Chapter 3 - The Biology Of Behavior - Terms And Concepts pt. 2 Flashcards
Caudate Nucleus
A component of the basal ganglia involved with the control and initiation of motor movement - an area of the brain affected by Huntington’s disease, which is located adjacent to the putamen
Putamen
A component of the basal ganglia involved with the control and initiation of motor movement - an area of the brain affected by Huntington’s disease, which is located adjacent to the caudate nucleus
Substantia Nigra
A region of dark colored neurons in the upper brainstem that sends axons to the caudate nuclues and to the putamen - an area of the brain affected by Parkinson’s disease
Cerebral Cortex
This outer layer of the brain’s cerebrum (sometimes called gray matter) that is responsible for movement, perception, thinking, and memory
Sensory Cortex
Region of the cerebral cortex that is involved in receiving sensory messages
Motor Cortex
Region of the cerebral cortex that transmits messages to muscles and controls virtually all intentional body movements
Association Cortex
The largest portion of the cerebral cortex (about 75%), involved in integrating sensory and motor messages as well as processing higher functions such as thinking, interpreting, and remembering
Frontal Lobe
Largest, foremost lobe in the cerebral cortex; an important region for movement, emotion, and memory
Broca’s Area
Region of the left frontal love that is the primary brain center for controlling speech
Broca’s Aphasia
The loss of the ability to speak or understand spoken or written language, also called expressive aphasia
Parietal Lobe
Region of the cerebral cortex located just behind the central fissure and above the lateral fissure, contains the somatosensory cortex as well as association areas that process sensory information received by the somatosensory cortex
Somatosensory Cortex
Area of the parietal lobe, directly across from the motor cortex in the frontal lobe, which receives sensory information about touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position
Occipital Lobe
Region at the rear of cerebral cortex that consists of primarily the visual cortex
Visual Cortex
Portion of the occipital lobe that integrates sensory information received from the eyes into electrical patterns that the brain translates into vision
Temporal Lobe
Region of the cerebral cortex located below the lateral fissure that contains the auditory cortex
Auditory Cortex
Region of the temporal lobe located just below the lateral fissure that is involved in responding to auditory signals, particularly the sound of human speech
Wernicke’s Area
Area of the left temporal lobe that is the brain’s primary area for understanding speech
Wernicke’s Aphasia
A loss of the ability to comprehend spoken or written language, also called receptive aphasia
Agnosias
An inability to know or recognize objects through the senses usually caused by brain injury or disease resulting in the failure to recognize or identify objects visually even though they can be seen
Prosopagnosia
An inability to visually recognize particular faces usually caused by brain disease or injury (patients with prosopagnosia can see a face but may not be able to recognize it as familiar)
Lesion Production
Technique for studying the brain that involves surgical damage to a precise region of the brain (most commonly done with experimental animals)
Brain Stimulation
Technique for studying the brain that involves stimulating precise regions with a weak electric current
Electric Recording
Technique for studying the brain in which tiny wires implanted in the brain are used to record neural electrical activity
Electroencephalography (EEG)
Technique used to measure and record electrical activity of the cortex
Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT)
A procedure used to locate brain abnormalities that involves rotating an X-ray scanner around the skull to produce an accurate image of the living brain
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Technique for studying the brain that involves injecting a subject with a glucose-like sugar tagged with a radioactive isotope that accumulates in brain cells in direct proportion to their activity level
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Procedure for studying the brain that uses radio waves to excite hydrogen protons in the brain tissue, creating a magnetic field charge
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
A method of magnetic resonance imaging that measures energy released by brain cells that are active during a specific task
Endocrine system
System of ductless glands, including the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroids, adrenals, pancreas, and gonads that secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream or lymph fluids
Hormones
Chemical messengers secreted by the endocrine glands that act to regulate the functioning of specific body organs
Pituitary Gland
Gland in the endocrine system located directly below and connected to the hypothalamus, produces a number of hormones many of which trigger other endocrine glands to release hormones
Thyroid Gland
Endocrine gland located in the neck that influences metabolism, growth, and maturation, which produces the hormone thyroxine
Thyroxine
The major hormone produced by thyroid gland that regulates metabolism
Adrenal glands
Glands within the endocrine system, located just above the kidneys, that influence emotional state, energy levels, and responses to stress by releasing hormones
Gonads
Glands within the endocrine system (ovaries in females and testes in males) that produce sex hormones that influence development of sexual system and secondary sex characteristics as well as sexual motivation
Tolerance
A decrease in the effectiveness of a drug observed after repeated administration
Dependence
Physiological adaptation to repeated drug administration that can lead to withdrawal symptoms upon cessation of drug use
Addiction
A brain disease caused by repeated administration of drugs that rapidly increase dopamine activity resulting in structural and functional changes to the mesolimbic system and frontal cortex (not all drugs that cause dependence necessarily cause addiction)
Depressants
Psychoactive drugs, including opiates, sedatives, and alcohol, that have the effect of slowing down or depressing central nervous system activity
Sedatives
Class of depressant drugs including tranquilizers, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines that induce relaxation, calmness, and sleep
Narcotics (opiates)
Also known as opiates, a class of depressant drugs that includes opium, morphine, codeine, and heroin
Stimulants
Psychoactive drugs, including caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, and cocaine, that stimulate the central nervous system by increasing the transmission of neural impulses
Amphetamines
A group of powerful stimulants, including Benzedrine, Dexedrine, and Ritalin, that dramatically increase alertness and promote feeling of euphoria
LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide)
Hallucinogenic drug derived from a fungus that grows on rye grass that produces profound distortions of sensations, feelings, time, and thought
Hallucinogens
Class of psychoactive drugs, including LSD and ecstasy, that alter sensory perceptions, thinking processes and emotions, often causing delusions, hallucinations, and altered sense of time and space
Marijuana
Drug derived from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, containing the chemical THC (delta 9-tetrahydrocannbinol)
Anandamide
A naturally occurring substance that binds to THC receptors in the brain. Marijuana contains THC, which also binds to these receptors
Lateralization of Function
Degree to which a particular function, such as the understanding of speech, is controlled by one rather than both cerebral hemispheres
Corpus Callosum
Broad band of nerve fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres of the cerebral cortex
