3A Flashcards
To understand our behavior, we need to study how these biological, psychological, and social-cultural systems work and interact.
Biopsychosocial Systems
A popular but I’ll dated theory that claimed bumps on the skull could reveal our mental abilities and our character traits
Phrenology
Who created the phrenology theory?
Hint: German physician
Franz Gall
A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.
Neuron
Describe the neuron system:
Dendrites > cell body > axon/myelin sheath > terminal branches of axon
Conducts impulses towards the cell body and receives messages
Dendrites
Passes messages to other neurons, glands, or muscles.
Axon
The relationship between an axon and dendrite.
The axon speaks and the dendrites listen
What is the function of a myelin sheath?
To insulate the axons and help speed the impulses, which are also known as messages
A brief electrical charge that travels down its axon
Action potential
Can an impulse stop halfway through the axon?
No, it’s an all or none response!
What are the gates inside the axon terminal thus allowing the action potential to continue as well as speed through?
Sodium gates, potassium gates, and sodium and potassium gates
What is the purpose of a sodium gate? Describe its functions.
Positively charged sodium ions are outside the gate waiting to come inside, thus starting the action potential
The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
Threshold
Describe the purpose of the sodium and potassium gate:
To switch out the positive sodium ions and potassium ions inside and outside
How do we distinguish a gentle touch from a big hug? A strong stimulus- a slap rather than a tap?
They can trigger more neurons to fire, to fire often. But it does not affect the action potentials strength or speed. Squeezing a trigger harder won’t make a bullet go faster.
A neurotransmitters reabsorptions by the sending neuron
Reputable
Who do nerve cells communicate with other cells?
Neurons weave so intricately that even with a microscope you would have trouble seeing where one begins and ends. There’s a brief interruption in the transmission, a meeting point called the synapse between neurons. Also called “protoplasmic kisses” or “like elegant ladies air kissing so as not to muss their makeup, dendrites and axons (or terminal branches of axons) don’t quite touch.
