Intro Flashcards
What is biological Psychology?
The study of the brain and how it produces behaviour and mental processes
What is neuroanatomy?
The study of neural architecture of various brain regions along with the mapping of the pathways that connect them
What is Neurophysiology ?
The study of how neurons produce action potentials and neural information
What is physiological psychology?
The study of the brain and behaviour. “Physiological” techniques such is lesioning and stimulation.
What are ventricles?
A series of fluid-filled cavities that could be seen when the brain was sliced open.
Who is Descartes?
A french philosopher and mathematician.
Where did Descartes propose that the mind and body interacted?
The pineal gland
According to Descartes, what is a reflex?
An automatic, stereotyped movement produced as the direct result of a stimulus.
Who experimented on amputated frogs legs?
Luigi Galvani (1791)
What did Luigi Galvani discover?
Nervous tissue contains electrical energy.
Neurons receive most of their input via their….
dendrites.
Another word for cell body is?
Soma
What is the axon protected by?
The Myelin sheath
What is a golgi stain?
staining nervous tissue with silver nitrate so they could be seen under a microscope.
Gaps between neurons are called?
Synapses
A neurone before the synapse is called?
presynaptic neuron
The recipient neuron is called?
postsynaptic neuron
How do nerve cells in the body communicate with each other?
By secreting neurotransmitters into synapses.
Drugs that mimic neurotransmitters are called?
agonists
Drugs that block a neurotransmitter at its receptor site are called?
antagonist
The first neurotransmitter to be discovered?
Acetylcholine (ACH)
What does the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine do?
muscular movement, regulating REM sleep, perceptual learning and memory
What is the primary neurotransmitter secreted by efferent axons of the CNS?
Acetylcholine
Adrenaline (epinephrine) is a hormone secreted by the
adrenal medulla
Dopamine affects…
movement, attention, learning and reinforcing affects of abused drugs.
What function does noradrenaline (NA) norepinephrine have?
vigilance or attentiveness to events in the environment
What controls the regulation of mood, the control of eating, sleep, dreaming and arousal?
Serotonin (5HT)
What is the most important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and spinal chord?
GABA gamma-aminobutyric
What is the most important excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain?
Glutamate
Class of peptides secreted by the brain that acts as opiates. Drugs that effect opioid receptors. Reduce pain
Endorphins
What neurotransmitter reduces pain?
Endorphins
One of the endogenous opioids
Enkephalins
