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
