Chaoter 3: Brain, Mind, and Behavior Flashcards
Neuroscience
The study of how nerves cells send and receive information from the brain, body, and spinal cord.
Cerebral cortex
The outermost layer of the brain; supports cognitive skills, complex emotions, and complex mental activity, including your sense of mind and self.
Neurons
The cellular building blocks of the brain.
Genes
The basic physical and functional units of hereditary; made up of DNA.
Neurodiversity
An appreciation of the range of differences in brain function among individuals.
Nervous system
A network of neurons running throughout your brain and body.
Nerves
A collection of neurons that carries signals from the body to the brain.
Motor neuron
A neuron that sends signals to make the body take action.
Sensory neuron
A neuron that carries information from the outside world and within the body to the brain.
Interneuron
A neuron that connects neurons and interprets, stores, and retrieves information about the world, allowing you to make informed decisions before you act.
Spinal cord
The major bundle of nerves, encased in your spine, that connects your body and your brain.
Central nervous system (CNS)
The system composed of the brain and spinal cord; information from your body travels to the brain by the way of the nerves of your spinal cord.
Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
The system composed of the nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord; connects the parts of the body to the brain.
Somatic nervous system (SNS)
The system that allows us to feel external sensations from and control volitional movement of the body.
Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
The system that a,as us to feel internal sensations from and controls automatic movements of the organs, such as heartbeat.
Sympathetic nervous system
A division of the autonomic nervous system that acts on blood vessels, organs, and glands in ways that prepare the body for action, especially in life-threatening situations.
Parasympathetic nervous system
A division of the autonomic nervous system that returns the body to a resting state by counteracting the actions of the sympathetic system.
Endocrine system
A network of glands that produces and releases hormones into the bloodstream to regulate the body’s activities.
Hormones
The blood-borne chemicals that travel through the circulatory system enabling the brain to regulate the body’s activities.
Adrenal glands
The endocrine glands located on top of the kidneys; they produce a variety of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, that are central to the stress response.
Pituitary gland
The master endocrine gland, located at the base of the brain, that in addition to producing its own hormones regulates hormone production in other glands.
Neocortex
The evolutionarily newest cerebral cortex that is the largest part of the human brain; supports complex functions, including language, thought, problem solving, and imagination.
Occipital lobe
A lobe that runs along the back portion of the head; contains the primary visual cortex and is largely devoted to vision.
Temporal lobe
A lobe that runs alongside the ears; contains the primary auditory cortex and is responsible for the ability to hear and understand language.
Parietal lobe
A lobe that runs alongside the head above and behind the ears; contains the primary somatosensory cortex, supporting a map of the body’s skin surface and the sense of touch.
Frontal lobe
A lobe located in the front of the head; contains the primary motor cortex and a map of the body’s muscles, essential for the movement and planning.
Insular lobe
The cortex that is insulated by the overlying cortex; supports the sense of taste and allows perception of the internal organs.
Primary sensory areas
The first regions of the cerebral cortex to receive signals from a sensory organ via its sensory nerve.
Primary motor cortex
The cortex that is responsible for voluntary movements.
Association cortex
The cortex that integrates information coming in from the senses with existing knowledge.
Limbic system
A system often associated with emotion; it bridges the older, lower brain regions that regulate the body with the newer, higher brain structures more related to complex mental, functions.
Hippocampus
A component of the limbic system crucial for certain aspects of memory, the ability to navigate the environment, and the ability to think about the future.
Amygdala
A component of the limbic system important for registering the emotional significance of events.
Basal ganglia
A group of interconnected structures that are an evolutionarily older subcortical motor system necessary for planning and executing movement.
Thalamus
A subcortical structure deep in the middle of the brain; communicates information to and from all of the sensory systems except the olfactory (smell) system, regulating alertness and consciousness.
Hypothalamus
The master controller of the brain and body; integrates bodily signals with their associated feelings and behaviours; regulates specific functions, including hunger, body rhythms, reward seeking, and aggression.
Brainstem
The lowest region of the brain; it sits on top of and is continuous with the spinal cord, collecting sensory signals from the body and sending signals down from the brain to create movement and regulate vital functions.
Midbrain
The uppermost region of the Brainstem; it includes the tegmentum and substantia nigra, critical for dopamine production.
Pons
An upper Brainstem structure that controls breathing and relays sensations, such as hearing, taste, and balance, to the subcortex and cortex.
Medulla oblongata
A lower Brainstem structure that controls autonomic functions, including heart rate and blood pressure, and reflexes like coughing and swallowing.
Reticular formation
A structure that runs through the Brainstem and is connected to many parts of the brain; plays a central role in arousal and attention.
Cerebellum
A hindbrain structure that supports a variety of functions, including coordination, precision, balance, and accurate timing.
Executive functions
The cognitive process that allows us to plan, focus attention, and organize multiple tasks to complete our goals; associated with the function of the prefrontal cortex.
Corpus callosum
The bridge of fibers that connects the two halves of the brain.
Contralateral
The opposite-side organization of the brain, whereby one side of the body is connected to and controlled by the opposite brain hemisphere.
Split-brain procedure
The severing of the corpus callosum to reduce the spread of seizures across brain hemispheres.
Brain networks
The collection of the brain regions that are connected and work together to support brain functions.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
A structural imaging technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to create images of the brain.
Phrenology
An early pseudoscience suggesting that mental abilities and personality traits could be read from bumps on the skull.
Neuropsychology
The study of the brains workings; done by examining the brains altered function following brain damage.
Lesion
An abnormal tissue resulting from disease, trauma, or surgical intervention.
Dissociation
The neuropsychological evidence, following brain damage or a lesion, that specific brain area is involved in a particular function but not the others.
Single-cell recordings
A measurement of the electrical activity of a single neuron.
Electroencephalography (EEG)
The recording of the electrical waves from many thousands of neurons in the brain, gathered using electrodes placed on the scalp.
Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
The recording of the magnetic field produced by the brain’s electrical currents.
Positron emission tomography (PET)
The injection of the radioactive glucose into a person’s bloodstream to measure blood flow associated with higher brain activity or the brain’s use of specific neurochemicals.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
A variation of MRI that measures brain function by tracking oxygen in the blood flow through the brain.
Deep brain simulation (DBS)
The insertion of an electrode deep in a patient’s brain to alter the activity of specific brain regions.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
A temporary and reversible disruption or enhancement of cortical brain function that allows scientists to study brain regions and their functions.
Transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS)
A gentler form of neurostimulation that uses very low levels of direct current delivered via electrodes on the head to stimulate brain function, such as enhancing hand-eye coordination.
Dendrites
The part of the neuron that receives chemical messages from other neurons.
Cell body
The part of the neuron that collects neural impulses, contains the nucleus, and provides life-sustaining functions for the cell; also called the soma.
Axon
The part of the neuron that transports electrical impulses to other neurons via the terminal branches.
Terminal branch
The part of the neuron that converts electrical signals into chemical messages to other neurons.
Myelin sheath
A layer of fatty tissue that covers and insulates an axon to ensure that electrical messages travel fast and meet less resistance.
Glia
The cells that make up the myelin sheath around neurons to insulate, support, and nourish neurons and modulate neuronal function.
Action potential
A rapid change in voltage created by a neuron when it is sufficiently stimulated to surpass a critical threshold; serves as the bias for neural signaling.
Ion channels
The channels that allow chemical ions to enter and exit the neuronal membrane to generate the voltage for the resting and cation potential.
Depolarization
Occurs when a neuron’s voltage becomes more positive; the first phase of the action potential.
Voltage threshold
The voltage necessary for a neuron to start an action potential.
Repolarization
The portion of the action potential during which the neuron returns to its resting potential.
Refractory period
The period of time required for a neuron to return to its resting state before it can fire another action potential.
Synapse
The gap where a sending neuron communicates with the dendrites or cell body of the receiving neuron.
Neurotransmitter
The chemical messenger released at the terminal branch to allow communication between neurons.
Amino acids
The brain’s most abundant class of neurotransmitters, including glutamate (important for neuronal excitation) and GABA (important for neuronal inhibition and the regulation of muscle tone).
Monoamines
A neurochemical class that includes norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin; important for fight-or flight and reward responses.
Acetylcholine
A major neurotransmitter class that can behave as both an inhibitory and an excitatory signal, supporting heart and skeletal muscle, and cognitive function.
Agonist
A chemical that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter.
Antagonist
A chemical that competes with a naturally occurring neurotransmitter to block neurotransmission.
Antagonist
A chemical that competes with a naturally occurring neurotransmitter to block neurotransmission.
Phenotype
The observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of genotype and environment.
Genotype
The genetic makeup of an organism composed of the organisms complete set of genes.
Allele
A variant form of a gene; humans have two alleles per gene, one inherited from each parent.
Gene expression
Turning on and off of genes in a particular cell to determine how that cell functions.
Epigenetics
The study of how life events can change how genes are expressed.
Behavioural genetics
The study of how genetic factors influence trait variation between individuals.
Heritability
An indication of how much variation in phenotype across people is due to differences in genotype.
Monozygotic
Twins who share 100 percent of their genetic material because they developed from the division of a single fertilized egg.
Dizygotic
Twins who share 50 percent of their genetic material because they developed from two separate fertilized eggs.
Neural plasticity
The brain’s capacity to physiologically modify, regenerate, and reinvent itself constantly over the course of a lifetime.
Critical periods
The periods early in life during which very specific experiences must occur to ensure the normal development of a characteristic or behavior.
Damage plasticity
The neural modification following injury that largely takes the form of brain reorganization.
Phantom limb
The experience of sensations, such as pain, in a limb that no longer exists following its amputation.
Adult plasticity
The shaping and reshaping of neural circuits throughout adulthood.
Stem cells
A cell that has not yet undergone gene expression to differentiate into specialized cell types such as a skin cell, liver cell, or neuron.
Neurogenesis
The process by which new brain cells are born in adult brains.
