Chapter 2: Neuroscience and Behavior

Question 1

behavioral neuroscientists (or biopsychologists)

Answer 1

Psychologists who specialize in considering the ways in which the biological structures and functions of the body affect behavior.

Question 2

neurons

Answer 2

Nerve cells, the basic elements of the nervous system.

Question 3

dendrite

Answer 3

A cluster of fibers at one end of a neuron that receives messages from other neurons

Question 4

axon

Answer 4

The part of the neuron that carries messages to other neurons

Question 5

terminal buttons

Answer 5

Small bulges at the end of axons that send messages to other neurons.

Question 6

myelin sheath

Answer 6

A protective coat of fat and protein that wraps around the axon.

Question 7

all-or-none law

Answer 7

The rule that neurons are either on or off.

Question 8

resting state

Answer 8

The state in which there is a negative electrical charge of about −70 millivolts within a neuron.

Question 9

action potential

Answer 9

An electric nerve impulse that travels through a neuron’s axon when it is set off by a “trigger,” changing the neuron’s charge from negative to positive.

Question 10

mirror neurons

Answer 10

Specialized neurons that fire not only when a person enacts a particular behavior, but also when a person simply observes another individual carrying out the same behavior.

Question 11

synapse

Answer 11

The space between two neurons where the axon of a sending neuron communicates with the dendrites of a receiving neuron by using chemical messages.

Question 12

neurotransmitters

Answer 12

Chemicals that carry messages across the synapse to
the dendrite (and sometimes the cell body) of a receiver neuron.

Question 13

excitatory message

Answer 13

A chemical message that makes it more likely that a receiving neuron will fire and an action potential will travel down its axon.

Question 14

inhibitory message

Answer 14

A chemical message that prevents or decreases the likelihood that a receiving neuron will fire.

Question 15

reuptake

Answer 15

The reabsorption of neurotransmitters by a terminal button.

Question 16

central nervous system (CNS)

Answer 16

The part of the nervous system that includes the brain and spinal cord.

Question 17

spinal cord

Answer 17

A bundle of neurons that leaves the brain and runs down the length of the back and is the main means for transmitting messages between the brain and the body.

Question 18

reflex

Answer 18

An automatic, involuntary response to an incoming stimulus.

Question 19

sensory (afferent) neurons

Answer 19

Neurons that transmit information from the perimeter

of the body to the nervous system and brain.

Question 20

motor (efferent) neurons

Answer 20

Neurons that communicate information from the brain and nervous system to muscles and glands.

Question 21

peripheral nervous system

Answer 21

The part of the nervous system that includes the autonomic and somatic subdivisions; made up of neurons with long axons and dendrites, it branches out from the spinal cord and brain and reaches the extremities of the body.

Question 22

somatic division

Answer 22

The part of the peripheral nervous system that specializes in the control of voluntary movements and the communication of information to and from the sense organs.

Question 23

autonomic division

Answer 23

The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary movement of the heart, glands, lungs, and other organs.

Question 24

sympathetic division

Answer 24

The part of the autonomic division of the nervous system that acts to prepare the body for action in stressful situations, engaging all the organism’s resources to respond to a threat.

Question 25

parasympathetic division

Answer 25

The part of the autonomic division of the nervous system that acts to calm the body after an emergency has ended.

Question 26

evolutionary psychology

Answer 26

The branch of psychology that seeks to identify

behavior patterns that are a result of our genetic inheritance from our ancestors.

Question 27

behavioral genetics

Answer 27

The study of the effects of heredity on behavior.

Question 28

endocrine system

Answer 28

A chemical communication network that sends messages throughout the body via the bloodstream.

Question 29

hormones

Answer 29

Chemicals that circulate through the blood and regulate the functioning or growth of the body.

Question 30

pituitary gland

Answer 30

The major component of the endocrine system, or “master gland,” which secretes hormones that control growth and other parts of the endocrine system

Question 31

central core

Answer 31

The “old brain,” which controls basic functions such as eating and sleeping and is common to all vertebrates.

Question 32

cerebellum (ser-uh-BELL-um)

Answer 32

The part of the brain that controls bodily balance.

Question 33

reticular formation

Answer 33

The part of the brain extending from the medulla through the pons; it is related to changes in the level of arousal of the body.

Question 34

thalamus

Answer 34

The part of the brain located in the middle of the central core that acts primarily to relay information about the senses.

Question 35

hypothalamus

Answer 35

A tiny part of the brain, located below the thalamus, that

maintains homeostasis and produces and regulates vital behavior, such as eating, drinking, and sexual behavior.

Question 36

limbic system

Answer 36

The part of the brain that controls eating, aggression, and reproduction.

Question 37

cerebral cortex

Answer 37

The “new brain,” responsible for the most sophisticated information processing in the brain; contains four lobes.

Question 38

lobes

Answer 38

The four major sections of the cerebral cortex: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital.

Question 39

motor area

Answer 39

The part of the cortex that is largely responsible for the body’s voluntary movement.

Question 40

sensory area

Answer 40

The site in the brain of the tissue that corresponds to each of the senses, with the degree of sensitivity related to the amount of tissue

Question 41

association areas

Answer 41

One of the major regions of the cerebral cortex; the site of the higher mental processes, such as thought, language, memory, and speech.

Question 42

neuroplasticity

Answer 42

Changes in the brain that occur throughout the life span relating to the addition of new neurons, new interconnections between neurons, and the reorganization of information-processing areas.

Question 43

hemispheres

Answer 43

Symmetrical left and right halves of the brain that control the side of the body opposite to their location.

Question 44

lateralization

Answer 44

The dominance of one hemisphere of the brain in specific functions, such as language

Question 45

biofeedback

Answer 45

A procedure in which a person learns to control through conscious thought internal physiological processes such as blood pressure, heart and respiration rate, skin temperature, sweating, and the constriction of particular muscles.