T2: Contemporary Perspectives on Abnormal Behavior

• Phenylketonuria (PKU), which can result in intellectual disability (previously called “mental retardation”). This disorder, present at birth, is caused by the inability of the body to metabolize (break down) phenylalanine.
• According to this diathesis–stress model, individuals inherit tendencies to express certain traits or behaviors, which may then be activated under conditions of stress.
• The central nervous system is consisting of brain and spinal cord.
• The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) consists of cranial and spinal nerves.
• Central nervous system - a human nervous system that is responsible for sensory activities, storing memories, and emotions.
• Peripheral Nervous System - a human nervous system that brings messages to and from the CNS to the rest of the body.
• Somatic Nervous System: Refers to the nervous system that is responsible for voluntary movement (muscle movement).
• Autonomic Nervous System: controls involuntary functions of the body, such as heart rate and digestion
• Sympathetic Nervous System: Stimulates the body to prepare for fight or flight.
• Parasympathetic Nervous System: Involved in rest and digest.
• Axons is responsible for transmitting impulses from one neuron to another neurons.
• The space between the axon of one neuron and the dendrite of another is called the synaptic cleft.
• The biochemicals that are released from the axon of one neuron and transmit the impulse to the dendrite receptors of another neuron are called neurotransmitters.
• The brain stem is the lower and more ancient part of the brain. It handles most of the essential automatic functions, such as breathing, sleeping, and moving around in a coordinated way.
• The lowest part of the brain stem, the hindbrain, contains the medulla, the pons, and the cerebellum. It regulates many automatic activities, such as breathing, the pumping action of the heart (heartbeat), and digestion.
• The cerebellum is a part of the brain that controls motor coordination.
• Midbrain coordinates movement with sensory input and contains parts of the reticular activating system, which contributes to processes of arousal and tension, such as whether we are awake or asleep.
• Thalamus and Hypothalamus are involved broadly with regulating behavior and emotion.
• Limbic system helps regulate our emotional experiences and expressions and, to some extent, our ability to learn and to control our impulses. It is also involved with the basic drives of sex, aggression, hunger, and thirst.
• Limbic system consists of structures such as the hippocampus (sea horse), cingulate gyrus (girdle), septum (partition), and amygdala (almond).
• Limbic means border, so named because it is located around the edge of the center of the brain.
• Damage to basal ganglia may change our posture or twitch or shake, they are believed to control motor activity.
• The largest part of the forebrain is the cerebral cortex, which contains more than 80% of all neurons in the central nervous system. It provides us with our distinctly human qualities, allowing us to look to the future and plan, to reason, and to create.
• The left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for verbal and other cognitive processes.
• The right hemisphere of the brain is responsible at perceiving the world around us and creating images.
• The brain consists of four hemispheres or lobes: temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and frontal lobe.
• The temporal lobe is associated with recognizing various sights and sounds and with long-term memory storage.
• The parietal lobe is associated with recognizing various sensations of touch and monitoring body positioning.
• The occipital lobe is associated with integrating and making sense of various visual inputs.
• The frontal lobe is responsible for higher cognitive functions such as thinking and reasoning, planning for the future, as well as long-term memory.
• The front (or anterior) of the frontal lobe is called the prefrontal cortex.
• Endocrine gland produces its own chemical messenger, called a hormone, and releases it directly into the bloodstream.
• The adrenal glands produce epinephrine (also called adrenaline) in response to stress, as well as salt-regulating hormones,
• The thyroid gland produces thyroxine, which facilitates energy metabolism and growth.
• The pituitary is a master gland that produces a variety of regulatory hormones.
• The gonadal glands produce sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone.
• The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis is the main stress response system.
• A substance called agonists effectively increases the activity of a neurotransmitter by mimicking its effects.
• A substance called antagonists decreases or block the activity of a neurotransmitter.
• A substance called inverse agonists produces an effect opposite to those produced by the neurotransmitter.