Chapter 2 Flashcards
Biological Psychology
A branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior
Phrenology
Popular but ill-fated theory that claimed bumps on the skull could reveal our mental abilities and our character traits; invented by Franz Gall
Neuron
A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system consisting of many different parts
Dendrite
The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses towards the cell body
Axon
The extensions of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, brought which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands
Myelin Sheath
A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the hops from one node to the next
Action Potential
A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon; generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in an axon’s membrane (sodium/potassium)
Threshold
The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
Synapse
The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron; synaptic gap/cleft - tiny gap at the junction
Neurotransmitters
Chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons; released by sending neurons and travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, influencing whether it will generate a neural impulse
Acetylcholine (Ach)
A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction
Dopamine
Influences movement, learning, attention, emotion
Serotonin
Affects mood, hunger, sleep, arousal
Endorphins
“Morphine within” - natural opiatelike (painkiller) neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure
Nervous System
The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network; consists of all the nerve cells, it is the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication system
Central Nervous System (CNS)
The brain and spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
The sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body
Nerves
Neural “cables” containing many axons; part of he PNS that connects the CNS with muscles, glands, and sense organs
Sensory Neurons
Neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the CNS
Motor Neurons
Neurons that carry outgoing information on from the CNS to the muscles and glands
Interneurons
CNS 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
Autonomic Nervous System
Part of the PNS that controls the glands and other muscles of the internal organs (ex. Heart)
Sympathetic Nervous System
Division of the ANS that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations
