BIO BASIS Flashcards
Neuron
a nervous cell, the basic building block of the nervous system
Cell body
the part of a neuron that contains the nucleus aka the cells life-support center
Dendrites
a neurons branching extensions that receive messages
Axon
the neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands
Glial cells (Glia cells)
cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons, they also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory
Action Potential
a neural impulse, a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
Threshold
a level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
Refractory period
a brief resting pause in neural transmitting that occurs after a neuron has fired; action potentials can’t occur until the axon returns to its resting state
Synapse
the junctions between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neurons
What is the tiny space at the synapse called?
Synaptic Gap
Neurotransmitters
chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons
Reuptake
a neurotransmitters reabsorption by the sending neuron
Nervous system
the bodies speedy, electrochemical communication network
What are the parts within the nervous system?
Peripheral goes to automatic—sympathetic and parasympathetic (arousal and calming) and somatic(sensory output and motor output)
What are the parts of the central nervous system?
the brain and spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system
the sensory +motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body
efferent neurons
neurons that carry outgoing info from the brain and spinal cords to muscles and glands
afferent neurons
neurons that carry incoming info from the brain and spinal cords to muscles and glands
interneurons
neurons within the brain and spinal cords, they communicate internally and process info between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
somatic nervous system
the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the bodies skeletal muscles
Autonomic nervous system
the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands + the muscles of the internal organs such as the heart
Sympathetic nervous system
the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy
Parasympathetic Nervous system
the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body; conserving its energy
Endocrine
the bodies “slow” chemical communication system, glands that put hormones into blood
Adrenal glands
a pair of endocrine glands that sit above the kidneys that help arouse the body in times of stress
Pituitary gland
the endocrines most influential gland and grow+control other endocrine glands
Lesion
tissue destruction
Hypothalamus
brain region that controls pituitary gland (hunger, eating, drinking)
Thyroid gland
metabolism
Adrenal glands
helps trigger “fight or flight” response
testis
secretes male sex hormones
pituitary gland
secretes many different hormones, some of which effect many other glands
parathyroids
helps regulate amount of calcium in blood
pancreas
regulates sugar in blood
ovary
secretes female sex hormones
Acetylcholine
enables muscle action, memory, and learning
Dopamine
influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion
Serotonin
effects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal
Norepinephrine
helps control alertness and arousal
GABA
a major inhibitory neurotransmitter
glutamate
neurotransmitter involved with memory;
endorphines
neurotransmitter influence perception of pain vs pleasure
EEG (electroencephalogram)
electrodes placed on scalp and measure electrical activity in neurons
MEG (Magnetoencephalography)
a head coil that records magnetic fields from brains natural electrical currents
CT (computed tomography)
x rays of head generate images that locate brain damage
PET (Positron emission tomography)
tracks where a temporarily radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain of the person performed a task
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
people sit or lie down in a chamber that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to provide a map of the brain
fMRI ( functional magnetic resonance imaging)
measures blood flow to brain by comparing continuous MRI scans
brainstem
in charge of automatic survival functions) the oldest part and central core of the brain
reticular formation
a nerve network that travels through the brainstem into the thalamus and plays a important role in controlling arousal
Limbic system
neural system (includes amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus) that is located below the cerebral hemispheres and associated with emotions and drives
Corpus callous
axon fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres
Pons
helps coordinate sleep
Spinal cord
helps control reflexes
Cerebral cortex
ultimate control and information processing center
output : motor complex
right hemisphere section that controls body left side
input : somatosensory cortex
left hemisphere section that receives input from the bodies right side
Somatosensory cortex
an area at the front of the parietal lobes that register and process body touch and movement sensations
Association areas
areas of cerebral cortex that help with higher mental functions like learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking
neurogenesis
the formation of new neurons
Plasticity
the brains ability to change, especially during childhood
Split brain
a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brains two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (corpus callosum)
Cognitive neuroscience
the study of the brain activity linked with cognition like perception, thinking, memory, and language
dual processing
the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks
blindsight
a condition where a person can respond to visual stimuli without consciously experiencing it
parallel processing
processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously, used to process well learned info or to solve easy problems
sequential processing
used to answer harder problems, processing one aspect of a problem at a time
Epigenetics
the study of environmental influences n gene expression without changing DNA
