Chapter 2 Flashcards
clinical death
no pulse or heartbeat; reversible
biological death
3-4 minutes w/o oxygen, brain damage
psychobiology
biological aspects to behavior/mental processes
what two systems are important here?
nervous and endocrine
neuron
basic building block of nervous system
neurogenesis
brain regrows new brain tissue, lifelong process
neural plasticity
ability of brain to adapt and change due to an experience
dendrites
fingers
picks up on messages from cells
what is a nerve
a cluster of axons
white vs gray matter
white matter is tissue made with axons covered by myelin sheath, gray matter has no sheath
axon
arm
structure that helps transmit neural messages
myelin sheath
bumps
fatty substance, insulates (avoids interferance) and speeds up nerve
terminal buttons
sends neurotransmitter to other neurons through synapse
synapse
space between neurons
glia
glues neuron in place, keeps cell going i guess
absolute refractory period
time when neuron can’t fire regardless of stimulation
relative refractory period
can only fire when given more stimulation than normal
neural impulse or action potential
energy from neuron firing, or the act of a neuron firing
graded potential
when a signal passes from neuron to neuron; electric charge just shifts, doesn’t completely change like action potential
threshold of excitation
minimum stimulus needed for 1+ neuron to activate another neuron to continue the chain up to/away from brain
three neurons in body
sensory/afferent
motor/efferent
interneuron/associational
sensory/afferent neuron
carries info from sense organs to brain/spinal cord
motor/efferent neuron
carries info from brain/spinal cord to muscles
interneuron/associational neuron
mostly in brain, relays info between neurons
neurotransmitter
any chemical substance that helps transmit neural messages
Long-Term Potentiation
vibration from stimulus continues weeks after experience
acetylcholine
excitatory neurotransmitter;
attention, motivation, memory
dopamine
brain’s reward center; pleasure
seratonin
mood molecule; regulate sleep cycle