Biological Bases of Behavior Flashcards
Genetic predisposition
Refers to the increased chance of developing a specific trait or condition due to our genetic code
Neurons
Individual nerve cells
Multiple sclerosis
Occurs when the myelin sheath deteriorates around neurons interfering with neural transmission
Neural transmission
All of the different parts of the neuron work in sequence when a neuron transmits a message
Resting potential
Neuron has an overall slightly negative charge because mostly negative ions are within the cell and mostly positive ions are surrounding it in its resting state
Threshold
The state in which the cell membrane becomes permeable
Action potential
The electric message firing
All-or-none principle
A neuron either fires completely or does not fire
Neural firing
An electrochemical process in which electricity travels within the cell and chemicals travel between cells in the synapse. Electricity does not jump between the neurons
Depolarization
The process of neural firing
Excitatory
Neurons that excite the next cell into firing
Inhibitory
Neurons that inhibit the next cell from firing
Dopamine
Motor movement and alertness; Lack of is associated with Parkinson’s; Abundance of is associated with schizophrenia
Serotonin
Mood control; Lack of is associated with clinical depression
Norepinephrine
Alertness, arousal; Lack of is associated with depression
Glutamate
Excitatory neurotransmitter involved in memory; With an excess or deficit triggers migraines, seizures
GABA
Important inhibitory neurotransmitter; Internalizes when having seizures and can cause sleep problems
Endorphins
Pain control; Involved in addictions
Substance P
Pain perception; Lack of may be associated with a lack of pain perception
Acetylcholine
Motor movement; Lack of is associated with Alzheimer’s disease; Also involved in the disease Myasthenia gravis, a condition that causes muscle weakness
Sensory neurons
Or afferent neurons, take information from the senses to the brain
Interneurons
Or association neurons, take the messages and send them elsewhere in the brain or on to efferent neurons once information reaches the brain or spinal cord
Motor neurons
Or efferent neurons, take information from the brain to the rest of the body
Central nervous system
Consists of our brain and spinal cord; The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that run through the center of the spine, It transmits information front he rest of the body to the brain
Peripheral nervous system
All the nerves in your body that are not part of the central nervous system, or nerves not encased in bone; divided into two categories the somatic and the autonomic nervous systems
Reflex arcs
Certain reactions that occur the moment sensory impulses reach the spinal cord
Somatic nervous system
Controls our voluntary muscle movements. The motor cortex of the brain sends impulses to this system, which controls the muscles that allow us to move
Autonomic nervous system
Controls the automatic functions of our body - heart, lungs, internal organs, glands, etc. They control our responses to stress; divided into two categories the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
Sympathetic nervous system
Mobilizes our body to respond to stress
Parasympathetic nervous system
Carries messages to the stress response system that cause many of our body activities to slow down and return the body to homeostasis after a stress response
Endocrine system
A system of glands that secrete hormones that affect many different biological processes in our bodies; Controlled by the hypothalamus
Hormones
Secreted by the endocrine system
Adrenaline
Activated during the fight-or-flight response in stressful situations. Speeds up bodily processes
Leptin
Involved in weight regulation. Suppresses hunger
Ghrelin
Motivates eating/increases hunger
Melatonin
Triggers sleep and wakefulness responses in the brain
Oxytocin
Promotes good feelings such as trust and bonding
Lesioning
The removal or destruction of part of the brain
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
Detects brain waves
Functional MRI (fMRI)
Technology that combines elements of the MRI and PET scans and shows details of brain structure with information about blood flow in the brain, tying brain structure to brain activity during cognitive tasks
Medulla
Involved in the control of blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing; Located above the spinal cord
Cerebellum
Located on the bottom rear of the brain; coordinates habitual muscle movements; Means “little brain”
Reticular formation
A netlike collection of cells throughout the midbrain that controls general body arousal and the ability to focus our attention
Thalamus
Located on top of the brain stem and is responsible for receiving the sensory signals coming up the spinal cord and sending them to the appropriate areas in the rest of the forebrain
Hypothalamus
Small structure right under the thalamus; Controls several metabolic functions, including body temperature, sexual arousal, hunger, thirst,a dn the endocrine system
Amygdala
Vital to our experiences of emtion
Hippocampus
Vital to our memory system
Cerebral cortex
Divided into two hemispheres: left and right, which are mirror images of one another; left gets sensory messages and controls the motor functions of the right half of the body; right gets sensory messages and controls the motor functions of the left half of the body
Contralateral hemispheric organization
Idea that each side of the brain controls the opposite side of the body
Hemispheric specialization
Or brain lateralization, specialization of the function in each hemisphere
Split-brain patients
patients whose corpus callosum has been cut to treat severe epilepsy
Corpus callosum
The nerve bundle that connects the two hemispheres
Lobes
The cerebral cortex is eight of these things, four on each hemisphere: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital
Association area
Any area of the cerebral cortex that is not associated with receiving sensory information or controlling muscle movements
Frontal lobes
Large areas of the cerebral cortex located at the top front part of the brain behind teees
Prefrontal cortex
The anterior or front of the frontal lobe that is thought to play a critical role in thought processes
Central executive
The prefrontal cortex is said to be this and is believed to be important in predicting consequences, pursuing goals, maintaining emotional control, and engaging in abstract thought
Broca’s Area
In the frontal lobe and is responsible for controlling the muscles involved in producing speech
Aphasia
Loss of the ability to speak due to damage of the Broca’s area
Wernicke’s Area
Located in the temporal lobe and is involved with linguistic processing via both written and spoken speech. Damage to the area would affect our ability to understand language. Our speech might sound fluent but lack the proper syntax and grammatical structure needed for meaningful communication.
Motor cortex
A thin vertical strip at the back of the frontal lobe that sends signals to our muscles, controlling our voluntary movements
Parietal lobes
Located behind the frontal lobe but still on the top of the brain contains the somatosensory cortex
Somatosensory cortex
Located right behind the motor cortex in the frontal lobe, a thin vertical strip that receives incoming touch sensations from the rest of our body
Phantom limb syndrome
Phenomenon that involves the somatosensory cortex; If an individual loses, a part of their body, like an arm or hand, the person may still perceive sensations from that lost limb because part of their somatosensory cortex is still “mapped” to the missing body part
Occipital lobes
At the very back of our brain; Interprets messages from our eyes in our visual cortex
Temporal lobes
Process sound sensed by our ears
Linguistic processing
Ability for fluent speech with proper syntax and grammatical structure needed for meaningful communication
