset of

sleep

triggers: surprise, elation, strong emotion, laughing at a joke, having sex

cataplexy - a complete loss of muscle tone

Psych Readings

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