Chapter 2 Vocab

Question 0

Biological psychology

Answer 0

A branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behaviour

Question 1

Phrenology

Answer 1

A popular but ill-fated theory that claimed bumps on the skull could reveal our mental abilities and our character traits

Question 2

Neuron

Answer 2

A nerve cell; he basic building block of the nervous system

Question 3

Dendrite

Answer 3

The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

Question 4

Axon

Answer 4

The extension of a neuron ending in branching terminal fibres, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

Question 5

Myelin sheath

Answer 5

A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibres of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.

Question 6

Action potential

Answer 6

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. The action potential is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the axon’s membrane

Question 7

Threshold

Answer 7

The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Question 8

Synapse

Answer 8

The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or cleft

Question 9

Neurotransmitters

Answer 9

Chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse

Question 10

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Answer 10

A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction

Question 11

Dopamine

Answer 11

Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

Question 12

Serotonin

Answer 12

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

Question 13

Endorphins

Answer 13

“Morphine within”– natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

Question 14

Nervous system

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Central nervous system (CNS)

Answer 15

The brain and spinal cord

Question 16

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Answer 16

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body

Question 17

Nerves

Answer 17

Neural “cables” containing many axons. The bundled axons, which are part of the peripheral nervous system, connect the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs

Question 18

Sensory neurons

Answer 18

Neurons at carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system

Question 19

Motor neurons

Answer 19

Neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands

Question 20

Interneurons

Answer 20

Central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

Question 21

Somatic nervous system

Answer 21

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles. Also called the “skeletal nervous system”

Question 22

Autonomic nervous system

Answer 22

The npart of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms

Question 23

Sympathetic nervous system

Answer 23

The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilising its energy in stressful situations

Question 24

Parasympathetic nervous system

Answer 24

The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

Question 25

Reflex

Answer 25

A simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response

Question 26

Lesions

Answer 26

Tissue destruction. A brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue

Question 27

Neural networks

Answer 27

Interconnected neural cells. With experience, networks can learn, as feedback strengthens or inhibits connections that produce certain results. Computer simulations of neural networks show analogous learning

Question 28

Endocrine system

Answer 28

The body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Question 29

Hormones

Answer 29

Chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands, that are produced in one tissue and affect another

Question 30

Adrenal glands

Answer 30

A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys. The adrenals secrete the hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline), which help to arouse the body in times of stress

Question 31

Pituitary gland

Answer 31

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

Question 32

EEG (electroencephalogram)

Answer 32

An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain’s surface. These waves are measured by electrodes place on the scalp

Question 33

PET (positron emission tomography) scan

Answer 33

A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task

Question 34

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

Answer 34

A technique that uses magnetic field and radio waves to produce computer-generated images that distinguish among different types of soft tissue; allows to see structures within the brain

Question 35

fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Brainstem

Answer 36

The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions

Question 37

Medulla

Answer 37

The base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

Question 38

Reticular formation

Answer 38

A nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important part in controlling arousal

Question 39

Thalamus

Answer 39

The brain’s sensory switchboard, located on the top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

Question 40

Hippocampus

Answer 40

A structure in the limbic system linked to memory