USMLE STEP 1 Pharmacology
What are the major functions of the α1 receptor?
Increase vascular smooth muscle contraction, increase pupillary dilator muscle contraction (mydriasis), increase intestinal and bladder sphincter muscle contraction
MCAT Psychology
.Absolute threshold: The minimum stimulus intensity required to activate a sen- sory receptor 50% of the time.
2.Difference threshold (JND): The minimum noticeable difference between two sensory stimuli 50% of the time.
3.Weber's law: States that two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion for difference to be perceptible.
4.Spotlight model: Visual attention can shift within the visual field but can only be focused on a single target.
5.Phonological loop: A component of working memory that allows us
to repeat semantic verbal or written information to help us remember it.
6.Visuospatial sketchpad: A component of working memory that allows
us to use mental imagery to help us remember semantic visual information.
7.Episodic buffer: A component of working memory that interacts with information in long term memory.
8.Assimilation: The conformation of experiences into existing schemas.
9.Accommodation: The adjustment of a schema to take into account new experi- ences.
10.Confirmation bias: The tendency to search for information that confirms pre- conceived thinking.
11.Fixation: Inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective.
12.Mental set: A tendency to fixate on solutions that have worked in the past but may not apply to the current situation.
13.Functional fixedness: A tendency to perceive the functions of objects as fixed and unchanging.
14.Representativeness heuristic: A tendency to judge the likelihoods
of an event occurring as based on our typical mental representations of those events.
15.Availability heuristic: A tendency to make judgments based on
how readily available information is in our memories. MCAT Psychology
.Belief bias: The tendency to judge arguments based on what
one believes about their conclusions rather than the use of sound logic.
17.Belief perseverance: A tendency to cling to beliefs despite the
presence of contrary evidence.
18.Awake: Alpha/beta (relaxed) waves, low amplitude, 8-12 Hz.
19.Stage 1: Theta waves, low amplitude, 3-7 Hz.
20.Stage 2: K-complexes/sleep spindles, moderate amplitude, 12-
14Hz bursts.
21.Stage 3: Delta waves (slow wave sleep), high amplitude, 0.5-3 Hz.
22.REM sleep: Sawtooth waves, bursts of quick eye movements, low skeletal muscle movement = "paradoxical sleep" MCAT Psychology
.Activation synthesis theory: A theory that suggests that dreams are byprod- ucts of brain activation during REM sleep.
24.Dyssomnias: Abnormalities in the amount, quality, or timing of sleep.
25.Parasomnias: Abnormal behaviors that occur during sleep, usually occurring during Stage 3.
26.Social influence theory: A theory that suggests that people do and report what is expected of them.
27.Yerkes-Dodson Law: A law that states that the correlation between perfor- mance and emotional arousal is U-shaped.
28.James-Lange theory: Stimulus ’ physical condition ’ emotion
29.Cannon-Bard Theory: Stimulus ’ emotion + physical condition (independent)
30.Schacter-Singer Theory: Stimulus ’ physical response ’ cognitive
appraisal to label the emotion
31.Lazarus Theory: Stimulus ’ cognitive appraisal to label the emotion ’ physical response
32.Nativism (universalism): Humans have a language acquisition device (LAD) that allows the mind to gain mastery of language in early childhood - humans have an innate ability to learn language; thought determines language.
33.Social interactionism: Human social processes play a major role in language acquisition in conjunction with operant conditioning - Vygotsky
34.Linguistic relativism: (Strong) Cognition and perception are determined by the language one speaks.
(Weak) Linguistic structure *influences* cognition and perception.
35.Nonassociative learning: A type of learning in which an organism
is repeatedly exposed to one type of stimulus.
36.Habituation: A decrease in responsiveness to a stimulus due to repeated ex- posure.
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