Chapter 3 The Biological Bases Of Behavior

Question 0

Critical Period

Answer 0

A limited time span for the development of an organism that is optimal for certain capacities to emerge because the organism is especially responsive to certain experiences.

Question 1

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Answer 1

A technique that temporarily enhances or depresses neural activity in a specific area of the brain.

Question 2

Fitness

Answer 2

Refers to the reproductive success of an individual organism relative to the average reproductive success in the population.

Question 3

Nerons

Answer 3

Individual cells in the nervous system that receive, integrate, and transmit information.

Question 4

Soma

Answer 4

Neuron part that contains the cell nucleus and much of the chemical machinery common to most cells.

Question 5

Dendrites

Answer 5

Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.

Question 6

Axon

Answer 6

A long thin fiber that transmits signals away from the soma to other neurons, or to muscles or glands.

Question 7

Myelin Sheath

Answer 7

An insulating jacket, derived from glia cells that encases some axons.

Question 8

Terminal Buttons

Answer 8

Small knobs at the end of the axon that secrete chemicals called neurotransmitters.

Question 9

Synapse

Answer 9

A junction where information is transmitted between neurons.

Question 10

Resting Potential

Answer 10

The stable, negative charge of an inactive neuron.

Question 11

Reuptake

Answer 11

A process in which neurotransmitters are sponged up from the synaptic cleft by the presynaptic neuron.