Study guide · 8 units · 24 things to learn
Biopsychology study guide for intro psychology
Follows the brain and behavior chapters of a college introduction to psychology course, in the order of the free OpenStax Psychology 2e textbook: biopsychology first, then sleep and drugs, the senses, language, memory, and emotion and stress.
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Work through the units in order. Read each topic, open each part in 3D, then take the unit's quiz: everything you answer comes back in your daily review, right before you would forget it. Ticks show what you have done on this device.
1. Neurons and the nervous system (sections 3.2 and 3.3)
Quiz this unit in 3DNeurons and glial cells, how neurons fire and signal each other with neurotransmitters, and the parts of the nervous system: central and peripheral, somatic and autonomic.
- Neurons and nerve signalsTopic · How a nerve cell is built, and how it fires a signal.
- NeurotransmittersTopic · The brain's chemical messengers: dopamine, serotonin, GABA and more.
- The nervous systemTopic · Central and peripheral, somatic and autonomic: how it is organized.
- The autonomic nervous system: sympathetic and parasympatheticTopic · Fight or flight, rest and digest: how the body runs its automatic jobs.
2. The brain and spinal cord (section 3.4)
Quiz this unit in 3DThe hindbrain, midbrain and forebrain, the lobes of the cortex and the limbic system, the two hemispheres and neuroplasticity, and the tools used to study the brain.
- The big pictureLesson in 3D · Cerebrum, cerebellum and brainstem.
- Lobes of the brainTopic · The four lobes of each hemisphere, and what each one does.
- Limbic systemBrain part · The brain's emotion and memory team, wrapped around its deep core.
- BrainstemBrain part · The stalk connecting brain and body, running breathing, heartbeat and wakefulness.
- CerebellumBrain part · The "little brain" that holds most of your neurons and makes every move smooth.
- Left brain and right brainTopic · What split-brain studies really show, and the left-brain myth.
- Neuroplasticity: how the brain rewires itselfTopic · How learning, growing up and injury rewire the brain.
- How scientists study the brainTopic · MRI, fMRI, EEG and ERPs, PET, lesions, case studies and post-mortems, compared.
3. The endocrine system (section 3.5)
Quiz this unit in 3DGlands and hormones, and how the hypothalamus and pituitary gland link the brain to the rest of the body.
4. Sleep and drugs (sections 4.2 to 4.5)
Quiz this unit in 3DWhy we sleep, the stages of sleep, sleep problems and disorders, and how psychoactive drugs change the brain.
5. Sensation (sections 5.3 to 5.5)
Quiz this unit in 3DHow the brain receives light, sound, touch and pain, and where each one is processed.
- The visual pathway: from the eye to the brainTopic · From the eye to the visual cortex, and what damage on the way does.
- Hearing and balanceLesson in 3D · From the inner ear to the cortex.
- Touch, pain and temperature: the sensory pathwaysTopic · How touch, pain and temperature travel up the spinal cord to the sensory strip.
6. Language (section 7.2)
Quiz this unit in 3DThe brain areas that produce and understand language, and what happens when they are damaged.
7. Memory (sections 8.1 to 8.3)
Quiz this unit in 3DHow memories are encoded, stored and retrieved, the parts of the brain involved, and problems with memory such as amnesia.
8. Hunger, emotion and stress (sections 10.2, 10.4 and 14.1 to 14.3)
Quiz this unit in 3DThe hypothalamus and hunger, the brain regions of emotion and the theories that explain it, and how stress affects the body.
- HypothalamusBrain part · An almond-sized control center for temperature, hunger, thirst, sleep and hormones.
- Emotion and stress: the amygdala and fight or flightTopic · How the brain makes fear and other feelings, and handles stress.
- AmygdalaBrain part · The almond-shaped alarm that spots danger and gives memories their emotional punch.
Tips for studying
- Connect each structure to a behavior you could observe: the amygdala to fear, the hippocampus to forming new memories, the cerebellum to smooth movement.
- Exams often describe a person with an injury and ask what was damaged. Practice with the parts in 3D until the answer comes quickly.
- Test yourself instead of rereading. The quiz at the end of each unit, and the daily review, do exactly that.
Built from the official outline
This guide follows these official pages. Check them for the latest version of what your exam or class covers.
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