Chapter 2-1st Half Flashcards
Biological psychology
Concerned with the links between biology and behavior
Phrenology
Theory that claimed bumps on the skull could reveal our mental abilities and our character traits
Neuron
A nerve cell, basic building blocks of the nervous system
Dendrite
The bushy, branching extension of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses, “good listener”
Axon
Extension of a neuron, ending in branching fibers through which messages pass to other neurons. “Speak”
Myelin sheath
A layer of fatty tissue around fibers to speed up impulses
Action potential
A neural impulse, a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
Threshold
The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
Synapse
Junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite/cell body of the receiving neuron “gap”
Neurotransmitter
Chemical messenger that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons
Ach
Neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and triggers muscle contraction
Dopamine
Influences movement, learning, attention and emotion
Serotonin
Affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal “happy”
Endorphins
“Morphine within” natural, transmitter linked to pain control and to pleasure
Nervous system
The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system
Central nervous system
The brain and spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system
Sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body
Nerves
Neural “cables” containing many axons. Connect the central nerves
Sensory neurons
Neurons that carry incoming info from the sense receptors to the central nervous system
Motor neurons
Neurons that carry outgoing info from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands
Interneurons
Central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
Somatic nervous system
The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles “skeletal nervous system”
Autonomic nervous system
The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs
Sympathetic nervous system
Division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body
Parasympathetic nervous system
The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy
Reflex
A simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus such as the knee jerk response
Lesions
Tissue destruction
Neural networks
Interconnected neural cells
Endocrine system
The body’s “slow” chemical communication system, set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
Hormones
Chemical messengers mostly made by the endocrine glands that are produced in one tissue and affect another
Adrenal glands
Pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys help arouse the body in times of stress
Pituitary glands
Endocrine systems most influential glands. Regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands
EEG
Amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brains surface
PET scan
Visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form a glucose goes while the brain performs a given task
MRI
Allows is to see structures within the brain
FMRI
Show brain functions, revealing blood flow
