Chapter 2 - Biology And The Brain Flashcards
Neurons (neurons)
A nerve cell, the basic building block of the nervous system
Glial cells (neurons)
Cells in nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons.
Soma (neurons)
Cell body; DNA; message is processed
Axon (neurons)
Sends messages.
Extension of neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers.
Dendrite (neurons)
Receive messages; grow to make connections with neurons.
Branching extensions of a neuron and conduct impulses toward cell body.
Myelin (neurons)
A layer of fatty tissue encasing the fibers of neurons.
Allows for faster transmission of messages.
Polarization (neurons)
The differential electrical charge inside and outside the neuron.
Action Potential (neurons)
A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.
Sodium ions rushes in; potassium ions rush out.
Resting potential (neurons)
Waiting for sufficient stimulation.
Electrical charge off neuron when it’s not active.
When not active, inside and outside of neuron are not in balance.
Inside - negative ions; outside - positive ions.
All or none principal (neurons)
Either a neuron fires or not.
Reuptake (neurons)
A neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by sending neuron.
Sensory (type)
Afferent.
Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord.
Motor (type)
Efferent.
Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands.
Interneurons (type)
Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.
Carry information between each other.
Serotonin (neurotransmitters)
Function: affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal
Disorder: low levels - depression & high levels - manic
Location:
Norepinephrine (neurotransmitters)
Function: helps control alertness and arousal, adrenaline rush, speeds heart rate
Disorder: depression
Location:
Acetylcholine (neurotransmitters)
Function: enables muscle action, learning, and memory
Disorder: Alzheimer’s disease, low levels - memory impaired, if receptor is blocked - paralysis
Location:
Dopamine (neurotransmitters)
Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion. Pleasure, feel good (muscle contractions), euphoria
Disorder: high level - schizophrenia, low level - Parkinson’s disease
Location:
Endorphins (neurotransmitters)
Function: natural “painkiller” (made by body), relieves pain, “runner’s high”
Disorder:
Location:
GABA (neurotransmitters)
Function: anti-anxiety, relaxation, calm, a major inhibitory neurotransmitter
Disorder: low level - seizures, tremors, insomnia
Location:
Substance P (neurotransmitters)
Function: makes you feel pain
Disorder:
Location:
Agonists and antagonists
Agonists: increases effect, speed, anything with neurotransmitter (ex: cocaine)
Antagonists: slows of stops or kill the neurons (ex: alcohol)
CNS (nervous system structure and function)
Brain and spinal cord.
PNS (nervous system structure and function)
Connects brain to rest of body.
Somatic (nervous system structure and function)
You control; sensory info; voluntary muscle movement.
Autonomic (nervous system structure and function)
Automatic; heart, organs, stomach.
Parasympathetic (nervous system structure and function)
The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms down body, conserving its energy.
Sympathetic (nervous system structure and function)
The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations.
The hemispheres
Each side of hemisphere controls opposite side of body (criss-cross)
Left hemisphere
Language, verbal, speech, logic, writing
Right hemisphere
Emotion, creativity, spacial relationships, art, music, math, reasoning
Split brain
Need corpus coliseum so 2 halves of hemisphere can communicate. Without it, you can’t say what you see from your left eye or vice-versa.
Cerebral Cortex
Fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center.
Frontal lobe
Behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments.
Temporal lobe
Lying above ears; includes auditory areas, hearing
Parietal lobe
Lying at top of head and toward rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position
Occipital lobe
Lying at back of head; receive information from visual fields, sight
Broca’s Area
Controls language expression - usually in the left frontal lobe (left hemisphere) that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.
Wernicke’s area
Controls language reception - involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe
Motor cortex
An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.
Efferent neurons.
Sensory cortex
Area at front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
Afferent neurons.
Corpus Callosum
The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.
Medulla
The base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing.
Pons
Produce chemicals for sleep
Cerebellum
At the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance.
RAS (reticular activating system)
A nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal.
Alertness.
Limbic system
Doughnut-shaped neural system located below cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives.
Thalamus (limbic system)
Brain’s sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.
Sensory relay station.
Hypothalamus (limbic system)
Lying below thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temp.), helps govern endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward.
Urges, needs, wants, and desires (ex: hunger, thirst, sex drug, body temp.)
Hippocampus (limbic system)
Helps process explicit memories for storage.
Amygdala (limbic center)
Two lima bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion.
Substantia Nigra
Involved in motor control.
Dopamine center.
Without dopamine, body can’t move.
MRI (brain imaging techniques)
Uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue. Shows brain anatomy.
3D images.
EEG (brain imaging techniques)
Amplified recording of waves of electrical activity that sweep across brain’s surface.
Issues with sleep.
CAT (brain imaging techniques)
A series of X-rays photos taken from different angles and combined by computer into a composite representation of a slice through a body.
Looks for brain injuries.
Pineal Gland (endocrine system)
Controls melatonin (sleep).
Pituitary (endocrine system)
Regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.
Thyroid (endocrine system)
Metabolism.
Adrenal (endocrine system)
Secretes hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress.
Pancreas (endocrine system)
Monitors blood sugar.
Endocrine system
The body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.
Dual processing
The principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks.
