Biological Aspects of Psychology Flashcards
The psychological specialty focused on the physical and chemical changes that cause, and occur in response to, behavior and mental processes.
Biological Psychology
A complex combination of cells whose primary function is to allow an organism to gain information about what is going on inside and outside the body and respond appropriately.
Nervous System
The nervous system’s three main functions are to recieve information (__________), integrate that information with past experiences, (__________), and guide actions (__________).
Input, Processing, Output
Fundamental units of the nervous system.
Neurons (or nerve cells)
Cells in the nervous system that hold neurons together and help them communicate with one another.
Glia Cells
Two major types of cells, __________ and __________, allow the nervous system to carry out its complex signaling tasks efficiently.
Neurons (or nerve cells), and Glia Cells
Every cell has a body that (with the exception of red blood cells) contains a core called the __________.
Nucleus
Tiiny “engines” that help the cell generate and use energy
Mitochondria
Fibers tat carry signals from the body of a neuron out to where communication occurs with other neurons.
Axons
Neuron fibers that receive signals from the axons of other neurons and carry those signals to the cell body.
Dendrites
An abrupt wave of electrochemical changes traveling down an axon when a neuron becomes depolarized.
Action Potential
A short rest period between action potentials.
Refractory Period
A fatty substance that wraps around some axons like a stocking and speeds up action potentials.
Myelin
Chemicals that assist in the transfer of signals from one neuron to another.
Neurotransmitters
Little “bags” that neurotransmitters are stored in.
Vesicles
The gap that is typically less than one millionth of an inch wide that separates the acon on one neuron and the dendrites of another.
Synaptic Gap (or Synapse)
Sites on the surface of a cell that allow only one type of neurotransmitter to fit into them, triggering a chemical response that may lead to an action potential.
Receptors
Neurons that operate together to perform compex functions.
Neural network
The part of the nervous system encased in bone; specifically, the brain and the spinal cord.
Central Nervous System (CNS)
The parts of the nervouse system not housed in bone.
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
The subsystem of the peripheral nervous system that transmits information from the senses to the CNS and carries signals from the central nervous system to the muscles.
Somatic Nervous System (SNS)
Cells in the nervous system that provide information to the brain about the environment
Sensory Neurons
Cells in the nervous system that the brain uses to influence muscles and other ograns to respond to the environment in some way.
Motor Neurons
A subsystem of the perifpheral nervous system that carries messages between the central nervous system and the heart, lungs, and other organs and glands.
Autonomic Nervous System
The subsystem of the autonomic nervous system that readies the body for vigorous activity.
Sympatheic Nervous System
The subsystem of the autonomic nervous system that typically influences activity related to the protection, nourishment, and growth of the body.
Parasympathetic Nervous System
The part of the central nervous system within the spinal column that relays signals from peripheral senses to the brain and conveys messages from the brain to the rest of the body.
Spinal Cord
Involuntary, unlearened feedback systems creating swift, automatic, and movements in response to external stimuli.
Reflexes
Deep groves that subdivide the cerebral hemisphere.
Fissures
An extension of the spinal cord contained inside the skull where nuclei control blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, and other vital functions.
Hindbrain (or Rhombencephalon)
The three prominate divisions of the brain are called primary brain vesicles and they are named the __________, __________, and the __________.
Hindbrain (or Rhombencephalon), Midbrain (or Mesencephalon), and Forebrain (or Prosencephalon)
An area in the hindbrain that controls blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, and other vital functions.
Medulla Oblongata
A network of cells and fibers threaded throughout the hindbrain and midbrain that gives alertness and arousal to the rest of the brain.
Reticular Formation
A small nucleus in the reticular formation that is involved in directing attention.
Locus Coeruleus
The part of the hindbrain whose main functions include controlling finely coordinated movements and sotring memories about movement but which may also be involved in impulse control,emotion, and language.
Cerebellum
A small structure between the hindbrain and the forebrain that relays information from the eyes, ears, and skin and that controls certain types of automatic behaviors.
Midbrain (or Mesencephalon)
Together, the midbrain and parts of the hindbrain other than the cerebellum are called the __________.
Brainstem
The most highly developed part of the brain; it is responsible for the most complex aspects of behavior and mental life.
Forebrain (or Prosencephalon)
A forebrain structure that relays signals from most sense organs to higher levels in the brain and plays an important role in processing and making sense out of this information.
Thalamus
A structure in the forebrain that regulates hunger, thirst, and sex drive.
Hypothalamus
An extensive area of neural cortex covering the surfaces of the cerebral hemispheres.
Cerebral cortex
The part of the hypothalamus that controls the “brains’s own clock” is the __________ Nuclei
Suprachiasmatic
A structure in the forebrain that, among other things, associates features of stimuli involved in memory and emotion.
Amygdala
A structure in the forebrain associated with the foremation of new memories.
Hippocampus
The amygdala, hippocampus, and some portions of the cerebral cortx are part of a group of brain structures called the __________ system.
Limbic
The outter surface of the brain.
Cerebral Cortex
A massive bundle of axons that connects the right and left cerebral hemispheres and allows them to communicate with each other.
Corpus Callosum
The parts of the cerebral cortex that receive stimulus information from the senses.
Sensory Cortex
The four anatomical areas of the cerebral cortex.
Frontal lobe (front), Perietal lobe (top), Temporal lobe (side), Occipital lobe (back)
Deep grooves that subdivide the cerebral hemisphere.
Fissures
Folds in the cerebral hemispheres that increase its surface area.
Gyri
Shallow depressions in the cerebral hemisphere that separete adjacent gyri
Sulci
Occipital lobe nerve cells.
Visual Cortex
Temporal lobe nerve cells.
Auditory Cortex
The part of the cerebral cortex whose neurons control voluntary movements in specific parts of the body.
Motor Cortex
The parts of the cerebral cortex that receive information from more than one sense or that combine sensory and motor information to perform complex cognitive tasks.
Association Cortex
The ability to create new synapses and to change the strength of synapses.
Neural Plasticty
The tendency for one cerebral hemisphere to excel at a particular function or skill compared with the other hemisphere.
Lateralization (Lateral Dominance)
The process of creating new neurons.
Neurogenesis
A group of neurons that communicate using the same neurotransmitter.
Neurotransmitter System
Three classes of neurotransmitters
Small Molecules, Peptides, and Gases
The most important of the small -molecule chemicals that act as neurotransmitters are __________, __________, __________, __________, __________, __________.
Acetylcholine, Norephinephrine, Serotonin, Dopamine, GABA, and Glutamate.
Cells that form organs called glands and that communicate with one another by secreting chemicals called hormones.
Endocrine System
Organs that secrete hormones in to the bloodstream.
Glands
Chemicals secreted by a gland into the bloodstream, which carries them throughout the body.
Hormones
