Ch 3 - Vocab

Question 1

Physiological explanation

Answer 1

Describes the mechanisms that produce a behavior.

Question 2

Developmental explanation

Answer 2

deals with changes over age

Question 3

Neurons

Answer 3

enormous number of separate cells

Question 4

Glia

Answer 4

which support the neurons in many ways such as insulating them, synchronizing activity among neighboring neurons, and removing waste products.

Question 5

cell body

Answer 5

contains the nucleus of the cell

Question 6

dendrites

Answer 6

widely branching structures that receive input from other neurons

Question 7

axon

Answer 7

a single, long, thin, straight fiber with branches near its tip

Question 8

myelin

Answer 8

an insulating sheath that speeds up the transmission of impulses along an axon.

Question 9

action potential

Answer 9

an excitation that travels along an axon at a constant strength, no matter how far it must travel

Question 10

What a rule of an axon transmitting?

Answer 10

An axon transmits information to other cells, and the dendrites or cell body receives that information. That information can either be excitatory or inhibitory.

Question 11

resting potential

Answer 11

an electrical polarization across the membrane (or covering) of an axon.

Question 12

Synapse

Answer 12

The specialized junction between one neuron and another, a neuron releases a chemical that either excites or inhibits the next neuron.

Question 13

terminal bourton

Answer 13

a little bulge at the end of a typical axon.

Question 14

neurotransmitter

Answer 14

a chemical that activates receptors on other neurons

Question 15

postsynaptic neuron

Answer 15

the neuron on the receiving end of the synapse.

Question 16

Parkinson’s disease

Answer 16

a condition that affects about 1% of people over the age of 50. The main symptoms are difficulty in initiating voluntary movement, slow movement, tremors, rigidity, and depressed mood.

Question 17

dopamine

Answer 17

a neurotransmitter

Question 18

psychoactive drugs

Answer 18

have analogous effects on behavior. They enhance certain experiences, weaken others, and garble thinking and speech by their effects on synapses.

Question 19

Stimulants

Answer 19

Drugs that increase energy, alertness, and activity.

Question 20

Depressants

Answer 20

drugs that decrease arousal, such as alcohol and anxiolytics (anxiety-reducing drugs).

Question 21

alcohol

Answer 21

a class of molecules that includes methanol, ethanol, propyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), and others.

Question 22

anxiolytic drugs, tranquilizers

Answer 22

help people relax

Question 23

narcotics

Answer 23

drugs that produce drowsiness, insensitive to pain, and decreased responsiveness.

Question 24

Opiates

Answer 24

natural drugs derived from the opium poppy or synthetic drugs with a chemical structure resembling natural opiates.

Question 25

Endorphins

Answer 25

bind to the opiate receptors

Question 26

Hallucinogens

Answer 26

drugs that induce sensory distortions

Question 27

MDMA, Ecstasy

Answer 27

produces stimulant effects similar to amphetamine at low doses and hallucinogenic effects similar to LSD at higher doses

Question 28

Central nervous system

Answer 28

the brain and the spinal cord

Question 29

peripheral nervous system

Answer 29

bundles of nerves between the spinal cord and the rest of the body

Question 30

somatic nervous system

Answer 30

connects to the skin and muscles

Question 31

autonomic nervous system

Answer 31

connects to the heart, stomach, and other organs

Question 32

hemispheres

Answer 32

left and right

Question 33

cerebral cortex

Answer 33

outer covering of the fore-brain

Question 34

occipital lobe

Answer 34

rear of the head, is specialized for vision

Question 35

temporal lobe

Answer 35

of each hemisphere, located toward the left and right sides of the head, is the main area for hearing and some of the complex aspects of vision.

Question 36

amygdala

Answer 36

a sub-cortical structure deep within the temporal lobe, responds strongly to emotional situations

Question 37

parietal lobe

Answer 37

just anterior (forward) from the occipital lobe, is specialized for the body senses, including touch, pain, temperature, and awareness of the location of body parts in space

Question 38

the somatosensory cortex

Answer 38

a strip in the anterior portion of the parietal lobe, has cells sensitive to touch in different body areas

Question 39

frontal lobe

Answer 39

at the anterior (forward) pole of the brain

Question 40

primary motor cortex

Answer 40

important for the planned control of fine movements

Question 41

prefrontal cortex

Answer 41

anterior sections of the frontal lobe

Question 42

mirror neurons

Answer 42

are active when you make a movement and also when you watch someone else make a similar movement

Question 43

hypothalamus

Answer 43

located just below the thalamus, is important for hunger, thirst, temperature regulation, sex, and other motivated behaviors

Question 44

pons and medulla

Answer 44

which control the muscles of the head (e.g., for chewing, swallowing, breathing, and talking).

Question 45

spinal cord

Answer 45

which controls the muscles from the neck down

Question 46

reflex

Answer 46

a rapid, automatic response to a stimulus

Question 47

cerebellum

Answer 47

part of the hind-brain

Question 48

electroencephalograph (EEG)

Answer 48

uses electrodes on the scalp to record rapid changes in brain electrical activity

Question 49

Positron-emission tomography (PET)

Answer 49

records radioactivity of various brain areas emitted from injected chemicals

Question 50

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Answer 50

uses magnetic detectors outside the head to compare the amounts of hemoglobin with and without oxygen in different brain areas

Question 51

autonomic nervous system

Answer 51

closely associated with the spinal cord, controls the internal organs such as the heart

Question 52

sympathetic nervous system

Answer 52

increase heart rate, breathing rate, sweating, and other processes that are important for vigorous fight-or-flight activities

Question 53

parasympathetic nervous system

Answer 53

decrease heart rate, increases digestive activities, and in general, promotes activeness of the body that take place during rest and relation.

Question 54

endocrine system

Answer 54

a set of glands that produce hormones and release them into the blood

Question 55

Hormones

Answer 55

chemicals released by glands and conveyed via the blood to alter activeness in various organs.

Question 56

plasticity

Answer 56

change as a result of experience

Question 57

stem cells

Answer 57

differential cells

Question 58

corpus callosum

Answer 58

a set of axons that connect the left and right hemispheres of the cerebral cortex

Question 59

epilepsy

Answer 59

a condition in which cells somewhere in the brain emit abnormal rhythmic, spontaneous impulses

Question 60

binding problem

Answer 60

the question of how separate brain areas combine forces to produce a unified perception of a single object