Ch. 2 Flashcards
Biological psychology
Branch of psychology concerned with links between biology and behavior.
Phrenology
Franz Gull, bumps on skull represented mental abilities.
Neuron
Nerve cell, containing many different parts.
Dendrite
Receives messages from other cells, branches off cell body.
Axon
Passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands.
Myelin sheath
Covers the axon of some neurons, helps speed up neural impulses.
Action potential
Neural impulse. Brief electrical charge that travels down the axon and is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the Axons membrane.
Threshold
Level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.
Synapse
The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at the junction is called the synaptic gap or cleft.
Neurotransmitters
Chemical messengers between neurons.
ACh
Neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and triggers muscle contraction.
Endorphins
“Morphine within” - natural, opiate like neurotransmitters linked to pain and control.
Nervous system
The body’s speedy electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system.
Central nervous system
Brain and spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system
Sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body.
Nerves
Bundled axons, connect the central nervous system to the muscles, glands, and sense organs.
Sensory neurons
Neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system.
Motor neurons
Neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands.
Interneurons
Central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory outputs and the motor outputs
Somatic nervous system
Division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles. Also called SKELETAL nervous system.
Autonomic nervous system
Part of peripheral nervous system, contains glands and muscles of the internal organs.
Sympathetic nervous system
The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body.
Parasympathetic nervous system
Division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body.
Reflex
Simple automatic inborn response to a sensory stimulus.
Lesions
Tissue destruction.
Neural networks
Interconnected neural cells.
Endocrine system
Body’s “slow” chemical communication system, a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.
Hormones
Chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands, produced in one tissue and effect another.
Adrenal glands
Pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys, secrete epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) which helps to arouse the body in times of stress.
Pituitary glands
Helps you grow
EEG
Amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweeps across the brains surface. Measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.
PET scan
Visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a certain task.
MRI
Uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer generated images that distinguish between different types of soft tissue. See structures within the brain.
fMRI
Revealing blood flow and therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans, which show brain anatomy. fMRI scan shows brain function.
Brain stem
automatic survival functions.
Medulla
Heartbeat and breathing
Reticular formation
Sleep cycle
Thalamus
Sensory switchboard, directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and replies to the cerebellum and medulla.
Hippocampus
Neural system in the Limbic system, memory storage.
Pons
Extension of spinal cord.
Cerebellum
Little brain, sensory Input, balance.
Limbic system
Donut shaped system of neural structures, associated with emotions, drives, includes the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus.
Amygdala
Lima bean sized neural clusters, emotion.
Hypothalamus
Neural structure, below the thalamus, eating, drinking, body temp.
Cerebral cortex
Interconnected neural cells that cover the cerebral hemispheres. Processing center.
Glial cells
Cells in the nervous system, support, nourish, and project neurons.
Frontal lobes
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying behind the forehead. Speaking and muscle movements, plans and judgements.
Occipital lobes
Portion of the cerebral cortex, lying at the back if the head, vision.
Parietal lobes
Lying and the top of the head, touch and body position
Temporal lobes
By your temples, above the ear, hearing.
Motor cortex
An area at the rear of the frontal lobes, that controls voluntary movements.
Sensory cortex
Area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement, sensations.
Association areas
Areas in the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions, rather they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.
Aphasia
Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage, either to Broca’s area or wernickes area.
Broca’s area
Controls language expression,directs muscle movements for speech.
Wernickes area
Controls language reception, language comprehension.
Plasticity
Brains capacity for modification.
Corpus callosum
Large band of neural fibers connecting the two hemispheres of the brain. Carries messages between them.
Split brain
Condition in which the two hemispheres if the brain are isolated by cutting the corpus callosum.
