Key Terms Flashcards
Define the autonomic nervous system
Governs the brains involuntary actions and is self regulating. It is divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches
Define the brain
The part of the central nervous system that is responsible for coordination of senses, intellectual and nervous activity
Define the Central nervous system
Compromised of the brain and the spinal cord. Receives info from the senses and controls the bodies response
Define peripheral nervous system
The he part is the nervous system that is outside the brain and the spinal cord
Define the somatic nervous system
The part of the peripheral nervous system responsible for carrying sensory and motor information to and from the central nervous system.
Define motor neurons
Form synapses with muscles and control their contractions
Define neurotransmitter
Chemical substances that play an important part in the workings of the nervous system by transmitting nerve impulses across a synapse
Define relay neurons
These neurons are the most common type of neuron in the cns. They allow sensory and motor neurons to communicate
Define sensory neurons
Carry nerve impulses for the sensory receptors to the spinal cord and the brain
Define synapse
The conjunction of the end of an axon of one neuron and the dendrite or cell body of another
Define synaptic transmission
The process by which a nerve impulse passes across the synaptic cleft from one neuron to another
Define endocrine glands
Special group of cells within the endocrine system whose function is to produce and secrete hormones
Define endocrine system
A network or glands throughout the. Hey that manufacture and secrete hormones
Define hormones
Chemical messengers that travel through the bloodstream, influencing different processes
Define the pituitary gland
The gland that’s main function is to influence the release of hormones from other glands
Define the flight or flight response
A sequence of activity within the body that is triggered when the body prepares itself for defending or attacking or running away. This involves changes in the nervous system and the secretion of hormones that are necessary to sustain arousal
Define the HPA axis
A sequence of bodily activity in response to stress that involves the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal cortex
define Broca’s area
An area in the frontal lobe in the left hemisphere of the brain that is responsible for speech production
Define localisation of function
The idea that specific areas of the brain are associated with specific cognitive processes
Define the motor cortex
A region of the brain responsible for the generation of voluntary motor movements
Define the somatosensory cortex
A region is the brain that process input from sensory receptors in the body that are sensitive to touch
Define wernicks area
An area in the temporal lobe of the brain important to the understanding of speech
Define hemispheric lateralisation
Refers to the fact that some mental processes in the brain are mainly specialised to either the left or the right hemisphere
Define split-brain research
Research that studies individuals with who have been subjected to the surgical separation of the two hemispheres if the brain by severing the corpus callosum
Define brain plasticity
Refers to the Brains ability to modify its own structure and function as a result of experience
Define functional recovery
refers to the recovery of abilities and mental processes that have been compromised as a result of brain injury or disease
Define electoencephalogram
A method of recording changes in the electrical activity of the brain using electrodes attached to the scalp
Define event related potential
Same equipment as ECG and uses that data to investigate the cognitive processing from a specific event. It achieves this by taking multiple readings and averaging them in order to filter out all the brain activity that is not related to the stimulus
Define Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
A technique used to measure brain activity by detecting changes in the blood oxygenation and flow that indicate increased neural activity
Define post mortem examinations
Examining the brains of people who have shown particular psychological abnormalities prior to their death.
Define a circadian rhythm
A rhythms that lasts approximately 24 hours.
Define infradian rhythms
Rhythms that last over 24 hours
Define ultradian rhythms
Rhythms that last less than 24 hours
Define endogenous pacemakers
Internal mechanisms that govern the internal, biological bodily rhythms
Define exogenous zeitgebers
Social or environmental cues that help regulate the biological clock in an organism
