Ch 1 vocabulary Flashcards
traumatic brain injury
a wound to the brain that results from a blow to the head
neuropsychology
the scientific study of the relations between brain function and behavior.
brain theory
the brain is the source of behavior
neuron theory
idea that the unit of brain structure and function is the neuron.
neuron
nerve cell
brain
old English word for tissue found inside the skull
hemispheres
two almost symmetrical halves of the human brain.
cerebral spinal fluid
salty fluid that cushions the brain and assists in removing metabolic waste.
cerebral cortex
outer layer of the brain that covers most of the rest of the brain. crinkled tissue that has expanded from the front of the tube to such an extent that it folds over and covers the rest of the brain.
gyri
Greek for circle: folds or bumps in the brain
sulci
Greek for trench: creases between gyri
lateral fissure
divides each hemispheres in half
commissures
pathways that connect the hemispheres of the brain
corpus callosum
largest commissure in the brain
Temporal lobe
located below the lateral fissure on sides of brain
Parietal lobe
behind the frontal lobe
Frontal lobe
immediately above the temporal lobe and in the front of the brain.
occipital lobe
area at the back of each hemisphere
forebrain
part that develops from the front part of the neural tube that makes up an embryo’s primitive brain. Includes the cerebral cortex.
brainstem
remaining tube that underlies the cortex. connects to spinal cord
spinal cord
descends down the back within the vertebral column.
central nervous system (CNS)
brain and spinal cord
peripheral nervous system (PNS)
nerve fibers that connect the rest of the body to the CNS. unlike CNS, these can regrow and repair.
somatic nervous system (SNS)
subdivision of PNS that includes sensory and motor pathways from the rest of the body.
sensory pathways
collection of fibers that carry messages for specific senses, like hearing, taste, smell, etc.
motor pathways
groups of nerve fibers that connect the brain and spinal cord to the body’s muscles through the SNS.
autonomic nervous system
sensory and motor connections to internal organs
dualism
Descartes’s position that the mind and body are separate but can interact.
mind -body problem
Descartes quandary of explaining how a non-material mind interacts with a material body.
Natural selection
Darwin’s theory for explaining how new species evolve and how the change over time.
species
a group of organisms that can breed among themselves but usually not with members of other species.
phenotype
traits we can see or measure
epigenetics
science that studies differences in gene expression related to environment and experience.
neuroplasticity
brain’s ability to form new pathways and connections.
localization of function
theory that states that a different, specific brain area controls each kind of behavior. (Franz Josef Gall)
phrenology
study of the relations between the skull’s surface features and a person’s mental faculties.
lateralized
located on one side of the brain
Broca’s area
anterior speech region of the brain
Broca’s aphasia
syndrome resulting from damage to Broca’s area in which speech is affected.
temporal lobe aphasia/fluent aphasia/Wernicke’s aphasia
a condition in which damage to Wernicke’s area causes confused speech though the patient seems to understand words spoken to them.
Wernicke’s area
temporal region associated with Wernicke’s aphasia.
conduction aphasia
speech sounds and movements are retained but speech is impaired because it cannot be conducted from one region to the other.
alexia
loss of the ability to read due to a disconnection between the brain’s visual area and Wernicke’s area.
apraxia
inability to make sequences of movements due to disconnection of motor areas from sensory areas.
hierarchical organization
principle of cerebral organization in which information is processed serially and organized as a functional hierarchy (John Hughlings-Jackson)
persistent vegetative state (PVS)
a state in which a person can no longer function independently due to damage to the brain so severe that recovery is not expected.
minimally conscious state (MCS)
condition in which a person can display rudimentary behaviors but is otherwise unconscious.
clinical trial
a consensual experiment directed toward developing a treatment.
epilepsy
condition characterized by recurrent seizures associated with disturbance of consciousness.
amnesia
partial or total loss of memory
binding problem
philosophical question focused on how the brain ties single and varied sensory and motor events together into a unified perception or behavior.
visual-form agnosia
a deficit in which one cannot see the shape of objects or recognize objects visually by their shape.
ataxia
failure of muscle coordination; any of the various irregularities of muscle coordination.
ventral stream
pathway from the visual cortex to the temporal lobe for object identification
dorsal stream
structures that form a pathway from the visual cortex to the parietal cortex to guide action relative to objects.
glia
supporting cells that help neurons by holding them together and providing other support functions such as delivering nutrients and removing waste.
cell body (soma)
core region of neuron
dendrites
branching extensions
axon
neuron’s root
topographic organization
Neural-spatial representation of the body or areas of the sensory world a sensory organ detects.
cell assemblies
family of connected neurons that represent units of behavior (ex: form an idea)
psychometrics
the science of measuring human mental abilities
trephining
cutting a hole in a skull opposite the side of injury in an effort to reduce or relieve pressure.
intelligence quotient
mental age divided by chronological age times 100
Computed Tomography (CT scan)
passes X-rays through the head, which are absorbed less by fluid than by brain cells and less by brain cells than by bone.
positron emission tomography (PET) scan
injecting radioactive substances that decay in minutes into the bloodstream to reach the brain. radioactive decay gives off photons that a computer can read. radioactive oxygen will reveal areas of the brain that utilize more oxygen, for example.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
calculates the location of moving molecules by detecting their electrical charge.
diffusion tensor imaging (DFI)
MRI method that detects the directional movements of water molecules to create virtual images of the brain’s nerve fiber pathways.
