PSYC 304 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM ALL
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Negative allosteric modulators - ✔✔Decrease ligand efficacy.
✔✔Stimulant - ✔✔Increases CNS activity (e.g., Amphetamine, cocaine, nicotine).
✔✔Depressant - ✔✔Decreases CNS activity (e.g., Alcohol & Benzodiazepines).
✔✔Opioid - ✔✔Includes naturally derived opiates from the opium poppy plant and
synthetic opioids.
✔✔Hallucinogen - ✔✔Alters sensory perception (e.g., Ketamine, LSD, psilocybin).
✔✔Cannabis - ✔✔Primary psychoactive substance is THC, which binds to and
activates cannabinoid (CB) receptors.
✔✔Emotions - ✔✔Complex instinctive feelings that result from our ability to perceive the
environment.
✔✔Motivation - ✔✔An internal drive which propels behavior towards or away from
stimuli.
, ✔✔Purpose of Emotion - ✔✔To tell others of our internal state
✔✔Warning others of danger - ✔✔Creating social bonds
✔✔To propel us to engage in some behavior - ✔✔We want to continue feeling good
and avoid feeling bad
✔✔To change our behavior in the future - ✔✔We want to repeat things in the future that
bring us good emotions and avoid things in the future that bring us bad emotions
✔✔Defense Systems - ✔✔Fear, anger/aggression, and the stress response must be
viewed from an evolutionary perspective
✔✔Fear - ✔✔An emotional/behavioral/psychological response triggered by the
perception of imminent danger
✔✔Convergence in the Amygdala - ✔✔CS = Conditioned stimulus: a predictive cue that
is initially neutral
✔✔US - ✔✔Unconditional stimulus: an aversive event that elicits behavior
✔✔BLA - ✔✔Basolateral amygdala
✔✔CS neuron releases glutamate onto BLA neuron - ✔✔Binding to AMPA & NMDA
receptors, activation of AMPA receptors only weakly depolarizes BLA neuron and
NMDA channel does not open initially
✔✔US shock neuron releases glutamate onto BLA neuron - ✔✔Strongly depolarizing
BLA neuron and bringing NMDA receptors to voltage threshold for opening
✔✔Calcium flows into the fear neuron - ✔✔At CS-BLA synapses allows for plasticity at
these synapses to occur
✔✔APV - ✔✔NMDA receptor antagonist
✔✔APV was infused into the basolateral amygdala during fear learning - ✔✔Another
group of rats received APV infusion in the central amygdala
✔✔Basolateral amygdala infusion - ✔✔Impaired fear learning, but central amygdala
infusion has no effect
✔✔Depression prevalence - ✔✔Perhaps 9-15% of adults will suffer from depression at
some point in their life
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Negative allosteric modulators - ✔✔Decrease ligand efficacy.
✔✔Stimulant - ✔✔Increases CNS activity (e.g., Amphetamine, cocaine, nicotine).
✔✔Depressant - ✔✔Decreases CNS activity (e.g., Alcohol & Benzodiazepines).
✔✔Opioid - ✔✔Includes naturally derived opiates from the opium poppy plant and
synthetic opioids.
✔✔Hallucinogen - ✔✔Alters sensory perception (e.g., Ketamine, LSD, psilocybin).
✔✔Cannabis - ✔✔Primary psychoactive substance is THC, which binds to and
activates cannabinoid (CB) receptors.
✔✔Emotions - ✔✔Complex instinctive feelings that result from our ability to perceive the
environment.
✔✔Motivation - ✔✔An internal drive which propels behavior towards or away from
stimuli.
, ✔✔Purpose of Emotion - ✔✔To tell others of our internal state
✔✔Warning others of danger - ✔✔Creating social bonds
✔✔To propel us to engage in some behavior - ✔✔We want to continue feeling good
and avoid feeling bad
✔✔To change our behavior in the future - ✔✔We want to repeat things in the future that
bring us good emotions and avoid things in the future that bring us bad emotions
✔✔Defense Systems - ✔✔Fear, anger/aggression, and the stress response must be
viewed from an evolutionary perspective
✔✔Fear - ✔✔An emotional/behavioral/psychological response triggered by the
perception of imminent danger
✔✔Convergence in the Amygdala - ✔✔CS = Conditioned stimulus: a predictive cue that
is initially neutral
✔✔US - ✔✔Unconditional stimulus: an aversive event that elicits behavior
✔✔BLA - ✔✔Basolateral amygdala
✔✔CS neuron releases glutamate onto BLA neuron - ✔✔Binding to AMPA & NMDA
receptors, activation of AMPA receptors only weakly depolarizes BLA neuron and
NMDA channel does not open initially
✔✔US shock neuron releases glutamate onto BLA neuron - ✔✔Strongly depolarizing
BLA neuron and bringing NMDA receptors to voltage threshold for opening
✔✔Calcium flows into the fear neuron - ✔✔At CS-BLA synapses allows for plasticity at
these synapses to occur
✔✔APV - ✔✔NMDA receptor antagonist
✔✔APV was infused into the basolateral amygdala during fear learning - ✔✔Another
group of rats received APV infusion in the central amygdala
✔✔Basolateral amygdala infusion - ✔✔Impaired fear learning, but central amygdala
infusion has no effect
✔✔Depression prevalence - ✔✔Perhaps 9-15% of adults will suffer from depression at
some point in their life
