Exam 1 Flashcards
___ are interconnected groups of nerve cells that integrate sensory input and motor output.
Neural Networks
While walking barefoot on a beach, the physical pain that one experiences when stepping on a jellyfish most accurately exemplifies…
Sensation
___ are periodic physiological fluctuations in the body, such as the rise and fall of hormones and accelerated/decelerated cycles of the brain activity, that can influence behavior.
Biological Rhythms
You arrive at your friends’ apartment for a party. When you first arrive, the music so loud that it hurts your ears. After a couple of hours, even though the music is still as loud, it no longer bothers you or seems loud. This change in your sensations describes the process of…
Sensory adaptation
What best represents the fluctuations of body temp in a 24 hour day.
Circadian Rhythm
The brain’s special capacity for change…
Plasticity
The somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system are components of the…
Peripheral Nervous System
States of consciousness that require little attention and do not interfere w/ other ongoing activities are called…
Automatic processes
What sleep disorder involves difficulty falling asleep, waking up during the night or waking up too early?
Insomnia
The brain and spinal cord make up the…
Central Nervous System
The sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system are components of the…
Autonomic nervous system
The nervous system
the body’s electrochemical communication circuitry
Neural networks
Neural networks are not static. They can be altered through changes in the strength of synaptic connections
Central vs. Peripheral nervous system
C - brain & spinal cord
P - autonomic & somatic
Sympathetic vs. Parasympathetic nervous system
S - arousing
P - calming
cell body
the cell’s life support center
dendrites
receive messages from other cells
axon
passes messages away from the cell to body to other neurons, muscles, or glands
synopsis
Tiny spaces between neurons; the gaps between neurons are referred to as synaptic gaps
antagonist drugs
A drug that blocks a neurotransmitter’s effects
agonist drugs
A drug that mimics or increases a neurotransmitter’s effects.
sensation
receiving stimulus energies from the external environment and transforming those energies into neural energy
perception
The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it makes sense
bottom-up processing
Taking sensory information and then assembling and integrating it
top-down processing
Using models, ideas, and expectations to interpret sensory information
absolute threshold
The weakest amount of a stimulus that a person can detect 50% of the time
difference threshold
Minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time, also called just noticeable difference (JND)
sensory adaptation
Diminished sensitivity because of constant stimulation
visual system
the eye, providing us with info about the environment through sight
auditory system
sounds, providing us with info about the environment from our ears
place theory
- auditory
- Theory that each frequency produces vibrations at a particular spot on the basilar membrane.
opponent-process theory
- visual
- Theory that cells in the visual system respond to complementary pairs of red-green and blue-yellow colors