Chapter 3 - The Brain Flashcards
part of nervous system that serves limbs and organs
PNS
biggest part of the nervous system
CNS
part of PNS that picks up stimuli, coordinates movements, and performs other consciously controlled tasks
somatic nervous system
part of the PNS thst performs tasks not under conscious control
autonomic nervous system
part of ANS that is always active and acts as an accelerator for organs
sympathetic nervous system
part of ANS that is responsible for functions that do not rewuire immediate actions and acts as a brake for organs
parasympathetic nervous system
excitable cells that receive different types of stimulation; building blocks of nervous system
neurons
relatively short, bushy, branch-like structures thwt emerge from neuron cell body and receive signals from adjoining neurons
dendrites
cell body of a neuron
soma
cable-like extension that transmit signal away from soma
axon
fatty substance that coats and insulates axons
myelin
structures at the ends of the branches that extend from axons
terminal buttons
carry info from sensory receptors to brain as coded signal
sensory neurons
carry info away from CNS to muscles and glands
motor neurons
carry info between sensory and motor neurons
interneurons
cells that support neurons, keep them in place, create myelin, provide nutrition and insulation
glial cells (glia)
fatty envelope that filters substances trying to leave bloodstream and enter brain
blood-brain barrier
large community of neurons
network
tight grouping of neurons
nerve
process in ehich neurons is instructed not to transmit info to other neurons
inhibition
number of positive inputs a neuron must receive before it transmits information
threshold
once the threshold for wpa particular neuron is reached, it will transmit all its information, no matter how many more positive inputs it receives over that threshold
all-or-none principle
electrochemical ripple from cell body to terminal buttons snd terminates in release of neurotransmitter
action potential
relatively negative state inside neuron in which fluid filled interior contains a surplus of negatively charaged particles
resting potential
parts of an axon that are not insulated by myelin
nodes of Ranvier
area between neurons across which nerve impulses travel
synapse
narrow space between transmitting neuron terminal buttons and receiving neuron dendrites
synaptic cleft
chemical message created by a synapse from an electrical message transmitted by terminal buttons
neurotransmitter
process in which a neurotransmitter is put back into presynsptic neuron
reuptake
describes flexible ability to grow and change
plasticity
organinzed simple reflexes and rhythmic movements
spinal cord
rapid and automatic neuromuscular actions generates in response to specific stimulus
reflex
responsible for survival oriented functions such as breathing, cardiac function, and basic arousal
brain stem
part of brain that controls socialand emotional behavior and influences some cognitive processs like memory
limbic system
parts of limbic system
amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, cingulate cortex
evolutionarily newest part of the brain that enables symbolic representation
neocortex
part of neocortex responsible for exective functions
prefrontal cortex
part of brain essential for the cognitive experience of emotionl mediating conflicting thoughts, and making choices between right and wrong
prefrontal cortex
largest opening in the skull
foramen magnum
brain swelling would affect these regions
brainstem: medulla and pons
part of brain that regulates cardiac and respiratory function
medulla
part of brain involved in sleep, dreaming, right-left body coordination, and arousal
pons
part of brain that receives, processes, and sends sensory information to the cerebral cortex
thalamus
helps regulate states of arousal, sleep and wakefulness, and consciousness
thalamus
part of brain mainly involved in coordination of sensory and motor information
cerebral cortex
what does spinal cord injury paralyze
person may lose all functions controlled by the area of the spine below the injury
part of brain that coordinates muscle movements and maintains equilibrium. Involved in conditioning and forming procedural memories and habits related to movement.
cerebellum
set of interconnected structures in brain that help with motor control, cognition, different forms of learning, and emotional processing. Involved in forming procedural memories and habits elated to movement.
basal ganglia
part of basal ganglia involved in control of voluntary movement, and part of the brain’s learning and memory system
caudate
part of basal ganglia involved in reinforcement learning
putamen
part of basal ganglia that relays info from caudate and putamen to thalamus
globud pallidus
involved in fear detection and conditioning, essential for unconscious emotional resonses like fight or flight
amygdala
psrts of basal ganglia
putsmen, caudate, globus pallidus
part of brain involved in processing explicit memories, recognizing and recalling long term memories, and conditioning
hippocampus
small structure that links nervous and endocrine systems
hypothalamus
part of brain involved in emotion, response selection, personal orientation, and memory formation and retrieval
cingulate cortex
parts of cingulate cortex
anterior cingulate, midcingulate, posterior cingulate, and retrosplenial cortexes
physiological response to stressors triggered by amygdala
fight of flight response
large band of axons connecting two hemispheres of brain
corpus callosum
srea of brain that serves ad an executive control system for behavior; involved in physical perception of pain
snterior cingulate cortex
part of brain primarily involved in response selection
midcingulate cortex
part of brain primarily involved in personsl orientation
poeterior cingulate cortex
part cingulate cortex primarily involved in memory formation and retrival
retrosplenial cortex
substance that makes up the cerebral cortex
gray matter
bulges in the cerebral cortex
gyri
grooves in the cerebral cortex
sulci
consisted of myelinated axons that form connections within the brain
white matter
part of each lobe of cerebral cortex that serves basic sensory and motor functions
primary cortex
part of lobes of cerebral cortex that help basic sensory and motor information from a specific lobe integrate with information from the rest of the brain
association cortex
parts of brain involved in visual processing
occipital lobes
smalles lobes in the brain
occipital lobes
part of brain that receives input from eyes and translates that input into what people see
primary visual cortex
parts of brain involved in auditory processing
temporal lobes
parts of brain primarily concerned with bodily sensations, including touch, taste, and temperature
parietal lobes
part of brain involved in auditory processing
primary auditory cortex
part of parietal lobes that receives and interprets info about bodily sensations
primary somatosensory cortex
parts of brain that perform variety of integration and management functions
frontal lobes
part of brain involved in encoding and storing working and long term memory, and to a lesser extent, sensory memory processin
frontal lobes
describes one side controlling opposite side
contralateral
describes one side controlling same side
ipsilateral
___ connects the brain to the spinal nerves
spinal cord
human brain has three major characteristics
integration, sophistication, adaptability
who proposed synaptic plasticity, what did it account for
Donald Hebb, more cells communicate, more plentiful synaptic connections become, accounts for how the brain learns and retains memories
two theories of how brain recovers from damage
- brain cannot make new functional neurons, so it recruits and strengthens smaller, underutilized ones
- adult neurogenesis does occur in certain brain regions
what allows an electrical signsl to travel down an axon
movement of charged particles
job of the spinal cord
keep you alive with simple reflexes
language is most commonly found in the
left hemisphere
