Chapter 2.1 Neural and Hormonal Systems Flashcards
The scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes
Biological Psychology
The brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience.
Neuroplasiticity
A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.
Neuron
The part of a neuron that contains the nucleus; the cell’s life-support center
Cell Body
A neuron’s. often bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body.
Dendrite
The segmented neuron extension that passes messages through its branched to other neurons or to muscles or glands.
Axon
A fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next.
Myelin Sheath
Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they may also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory.
Glial Cells
A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.
Action Potential
The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
Threshold
A brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; subsequent action potentials cannot occur until the axon returns to its resting state
Refractory Period
A neuron’s reaction of either firing (will a full-strength response) or not firing.
All-or-Nothing Response
The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.
Synapse
The tiny gap at the synapse
Synaptic Gap/Synaptic Cleft
Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gap between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, they travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse
Neurotransmitters
A neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron
Reuptake
Natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.
Endorphins
A molecule that increases a neurotransmitter’s action
Agonist
A molecule that decreases a neurotransmitter’s function
Antagonist
A neurotransmitter that enables muscle action, learning, and memory
Acetylcholine (ACh)
A neurotransmitter that influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion.
Dopamine
A neurotransmitter that affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal
Serotonin
A neurotransmitter that helps control alertness and arousal
Norepinephrine
A major inhibitory neurotransmitter
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)
A major excitatory neurotransmitter, involved in memory
Glutamate
The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.
Nervous System
The brain and spinal cord
Central Nervous System (CNS)
The sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
Bundles axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sensory organs
Nerves
Neurons that carry incoming information from the body’s tissues and sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord
Sensory Neurons
Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands
Motor Neurons
Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and process information between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.
Interneurons
The division of the PNS that controls the body’s skeletal muscles.
Somatic (Skeletal) Nervous System
The part of the PNS that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart).
Autonomic Nervous System
The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing it’s energy
Sympathetic Nervous System
The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy
Parasympathetic Nervous System
A simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus
Reflex
The body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands and fat tissue that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.
Endocrine System
Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues
Hormones
A pair of endocrine glands that sits just above the kidneys and secretes hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress
Adrenal Glands
The endocrine system’s most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, it regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.
Pituitary Gland
