Chapter 2 Brain & Behavior: An Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience Flashcards
Any substance that reduces the effect of a neurotransmitter
Antagonist
A receptor on a neuron terminal that senses the amount of transmitter in the synaptic cleft and reduces the presynaptic neuron’s output when the level is excessive
Autoreceptor
Extensions that branch out from the neuron cell body and receive information from other neurons
Dendrites
A partial depolarization of the dendrites and cell body, which makes the neuron more likely to fire
Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential (EPSP)
The pressure exerted by ions from an area of greater concentration to an area where they are less concentrated
Force of Diffusion
A voltage change in a neuron that varies with the strength of the stimulates that initiated it
Graded Potential
An element or atom that is charged because it has lost or gained one or more electrons
Ion
A receptor on a neuron membrane that opens ion channels slowly via a second messenger and produces long-lasting effects
Metabotropic Receptor
A neuron that carries commands to the muscles and organs
Motor Neuron
A group of neurons that function together to carry out a process
Neural Network
A specialized cell that conveys sensory information into the brain, carries out the operations involved in thought and feeling and action, or transmits commands out into the boy to control muscles and organs; a single neural cell, in contrast to a nerve
Neuron
A neuron poison; a substance that impairs the functioning of a neuron
Neurotoxin
A chemical substance released by a neuron (usually at a synapse) that binds to receptors on the same neuron, nearby neurons, or other tissues such as muscles or organs
Neurotransmitter
A property of the action potential, which travels through the neuron without any decrease in size
Nondecremental
A type of glial cell that forms the myelin covering of neurons in the brain and spinal cord
Oligodendrocyte
Control of neurons by creating light-responsive ion channels in the cell membrane
Optogenetics
A positive change in a neural membrane’s voltage, which is excitatory and makes an action potential more likely to occur
Partial Depolarization
A difference in electrical charge between the inside and outside of a neuron
Polarization
A term referring to a neuron that receives transmission from another neuron
Postsynaptic
A term referring to a neuron that transmits to another neuron
Presynaptic
Increased release of neurotransmitters from a neuron’s terminal as the result of another neuron’s release of neurotransmitters onto the terminal (an axoaxonic synapse)
Presynaptic Excitation
Decreased release of neurotransmitters from a neuron’s terminal as the result of another neuron’s release of neurotransmitters onto the terminal (an axoaxonic synapse)
Presynaptic Inhibition
The period during which a neuron can be fired again following an action potential but only by an above-threshold stimulus
Relative Refractory Period
The difference in charge between the inside and outside of the membrane of a neuron at rest
Resting Potential
The process by which a neurotransmitter is taken back into the presynaptic terminals by transporters
Reuptake
The flow of electricity down the axon in which action potentials jump from one node of Ranvier to the next
Saltatory Conduction
A type of glial cell that forms the myelin covering on neurons outside the brain and spinal cord
Schwann Cell
Large protein molecules that move sodium ions through the neuron membrane to the outside and potassium ions back inside, helping maintain the resting potential
Sodium-Potassium Pump
The process of combining potentials that occur simultaneously at different locations on the dendrites and cell body
Spatial Summation
A small gap between a presynaptic neuron and a postsynaptic neuron
Synaptic Cleft
The process of combining potentials that arrive a short time apart on a neuron’s dendrites and cell body
Temporal Summation
A membrane-enclosed container that stores neurotransmitter in the neuron terminal
Vesicle
The difference in electrical charge between two points
Voltage
A brief period following the peak of the action potential when the sodium ion channels are inactivated and the neuron cannot be fired again
Absolute Refractory Period
An all-or-none electrical signal of a neuronal membrane that contains an abrupt voltage depolarization and return to resting potential; allows the neuron to communicate over long distances
Action Potential
Any substance that mimics or enhances the effect of a neurotransmitter
Agonist
The principle that an action potential occurs at full strength or it does not occur at all
All-or-none Law
An extension from a neuron’s cell body that carries information to other locations
Axon
A swelling on the branches at the end of a neuron that contains neurotransmitters; also called an end bulb
Axon Terminal
The largest part of a neuron, which contains the cell’s nucleus, cytoplasm, and structures that produce proteins, convert nutrients into energy, and eliminate waste materials; also called the soma
Cell Body
The theory that a neuron is able to release only one neurotransmitter
Dalle’s Principle
The force by which like-charged ions are repelled by each other and opposite-charged ions are attracted to each other
Electrostatic Pressure
A nonneural cell that provides several supporting functions to neurons, including myelination
Glial Cell
A large-scale cooperative effort to map the circuits in the human brain
Human Connectome Project
A negative change in a neural membrane’s voltage, which is inhibitory and makes an action potential less likely to occur
Hyperpolarization
A hyperpolarization of the dendrites and cell body, which makes a neuron less likely to fire
Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potential (IPSP)
A neuron that has a short axon or no axon at all and connects one neuron to another in the same part of the central nervous system
Interneuron
A receptor that is part of the ion channel and opens the channel immediately to produce quick reactions required for muscle activity and sensory processing
Ionotropic Receptor
A fatty issue that wraps around an axon to insulate it from the surrounding fluid and from other neutrons
Myelin
A gap in the myelin sheath covering
Node of Ranvier
A principle that the intensity of a stimulus is represented in an axon by the frequency of action potentials
Rate Law
A neuron that carries information from the body and from the outside world into the central nervous system
Sensory Neuron
A neuron that carries information from the body and from the outside world into the central nervous system
Synapse
