Chapter 2-The Biology Of Mind Flashcards
What is a neuron?
A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.
Biological perspective
Concerned with the links between biology and behavior. Includes psychologist working in your science, behavior genetics, and evolutionary psychology. These researchers may call themselves behavior on your scientist, neuropsychologist, behavior geneticists, physiological psychologists or biospsychologists.
Dendrites
A neuron’s bushy branching extensions that receives messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body.
Axon
The neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands
Myelin sheath
A fatty tissue layer Segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hops from one node to the next.
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
The junction between the axon tip of the sending your own and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or cleft.
Neurotransmitters
Chemical messengers that across the synaptic gaps between neuron’s. When released by the sending neuron , neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and to bind to receptors sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulses.
Reuptake
A neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron.
Endorphins
Natural, opiate like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.
Nervous system
The bodies speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system.
Acetylcholine. ACH
Enables muscle action, learning, and memory. When Alzheimer’s disease. Acetylcholine producing neurons deteriorate.
Dopamine
Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion. Oversupply link to schizophrenia. Undersupply link to tremors and decreased mobility in Parkinson’s disease.
Serotonin
Affects mood, Hunger, sleep, and arousal. Undersupply linked to Depression. Some antidepressant drugs raised serotonin levels.
norepinephrine
Helps control or learners and arousal. Undersupply can’t depressed mood. Both hormones and neurotransmitters.
GABA
A major inhibitory Neurotransmitter’s. Undersupply link to seizures, tremors, and insomnia.
Glutamate
A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory. Oversupply can overstimulate brain, producing migraines or seizures ( which is why some people avoid MSG, mono sodium glutamate in food).
Central nervous system
The brain and spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system
The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body.
Nerves
Bundle axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs.
Sensory neurons
Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord.
Motor neurons
Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands.
Interneurons
Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.
Somatic nervous system
The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body skeletal muscles.
Autonomic nervous system
The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands in the muscles of the internal organs [such as the heart]. It’s sympathetic division arouses; it’s parasympathetic divisions comes.
Sympathetic nervous system
The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations.
Dilates pupils, accelerates heartbeat, inhibits digestion, stimulates glucose released by liver, stimulates secretion of epinephrine and norepinephrin,relax his bladder, stimulates Ejaculation in male.
Parasympathetic nervous system
The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving it’s energy.
Contracts pupils, slow’s heartbeat, stimulates digestion, stimulates gallbladder, contracts bladder, allows blood flow to sex organ.
Reflex
A simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee jerk response.
Endocrine
The bodies slow chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.
Hormones
Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues.
Adrenal glands
A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones that helps arouse the body in times of stress
Epinephrine and norepinephrine.
Pituitary gland
The endocrine system most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.
Lesion
Tissue destruction. A brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue.
EEG - electroencephalogram
And amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.
Pet scan
A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes wild the brain performs a given task.
MRI
It technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue. MRI scan shows brain anatomy.
F MRI
A technique for revealing bloodflow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. FMRI scans show brain function.
Brainstem
The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the school; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions.
Medulla
The base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing
Thalamus
The brain 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.
Reticular formation
A nerve network that travels through the brainstem and plays an important role in controlling arousal.
Cerebellum
The “little brain “at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement out put and balance.
Pons
Coordinates movement
Limbic system
Neural system including the hippocampus, amygdaloid and hypothalamus located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives.
Amygdala
To live mom-being-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; link to emotion.
Hypothalamus
A structure lying below the thalamus;it directs several maintenance activities including eating, drinking, body temperature, helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland and is link to emotion and reword.
Glial cells
Cells in the nervous system that support, nearest, and protect neurons; they may also play a role in learning and thinking.
Frontal lobe
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead;involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments
Parietal lobe
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head towards the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position
Occipital lobe
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes area at that receives information from the visual fields.
Temporal lobe
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; including the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear.
Motor cortex
An area at the rear of the frontal lobe is that controls voluntary movement.
Sensory cortex
Area at the front of the parietal lobe start registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
Association areas
Areas of the cerebral cortex that is not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.
Plasticity
The brains ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience
Neurogenesis
The formation of new neurons.
Corpus callosum
The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and caring messages between them.
Split brain
A condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brains to hemispheres by cutting the fibers mainly those of the corpus callosum connecting them.
