AP Psych Unit 2 Vocab

Question 1

neuron

Answer 1

a nerve cell that is the basic building block of the nervous system

Question 2

myelin sheath

Answer 2

fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons. increases transmission speed and provides insolation

Question 3

action potential

Answer 3

the neural impulse when a neuron “fires”

Question 4

resting potential

Answer 4

Neuron is charged but waiting for the next action potential signal

Question 5

refractory period

Answer 5

brief instant when a neuron can’t fire because the neuron is recharging

Question 6

all or none potential

Answer 6

neural firing happens either at full response or no response at all

Question 7

threshold

Answer 7

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Question 8

excitatory signal

Answer 8

trigger neural action

Question 9

inhibitory signal

Answer 9

depress neural action

Question 10

neurotransmitters

Answer 10

chemical messengers that travel across the synapse and bind to receiving neuron

Question 10

dopamine

Answer 10

influences movement, learning, attention and emotion

Question 11

acetylcholine

Answer 11

enables muscle action, learning and memory

Question 12

endorphins

Answer 12

neurotransmitters that influence the perception of pain or pleasure

Question 13

antagonist

Answer 13

a drug molecule that inhibits or blocks a transmitter’s actions

Question 14

agonist

Answer 14

a drug molecule that increases a neurotransmitter’s action

Question 15

Peripheral Nervous System

Answer 15

made up of sensory and motor neurons. Gathers information from the senses and transmitting messages from the CNS

Question 16

Somatic (PNS)

Answer 16

controls the body’s skeletal muscles

Question 17

Autonomic (PNS)

Answer 17

controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs

Question 18

Neural Networks

Answer 18

a technique for modeling the neural changes in the brain that underlie cognition and perception in which a large number of simple hypothetical neural units are connected to one another.

Question 19

Endocrine system

Answer 19

A set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Question 19

Cerebellum

Answer 19

at the rear of the brain stem, processes sensory input, coordinating movement, balance, nonverbal learning and memory

Question 20

limbic system

Answer 20

a group of brain structures that regulate basic emotions such as fear and rage and drives such as hunger and sex

Question 22

hypothalamus

Answer 22

below the thalamus, directs eating, drinking and body temperature

Question 23

hippocampus

Answer 23

helps process for storage explicit (conscious) memories of facts and events

Question 24

glial cells

Answer 24

cells that support, nourish and protect neurons

Question 25

motor cortex

Answer 25

controls voluntary movements

Question 26

sensory cortex

Answer 26

registers information from the skin senses and body movement

Question 27

association areas

Answer 27

sections of the cerebral cortex that are connected to the function of a primary part of the cerebral cortex. responsible for thought, memory and learning in combination with the primary parts they surround

Question 28

Wernicke’s Area

Answer 28

located in the left temporal lobe - involved in receptive language (understanding language)

Question 28

aphasia

Answer 28

impairment of language, usually caused by left. hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding).

Question 28

Broca’s Areas

Answer 28

located in the left frontal lobe - involved in expressive language (speech production)

Question 29

plasticity

Answer 29

the brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood by reoganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience

Question 30

corpus callosum

Answer 30

wide band of axon fibers connecting the 2 hemispheres of the brain

Question 31

split-brain experiment

Answer 31

when the corpus callosum is severed, so people can’t say the things they see out of their left eye

Question 32

dual processing

Answer 32

principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks. “The two track mind”

Question 33

chromosomes

Answer 33

threadlike structures of DNA molecules that contain the genes

Question 34

DNA

Answer 34

a complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes.

Question 35

monozygotic twins

Answer 35

a single fertilized egg splits into 2 - makes 2 genetically identical organisms

Question 36

dizygotic twins

Answer 36

separate fertilized eggs that share a maternal prenatal environment

Question 37

heritability

Answer 37

the proportion of variation among individuals in a group that we can attribute to genes

Question 38

behavior genetics

Answer 38

the study of how the structure and function of genes interact with our environment to influence behavior

Question 39

evolutionary psychology

Answer 39

the branch of psychology that focuses on how behavior is impacted by our genes that have been passed down through generations

Question 40

Charles Darwin

Answer 40

came up with natural selection; survival of the fittest

Question 41

Roger Sperry

Answer 41

discovered that human beings are of two minds (left and right)

Question 42

Michael Gazzaniga

Answer 42

Studied of the neural basis of mind with primary responsibility for initiating human split-brain research.

Question 43

cell body (soma)

Answer 43

part of neuron that contains nucleus, cell’s life support center

Question 44

dendrites

Answer 44

branching extensions that receive and integrate messages to send to the body

Question 45

axon

Answer 45

attached to the soma, the neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons

Question 46

terminal branches

Answer 46

ends of axon containing terminal buttons which hold synaptic vesicles that store neurotransmitters