AP Psychology Unit 3A Terms

Question 1

A branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior. (Some biological psychologists call themselves neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, physiological psychologists, or biopsychologists)

Answer 1

Biological Psychology

Question 2

A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

Answer 2

Neuron

Question 3

Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

Answer 3

Sensory Neurons

Question 4

Neurons that carry outgoing information form the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

Answer 4

Motor Neurons

Question 5

Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

Answer 5

Interneurons

Question 6

The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

Answer 6

Dendrite

Question 7

The extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

Answer 7

Axon

Question 8

A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasting the fibers of many neuron; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulse as the impulse hops from one node to the next

Answer 8

Myelin Sheath

Question 9

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

Answer 9

Action Potential

Question 10

The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Answer 10

Threshold

Question 11

The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft

Answer 11

Synapse

Question 12

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, they travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse

Answer 12

Neurotransmitters

Question 13

A neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

Answer 13

Reuptake

Question 14

“Morphine within;” natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

Answer 14

Endorphins

Question 15

The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network consisting of the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems

Answer 15

Nervous System

Question 16

The brain and the spinal cord

Answer 16

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Question 17

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body.

Answer 17

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Question 18

Bundled axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs

Answer 18

Nerves

Question 19

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system

Answer 19

Somatic Nervous System

Question 20

The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms

Answer 20

Autonomic Nervous System

Question 21

The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

Answer 21

Sympathetic Nervous System

Question 22

The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

Answer 22

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Question 23

A simple, autonomic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response

Answer 23

Reflex

Question 24

The body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Answer 24

Endocrine System

Question 25

Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissues

Answer 25

Hormones

Question 26

A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress

Answer 26

Adrenal Glands

Question 27

The endocrine system’s most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, it regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

Answer 27

Pituitary Gland