Biological Bases of Behavior (8-10%) Flashcards
Spinal Reflex
a reflex intended to protect the body
-it operates before sensory information can reach the brain
Hypothalamus
controls hunger, thirst, sexual arousal (libido), body temperature, endocrine system
-morning vs. night person
-directs pituitary (master) gland to direct other glands
Thyroid Gland
chemical that makes you over or under active if out of balance
Excitatory
accelerates neuron’s firing speed
Inhibitory
keeps next cell from firing
Dopamine
-reward (sex, drugs, rock and roll)
-schizophrenia
Seratonin
-mood control
-depression
Norepinephrine
-helps control alertness and arousal
-ADHD
Acetylcholine
-muscle control
-alzheimers
Afferent
bring information to the brain from the senses
Efferent
brings information to the glands/muscles from the brain
Interneurons
carry information between neurons
Resting Potential
a neuron when inactive
Firing Threshold
the point at which a sufficient change in electrical potential has occurred to generate a nerve impulse
-action potential
Neuroplasticity
if neurons in the brain are damaged they can change/adapt over time to experiences, age, and quality of relationships between neurons
-rewiring the brain
Plasticity
if one region of the brain is damaged, the brain can reorganize to take over its function
-diminishes with age
Central Nervous System
composed of your brain and spinal cord
Spinal Cord
bundle of nerves protected by vertebrae that starts at the base of your back and runs through the center of the spine upward to the base of your skull when it joins the brain
Peripheral Nervous System
smaller branches of nerves that lie outside the mid line portion of your nervous system (not encased in bone) carrying sensory information to and motor information away from your central nervous system
Somatic Nervous System
stimulate voluntary (you control) skeletal muscles
Sensory
what you sense from skin and muscles -afferent
Motor
controlling movement -efferent
Autonomic Nervous System
part of nervous system that controls involuntary or smooth muscles (heartbeat, digestion, kidney and liver functions)
Sympathetic Nervous System
alert system of the body that prepares the body for dealing with emergencies or strenuous activity
(speeds up heart rate, directs blood flow to muscles,fight or flight, blood sugar increase)
Parasympathetic Nervous System
works to conserve energy and enhance the bodies ability to recover from strenuous activity
(reduces heart rate, blood pressure)
-brings body back to normal
Brain Power
helps you think, feel, learn, remember, and move
-brain that is often used/strengthened
-diminish in your mid 20’s
Hindbrain
location- base of skull/on top of spinal cord
contains- cerebellum, medulla, pons
life support system that controls basic biological functions that keep our body alive
Cerebellum
posture, balance, coordinated muscle movement
-affected by alcohol
-fine tuning
Medulla
controls breathing, heart rate, blood pressure
-most vital to survive
Contralaterality
control of one side of your body by the other side of your brain
-happens in the medulla
Pons
bridge between the spinal cord and brain
-chemicals for sleep, arousal of senses and sympathetic NS, regulation of breathing and facial expressions
Instinct
abilities that seem to be inherited
(salmon swimming up stream, butterflies/birds migrating)
Midbrain
location- above the pons
-very small but important for muscle coordination
Reticular Activating System
RAS alerts the rest of the brain to incoming signals
-deep coma if it stops working
Forebrain
location- covers the brains core
-largest area of the brain
-thought and reason
Limbic System
thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus
Thalamus
traffic officer of the brain
-receives info from the spinal cord and sends it to the appropriate area of the fore brain
Endocrine System
sends chemicals (hormones) to the body
-hormones are produced in endocrine glands and distributed by blood/fluids
Adrenal Gland
adrenaline, fight or flight
Testosterone/Estrogen
most important for human sex drive
Amygdala
emotion and storage of memories associated with emotional events
-fear center (PTSD)
-kids/teens are more emotional
Hippocampus
memory formation and memory retrieval
-sends memories to the appropriate part of the cerebral hemisphere
Cerebral Cortex (cerebrum)
entire outside of brain
-ability to learn and store complex info and to project thinking into the future
-3mm thick with 3/4th of all brain cells
-composed of 4 lobes
Fissures
(wrinkles) allow for more surface area to contain neurons
Divided Brain/Split Brain
left - information and processing
right - laid back, art, music
-look the same but have different functions
-divided into 4 lobes
Lateralization
different functions of the left and right sides of the brain
Frontal Lobe
location-front of brain, behind the eyes, largest lobe
function- movement, reasoning, higher level cognition, emotional control, expressive language
-superego
-personality housed here
Brocca’s Area (expressive aphasia)
the ability to speak
(located in frontal lobe)
Parietal Lobe
location-top middle of the brain
Somatosensory Cortex
touch sensation from the body (touch, pain, pressure)
Occipital Lobe
location-back portion of brain
function-primary visual cortex (receives info from the eyes)
Visual Fields of Eyes
the total area in which objects can be seen in the side (peripheral) vision as you focus your eyes on a central point
-left, right ,right
-right, left, left
Temporal Lobe
location-lower sides of the brain behind the ears
function- auditory center(receives and interprets info from the ears)
-ability to smell, taste
Wernicke’s Area
receptive aphasia
-ability to understand written and spoken language
location- left temporal lobe
Corpus Callosum
the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex are connected by a band of nerves
-it carries messages back and forth between the 2
Split Brain
cutting the corpus callosum controls seizures from getting ot the other hemisphere of the brain
Stimulation
chemicals and electricity can be used to simulate parts of the brain
Psychosurgery
brain surgery aimed at changing peoples thoughts and actions
Lesions
destruction or removal of brain matter
EEG
records electrical activity of the brain
-sleep
CAT Scan
x rays passed though various angles of the brain
-can only show structure not function/activity
MRI Scan
magnetic field
PET Scan
see what areas of the brain are active during certain tasks
-how much of a chemical parts of the brain are asking
fMRI
scan shows details of brain structure with information about blood flow or brain activity during cognitive tasks
-working brain
Neuroscience/Biopsychology
explore the relationships between brain/nervous systems and behaviors
Neurons
-basic cell of your nervous system
-basic unit of structure/function of your nervous system
-communicating using elctro-chemical messages
Cell Body (soma)
largest mass in neuron contains the nucleus
Nucleus
center of genetic information
Dendrites
root like parts of the cell that extends from the cell body where neural impulses are received
Axons
wire like structure that carries an impulse away from the cell body toward a synapse
Myelin Sheath
protective fatty insulator on some axons that speeds neural impulses along well established (most used) axons
Multiple Sclerosis
a disease that attacks the myelin of neurons in the central nervous system (MS)
Axon Terminals
(terminal button, synaptic vesicle) series of branching endpoints of an axon where one neuron communicates by sending neurotransmitters to the next neuron
Synapse
space between the axon terminals of one neuron and the dendrites of another
-neurotransmitter chemicals cross to next dendrite
Neurotransmitter
chemical that passes between neurons
