N

Question 1

A participant who has not previously participated in a particular research study and has not been made aware of the experimenter’s hypothesis

Answer 1

Naive Participant

Question 2

A morphine derived opioid antagonist that prevents the binding of opioids to opioid receptors
- Like other opioid antagonists, it can quickly reverse the effects of opioid overdose and is useful in emergency settings to reverse respiratory depression

Answer 2

Naloxone

Question 3

An opioid antagonist that, like the shorter acting naloxone, prevents the binding of opioid agonists to opioid receptors
- If this is taken prior to use of opiate drugs, it will prevent their reinforcing effects, and can therefore be used for the management of opioid dependence in individuals desiring abstinence
- This is also appropriate as an adjunctive treatment in the management of alcoholism
- U.S. Trade name: ReVia

Answer 3

Naltrexone

Question 4

Excessive self love or egocentrism

Answer 4

Narcissism

Question 5

A personality disorder with the following characteristics: (a) a long standing pattern of grandiose self importance and exaggerated sense of talent and achievements; (b) fantasies of unlimited sex, power, brilliance, or beauty; (c) an exhibitionistic need for attention and admiration; (d) either cool indifference or feelings of rage, humiliation, or emptiness as a response to criticism, indifference, or defeat; and (e) various interpersonal disturbances, such as feeling entitled to special favors, taking advantage of others, and inability to empathize with the feelings of others

Answer 5

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Question 6

A disorder consisting of excessive daytime sleepiness accompanied by brief “attacks” of sleep during waking hours
- These sleep attacks may occur at any time or during any activity, including in potentially dangerous situations, such as driving an automobile
- The attacks are marked by immediate entry into REM sleep without going through the usual initial stages of sleep

Answer 6

Narcolepsy

Question 7

1. Originally, any drug that induces a state of stupor or insensibility (narcosis)
   - More recently, the term referred to strong opioids used clinically for pain relief but this usage is now considered imprecise and pejorative; the term is still sometimes used in legal contexts to refer to a wide variety of abused substances
2. Of or relating to narcotics or narcosis

Answer 7

Narcotic

Question 8

Treatment for individuals, couples, or families that helps clients reinterpret and rewrite their life events into true but more life enhancing narratives or stories
- This posits that individuals are primarily meaning making beings who are the linguistic authors of their lives and who can reauthor these stories by learning to deconstruct them, by seeing patterns in their ways of interpreting life events or problems, and by reconstruing problems or events in a more helpful light

Answer 8

Narrative Therapy

Question 9

1. The doctrine that the mind has certain innate structures and that experience plays a limited role in the creation of knowledge
2. The doctrine that mental and behavioral traits are largely determined by hereditary, rather than environmental, factors

Answer 9

Nativism

Question 10

A method of labor and child delivery that does not include (or is designed to eliminate) the need for medical interventions, such as anesthetics
- The mother receives preparatory education in such areas as breathing and relaxation coordination, exercise of the muscles involved in labor and delivery, and postural positions that make labor more comfortable and allow for conscious participation in delivery

Answer 10

Natural Childbirth

Question 11

A natural event, often a natural disaster (eg; a flood, tornado, or volcanic eruption), that is treated as an experimental condition to be compared to some control condition
- However, since natural events cannot be manipulated or prearranged, these are in fact not true experiments at all but rather a type of nonexperimental research

Answer 11

Natural Experiment

Question 12

In philosophy, the doctrine that reality consists solely of natural objects and that therefore the methods of natural science offer the only reliable means to knowledge and understanding of reality
- This is closely related to materialism and explicitly opposes any form of supernaturalism positing the existence of realities beyond the natural and material world

Answer 12

Naturalism

Question 13

Data collection in a field setting, usually without laboratory controls or manipulation of variables
- These procedures are usually carried out by a trained observer, who watches and records the everyday behavior of participants in their natural environments
- Examples of this include an ethologist’s study of the behavior of chimpanzees and an anthropologist’s observation of playing children

Answer 13

Naturalistic Observation

Question 14

A type of lymphocyte that destroys infected or cancerous cells
- Unlike the B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes, these do not require the target cells to display on their surface foreign antigens combined with host histocompatibility proteins

Answer 14

Natural Killer Cell

Question 15

The process by which such forces as competition, disease, and climate tend to eliminate individuals who are less well adapted individuals
- Hence, over successive generations, the nature of the population changes
- This is the fundamental mechanism driving the evolution of living organisms and the emergence of new species, as originally proposed independently by British naturalists Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882) and Alfred Russel Wallace (1823 - 1913)

Answer 15

Natural Selection

Question 16

1. The phenomena of the natural world, including plants, animals, and physical features, as opposed to human beings and their creations
2. The innate, presumably genetically determined, characteristics and behaviors of an individual
   - In psychology, those characteristics most often and traditionally associated with nature are temperament, body type, and personality

Answer 16

Nature

Question 17

The dispute over the relative contributions of hereditary and constitutional factors (nature) and environmental factors (nurture) to the development of the individual
- Nativists emphasize the role of heredity, whereas environmentalists emphasize sociocultural and ecological factors, including family attitudes, child rearing practices, and economic status
- Most scientists now accept that there is a close interaction between hereditary and environmental factors in the ontogeny of behavior

Answer 17

Nature - Nurture

Question 18

The mechanisms used by an organism to find its way through the environment, for example, to a migration site or to its home site
- A variety of cues have been documented in nonhuman animals, including using the sun or stars as a compass, magnetic lines, olfactory cues, visual cues (eg; rivers or coastlines), and wind sheer effects from air masses crossing mountain ranges

Answer 18

Navigation

Question 19

Answers questions negatively regardless of their content, which can distort the results of surveys, questionnaires, and similar instruments

Answer 19

Nay-saying

Question 20

An image, perception, event, interaction, or feeling (or a combination of any of these) reported by some people after a life threatening episode
- Typical features include a sense of separation from the body, often accompanied by the ability to look down on the situation; a peaceful and pleasant state of mind; and an entering into the light, sometimes following an interaction with a spiritual being
- There is continuing controversy regarding the existence, cause, and nature of NDEs

Answer 20

Near Death Experience (NDE)

Question 21

A line drawing of a cube in which all angles and sides can be seen, as if it were transparent
- It is an ambiguous figure whose three dimensionality fluctuates when viewed for a prolonged period of time [Louis Albert Necker (1730 - 1804), Swiss crystallographer]

Answer 21

Necker Cube

Question 22

A condition of tension in an organism resulting from deprivation of something required for survival, wellbeing, or personal fulfillment

Answer 22

Need

Question 23

A strong desire to accomplish goals and attain a high standard of performance and personal fulfillment
- People with this often undertake tasks in which there is a reasonable probability of success and avoid tasks that are either too easy (because of lack of challenge) or too difficult (because of fear of failure)

Answer 23

Need for Achievement (n-Ach)

Question 24

A strong desire to socialize and be part of a group
- People with this often seek the approval and acceptance of others

Answer 24

Need for Affiliation (n-Aff)

Question 25

A personality trait reflecting a person’s tendency to enjoy engaging in extensive cognitive activity
- This trait primarily reflects a person’s motivation to engage in cognitive activity rather than his or her actual ability to do so
- Individuals high in this tend to develop attitudes or take action based on thoughtful evaluation of information

Answer 25

Need for Cognition

Question 26

The motivation to be a part of relationships, belong to groups, and to be viewed positively by others

Answer 26

Need to Belong

Question 27

The internal feeling state (affect) that occurs when one has failed to achieve a goal or to avoid a threat or when one is not satisfied with the current state of affairs
- The tendency to experience such states is known as negative affectivity

Answer 27

Negative Affect

Question 28

A relationship between two variables in which the value of one variable increases while the value of the other variable decreases
- For example, in a study about babies crying and being held, the discovery that those who are held more tend to cry less is a negative correlation

Answer 28

Negative Correlation

Question 29

1. An arrangement whereby some of the output of a system, whether mechanical or biological, is fed back to reduce the effect of input signals
   - Such systems, which measure the deviation from a desired state and apply a correction, are important in achieving homeostasis, whereas systems employing positive feedback tend to amplify small deviations and become highly unstable
2. In social psychology, nonconstructive criticism, disapproval, and other negative information received by a person in response to his or her performance

Answer 29

Negative Feedback

Question 30

The ability of a preceding stimulus to inhibit the response to a subsequent stimulus
- This is measured by the detectability of the second stimulus or the time taken to make a response to the second stimulus
- The most striking examples occur when the participant is instructed to ignore a feature of the first stimulus (eg; its color) and then to attend to that same feature in the second stimulus
- Priming effects are usually facilitative

Answer 30

Negative Priming

Question 31

Punishment that results because some stimulus or circumstance is removed as a consequence of a response
- For example, if a response results in a subtraction of money from an accumulating account, and the response becomes less likely as a result of this experience, then negative punishment has occurred

Answer 31

Negative Punishment

Question 32

The removal, prevention, or postponement of an aversive stimulus as a consequence of a response, which, in turn, increases the probability of that response

Answer 32

Negative Reinforcement

Question 33

A form of schizophrenia characterized by a predomination of negative symptoms, suggesting deficiency or absence of behavior normally present in a person’s repertoire, as shown in apathy, blunted affect, emotional withdrawal, poor rapport, and lack of spontaneity

Answer 33

Negative Schizophrenia

Question 34

The hypothesis that helping behavior is used by some people in stressful situations and periods of boredom and inactivity to avoid or escape negative moods

Answer 34

Negative State Relief Model

Question 35

A deficit in the ability to perform the normal functions of living - logical thinking, self care, social interaction, planning, initiating, and carrying through constructive actions, and so forth - as shown in apathy, blunted affect, emotional withdrawal, poor rapport, and lack of spontaneity
- In schizophrenia, a predominance of these is often associated with a poor prognosis

Answer 35

Negative Symptom

Question 36

A process in which previous learning obstructs or interferes with present learning
- For instance, tennis players who learn racquetball must often unlearn their tendency to take huge, muscular swings with the shoulder and upper arm

Answer 36

Negative Transfer

Question 37

An attitude characterized by persistent resistance to the suggestions of others (passive negativism) or the tendency to act in ways that are contrary to the expectations, requests, or commands of others (active negativism), typically without any identifiable reason for opposition
- In young children and adolescents, such reactions may be considered a healthy expression of self assertion
- This may also be associated with a number of disorders (extreme versions is a feature of catatonic schizophrenia)

Answer 37

Negativism

Question 38

1. Failure to provide for the basic needs of a person in one’s care
   - It may be emotional (eg; rejection or apathy), material (eg; withholding food or clothing), or service oriented (eg; depriving of education or medical attention)
2. A syndrome characterized by lack of awareness of a specific gree or side of the body caused by a brain injury
   - It may involve failure to recognize the area as belonging to oneself or ignoring the existence of one side of the body or one side of the visual field
   - This has also been found in auditory, tactile, and proprioceptive tasks

Answer 38

Neflect

Question 39

A reciprocal communication process in which two or more parties to a dispute examine specific issues, explain their positions, and exchange offers and counteroffers in an attempt to identify a solution or outcome that is acceptable to all parties

Answer 39

Negotiation

Question 40

An approach to psychology that emphasized the development of comprehensive theories and frameworks of behavior, such as those of U.S. psychologists Clark L. Hull (1884 - 1952) and Edward C. Tolman (1886 - 1959), through empirical observation of behavior and the use of consciousness and mental events as explanatory devices
- It thus contrasts with classical behaviorism, which was concerned with freeing psychology of mentalistic concepts and explanations

Answer 40

Neobehaviorism

Question 41

Regions of the cerebral cortex that are the most recently evolved and contain six main layers of cells
- This comprises the majority of human cerebral cortex, includes the primary sensory and motor cortex and association cortex

Answer 41

Neocortex

Question 42

A theory that explains the paradoxical phenomena of hypnosis as a result of divided consciousness
- For example, hypnotic analgesia can produce subjectively reported relief from pain while physiological measures indicate that pain is still being registered

Answer 42

Neodissociative Theory

Question 43

A theory that explains the paradoxical phenomena of hypnosis as a result of divided consciousness
- For example, hypnotic analgesia can produce subjectively reported relief from pain while physiological measures indicate that pain is still being registered

Answer 43

Neodissociative Theory

Question 44

1. Denoting an approach that derives from the classical psychoanalysis of Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939), but with modifications and revisions that typically emphasize social and interpersonal elements over biological instincts
   - The term is not usually applied to the approaches of Freud’s contemporaries, such as Austrian psychiatrist Alfred Adler (1870 - 1937) and Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (1875 - 1961), who broke away from his school quite early
   - German born U.S. psychologist Erik Erikson (1902 - 1994), German born U.S. psychoanalyst Erich Fromm (1900 - 1980), German born U.S. psychoanalyst Karen Horney (1885- 1952), and U.S. psychiatrist Harry Stack Sullivan (1892 - 1949) are considered to be among the most influential neo- freudian theorists and practitioners
2. An analyst or theoretician who adopts such an approach

Answer 44

Neo-Freudian

Question 45

A recently coined word or expression
- In a psychopathological context neologisms, whose origins and meanings are usually nonsensical and unrecognizable (eg; “klipno” for watch), are typically associated with aphasia or schizophrenia

Answer 45

Neologism

Question 46

A newborn human or nonhuman animal
- Human infants born after the normal gestation period of 36 weeks are known as full term; infants born prematurely before the end of this period are known as preterm (or, colloquially, as “preemies”)

Answer 46

Neonate

Question 47

The belief that much cognitive knowledge, such as object permeance and certain aspects of language, is innate, requiring little in the way of specific experiences to be expressed
- They hold that cognitive development is influenced by biological constraints and that individuals are predisposed to process certain types of information

Answer 47

Neonativism

Question 48

A new, abnormal growth, that is, a benign or malignant tumor
- The term is generally used to specify a malignant tumor
- This usually grows rapidly by cellular proliferation but generally lacks structural organization

Answer 48

Neoplasm

Question 49

A bundle of axons outside the central nervous system (CNS), enclosed in a sheath of connective tissue to form a cordlike structure
- These serve to connect the CNS with the tissues and organs of the body
- They may be motor, sensory, or mixed (containing axons of both motor and sensory neurons)

Answer 49

Nerve

Question 50

An endogenous polypeptide that stimulates the growth and development of neurons in the dorsal root of each spinal nerve and in the ganglia of the sympathetic nervous system

Answer 50

Nerve Growth Factor (NGF)

Question 51

A lay term for an emotional illness or other mental disorder that has a sudden onset, produces acute distress, and significantly interferes with one’s functioning

Answer 51

Nervous Breakdown

Question 52

The system of neurons, nerves, tracts, and associated tissues that, together with the endocrine system, coordinates activities of the organism in response to signals received from the internal and external environments
- In higher vertebrates it is often considered in terms of its divisions, principally the central nervous system, the peripheral nervous system and the autonomic nervous system

Answer 52

Nervous System

Question 53

In an experimental design, the appearance of the levels of one factor (the nested factor) only within a single level of another factor
- For example, classrooms are nested within a school because each specific classroom is found only within a single school; similarly, schools are nested within school districts

Answer 53

Nesting

Question 54

An association between a physical occurrence in the nervous system and a mental state or event
- In the cerebellum, for example, the neural correlate of fear memory is provided by a long term potentiation of the excitatory synapses between the parallel fibers and the purkinje cells
- The existence of these suggests potential biological bases for a variety of complex cognitive, emotional, and behavioral phenomena, including consciousness (awareness), perception, learning and memory, judgements and decisions, attitudes, and motivation

Answer 54

Neural Correlate

Question 55

A biological theory of mind that attempts to explain specific cognitive functions, such as learning or memory, in terms of the selection of particular groups of neuronal structures inside individual brains
- This selection of the best adapted structures is placed within the general framework of the Darwinian theory of natural selection
- Critics of the theory argue that natural selection cannot apply without reproduction

Answer 55

Neural Darwinism

Question 56

1. A technique for modeling the neural changes in the brain that underlie cognition and perception in which a large number of simple hypothetical neural units are connected to one another
2. A form of artificial intelligence system used for learning and classifying data
   - These are usually abstract structures modeled on a computer and consist of a number of interconnected processing elements (nodes), each with a finite number of inputs and outputs
   - The elements in the network can have a “weight” determining how they process data, which can be adjusted according to experience
   - In this way, the network can be “trained” to recognize patterns in input data by optimizing the output of the network
   - The analogy is with the supposed action of neurons in the brain

Answer 56

Neural Network

Question 57

Any route followed by a nerve impulse through central or peripheral nerve fibers of the nervous system
- This may consist of a simple reflex arc or a complex but specific routing, such as that followed by impulses transmitting a specific wavelength of sound from the cochlea to the auditory cortex

Answer 57

Neural Pathway

Question 58

The ability of the nervous system to change in response to experience or environmental stimulation
- For example, following an injury remaining neurons may adopt certain functions previously performed by those that were damaged, or a change in reactivity of the nervous system and its components may result from constant, successive activations

Answer 58

Neural Plasticity

Question 59

A theory to explain linear psychophysical functions, which are sometimes obtained instead of the ogival (s-shaped) form, whereby changes in sensation are assumed to occur in discrete steps and not along a continuum, based on the all or none law of neural activity
- In this context, quantum refers to a functionally distinct unit in the neural mechanisms that mediate sensory experience - that is, a perceptual rather than a physical unit

Answer 59

Neural Quantum Theory

Question 60

The simultaneous firing or activation of neurons in multiple areas of the brain, particularly in response to the same stimulus
- Many motor and higher level cognitive processes appear to be based on the coordinated interactions of large numbers of neurons that are distributed within and across different specialized brain areas
- Additionally, recent research suggests dysfunctions in this may be associated with several psychological disorders, including autistic spectrum disorders

Answer 60

Neural synchrony

Question 61

A structure formed during early development of an embryo, when folds of the neural plate curl over and fuse
- Cells of this differentiate along its length on the anterior - posterior axis to form swellings that correspond to the future forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain; the posterior part of the tube develops into the spinal cord

Answer 61

Neural Tube

Question 62

A projection from the neuronal cell body: an axon or a dendrite
- This general term is used especially in relation to developing neurons whose axons and dendrites often are difficult to distinguish from one another

Answer 62

Neurite

Question 63

The study of the structures and relationships among the various parts of the nervous system

Answer 63

Neuroanatomy

Question 64

An undifferentiated cell that is capable of developing into a neuron

Answer 64

Neuroblast

Question 65

The branch of neuroscience that deals with the roles of atoms, molecules, and ions in the functioning of nervous systems

Answer 65

Neurochemistry

Question 66

A prominent theory stating schizophrenia results from an early brain lesion, either feral or neonatal, that disrupts normal neurological development and leads to abnormalities and later psychotic symptoms
- Consequences of this early disruption appear in childhood and adolescence, prior to the actual onset of schizophrenic symptoms, as subtle differences in motor coordination, cognitive and social functioning, and temperament
- Much evidence supports this hypothesis and risk factors operating in early life (eg; obstetric complications) have been shown to be associated with the later development of schizophrenia

Answer 66

Neurodevelopmental Hypothesis

Question 67

Twisted strands of abnormal filaments within neurons that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease
- The filaments form microscopically visible knots or tangles consisting of tau protein, which normally is associated with microtubules
- If the structure of tau is rendered abnormal, the microtubule structure collapses, and the tau protein collects in neurofibrillary tangles

Answer 67

Neurofibrillary Tangles

Question 68

The division of nonneuronal cells to produce neurons

Answer 68

Neurogenesis

Question 69

A hormone produced by neural tissue and released into the general circulation

Answer 69

Neurohormone

Question 70

Analysis of the data gathered by an examining physician of an individual’s mental status and sensory and motor functioning
- The examination typically includes assessment of cognition, speech and behavior, orientation and level of alertness, muscular strength and tone, muscle coordination and movement, tendon reflexes, cranial nerves, pain and temperature sensitivity, and discriminative senses

Answer 70

Neurological Evaluation

Question 71

A branch of medicine that studies the nervous system in both healthy and diseased states

Answer 71

Neurology

Question 72

A substance that modulates the effectiveness of neurotransmitters by influencing the release of the transmitters or the receptor response to the transmitter

Answer 72

Neuromodulator

Question 73

The junction between a motor neuron and the muscle fiber it innervates
- In skeletal muscle, the muscle cell plasma membrane (sarcolemma) is greatly folded in the region opposite the terminus of a motor axon, forming a motor end plate

Answer 73

Neuromuscular Junction

Question 74

The basic cellular unit of the nervous system
- Each one is composed of a cell body; fine, branching extensions (dendrites) that receive incoming nerve signals; and a single, long extension (axon) that conducts nerve impulses to its branching terminal
- The axon terminal transmits impulses to other neurons, or to effector organs (eg; muscles and glands), via junctions called synapses or neuromuscular junctions
- These can be classified according to their function as motor neurons, sensory neurons, or interneurons
- There are various structural types, including unipolar neurons, bipolar neurons, and multipolar neurons
- The axons of vertebrate neurons are often surrounded by a myelin sheath

Answer 74

Neuron

Question 75

Any of several short chains of amino acids (peptides) that are released by neurons as neurotransmitters or neurohormones in both the brain and the peripheral nervous system (eg; endorphin, substance P, hypothalamic releasing hormones)

Answer 75

Neuropeptide

Question 76

The scientific study of the effects of drugs on the nervous system

Answer 76

Neuropharmacology

Question 77

A branch of neuroscience that is concerned with the normal and abnormal functioning of the nervous system, including the chemical and electrical activities of individual neurons

Answer 77

Neurophysiology

Question 78

An evaluation of the presence, nature, and extent of brain damage or dysfunction derived from the results of various neuropsychological tests

Answer 78

Neuropsychological Assessment

Question 79

Any of various clinical instruments for assessing cognitive impairment, including those measuring memory, language, learning, attention, and visuospatial and visuoconstructive functioning

Answer 79

Neuropsychological Test

Question 80

The branch of science that studies the physiological processes of the nervous system and relates them to behavior and cognition

Answer 80

Neuropsychology

Question 81

The scientific study of the nervous system, including neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, neurology, neurophysiology, and neuropharmacology, and its applications in psychology and psychiatry

Answer 81

Neuroscience

Question 82

Any one of a variety of mental disorders characterized by significant anxiety or other distressing emotional symptoms, such as persistent and irrational fears, obsessive thoughts, compulsive acts, dissociative states, and somatic and depressive reactions
- The symptoms do not involve gross personality disorganization, total lack of insight, or loss of contact with reality
- In psychoanalysis, this is generally viewed as exaggerated, unconscious methods of coping with internal conflicts and the anxiety they produce
- In DSM-IV-TR, most of what used to be called this is now classified as anxiety disorders

Answer 82

Neurosis

Question 83

Surgical procedures performed on the brain, spinal cord, or peripheral nerves for the purpose of restoring functioning or preventing further impairment

Answer 83

Neurosurgery

Question 84

In psychoanalytic theory, anxiety that originates in unconscious conflict and is maladaptive in nature: it has a disturbing effect on emotion and behavior and also intensifies resistance to treatment
- This contrasts with realistic anxiety, about an external danger or threat, and with moral anxiety, which is guilt posited to originate in the superego

Answer 84

Neurotic Anxiety

Question 85

One of the dimensions of the Five Factor Personality Model and the Big Five Personality Model, characterized by a chronic level of emotional instability and proneness to psychological distress

Answer 85

Neuroticism

Question 86

In psychoanalytic theory, an excessive drive or demand that may arise out of the strategies individuals use to defend themselves against basic anxiety
- German born U.S. psychoanalyst Karen D. Horney (1885 - 1952) enumerated ten neurotic needs: for affection and approval, for a partner to take over one’s life, for restriction of one’s life, for power, for exploitation of others, for prestige, for admiration, for achievement, for self sufficiency and independence, and for perfection

Answer 86

Neurotic Need

Question 87

The process by which a signal or other activity in a neuron is transferred to an adjacent neuron or other cell (eg; a skeletal muscle cell)
- Synaptic transmission, which occurs between two neurons via a synapse, is largely chemical, by the release and binding of neurotransmitter, but it may also be electrical

Answer 87

Neurotransmission

Question 88

Any of a large number of chemicals that can be released by neurons to mediate transmission or inhibition of nerve signals across the junctions (synapses) between neurons
- When triggered by a nerve impulse, this is released from the terminal button of the axon, travels across the synaptic cleft, and binds to and reacts with receptor molecules in the postsynaptic membrane
- These include amines, such as acetylcholine, norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin; and amino acids, such as gamma aminobutyric acid, glutamate, and glycine

Answer 88

Neurotransmitter

Question 89

Any of various proteins that promote the development and survival of specific populations of neurons
- These include nerve growth factor, deficits in the axonal transport of which have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, and brain derived neurotrophic factor, which plays a crucial role in cognition, learning, and memory formation by modulating synaptic plasticity

Answer 89

Neurotrophin

Question 90

The process of development of the rudimentary nervous system in early embryonic life, including formation of the neural tube from the neural plate

Answer 90

Neurulation

Question 91

In Pavlovian Conditioning, a stimulus that does not elicit a response of the sort to be measured as an index of conditioning
- For example, the sound of a bell has no effect on salivation, therefore it is a neural stimulus with respect to salivation and a good candidate for conditioning of that response

Answer 91

Neural Stimulus

Question 92

A testing procedure used for making post hoc pairwise comparisons among a set of means

Answer 92

Newman-Keuls Test

Question 93

An alkaloid obtained primarily from the tobacco plant (Nicotiana tabacum)
- One of the most widely used psychoactive drugs, this produces multiple pharmacological effects on the central nervous system by activating nicotine receptors, facilitating the release of several neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine

Answer 93

Nicotine

Question 94

A type of acetylcholine receptor that responds to nicotine as well as to acetylcholine
- These mediate chiefly the excitatory activities of acetylcholine, including those at neuromuscular junctions

Answer 94

Nicotinic Receptor (nAchR)

Question 95

A visual impairment marked by partial or complete inability to see objects in a dimly lighted environment
- This can be inherited or due to defective dark adaptation or dietary deficiency of vitamin A

Answer 95

Night Blindness

Question 96

A frightening or otherwise disturbing dream, in which fear, sadness, despair, disgust, or some combination of these forms the emotional content
- These contain visual imagery and some degree of narrative structure and typically occur during REM sleep
- The dreamer tends to waken suddenly from this and is immediately alert and aware of his or her surroundings
- The occurrence of frequent nightmares is classified as nightmare disorder
- These are also a symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder

Answer 96

Nightmare

Question 97

A compound present in numerous body tissues, where it has a variety of functions: in the brain and other parts of the central nervous system it functions as a neurotransmitter or an agent that influences neurotransmitters
- In peripheral tissues it is involved in the relaxation of smooth muscle, and thus acts as a vasodilator, a bronchodilator, and as a relaxant of smooth muscle in the penis and clitoris, being involved in erection and other components of the sexual response

Answer 97

Nitric Oxide

Question 98

A sensory receptor that responds to stimuli that are generally painful or detrimental to the organism

Answer 98

Nociceptor

Question 99

Active or occurring during the dark period of the daily cycle

Answer 99

Nocturnal

Question 100

1. A point in a graph, tree diagram, or the like at which lines intersect or branch
2. A single point or unit in an associative model of memory
   - These typically represent a single concept or feature, are connected to others (usually representing semantically related concepts and features) by links in an associative network, and may be activated or inhibited to varying degrees, depending on the conditions

Answer 100

Node

Question 101

Any of successive regularly spaced gaps in the myelin sheath surrounding an axon
- The gaps permit the exchange of ions across the plasma membrane at those points, allowing the nerve impulses to leap from one node to the next in so called saltation along the axon [Louis A. Ranvier (1835 - 1922), French pathologist]

Answer 101

Node of Ranvier

Question 102

Any unwanted sound or, more generally, any unwanted disturbance (eg; electrical noise), particularly as it interferes with, obscures, reduces, or otherwise adversely affects the clarity or precision of an ongoing process, such as the communication of a message or signal

Answer 102

Noise

Question 103

A systematic classification of technical terms used in an art or science

Answer 103

Nomenclature

Question 104

Numerical values that represent membership in specific categories
- For example, the category male could be labeled 0 and the category female labeled 1, and each person within the population of interest (eg; a particular town) assigned the number corresponding to their sex
- This is similar to categorical data, and the two terms are often used interchangeably

Answer 104

Nominal Data

Question 105

A sequence of numbers that do not indicate order, magnitude, or a true zero point but rather identify items as belonging to mutually exclusive categories
- For example, this for the performance of a specific group of people on a particular test might use the number 1 to denote pass and the number 2 to denote fail

Answer 105

Nominal Scale

Question 106

In stimulus - response experiments, the stimulus as defined and presented by the experimenter
- This may be different from the functional stimulus experienced by the organism

Answer 106

Nominal Stimulus

Question 107

Relating to the formulation of general laws as opposed to the study of the individual case
- This type of approach involves the study of groups of people or cases for the purpose of discovering those general and universally valid laws or principles that characterize the average person or case

Answer 107

Nomothetic

Question 108

Failure of an individual to follow a prescribed therapeutic regimen
- Although this has traditionally been ascribed to oppositional behavior, it is more likely due to inadequate communication between the practitioner and the individual, physical or cognitive limitations that prevent the patient from following therapeutic recommendations (eg; language differences between patient and practitioner, physical disabilities), or adverse effects that are not being adequately addressed
- A primary aspect of health psychology involves methods of reducing this and increasing adherence

Answer 108

Nonadherence

Question 109

A process in which an organism’s behavior toward a specific stimulus changes over time in the absence of any evident link (association) to any consequences that would induce such change
- This is thus based on frequency, while associative learning is based on reinforcement
- There are two major forms of this: habituation and sensitization

Answer 109

Nonassociative Learning

Question 110

A parameter in many probability distributions used in hypothesis testing that has a value different from zero when a sample is obtained from a population whose parameters have values different from those specified by the null hypothesis under test
- This parameter is important in determining the power of a statistical procedure

Answer 110

Noncentrality Parameter

Question 111

Describing anything that is not available to conscious report

Answer 111

Nonconscious

Question 112

The process or circumstances in which a stimulus known to be effective as a reinforcer is presented independently of any particular behavior

Answer 112

Noncontingent Reinforcement

Question 113

A collection of various forms of memory that operate automatically and accumulate information that is not accessible to conscious recollection
- For instance, one can do something faster if one has done it before, even if one cannot recall the earlier performance

Answer 113

Nondeclarative Memory

Question 114

A prediction that one experimental group will differ from another without specification of the expected form of the effect or relationship
- For example, a researcher might hypothesize that college students will perform differently from elementary school students on a memory task
- If he or she were to predict which group of students will perform better, the statement would be a directional hypothesis instead

Answer 114

Nondirectional Hypothesis

Question 115

A nonrandomized design in which the responses of a treatment group and a control group are compared on measures collected at the beginning and end of the research

Answer 115

Nonequivalent Groups Design

Question 116

Research in which the investigator cannot randomly assign units to conditions, cannot control or manipulate the independent variable, and cannot limit the influence of extraneous variables
- Examples of this are studies that deal with the responses of large group to natural disasters or widespread changes in social policy

Answer 116

Nonexperimental Research

Question 117

1. Denoting procedures or tests that do not require puncture or incision of the skin or insertion of an instrument or device into the body for diagnosis or treatment
2. Not capable of spreading from one tissue to another, as in the case of a benign tumor

Answer 117

Noninvasive

Question 118

Describing any relationship between two variables (X and Y) that cannot be expressed in the form Y = a + bX, where a and b are numerical constants
- The relationship therefore does not appear to be a straight line when depicted graphically

Answer 118

Nonlinear

Question 119

Not conforming to or following the norm: deviating from a specific standard of comparison for a person or group of people, particularly one determined by cultural ideals of how things ought to be
- This general term is used in a variety of contexts, referring for example to such things as socially deviant or otherwise distinct behavior, ordinary life events happening at unusual times (eg; a 78 year old man earning his bachelor’s degree), or statistical results that do not reflect the standard of a measured group (ie; values well above or below the mean or some other measure of central tendency)

Answer 119

Nonnormative

Question 120

Statistical tests that do not make assumptions about the distribution of the attribute (or attributes) in the population being tested, such as normality and homogeneity of variance

Answer 120

Nonparametric Statistics

Question 121

Any of a large number of research designs in which sampling units are not assigned to experimental conditions at random

Answer 121

Nonrandomized Design

Question 122

Any generalized state of arousal or motivation that serves functions that are unrelated to preserving physiological homeostasis and thus not necessary for the physical survival of the individual organism, for example, sex or achievement

Answer 122

Nonregulatory Drive

Question 123

Any three letter nonword used in learning and memory research to study learning of items that do not already have meaning or associations with other information in memory

Answer 123

Nonsense Syllable

Question 124

In behavioral genetics analyses, those aspects of an environment that individuals living together (eg; in a family household) do not share and that therefore cause them to become dissimilar to each other
- Examples of these factors include the different friends or teachers that siblings in the same household might have outside of the home

Answer 124

Nonshared Environment

Question 125

The act of conveying information without the use of words
- This occurs through facial expressions, gestures, body language, tone of voice, and other physical indications of mood, attitude, approbation, and so forth, some of which may require knowledge of the culture or subculture to understand
- In psychotherapy, clients’ nonverbal communication can be as important to note as their verbal communication

Answer 125

Nonverbal Communication

Question 126

A learning disorder that is characterized by limited skills in critical thinking and deficits in processing nonverbal information
- This affects a child’s academic progress as well as other areas of functioning, which may include social competencies, visual spatial abilities, motor coordination, and emotional functioning

Answer 126

Nonverbal Learning Disorder

Question 127

In game theory, a situation in which the rewards and costs experienced by all players do not balance (ie; they add up to less than or more than zero)
- In such a situation, unlike a zero sum game, one player’s gain is not necessarily another player’s loss

Answer 127

Nonzero Sum Game

Question 128

Any of various drugs that are used to enhance cognitive function, usually in the treatment of progressive dementias, such as Alzheimer’s disease, but also of cognitive dysfunction due to traumatic brain injury
- They do not reverse the course of the dementia, but are reported to slow its progress in mild to moderate forms of the disease
- Many of these drugs work by inhibiting the activity of acetylcholinesterase in the central nervous system, thereby counteracting the disruption of cholinergic neurotransmission

Answer 128

Nootropic

Question 129

Responding to, releasing, or otherwise involving norepinephrine (noradrenaline)
- For example, this type of neuron is one that employs norepinephrine as a neurotransmitter

Answer 129

Noradrenergic

Question 130

A catecholamine neurotransmitter and hormone produced mainly by brainstem nuclei and in the adrenal medulla

Answer 130

Norepinephrine (NE)

Question 131

1. A standard or range of values that represents the typical performance of a group or of an individual (of a certain age, for example) against which comparisons can be made
2. A conversion of a raw score into a scaled score that is more easily interpretable, such as percentiles or IQ scores

Answer 131

Norm

Question 132

Relating to what is considered standard, average, typical, or healthy
- This general meaning is applied in a variety of different contexts, including statistics (referring to scores that are within the usual or expected range), biology (referring to the absence of malformation or other pathology), and development (referring to progression and growth that is comparable to those of similar age)
- The term, however, is most often applied to behavior that conforms to a culturally accepted nom, especially as an indication that a person is mentally healthy and does not have a psychological disorder

Answer 132

Normal

Question 133

A theoretical continuous probability distribution that is a function of two parameters: the expected value,ų, and the variance, ó2
- it is given by (x) = exp(-(x - ų)2/2ó2)]/ó^(2ř)
- This is the type of distribution expected when the same measurement is taken several times and the variation about the mean value is random
- It has certain convenient properties in statistics, and unknown distributions are often assumed to be normal distributions

Answer 133

Normal Distribution

Question 134

A broad concept that is roughly the equivalent of mental health
- Although there are no absolutes and there is considerable cultural variation, some flexible psychological and behavioral criteria can be suggested: (a) freedom from incapacitating internal conflicts; (b) the capacity to think and act in an organized and reasonably effective manner; (c) the ability to cope with the ordinary demands and problems of life; (d) freedom from extreme emotional distress, such as anxiety, despondency, and persistent upset; and (e) the absence of clear cut symptoms of mental disorder, such as obsessions, phobias, confusion, and disorientation

Answer 134

Normality

Question 135

A science at the stage of development when it is characterized by a paradigm consisting of universal agreement about the nature of the science, its practices, assumptions, and methods, and satisfaction with its empirical progress

Answer 135

Normal Science

Question 136

Relating to a norm: pertaining to a particular standard of comparison for a person or group of people, often as determined by cultural ideas of how things ought to be regarding behavior, achievements or abilities, and other areas
- For example, this type of life event, such as marriage or the birth of a child, is one that is expected to occur during a similar period within the life spans of many individuals, and this type of data reflects group averages with regard to particular variables or factors, such as the scores of females on a specific test or the language skills of 10 year olds

Answer 136

Normative

Question 137

An approach to testing based on a comparison of one person’s performance with that of a specifically selected norm group on the same test
- This differentiates among individuals and ranks them on the basis of their performance
- For example, a nationally standardized one will indicate how a given person performs compared to the performance of a national sample

Answer 137

Norm Referenced Testing

Question 138

The quality of being new and unusual
- It is one of the major determining factors directing attention
- The attraction to this has been shown to begin as early as 1 year of age; for example, when infants are shown pictures of visual patterns, they will stare longer at a new pattern than at a pattern they have already seen

Answer 138

Novelty

Question 139

Nonrapid eye movement sleep: periods of sleep in which dreaming, as indicated by rapid eye movements (REM), usually does not occur
- During these periods, which occur most frequently in the first hours of sleep, the electroencephalogram shows only minimal activity, and there is little or no change in purse, respiration, and blood pressure

Answer 139

NREM Sleep

Question 140

A family unit consisting of two parents and their dependent children (whether biological or adopted)
- With various modifications, this has been and remains the norm in developed Western societies

Answer 140

Nuclear Family

Question 141

1. A large membrane bound compartment, found in the cans of nonbacterial organisms, that contains the bulk of the cell’s genetic material in the form of chromosomes
2. In the central nervous system, a mass of cell bodies belonging to neurons with the same or related functions
   - Examples are the amygdaloid nuclei, the basal nuclei, the thalamic nuclei, and the nucleus accumbens

Answer 141

Nucleus

Question 142

A large mass of cell bodies in the forebrain that receives dopaminergic innervation from the ventral tegmental area in the midbrain and forms part of the limbic system
- Dopamine release in this region may mediate the forcing qualities of many activities, including drug abuse

Answer 142

Nucleus Accumbens

Question 143

The result of an experiment indicating that there is no relationship, or no significant relationship, between variables

Answer 143

Null Finding

Question 144

(Symbol: H0)
The statement that an experiment will find no difference between the experimental and control conditions, that is, no relationship between variables
- Statistical tests are applied to experimental results in an attempt to disprove or reject this at a predetermined significance level

Answer 144

Null Hypothesis

Question 145

Computation of a test of significance to evaluate the tenability of the null hypothesis

Answer 145

Null Hypothesis Significance Testing

Question 146

The health care profession that focuses on the protection and promotion of health through the alleviation and treatment of illness, injury, disease, and physical suffering
- Nurses practice in a variety of contexts, including hospitals, nursing and independent living homes, schools, workplaces, and community centers, among others

Answer 146

Nursing

Question 147

The totality of environmental factors that influence the development and behavior of a person, particularly sociocultural and ecological factors such as family attributes, child rearing practices, and economic status

Answer 147

Nurture

Question 148

Involuntary, rapid movement of the eyeballs
- The eyeball motion may be rotatory, horizontal, vertical, or a mixture

Answer 148

Nystagmus