Module 4: Neural and Hormonal Systems Flashcards
Biological Psychology
the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes. Some biological psychologists call themselves behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, physiological psychologists, or biopsychologists.
Neuroplasticity
The brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience.
Neuron
A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
Cell body
The part of a neuron that contains the nucleus; the cell’s life-support center
Dendrites
A neuron’s often bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body
Axon
The segmented neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands
Myelin Sheath
A fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next.
Glial Cells
Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory.
Action potential
A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.
Threshold
The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.
Refractory period
(1) in neural processing, a bried resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; subsequent action potentials cannot occur until the axon returns to its resting state. (2) in human sexuality, a resting period that occurs after orgasm, during which a person cannot achieve another orgasm.
All-or-none response
A neuron’s reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing.
Synapse
The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite of cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap (or synaptic cleft).
Neurotransmitters
Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gap between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.
Reuptake
a neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron.