BRAINS, BODIES, AND BEHAVIOUR Flashcards
Nervous System
Information highway, a collection of hundreds of billions of specialized and interconnected cells through which messages are sent between the brain and the rest of the body
Central Nervous System
Made up of the brain and the spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System
The neurone that link the CNS to our skin, muscles, and glands
Endocrine system
The chemical regulator of the body that consists of glands that secrete hormones and largely influence behaviour
Electrochemical process
An electrical charge moves through the neutron itself and chemicals are used to transmit information between neurons
Action potential
The change in electrical charge that occurs in a neuron when a nerve impulse is transmitted - all-or-nothing (the neuron either fires completely or it does not fire at all)
Refractory Period
A brief time after the firing of the axon in which the axon cannot fire again because the neuron has not yet returned to its resting potential
Synapses
Areas which the terminal buttons at the end of each axon of one neuron nearly touch the dendrites of another
Neurotransmitter
Chemical that relays signals across the synapses between neurons
Excitatory
Make the cell more likely to fire
Inhibitory
Make the cell less likely to fire
Reuptake
A process in which neurotransmitters that are in the synapse are reabsorbed into the transmitting terminal buttons, ready to again be released after the neuron fires
What do neurotransmitters regulate?
Appetite, memory, emotions, as well as our muscle action and movement
Agonist
A drug that has chemical properties similar to a particular neurotransmitter and thus mimics the effects of the neurotransmitter - increase activity at receptor sites
Antagonist
A drug that reduces or stops the normal effects of a neurotransmitter - decrease activity at receptor sites
Brain stem
The oldest and innermost region of the brain - regulates breathing, attention, and motor responses
Reticular formation
Long narrow network of neurons running through the medulla and the pons - filter out stimuli and relay the remainder of the signals to other areas of the brain
Limbic system
Brain area located between the brain stem and the two cerebral hemispheres, that governs emotion and memory. It includes the amygdala, the hypothalamus and the hippocampus
Cerebral cortex
The outer bark-like layer of our brain that allows us to successfully use language, acquire complex skills, create tools, and live in social groups
Corticalization
The folding of the cerebral cortex
Glial cells (glia)
Cells that surround and link to the neurons, protecting them, providing them with nutrients and absorbing unused neurotransmitters - cannot survive/function without
Contralateral control
Brain is wired such that in most cases the left hemisphere receives sensations from and controls the right side of body and vice versa
Motor cortex
Controls and executes movements by sending signals to the cerebellum and the spinal cord
Somatosensory cortex
Receives info from the skins sensory receptors and the movements of different body parts
Visual cortex
Processes visual information