Chapter 2- The Biology of Mind and Consciousness

Question 1

a branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior

Answer 1

biological psychology

Question 2

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

Answer 2

neuron

Question 3

neuron extensions that receive messages and conduct them toward the cell body

Answer 3

dendrites

Question 4

neuron extension that sends messages to other neurons or cells

Answer 4

axon

Question 5

a nerve impulse

Answer 5

action potential

Question 6

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they may also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory.

Answer 6

glial cells (glia)

Question 7

junction between the axon tip of a sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of a receiving neuron

Answer 7

synapse

Question 8

level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Answer 8

threshold

Question 9

a neuron’s reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing

Answer 9

all-or-none response

Question 10

neuron-produced chemicals that cross synapse to carry messages to other neurons or cells

Answer 10

neurotransmitters

Question 11

chemical, such as opium, morphine, or heroin, that depresses neuron activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety

Answer 11

opiate

Question 12

“morphine within”— natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

Answer 12

endorphins

Question 13

the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the central and peripheral nervous systems

Answer 13

nervous systems

Question 14

the brain and spinal cord

Answer 14

central nervous system (CNS)

Question 15

the sensory and motor neurons connecting the central nervous system to the rest of the body

Answer 15

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Question 16

bundled axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs

Answer 16

nerves

Question 17

neuron that carries incoming information from the sensory receptors to the central nervous system

Answer 17

sensory neuron

Question 18

neuron that carries outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands

Answer 18

motor neuron

Question 19

neurons within the brain and spinal cord; communicate internally and process information between sensory inputs and motor outputs

Answer 19

interneuron

Question 20

peripheral nervous system division controlling the body’s skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system

Answer 20

somatic nervous system

Question 21

peripheral nervous system division controlling the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). its sympathetic subdivision arouses; its parasympathetic

Answer 21

autonomic nervous system (ANS)

Question 22

autonomic nervous system subdivision that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations.

Answer 22

sympathetic nervous system

Question 23

autonomic nervous system subdivision that calms the body, conserving its energy

Answer 23

parasympathetic nervous system

Question 24

a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as he knee-jerk response

Answer 24

reflex

Question 25

the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Answer 25

endocrine

Question 26

chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues

Answer 26

hormones

Question 27

pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in time of stress

Answer 27

adrenal glands

Question 28

most influential endocrine gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

Answer 28

pituitary gland

Question 29

automatic survival functions (e.g. breathing)

Answer 29

brainstem

Question 30

device that uses electrodes placed on the scalp to record waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain's surface. (the record of those brain waves is an electroencephalogram

Answer 30

EEG (electroencephalograph)

Question 31

a view of brain activity showing where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task

Answer 31

PET (positron emission tomography) scan

Question 32

a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissues. MRI scans show brain anatomy

Answer 32

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

Question 33

a technique for revealing blood flow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. fMRI scans show brain function.

Answer 33

fMRI (functional MRI)

Question 34

heartbeat, breathing

Answer 34

medulla

Question 35

directs sensory messages

Answer 35

thalamus

Question 36

arousal

Answer 36

reticular formation

Question 37

coordinating movement

Answer 37

cerebellum

Question 38

(hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus)

Answer 38

limbic system

Question 39

emotion

Answer 39

amygdala

Question 40

directs maintenance activities (e.g., eating)

Answer 40

hypothalamus

Question 41

information- processing center

Answer 41

cerebral cortex

Question 42

thinking

Answer 42

frontal lobe

Question 43

hearing

Answer 43

temporal lobe

Question 44

touch

Answer 44

parietal lobe

Question 45

vision

Answer 45

occipital lobe

Question 46

cerebral cortex area at the rear of the frontal lobes; controls voluntary movements

Answer 46

motor cortex

Question 47

cerebral cortex area at the front of the parietal lobes; registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

Answer 47

somatosensory cortex

Question 48

false sensory experience, such as hearing something in the absence of an external auditory stimulus

Answer 48

hallucination

Question 49

cerebral cortex areas involved primarily in higher mental functions, such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.

Answer 49

association areas

Question 50

the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience

Answer 50

plasticity

Question 51

formation of new neurons

Answer 51

neurogenesis

Question 52

large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

Answer 52

corpus callosum

Question 53

condition in which the brain's two hemispheres are isolated by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them

Answer 53

split brain

Question 54

our awareness of ourselves and our environment

Answer 54

consciousness

Question 55

focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Answer 55

selective attention

Question 56

failure to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Answer 56

inattentional blindness

Question 57

failure to notice changes in the environment

Answer 57

change blindness

Question 58

internal biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for examples, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle

Answer 58

circadian rhythm

Question 59

recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep , because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active

Answer 59

REM (rapid eye movement) sleep

Question 60

relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

Answer 60

alpha waves

Question 61

periodic, natural loss of consciousness as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation

Answer 61

sleep

Question 62

the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

Answer 62

delta waves

Question 63

recurring problems in falling or staying asleep

Answer 63

insomnia

Question 64

sleep disorder in which a person has uncontrollable sleep attacks, sometimes lapsing directly into REM sleep

Answer 64

narcolepsy

Question 65

a sleep disorder in which a sleeping person repeated stops breathing until blood oxygen is so low it awakens the person just long enough to draw a breath

Answer 65

sleep apnea

Question 66

sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind

Answer 66

dream

Question 67

according to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream

Answer 67

manifest content

Question 68

according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream

Answer 68

latent content

Question 69

the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivating

Answer 69

REM rebound