3A- Neural Processing and the Endocrine System Flashcards
A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
Neuron
Biological psychologists study this
Neural communication
Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord
Sensory neurons
Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands
Motor neurons
Neurons with the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between sensory inputs and motor outputs
Interneurons
Dendrite, cell body, axon, myelin sheath
Parts of a neuron
The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body
Dendrite
The extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands
Axon
A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next
Myelin sheath
2-200mph
Speed of a neuron impulse
The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
Threshold
Intensity doesn’t change the firing; it either fires or it doesn’t
All or none response
The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron
Synapse
The tiny gap between the dendrite and the axon tip or between the cell body and the axon tip
Synaptic gap/synaptic cleft
Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons
Neurotransmitters
A neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron
Reuptake
Enables muscle action, learning, and memory (with Alzheimer’s these ____ producing neurons deteriorate
Acetylcholine (ACh)
Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion (excess leads to schizophrenia, too little leads to tremors similar to Parkinson’s disease
Dopamine
Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal (under supply linked to depression)
Serotonin
Helps control alertness and arousal; also a hormone (under supply can depress mood)
Norepinephrine
A major inhibitory neurotransmitter (under supply linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia)
GABA
Excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory (oversupply can overstimulate brain, producing seizures or migraines)
Glutamate
“Morphine within”; natural opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure
Endorphins
Binds to the receptor and mimics the effects of the similar neurotransmitter
Agonist
Binds to the receptor but it blocks a neurotransmitter’s functioning
Antagonist
The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network
Nervous system
The brain and the spinal cord
Central nervous system
The sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body
Peripheral nervous system
Bundled axons that form neural “cables” connecting the CNS with muscles, glands, and sense organs
Nerves
Part of the peripheral nervous system; controls the body’s skeletal muscles
Somatic
Part of the peripheral nervous system; controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart)
Autonomic
Part of the autonomic system; arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations
Sympathetic
Prt of the autonomic system; the division that calms the body, conserving its energy
Parasympathetic
A part of the central nervous system; a simple, automatic response to a story stimulus
Reflex
The body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
Endocrine system
Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues
Hormones
A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress
Adrenal glands
The endocrine system’s most influential gland; under the influence of the hypothalamus, regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands; the master gland
Pituitary glands
