Behavioral Science Flashcards
Sensory neurons?
Afferent neurons-[ASCEND to brain]-> transmit sensory information from receptors to the spinal cord and brain
Motor neurons?
Efferent neurons-[EXIT the spinal cord]-> transmit information from the brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands
Interneurons
found between other neurons and are the most numerous of the three types of neurons
Reflex arcs
neural circuits, path taken by the nerve impulse from the stimulus to sensory neuron to motor neuron to reflex muscle movement
Central Nervous System
brain and spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system
nerve tissue and fibers outside the brain and spinal cord
somatic nervous system
sensory and motor neurons distributed throughout the skin, joints, and muscles
autonomic nervous system
regulates heartbeat, respiration, digestion, and glandular secretions (INDEPENDENT OF CONSCIOUS CONTROL); made of parasympathetic and sympathetic NS
Parasympathetic nervous system
rest and digest; conserves energy, manages digestion, constrict pupils, stimulates flow of saliva, constricts bronchi, slows heartbeat, stimulates peristalsis and secretion, stimulates bile release, contracts bladder,
Sympathetic nervous system
fight or flight; increases HR, redistributes blood to muscles of locomotion, increases blood glucose concentration, relaxes the bronchi, decreases digestion and peristalsis, dilates the eyes to maximize light intake, releases epinephrine into the blood stream, secretes adrenaline and noradrenaline
Brain is covered with a thick sheath of connective tissues called
meninges
Three layers of meninges?
Dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater
Hindbrain +midbrain form the….?
brainstem (more primitive region of the brain)
What is the limbic system?
part of the forebrain, a group of neural structures primarily associated with emotion and memory, aggression, fear, pleasure, and pain
Cerebral cortex?
Complex perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral processes; Outer covering of the cerebral hemisphere, associated with language processing, problem solving, impulse control, long term planning
Parts of the forebrain
cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, limbic system, thalamus, hypothalamus
Parts of the midbrain
Inferiori and superior colliculi (sensorimotor reflexes)
Parts of the hindbrain
cerebellum (refined motor movements), medulla oblongata (vital functioning-breathing, digestion), reticular formation (arousal and alertness)
Basal ganglia?
movement
Thalamus?
sensory relay station
Hypothalamus?
Hunger and thirst, emotion; four Fs (feeding, fighting, flighting, fucking)
Hindbrain
balance, motor coordination, breathing, digestion, , and general arousal like sleeping and waking–> medulla oblongata is lower brain structure (HR, breathing, BP); pons lies above it; cerebellum is above pons, helps with posture
Midbrain?
associated with involuntary reflex responses triggered by visual or auditory stimuli; superior colliculus receives visual sensory input inferior colliculus receives sensory information from the auditory system
Forebrain
complex perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral processes, emotion and memory
Lateral hypothalamus
lacks hunger if it is destroyed, hunger center, can tell if body needs more food or fluids; when this is destroyed in rats, they refuse to eat and drink
Ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH)
satiety center, signals to body to stop eating, bread lesion here will lead to obesity
anterior hypothalamus
controls sexual behavior, when stimulated, rats will mount anything
Posterior pituitary
releases ADH (vasopressin) and oxytocin
Pineal gland
releases melatonin, regulates circadian rhythms
basal ganglia
coordinates muscle movement as they receive information from the cortex and relay this information (destruction of basal ganglia can lead to Parkinson’s)
septal nuclei
pleasure center of brain, linked to addiction
amygdala
plays a role in defensive and aggressive behaviors, including fear and rage
hippocampus
plays a vital role in learning and memory processes; helps consolidate information to form long term memories
anterograde amnesia
not being able to establish new long-term memories, can’t learn new information
retrograde amnesia
memory loss of events that transpired before the brain injury
frontal lobe
executive functioning , prefrontal cortex; association area (area that integrates input from diverse brain regions); Broca’s area (on left region)
temporal lobe
hearing; auditory cortex, primary site of most sound processing; Wernicke’s area, associated with language reception and comprehension
parietal lobe
touch, temp, pain, primary somatosensory cortex (located on the postcentral gyrus)
occipital lobe
vision, has visual cortex, also known as the striate cortex
Wernicke’s area
associate with language reception and comprehension
Ipsilaterally
hearing, cerebral hemisphere communicate with the same side of the body
Contralaterally
in most cases, one side of the brain communicates with the opposite side of the body; left side of brain controls movement on the right side of the body
Cerebellum?
Coordinated movement
Inferior and superior colliculi
sensorimotor reflexes
limbic system?
emotion and memory
reticular formation?
arousal and alertness
dominant hemisphere
usually left, primarily analytic in function, makes it well suited for managing details (language production (broca’s area) and language comprehension (wernicke’s area) are primarily driven by dominant hemisphere
non-dominant hemisphere
associated with intuition, creativity, music cognition, and spatial processing
Acetylcholine
neurotransmitter in central and peripheral nervous system; loss of cholinergic neurons in hippocampus associated with Alzheimer’s disease,
Catecholamines
epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine
Epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline)
involved in alertness and wakefulness; promote fight or flight; low levels of norepinephrine are associated with depression; high levels are associated with anxiety and mania
Dopamine
role in movement and posture; found in basal ganglia, helps smooth movement and maintain stability; too much can exist in cases of schizophrenia; not enough can exist in Parkinson’s disease
Serotonin
plays a role in depression; too much can cause manic states
GABA
stabilizes neural activity in the brain (similar to glycine)
Glycine
inhibitory neurotransmitter in CNS, increases chloride influx into the neuron
Glutamate
excitatory neurotransmitter in CNS
adrenal glands
adrenal medulla (releases epinephrine and norephinerine) & adrenal cortex (makes corticosteroids)
adrenal medulla
releases epinephrine and norepinephrine
adrenal cortex
makes corticosteroids, cortisol; sex hormones (testosterone and estrogen)
innate behavior
result of evolution, genetically programmed
learned behavior
based on experience and environment
adaptive value
extent to which a trait or behavior positively benefits a species by influencing the evolutionary fitness of the species
neuralation
ectoderm overlying the notochord begins to furrow
alar plate
differentiates into sensory neurons
basal plate
differentiates into motor neurons
reflex
behavior that occurs in response to a given stimulus without higher cognitive input
rooting reflex
automatic turning fo the head in a direction of stimulus that touches the cheek
Moro reflex
infants abruptly move heads by flinging out their arms
Babinksi reflex
causes toes to spread apart automatically when the sole of the foot is stimulated
stranger anxiety
fear and apprehension of unfamiliar individuals
separation anxiety
fear of being separated from the parental figure
parallel play
when children will play alongside each other without influencing each other’s behavior
