Unit 1 Podcast

What this episode covers

• Heredity, environment, and the interaction between nature and nurture
• The evolutionary perspective and twin/adoption research designs
• Central vs. peripheral nervous system — autonomic and somatic branches
• Sympathetic (fight-or-flight) vs. parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) responses
• Neuron anatomy: dendrites, soma, axon, terminal buttons
• Action potentials, synapses, and neurotransmitter reuptake
• Key neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, GABA, acetylcholine
• Major brain structures: frontal lobe, hippocampus, amygdala, cerebellum
• Brain imaging tools: EEG, fMRI, PET scans
• Brain plasticity and neurogenesis
• Sleep stages (NREM 1-3 and REM) and the functions of sleep
• Circadian rhythms and sleep disorders
• Sensation vs. perception; transduction; absolute and difference thresholds; sensory adaptation