Biological Bases of Behavior

Question 1

biological psychology

Answer 1

scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes

Question 2

neuron

Answer 2

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

Question 3

dendrites

Answer 3

a neuron’s branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

Question 4

axon

Answer 4

the neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands

Question 5

myelin sheath

Answer 5

fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next

Question 6

action potential

Answer 6

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

Question 7

refractory period

Answer 7

a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired

Question 8

threshold

Answer 8

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Question 9

all-or-nothing response

Answer 9

a neuron’s reaction of either firing (with a full strength response) or not firing

Question 10

synapse

Answer 10

junction between axon tip of sending neuron and dendrite or cell body of receiving neuron

Question 11

neurotransmitter

Answer 11

chemical messenger that crosses the synaptic gap between neurons and binds to receptor sites on receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse

Question 12

reuptake

Answer 12

a neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

Question 13

endorphins

Answer 13

natural opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

Question 14

agonist

Answer 14

a molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, stimulates a response

Question 15

antagonist

Answer 15

a molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, inhibits or blocks a response

Question 16

nervous system

Answer 16

the body’s speedy electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and CNS

Question 17

central nervous system

Answer 17

brain and spinal cord

Question 18

peripheral nervous system

Answer 18

sensory and motor neurons that connect CNS to rest of body

Question 19

nerves

Answer 19

bundled axons that form neural “cables” connecting the CNS with muscles, glands, and sense organs

Question 20

sensory (afferent) neurons

Answer 20

neurons that carry incoming information from sensory receptors to CNS

Question 21

motor (efferent) neurons

Answer 21

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

Question 22

interneurons

Answer 22

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

Question 23

somatic nervous system

Answer 23

division of peripheral nervous system that controls body’s skeletal muscles

Question 24

autonomic nervous system

Answer 24

division of peripheral nervous system that controls glands and muscles of internal organs

Question 25

sympathetic nervous system

Answer 25

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

Question 26

parasympathetic nervous system

Answer 26

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

Question 27

reflex

Answer 27

simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus

Question 28

endocrine system

Answer 28

the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Question 29

hormones

Answer 29

chemical messengers manufactured by the endocrine glands that travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissues

Question 30

adrenal glands

Answer 30

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

Question 31

pituitary gland

Answer 31

endocrine system's most influential gland; regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

Question 32

lesion

Answer 32

tissue destruction

Question 33

cerebral cortex

Answer 33

interconnected neural cells covering cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center

Question 34

glial cells

Answer 34

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they may also play a role in learning and thinking

Question 35

frontal lobes

Answer 35

lies just behind forehead; involved in speaking, muscle movements, and in making plans/judgements

Question 36

parietal lobes

Answer 36

lies at top of head and towards rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position

Question 37

occipital lobes

Answer 37

lies at back of head; receives information from visual fields

Question 38

temporal lobes

Answer 38

lies above ears; includes auditory areas

Question 39

motor cortex

Answer 39

area at rear of frontal lobes that controls voluntary movement

Question 40

somatosensory cortex

Answer 40

area at front of parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

Question 41

association areas

Answer 41

areas of cerebral cortex that aren't involved in primary motor or sensory functions; involved in higher mental function - learning, remembering, speaking, thinking

Question 42

plasticity

Answer 42

brain's ability to change by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience

Question 43

neurogenesis

Answer 43

formation of new neurons

Question 44

corpus callosum

Answer 44

large band of neural fibers connecting two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

Question 45

split brain

Answer 45

condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers connecting them

Question 46

consciousness

Answer 46

our awareness of ourselves and our environment

Question 47

cognitive neuroscience

Answer 47

interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with cognition

Question 48

dual processing

Answer 48

principle that information is often simultaneously processes on separate conscious and unconscious tracks