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Introduction to Psychology > Chapter 3 > Flashcards

Chapter 3 Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a glia?

A

a type of cell that supports the neuron by insulating them, protecting then, and taking out waste

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2
Q

What are neurons composed of?

A

Cell body
Dendrites
Axon

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3
Q

What does the cell body contain?

A

the nucleus of the cell

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4
Q

What are dendrites?

A

Widely branching structures that receive input from other neurons through more dendrites

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5
Q

What is an axon?

A

A single long, thin, straight fiber with branches near it’s tips

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6
Q

What is myelin?

A

an insulating sheath that speeds up transmission of . It is around some axons.

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7
Q

What is the Action Potential?

A

Axons convey information through a combination of electrical and chemical processes. It arrives at the brain with full strength

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8
Q

What is the All or None Law?

A

Action potentials do not vary in strength….they occur or they do not.

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9
Q

What is the resting potential?

A

an electrical polarization across the membrane of an axon with a negative charge on the inside of the axon

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10
Q

What types of stimulation can upset resting potential? How?

A

An action potential. The membrane briefly opens little gates along it’s surface to allow sodium ion to enter the axon. As a result potassium atoms exit, eliminating negative potential within the axon

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11
Q

What is a synapses? What do they do?

A

junctions or gaps between neurons.

sending neuron releases chemicals into the synapse that either excites or inhibits the next neuron

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12
Q

What is a presynaptic endings?

A

Terminal endings or Terminal buttons that contain neurotransmitters

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13
Q

What are neurotransmitters?

A

chemicals that are stored in the neuron that activate the receptors of other neurons

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14
Q

What are postsynaptic neuron?

A

The receiving neuron

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15
Q

What is dopamine?

A

a neurotransmitter that promotes activity levels and

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16
Q

What is the central nervous system comprised of?

A

brain and spinal cord

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17
Q

What is the peripheral nervous system composed of?

A

bundles of axons between the spinal cord and the rest of the body

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18
Q

What is the somatic nervous system composed of?

A

peripheral nerves that communicate with muscles and skin. They carry information back to the brain

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19
Q

What is the autonomic nervous system?

A

The nerves control the heart, stomach, and other organs

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20
Q

What does the central nervous system develop from?

A

a simple tube during embryonic stages into a forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. The remains of the tube become the spinal cord

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21
Q

What is the cerebral cortex?

A

the outer surface of the forebrain consisting of two hemispheres

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22
Q

What is the occipital lobe?

A

it is position at the rear of the head. Specialization is vision

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23
Q

What is the temporal lobe?

A

main processing center for hearing

recognizing faces, movement of visual objects and sounds, remembering the names of objects

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24
Q

What is the amygdala?

A

Responsible for the experience and processing of emotion. It is in the temporal lobe.

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25
Q

What is the parietal lob?

A

located in front of occipital lobe. Specialization is body senses.

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26
Q

What is the primary somatosensory cortex?

A

a strip located in the parietal lobe. it has neurons that are touch sensitive for various areas of the body

27
Q

What is the frontal lobe?

A

contains the primary motor cortex. It contains areas important to language function and some networks of mirror neurons

28
Q

What is the primary motor cortex?

A

area that controls fine movements. It is located in the frontal lobe

29
Q

What is the prefrontal cortex?

A

Contributes to the planning and organization of movements, and to certain aspects of memory.

30
Q

What are mirror neurons?

A

neurons that facilitate learning from watching and copying others

31
Q

What is the Subcortical Area?

A

Structures below the cortex that mediate information entering and exiting the forebrain

32
Q

What is the thalamus?

A

It is located in the Subcortical area. It processes sensory information before the cerebral cortex does.

33
Q

What is the hypothalamus?

A

it is important in regulating drives like hunger, thirst temperature regulation, and sexual motivation

34
Q

What is the limbic system?

A

surrounds the thalamus

35
Q

What are pons and medullas?

A

controls various lifesaving functions along with the muscles in the head (chewing, swallowing, breathing and talking). Located in the hindbrain.

36
Q

What is the cerebellum?

A

located in the hindbrain. It is important for behaviors that require timing, coordination, balance, and rapid shifts or attention between multiple stimuli

37
Q

What does the spinal cord do?

A

It communicates with the body below the level of the head by means of sensory neurons and motor neurons. It sends and receives information from the brain to the other parts of thebody

38
Q

What do sensory neurons do?

A

carry information about touch, pain, and other senses from the periphery of the body to the spinal cord

39
Q

What do motor neurons do?

A

they transmit impulses from the central nervous system to muscles and glands

40
Q

What is a reflex?

A

An automatic response to a stimulus.

41
Q

How do we measure brain activity?

A

electroencephalograph (EEG)
positron emission tomography (PET)
Functional Magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

42
Q

How does an EEG measure?

A

electrodes on the scalp that record electrical activity of the neurons in the brain

43
Q

How does a PET measure?

A

records radioactivity from injected chemicals

44
Q

How does a fMRI measure?

A

uses magnetic detectors located outside the head to measure the amounts oxygenated hemoglobin in different parts of the brain

45
Q

What two parts make up the autonomic nervous system?

A

Sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight)

Parasympathetic (vegetative functions)

46
Q

What is the endocrine system?

A

It is comprised of glands that produce hormones and release them into the blood

47
Q

What are hormones?

A

long lasting chemicals released by glands and conveyed by the blood where they alter activity, structure, and growth

48
Q

What regulates the the production and dispersal of hormones?

A

Hypothalamus and pituitary glands

49
Q

What are stem cells?

A

Undifferentiated cells that can develop into additional neurons

50
Q

How does brain plasticity occur?

A

Due to the growth and modification of synapses

51
Q

How does the right hemisphere understand language?

A

in a limited manner than the left. It is important for comprehending the emotional aspects of speech. Spatial reasoning, recognizing faces, and facial expressions

52
Q

What is the corpus callosum?

A

set of axons connecting both hemispheres

53
Q

What is a treatment used for epilepsy?

A

corpus callosum

54
Q

What is epilepsy?

A

a condition in which some neurons in the brain begin to emit abnormal rhythmic , spontaneous impulses

55
Q

What is the binding problem?

A

the way separate brain areas combine to form a unified perception of a single object

56
Q

What are chromosomes?

A

Strands of hereditary material

57
Q

What are genes?

A

Sections of chromosomes that give instructions for chemical reactions that direct the individual organism’s development

58
Q

What is homozygous?

A

both genes are the same for a trait

59
Q

What is heterozygous?

A

both genes are different for a trait

60
Q

How many chromosomes does each sex have?

A

female has two Xs

males have one X and one Y

61
Q

What are sex linked genes?

A

Gees located on the X chromosome

62
Q

What are sex limited genes?

A

affects one sex more than the other.

63
Q

What is heritability?

A

estimate of the variance within a population that is due to heredity

64
Q

How do researchers assess heritability?

A

By

Introduction to Psychology (4 decks)

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