Chapter 3 Flashcards
What are the two basic divisions of the nervous system?
- central nervous system (brain & spinal cord)
2. peripheral nervous system (everything else)
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
a division of the autonomic nervous system; it prepares the body for ACTION
What is the parasympathetic nervous system?
a division of the autonomic nervous system; it returns the body to its CALM state
When someone has an overactive nervous system what can it cause?
A lot of anxiety and behavioral disorders
What does the sympathetic system do?
- prepares for action
- comes into play when you are afraid/excited
- increases heart rate
- slows digestion
What does the parasympathetic nervous system do?
- restores your energy reserves
- returns the body to a resting state
- slows the heartbeat
What are the 4 lobes of the brain?
- frontal
- parietal
- occipital
- temporal
Frontal lobe function:
thought, planning, movement
Parietal lobe function:
touch, heat & cold, spacial awareness
Occipital lobe function:
vision
Temporal lobe function:
hearing, memory
somatosensory cortex is in the
parietal lobe
what are the bumps on the brain called?
gyrus, gyri
What are the creases on the brain called?
sulcus, sulci, fissure (deepest)
The left side of the brain sends info to what side of the body
Right, and vice versa (but there are exceptions)
What cell is most responsible for brain activity
The neuron
What 5 parts make up the neuron structure?
- dendrite
- cell body
- axon
- terminal buttons
- synapse
Dendrite:
parts that receive info from other neurons
Cell body:
contains nucleus and maintains life processes of cell (least important)
Axon:
a long hollow tube (filled w/ fluid) which sends info from dendrites to terminal buttons
Terminal buttons:
parts at end of axon that transmit information to dendrites of other neurons using chemical neurotransmitters
Synapse:
the liquid space in between two axons
What is action potential?
the electrical signal that passes along the axon and subsequently causes the release of chemicals from the terminal buttons
What is the All-or-None principle?
all neurons have a threshold for triggering an action potential, which occurs at full strength or not at all : all or none (no half action potential)
synaptic transmission:
how the nervous system transmits information across a synaptic gap (the physical gap between nerve cells), from one neuron to another
axonal transmission:
the process by which one neuron communicates with another, information is passed down the axon of the neuron as an electrical impulse known as action potential
axonal transmission 4 main facts:
- electrical
- always excitatory
- all-or-none
- relatively large
synaptic transmission 4 main facts:
- chemical
- graded size
- excitatory or inhibitory (ESPS or ISPS)
- relatively small
Who was Phineas Gage?
a man who got a rod shot through his brain leaving a clean hole through the cheek and brain and was okay besides some difficulty with emotional regulation
True or False?
No behavior has only one structure which controls it.
True
Reticular Formation
controls sleep and level of arousal and has a role in dreaming (top part of the brain stem)
Cerebellum
fine control and motor function and also plays a role in older forms of learning (ex: dancer, musician, athlete)
Central gray or pariaqueductal gray
one of the many parts of the brain involved with aggression but also pain management and control; controlled with endorphins (top of brain stem)
Limbic system
a set of interconnected structures that control emotional behavior and memory
Hypothalmus
part of the limbic system involved in regulating all body functions. really small, size of a pencil eraser and highly defined. (feeding, fighting, fleeing, mating (f word))
Pituitary gland
master gland of the endocrine system. located right under the hypothalamus which can order the gland to secrete certain hormones
Amygdala
associated with strong emotional memories such as fear and other emotions. critical part of the brain for emotional processing and recognizing dangerous situations.
Hippocampus
involved in forming memories
What is amnesia and what are the two different types?
a major disruption in memory ability
- anterograde
- retrograde
Anterograde amnesia:
inability to form new memories (most common)
Retrograde amnesia:
inability to recall past memories (extremely rare)
Who is H.M.?
patient with severe epilepsy. doctor removed his hippocampus to help with the seizures but he could not learn anything new
Basil ganglia
involved in motor control and executing those movements. damage to this part of the brain could result in paralysis.
Parkinson’s disease
a degenerative disease where your body fails around you due to a lack of dopamine. occurs as a result of damage to the basil ganglia.
Which side of the brain do most people process language?
LEFT hemisphere
What is broca’s area?
motor control - speech production
broca’s aphasia:
a language disorder that results in language comprehension. person can understand others but can’t produce any speech himself.
wernicke’s area:
speech comprehension and meaningful speech production. person is unaware that they are not making sense.
what is prosopagnosia?
inability to recognize faces
what is the association cortex?
involved in higher order recognition, reasoning, and planning
what is visual agnosia?
inability to recognize objects
corpus callosum
bridge of neurons which allow the two hemispheres to share information
brain lateralization
when on hemisphere is dominant for a particular task
brain plasticity
the ability for parts of the brain to compensate for others
consciousness
ones state of awareness to both internal and external stimuli (fluctuates throughout the day)
