Valeri Farmer-Dougan, Ph.D.

Associate Professor in the Departments of 

Psychology and Biological Sciences

Illinois State University

Magnetic Resonance Imaging - Tools in Neuroscience!

 

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Study Guide: TEST 1

The following are terms and study essay questions to know for Test 1. The format of the test 

will include: 8 identifications (5 points x 8 = 40 points); 4 compare/contrast (10 points x 4 = 40 points) 

and one essay question (choose 1 from 2; 20 points).

 

TERMS TO KNOW from BOOK and LECTURE:
	
			INTRO TOPICS: CHAPTER 1 and 2
types of psychologists		fields of specialization		goals of psychology		hypotheses
psychology		scientific method		origins of psychology		trephoning
DesCartes' Dualism		Wilhelm Wundt 		Great Psych Systems/Schools	structuralism 
functionalism		behaviorism		Gestaltist			psychoanalytics 
eclectic views		survey method		surveys			correlations
experimental method		independent variable		dependent variable		placebo group
naturalistic observation		correlational studies		naturalistic observation		control group
positive/neg. correlation	experimental group(s)		demand characteristics		hawthorne effect
double blind procedure		Pygmalion effect		ethics in human research	animal ethics
		
			CHAPTER 3 
neurons			parts of a neuron	soma			dendrites
axon			synaptic vesicles	terminals/terminal buttons	glial cells
myelin sheath		CNS vs PNS	neural transmission		resting potential
action potential		refractory period	temporal summation		all-or-none
spatial summation		neurotransmitters	excitatory/inhibitory effects	receptor cells
affector/sensory cells		effector/motor cells	acetylcholine (ACh)		dopamine (DA)
norepinephrine (NE)		seratonin (5HT)	GABA			histamine
parkinson's disease		schizophrenia and DA	meninges			cerebral spinal fluid
spinal cord			afferent vs. efferent	somatic nervous system	peripheral N.S.
autonomic nervous system	central nervous system	parasympathetic nervous system	sympathetic N.S.
hindbrain			forebrain		midbrain/tectum		cerebellum
cerebrum/cerebral cortex	spinal reflexes	reticular formation		medulla
pons			thalamus		hypothalamus		limbic system
4 F's of hypothalamus		hippocampus	amygdala			parietal lobe
occipital lobe		temporal lobe	frontal lobe			sulci and gyri
convolutions of cortex		Wernicke's area	Broca's area		left vs right brain
corpus callosum		split-brain research	pituitary gland		endocrine system
hormones			pituitary		PET scan			CAT scan		
MRI and fMRI		neural plasticity
Sample Essay Questions:
1. Describe the emergence of psychology as a science and historical viewpoints that are important to the development of psychology.  Explain how these issues are still relevant today.
2. Compare and contrast two of the following schools or systems of psychology: a) structuralism; b) functionalism; c) behaviorism; d) gestalt views and/or d) psychoanalytic views.  What is an ecclectic view and how does an eccletic view fit in with these great schools?
3. Compare and contrast the experimental method with a non-experimental method of research.  How are these two approaches similar, and how are they different?
4. Compare and contrast the independent anddependent variable.  Design an experiment to test either a) whether students do better on an exam when they take a special drug- BSMART; b) whether slot machines really create wrist injuries; or c) the effects of whole reading vs. phonetics on reading ability of first grade children.  Name your independent and dependent variable for your example.
5. What is a confounding variable, and how might this problem affect the outcome of an experiment? Are there any ways that a researcher could reduce the risk of confounding variables affecting his/her research?
6. Discuss ethical constraints in both humans and animals when each participates in research.  What are three experimenter ethical obligations in the treatment of humans and animals?
7.  Sandi was playing around with her shotgun, even though she had taken that safety training class and she KNEW this was a REALLY bad idea. The gun accidentally discharged and shot off most of her cerebral cortex (cerebrum) and even most of the forebrain. All that is left in reasonable functioning order is the brain stem.  Describe what behavior(s) Sandi can still engage in.  
8. Your parents would really like to hear about what you've been learning in college.  Dazzle them with your new wisdom by describing a neuron to them.  Be sure to tell them  about all the parts, and how a resting potential, an action potential and a refractory period are important for this neuron.
9.. You are riding across campus on your bike and suddenly see a large truck heading immediately for you. At the last second (just before that truck hits you) your brakes mercifully work just in time.  Describe what happens in your PNS when you a) get scared, and b) calm down.  When are you most likely to wet your pants, and why?
10. Write a letter to your local newspaper (e.g., the Vidette) outlining why one should ALWAYS wear a helmet whenever one is "on wheels"- that is, when biking, roller-blading, etc.  
 
11. Aunt Mildred suffers from Parkinson's disorder. As a result, her doctor puts her on high doses of L-Dopa to treat her symptoms.  However, now Aunt Mildred seems to be hallucinating and having delusions (She thinks she is Queen Elizabeth).  Is Aunt Annette schizophrenic as well as having Parkinson's, or could something else be the matter.  If you thinks something else is the matter- what steps would you recommend the doctor take, and why?
12. A friend of yours is taking an antidepressant. She is confused as to why she must take it at the same time everyday, and why it might take 7-14 days for it to become effective. You remember about habituation and  changes that must occur in the neuron regarding regulation of neurotransmitters!!! Explain what you might tell her about why it takes almost 2 weeks for her medication to become effective.
13. What is the difference between a chemical that functions as a hormone and one that functions as a neurotransmitter? That is, which is the "faster" acting? Why is it important that some regulation occurs more slowly and some more quickly- for example, regulation of the autonomic nervous system through neurotransmitters AND via hormones?
14. The term "neural plasticity" is tossed around quite a bit regarding the ability of the brain to repair itself.  Knowing what you do about neural plasticity, which individual would you predict could recover more quickly and more completely from a significant brain trauma: a very young child; an early adolescent; an older adult? Why?

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