Chapter 1 Test Flashcards
Glial cells
Take away waste products of neurons, keep the neurons chemical enviorment stable, and insulate them
Neurons
Responsible for information transmission through out the cell
Dendrites
Project out of the cell body like a tree, receives information
Cell body
Contains the nucleolus of the cell
Axon
Long fiber leaving cell body, conduct information from the cell body to the axon terminals in order to trigger the transmission of info with other neurons
Myelin sheath
An insulating later of a white fatty substance, with the sheath the impulse travels faster
Axon terminals
Send signals to other cells
Neurotransmitter
Naturally occurring chemical in the nervous system that specializes in transmitting information between neurons
Synthetic gap
The microscopic gap between neurons across which neurotransmitter a travel to carry their messages to other neurons
Position emission tomography (PET) scan
A visual display of the activity levels in various areas in the brain generated by detecting the amount of position emission created by the metabolization of radioactive glucose in each area
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
A computerized image of the activity levels of various areas in the brain generated by detecting the amount of oxygen brought to each area
Agonists
A drug or poison that increases the activity of one or more neurotransmitters
Antagonist
Drug or poison that decreases the activity of one or more neurotransmitters
Acetylcholine (ACh)
A neurotransmitter involved in learning, memory, and muscle movement
Dopamine
A neurotransmitter involved in arousal and mood states, thought processes, and physical movement
Parkinson’s disease
A disease in which the person had movement problems such as muscle tremors, difficulty initiating movements, and rigidity of movement. These movement problems stem from a scarcity of dopamine in the basal ganglia
Blood brain barrier
A protective mechanism by which the blood capillaries supplying the brain create a barrier that prevents dangerous substances access to the brain
L-dope
A drug for Parkinson’s diesease that contains the precursors to dopamine so that once it is in the brain, it will be converted to dopamine
Serotonin and norepinephrine
Neurotransmitters involved in levels of arousal and mood, sleep, and eating
Selective serotonin reuptake inhabitors (SSRs)
Anti-depressant drugs that achieve their agnostic effect on serotonin and norepinephrine by selectively blocking their reuptake
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)
The main inhibitor neurotransmitter in the nervous system. it is involved in lowering arousal and anxiety and regulating movement
Glutamate
The main excitatory neurotransmitter in the nervous system. It is involved in memory storage, pain perception, strokes and schizophrenia
Endorphins
A group of neurotransmitters that are involved in pain relief and feelings of pleasure
Central nervous system (CNS)
The brain and spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
The part of the nervous system that links the CNS with the body’s sensory receptors muscles and glands
Interneourons
The neurons that integrate information within the CNS through their communication with each other and between sensory and motor neurons in the spinal cord
Sensory neurons
Neurons in the PNS that carry information to the CNS from sensory receptors muscles and glands
Motor neurons
Neurons in the PNS that carry movement commands from the CNS out to the rest of the body
Spinal cord
The conduit between the brain and the PNS for incoming sensory data and outgoing movement commands to the muscles
Spinal reflex
A simple automatic action of the spinal cord not requiring involvement of the brain. such as the knee-jerk relief
Somatic (skeletal) nervous system
The part of the PNS that carries sensory input from receptors to the CNS and relays commands from the CNS to skeletal muscles to control their movement
Autonomic nervous system
The part of the PNS that regulates the functioning of our internal environment (heart, lungs, stomach)
Sympathetic nervous system
The part of the autonomic nervous system that returns the body to its normal resting state after having been highly aroused, as in an emergency
Endocrine glandular system
The bodies other major communication system. Communication is achieved through hormones that are secreted by the endocrine glands and travel through the bloodstream to their target sites
Hormone
A chemical messenger that is produced by an endocrine gland and carried by the bloodstream to the target tissues throughout the body
Pituitary gland
The most influential gland in the endocrine glandular system. It releases hormones for human growth and hormones that direct other endocrine glands to release their hormones
Emotion
The complex psychological state that involves a state of physiological arousal and an outward behavioral expression of emotion and a cognitive appraisal of the situation to determine the specific emotion and its intensity
James-Lange theory
A theory of emotion proposing that an emotion is determined from a cognitive appraisal of the psychological arousal and behavioral responses which occur first
Cannon-bard theory
A theory of emotion proposing that an emotion is determined from simultaneously occurring psychological arousal, behavioral responses, and cognitive appraisal
Schachter-singer two factor theory
A theory of Emotion proposing that an emotion is determined by cognitive appraisal of the physiological arousal and the entire environmental situation
Medulla
A brainstem structure involved in many essential body functions such as heartbeat beating, blood pressure digestion and swallowing
Pons
A brainstem structure that serves as a bridge between the cerebellum be and the rest of the brain and is involved in sleep and dreaming
Reticular formation
A network of neurons running up the center of the brainstem that is responsible for our different levels of arousal and consciousness
Cerebellum
A part of the brain involved in the coordination of our movements, sense of balance, and motor learning
Thalamus
A part of the brain that serves as a relay station for incoming sensory information
Basal ganglia
A part of the brain that is involved in the initiation and execution of movements
Limbic system
A group of brain structures that play an important role in our survival, memory, and emotions
Hypothalamus
A part of the brain that is involved in regulating basic drives such as eating, drinking, and sex. It also directs the endocrine glandular system through it’s control of the pituitary gland and the autonomic nervous system to maintain the body’s internal environment
Hippocampus
A part of the brain involved in the formation of memories
Amygdala
A part of the brain that is involved in emotions by influencing aggression, anger, and fear and by providing the emotional element of our memories and the interpretation of emotional expressions in others
Cerebral cortex
The layers of interconnected cells covering the brains two hemispheres. Where perception, memory, language, decision-making, and all other higher-level cognitive processing occurs
Corpus callosum
The bridge of neurons that connects the two cerebral hemispheres
Frontal lobe
In the front of the brain. The motor cortex is in this lobe
Parietal lobe
The somatosensory cortex is in this lope
Motor cortex
In the frontal lobe allows us to move different parts of our body
Somatosensory cortex
In the Parietal lobe allows us to sense pressure, temperature, and pain in different parts of our body as well as the position of our body parts
Temporel lobe
Includes primary auditory cortex where auditory sensory information is initially processed
Occipital lobe
includes primary visual cortex where visual sensory information is initially processed
Frontal lobe
Includes motor cortex which allows us to move the different parts of our body
Parietal lobe
Where our bodies sensations of touch, temperature, limb position, and pain are processed
Association cortex
All of the cerebral cortex except those areas devoted to primary sensory processing or motor processing. This is where all the higher-level cognitive processing that requires the Association of information such as perception and language occurs
Broca’s area
An area in the cerebral cortex responsible for fluent speech production. It is in the left frontal lobe of the majority of people, regardless of handedness
Wernickes area
An area in the cerebral cortex responsible for comprehension of speech and text. It is in the left temporal lobe of the majority of people, regardless of handedness
Consciousness
And individuals subjective awareness of their inner thinking and feeling and their external environment
REM (rapid eye movement) sleep
(Stage 5) The stage of sleep that is characterized by rapid eye movement and brainwave patterns that resembled those for an awake state and in which most dreaming occurs.
How long does the sleep cycle last
90 min
How long does REM sleep last
20-25 min
Stage 4
Delta waves
Stage 2
Spindle (bursts of activity)
Stage 1 sleep lasts
5 min
Stage 2 sleep lasts
20 min
Stage sleep 4 lasts
30 min.
