Ch. 3 - Neuroscience and Behavior

Question 1

what is the nervous system

Answer 1

the pathway for the instructions that permit our bodies to carry out such precise activities

Question 2

neurons

Answer 2

nerve cells - the basic components of the nervous system

Question 3

how many neurons are in the body

Answer 3

as many as 1 trillion

Question 4

glial cells

Answer 4

hold neurons in place

Question 5

what makes neurons different

Answer 5

they can communicate with other cells and transmit information

Question 6

dendrites

Answer 6

the part of the neuron that receives messages from other neurons

Question 7

what do dendrites look like

Answer 7

twisted tree branches

Question 8

axon

Answer 8

carries messages received by the dendrites to other neurons

Question 9

terminal buttons

Answer 9

send messages to other neurons

-small bulge at the end of the axon

Question 10

myelin sheath

Answer 10

insulate axons

-also increase the velocity at which electrical impulses travel thru axons

Question 11

all or none law

Answer 11

neurons follow it..they are either off or they are firing

Question 12

action potential

Answer 12

the electrical impulse that travels along the axon

Question 13

mirror neurons

Answer 13

neurons that fire when a person simply observes another individual carrying out a behavior

Question 14

synapse

Answer 14

space b/w 2 neurons where the axon communicates with the dendrite using chemical messages

Question 15

neurotransmitter

Answer 15

carry a message from one neuron to another

Question 16

excitatory messages

Answer 16

chemical messages that make it more likely that a receiving neuron will fire and an action potential will travel down its axon

Question 17

inhibitory messages

Answer 17

provide chemical info that prevents or decreases the likelihood that the receiving neuron will fire

Question 18

reuptake

Answer 18

the process in which a neurotransmitter produced by a terminal button is reabsorbed by the terminal button

Question 19

acetylcholine (2 functions)

Answer 19

muscle movement, cognitive functioning (memory)

Question 20

glutamate (1)

Answer 20

memory

Question 21

GABA (3)

Answer 21

eating, aggression, sleeping

Question 22

dopamine (4)

Answer 22

movement control, pleasure and reward, attention, learning

Question 23

serotonin (5)

Answer 23

sleeping, eating, mood, pain, depression

Question 24

endorphins (4)

Answer 24

pain suppression, pleasurable feelings, appetites, placebos

Question 25

CNS (central nerv sys)

Answer 25

brain and spinal cord

Question 26

spinal cord

Answer 26

contains bundle of neurons that leaves the brain and runs down length of back

Question 27

what does the spinal cord do?

Answer 27

primary means for transmitting messages b/w the brain and the rest of the body

Question 28

reflex

Answer 28

automatic, involuntary response to an incoming stimulus

Question 29

sensory neurons (afferent)

Answer 29

transmit info FROM the perimeter of the body to the CNS

Question 30

motor neurons (efferent)

Answer 30

send messages from the brain and nervous sys to the muscles and glands

Question 31

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Answer 31

branches out from the spinal cord and reaches the extremities of the body

Question 32

somatic division

Answer 32

PNS, specializes in voluntary movements

Question 33

autonomic division

Answer 33

PNS, controls parts of the body that automatically function to keep us alive

Question 34

sympathetic division

Answer 34

prepares the body for action in stressful situations | -fight or flight

Question 35

parasympathetic division

Answer 35

acts to calm the body after the emergency has ended

Question 36

hierarchically organized

Answer 36

newer and more sophisticated regions of the brain regulate the older parts of the Nerve Sys

Question 37

endocrine system

Answer 37

chemical communication network that sends messages thru the body vis the bloodstream

Question 38

what is the endocrine system's job

Answer 38

to secrete hormones

Question 39

hormones

Answer 39

chemicals that circulate thru the blood and regulate the functioning or growth of the body

Question 40

pituitary gland

Answer 40

master gland, controls rest of endocrine system

Question 41

EEG

Answer 41

records electrical activity in the brain thru electrodes placed on the outside of the skull

Question 42

fMRI

Answer 42

3D image of brain structures and activity

Question 43

PET scan

Answer 43

biochemical activity w/in the brain

Question 44

TMS

Answer 44

to understand the functioning of the brain

Question 45

central core

Answer 45

"old brain"

Question 46

cerebellum

Answer 46

controls bodily balance

Question 47

reticular formation

Answer 47

general arousal of the body

Question 48

thalamus

Answer 48

relay station for info on the senses

Question 49

hypothalamus

Answer 49

maintains homeostasis

Question 50

homeostasis

Answer 50

steady internal environment for the body

Question 51

limbic system

Answer 51

emotions and self preservation

Question 52

hippocampus

Answer 52

learning and memory

Question 53

cerebral cortex

Answer 53

'new brain' | - consists of the 4 lobes

Question 54

frontal lobe

Answer 54

motor area

Question 55

parietal lobe

Answer 55

somatosensory area (touch and pressure)

Question 56

temporal lobe

Answer 56

auditory area

Question 57

occipital lobe

Answer 57

visual area

Question 58

association area

Answer 58

site of higher mental processes such as thinking, language, memory, and speech

Question 59

executive functions

Answer 59

planning, goal setting, judgement, impulse control

Question 60

neuroplasticity

Answer 60

brains ability to change throughout the life span, in response to experience

Question 61

neurogenesis

Answer 61

new neurons are created in certain areas of the brain during adulthood

Question 62

left hemisphere

Answer 62

right side of body - language processing - piece by piece

Question 63

right hemisphere

Answer 63

left side of body | -globally understands info, as a whole

Question 64

a neuron has a negative electrical charge of 70 millivolts when...

Answer 64

its in a resting state

Question 65

the limbic system consists of two things...

Answer 65

amygdala and hippocampus

Question 66

SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)

Answer 66

antidepressant drugs that permit certain neurotransmitters to remain active for a longer period at certain synapses in the brain

Question 67

optogenetics

Answer 67

genetic engineering and the use of special types of light to view circuits of neurons