psych Flashcards
what is neuroscience?
Scientific study of the brain and nervous system
what are neurons responsible for?
Responsible for information transmission throughout
the nervous system
what do glial cells do?
Support neurons by disposing of waste products of
neurons, keeping their chemical environment
stable, and insulating them
what are the for components of a nueron?
dendrites, cell body, axon, axon terminals
what do dendrites do?
Include fibers that project out of the cell body; receive information
from other neurons
what is the cell body responsible for?
Contains the nucleus of the cell and other biological machinery to
keep the cell alive
what are axons responsible for?
Transmits messages through the neuron
where are axons located and what are they responsible for?
Are at the end of the axon and send messages to a different neuron
name the basic neurotransmitters
Acetylcholine (ACh)
Dopamine
Serotonin and norepinephrine
GABA
Glutamate
Endorphins
Neurotransmitter involved in learning,
memory, and muscle movement
Acetylcholine (ACh)
Neurotransmitter that impacts arousal and
mood states, thought processes, and
physical movement
Antipsychotic drugs
Addictive stimulants
Amphetamine
Cocaine
Painkillers, caffeine, nicotine
Dopamine
Serotonin and Norepinephrine
Neurotransmitters involved in levels of arousal and
mood, sleep, and eating. These two neurotransmitters
play a major role in mood disorders such as
depression.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
Antidepressant drugs that work by blocking the reuptake of
serotonin
Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft
Selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake
inhibitors (SSRIs, SSNRIs)
Antidepressant drugs that work by blocking the reuptake of
serotonin and norepinephrine
Cymbalta, Pristiq, and Effexor
GABA
(gamma-aminobutyric acid)
Controls brain arousal level
Antianxiety drugs are agonists for GABA (Valium,
Librium)
nia.
Glutamate
Involved in memory storage and pain perception
Deficient glutamate has been linked to
schizophrenia.
Endorphins
Group of neurotransmitters involved in
pain relief and feelings of pleasure;
nervous system’s natural painkillers
Morphine and heroin
brain
control system for entire nervous system
spinal cord
connects brain and PNS and enables spinal cord reflex
central nervous system
brain+spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
somatic nervous system, autonomic nervous system, sympathetic nervous system, parasympathetic nervous system
somatic nervous system
conduit for incoming sensory input and outgoing commands for brain and skeletal muscles
autonomic nervous system
regulates internal bodily environment (heart, stomach functions)
sympathetic nervous system
(fight or flight)
parasympathetic nervous system
rest and digest system, controls the body during its rest period
name some functions of the sympathetic nervous system
dialates pupils, contracts blood vessels, speeds heart rate, speeds breathing, inhibits salivation, inhibits digestion, activates sweat glands
name some functions of the parasympathetic nervous system
contracts pupils, slows heart rate, dilates blood vessels, activates salivation, slows breathing, stimulates digestion
thyroid
regulates body metabolism rate
ovary
secretes estrogen, female sex hormones
pancreas
involved in digestion and mantainence of blood sugar levels
pituitary gland
secretes growth hormone, directs other endocrine glands to release their hormones
testis
secrets testosterone, male sex hormone
adrenal glands
produce adrenaline (FIGHT OR FLIGHT)
hypothalamus
brain structure controlling the pituitary gland
a complex psychological state
that involves:
Autonomic nervous system–triggered
physiological arousal
Outward behavioral expression of the emotion
Cognitive appraisal of the situation to
determine the specific emotion and its
intensity
emotion
Limbic system
Plays a role in
survival, memory, and
emotions
name the parts of the limbic systems
Hypothalamus
Hippocampus
Amygdala
what are the 5 stages of sleep?
Stage 1: Lasts about 5 minutes
Stage 2: Lasts about 20 minutes; sleep
spindles
Stage 3: Transitional sleep; delta waves
Stage 4: Lasts about 30 minutes; active
parasympathetic nervous system
Stage 5: REM sleep: paradoxical sleep
Consciousness
Person’s subjective awareness of both their inner
thinking and feeling and their external environment
what side of the brain is responsible for language, math, logical skills, and analyzing wholes into pieces?
Left hemisphere
which side of the brain is responsible for spatial perception, solving spatial problems, drawing and facial recognition?
right hemisphere
what is Broca’s area?
Located in left frontal lobe
Responsible for fluent speech production
When damaged, fluent speech generation
damaged but comprehension left intact
Houses singing and musical abilities
what is wernicke’s area?
Located in the temporal lobe
Responsible for the comprehension of speech and
reading
what are the four cerebral lobes?
frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital
includes motor cortex, which allows us to move different parts of our body
frontal cortex
includes somatosensory cortex, where our body sensations of touch, temperature, limb position, and pain are processed
parietal cortex
includes primary auditory complex where auditory, and sensory information is initially processed
temporal cortex
includes primary visual cortex where visual sensory information is initially processed
occipital lobe
Corpus callosum
Bridge of neurons that
connects the two cerebral
hemispheres
Cerebral cortex
Most important brain structure
Information processing center
for nervous system
Center for all higher-level
cognitive processing
Site of hemispheric
communication
Cornea
Clear covering of the eye through which light rays
pass
Pupil
Further filters the light rays through the lens before
being passed to the retina at the back of the eye
Lens
Focuses the light waves from objects of different
distances directly on the retina, known as
accommodation
retina
The retina is the light-sensitive layer of the eye with
three levels of cells
Ganglion cells
the first layer through which
light rays pass.
light rays then pass through the _____
bipolar cells
Rods
Receptor cells in the
retina that are
principally responsible
for dim light and
achromatic vision
Cones
Receptor cells in the
retina that are
principally responsible
for bright light and color
vision
