Chapter 5 Learning

Question 1

learning

Answer 1

a relatively permanent change in behaviour (or behaviour potential) due to experience

Question 2

reflex action

Answer 2

a simple, automatic, involuntary response to a specific stimulus that comes directly from the nervous system and is basically the same each time it occurs

Question 3

fixed action pattern (FAP)

Answer 3

the innate predisposition - essentially identical among most members of a species - to behave in a certain way in response to a specific environment stimulus also known as species - specific behaviour

Question 4

maturation

Answer 4

the physical growth and development of the body, brain and nervous system at fairly predictable ages in the life cycle

Question 5

maturation behaviours

Answer 5

innate, age-related behaviours that result from the physical growth and development (maturation) of the body, brain and nervous system at fairly predictable ages in the life cycle

Question 6

cerebellum

Answer 6

a structure attached to the rear of the brainstem that helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance

Question 7

limbic system

Answer 7

a number of structures that form a doughnut-shaped neural system between the hindbrain and the cerebral hemispheres

Question 8

synaptogenesis

Answer 8

the process by which synapses are formed between neurons

Question 9

filopodia

Answer 9

finger-like extensions of growth cones (structures at the tips of axons and dendrites) that search for target cells during the process of synaptogenesis

Question 10

pre-synaptic neuron

Answer 10

a neuron that sends a nerve impulse across the synapse to another neuron (post-synaptic neuron)

Question 11

post-synaptic neuron

Answer 11

a neuron that receives a nerve impulse sent across the synapse from another neuron (pre-synaptic neuron)

Question 12

action potential

Answer 12

a electrical charge (nerve impulse) that sweeps down the axon of a neuron, prompting the release neurotransmitters

Question 13

plasticity

Answer 13

the ability of the brain to change its structure and relocate functions to different areas and/or neuronal networks

Question 14

developmental plasticity

Answer 14

changes in neurons and synaptic conditions that occur as a specific consequence of development processes

Question 15

adaptive plasticity

Answer 15

a term referring to the ability of neurons to alter the connections between the synapses in accordance to best suit the environmental conditions, when learning something new or when re-learning something after brain injury

Question 16

neurogenesis

Answer 16

the production of new brain cells

Question 17

critical periods

Answer 17

a time of increased sensitivity to environmental influences when the conditions are optimal for certain capacities to emerge in an organism