Chpater 2: Mind And Consciousness Flashcards
How do neurons communicate?
1) All-Or-None Response: If excitatory signals minus inhibitory signals exceed the threshold, action potential is triggered. It will happen or won’t. No inbetween
2) When action potential reaches the axon’s end, electrical impulse converts into chemical message
3) At synapse, neurotransmitters (chemical messages) are sent to next neuron
What are the parts of a neuron?
7 parts
Dendrite fibers Cell body Axon Myelin sheath Terminal branches of axon Neural impulse (action potential) Synapse
Describe function of serotonin
Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal
Describe function of dopamine
In reward circuit. Influences movement, learning, attention and emotion
Describe the function of norepinephrine
Helps control alertness and arousal
Also known as noradrenaline
Describe the function of GABA
Major inhibitory neurotransmitter
Involved in relaxation
Describe the function of glutamate
A major excitatory neurotransmitter
Involved in memory
What are the two major parts of our nervous system?
Central nervous system
Peripheral nervous system
Describe purpose of central nervous system (CNS)
Body’s decision maker
Brain and spine
Describe the purpose of the peripheral nervous system
Sends CNS decisions to other body parts
What are the three types of neurons?
What are their functions?
Sensory neurons (sends messages from body to brain)
Motor neurons (sends messages from brain to body)
Interneurons (processes info. Between the sensory input and motor output)
What are the two parts of the peripheral nervous system?
What are their functions?
Autonomic NS (controls self-regulated actions like breathing, blood circulation, etc.)
Somatic NS (controls voluntary movement of skeletal muscles)
How does the autonomic NS help us cope with challenges?
What are the two nervous systems it’s comprised of?
Sympathetic NS (arouses the body, mobilizing energy during stressful situations (flight or fight))
Parasympathetic NS (calms the body, conserving energy)
How does the brain work? Five word or less
“Brain cells fire in patterns”
Riding a skateboard fires certain patterns of neurons, the more times it is fired, the stronger that connection is
What is the endocrine system?
The body’s “slow” chemical communication system
A set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
What are hormones?
Chemical messengers sent from the endocrine glands through the bloodstream that affect other tissues
What is the cell body of the neuron?
It is the power house
What is the “old brain”
Brainstem
Medulla (controls heartbeat and breathing)
What are the functions of the thalamus?
“Command center” of brain
Processes and relays sensory info.
What are the functions of the limbic system?
Emotions and drive
What are the functions of the amygdala?
Emotions (especially fear and aggression)
Function(s) of the hippocampus?
Memory
Function(s) of the hypothalamus?
Controls maintenance functions, like eating
Helps govern endocrine system
Linked to emotion and reward
Function(s) of association areas in the brain?
Recognizing faces Humor Inhibition Planning Math Understanding others' intentions Reading & writing
What is Broca’s area?
Controls language EXPRESSION
Left hemisphere
What is wernick’s area?
Controls language RECEPTION
Right hemisphere
Explain the brain’s plasticity
The brain’s ability to change by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience
What is neurogenesis?
Formation of new neuron pathways
Like a generally angry person trying to build the pathway of being happy
What is the corpus callosum?
Connects both hemispheres and sends each other messages
What is inattentional blindness?
Failure to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
Explain laterality
Right-left differences in intact brains
Left brain is more logical and calculative
Right brain is more creative and perceptual
What does an EEG do?
Electroencephalograph
Place electrodes to the scalp to record waves of electrical activity
What does a PET scan do?
Positron emission tomography
A view of brain activity showing where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task
What does an fMRI do?
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
A technique for revealing blood flow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans
fMRI scans show brain function
What are the two glands of the endocrine system?
What are their functions?
Adrenal glands (helps arouse the body in times of stress; releases epinephrine and norepinephrine)
Pituitary gland (located in the core of the brain; controls and regulates growth of other endocrine glands)
