Neurology Flashcards
Neuron
Nerve cell
Phrenology (Franz Gall)
Study of the bumps on your head
Action Potential
Neural impulse that carries information along the axon of a neuron
Synapse
Junction between axon tip of sending neuron and the dendrite of the recieving neuron
Neurotransmitters
Chemicals travel across the synapse influencing an action potential
Serotonin
Mood regulation, sleep, and depression
Dopamine
Movement, attention, and learning; imbalance involved in Schizophrenia; loss of dopamine-creating nerves causes Parkinson’s disease
Parkinson’s disease
Difficulty starting and stopping voluntary movements
Acetocholine (ACH)
Learning, memory, muscle contractions
Alzheimer’s Disease
Deterioration of memory, reasoning, and language skills; loss of ACH
Endorphins
Pain and pleasure; response to pain; Runner’s High
Norepinephrine
“Fight or Flight” response; learning, memory, depression
Nerves
Neural “cables”
Nervous System
Speedy, electrochemical communication system
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
Connects the Central Nervous System (CNS) to the rest of the body
Somatic Nervous System
Controls the body’s skeletal system
Autonomic Nervous System
Controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart)
Sympathetic Nervous System
Arouses the body in stressful situations; part of the Autonomic Nervous System
Parasympathetic Nervous System
Calms the body; part of the Autonomic Nervous System
Brainstem
Automatic Survival Functions (ex. Breathing, Heartbeat)
Spinal Cord
Transmits information into and out of the brain
Reticular Formation
Role in controlling arousal
Medulla
Controls heartbeat and breathing
Pons
Respiration, movement, waking, sleeping, and dreaming
Cerebellum
Coordination, balance
Thalamus
Sensory switchboard; directs messages to the sensory areas
Limbic System
Emotions, drives, and memory
Hypothalamus
Emptions, drives
Amygdala
Linked to the emotions of fear and anger
Hippocampus
Formation of memories
Cerebral Cortex
Sensations, motor control, and higher mental processes
Corpus Callosum
Band of fibers connecting hemispheres
Frontal Lobe
Speaking and muscle movements; making plans and judgement
Parietal Lobe
Sensory cortex & processes somatic information
Occipital Lobe
Visual areas
Temporal Lobe
Auditory areas
Motor Cortex
Controls voluntary movements
Sensory Cortex
Registers and processes body sensations
Association Areas
Involved in higher mental functions; learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking
Broca’s Area
Speaking
Wernicke’s Area
Understanding
Plasticity
Brain’s ability to modify itself after some type of injury or illness
Left Hemisphere
Reading, writing, speaking, math
Right Hemisphere
Non-verbal abilities, facial recognition, patterns
Split Brain
Objects presented in the right visual field can be named. Objects in the left visual field cannot.
Handedness
Genes and/or prenatal factors influence handedness
Endocrine System
Body’s “slow” chemical communication system
Hormones
Chemical messengers; endocrine glands
Pituitary Glands
Regulates growth
Adrenal Glands
Hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and nonepinephrine (nonadrenaline); arouse the body in times of stress
Sex Glands (Gonads)
Female: Esrogen (Ovary)
Male: Androgen (Testis)
Behavioral Genetics
Heredity, genes, and chromosomes; Environment
Genes
Code for heredity transmission
Chromosomes
Strands of paired DNA
Identical Twins
Develop from single egg that splits in two
Fraternal Twins
Develop from seperate eggs
