Chapter 2 Vocab part 1 Flashcards
Biological Psychology
A branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior
Phrenology
A theory that claimed bumps on the skull could reveal our mental abilities and our character traits
Dendrites
Branching extensions of neurons
The bushy branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body
Axon
The extension of a neuron that carries messages away from the cell body
Ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscle glands
In transmitting sensory information to the brain, an electrical signal travels from…… of a single neuron
Dendrites to the cell body to the axon
The speed at which a neural impulse travels is increased when the axon is encased in…
Myelin sheath
A brief electrical charge that travels down the axon of a neuron
Action potential
The slowdown of a neural communication in multiple sclerosis involves a degeneration of
Myelin sheath
The depolarization of a neural membrane can create
Action potential
Sir Charles Sherrington observed that impulses took more time to travel a neural pathway than he might have anticipated. His observations provided evidence for the existence of
Synaptic gaps
The chemical messengers released if other spatial junctions between neurons are called
Neurotransmitters
Opiate drugs occupy the same receptor site as
Endorphins
Neuron
A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
Myelin Sheath
a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next
Action Potential
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 axons membrane
Threshold
The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
Synapse
The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap
Neurotransmitters
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
ACH: Acetylcholine
A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and alsoI triggers
Dopamine
Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion
Serotonin
Influences mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal
Endorphins
“Morphine within” natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure
Nervous system
The body’s speedy electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system
Central nervous system
The brain and spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system
The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system and the rest of the body
Nerves
Neural “cables” containing many axons. These bundled axons which are part of the peripheral nervous system connect the nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs
Sensory neurons
Neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system
Motor neurons
Neurons that carry outgoing information from the ventral nervous system to the muscles and glands
Interneurons
Central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
Somatic nervous system
The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles. (Skeletal nervous system)
Autonomic Nervous system
The part of the peripheral nervous system that contains the glands and the muscles of the internal organs.
Sympathetic Nervous System
The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations
Parasympathetic nervous system
The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy
Reflex
A simple automatic inborn response to a sensory stimulus
Lesions
Tissue destruction. A Brian lesion is naturally or experimentally caused as destruction of brain tissue
Neural networks
Interconnected neural cells. Networks can learn as feedback strengthens or inhibits connections that produce certain results.
Endocrine system
The body’s slow chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
Hormones
Chemical messengers mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands, that are produced in one tissue and affect another
Adrenal glands
A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidney. The adrenal secrete the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine, which help to arouse the body in times of stress
Pituitary glands
The endocrine systems most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands
EEG
Electroencephalogram, an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brains surface. Measured by electrodes
PET Scan
Position emission tomography, a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task
MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging, a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to,produce computer generated images that distinguish among different types of soft tissue
fMRI
Functional magnetic resonance imaging, a technique for revealing blood flow and therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans
MRI- fMRI
MRI shows brain anatomy
fMRI shows Brian function
