Test 1 Flashcards
Cerebral cortex
The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the bodies ultimate control and information processing center.
Frontal lobes
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgements.
Parietal lobes
Portion of cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position.
Occipital lobes
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head, includes areas that receive information from visual fields.
Temporal lobes
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear!
Motor cortex
An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movement. Moving appendages in opposite direction.
Somatosensory cortex
Area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes touch and movement sensation
Association areas
Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking and speaking.
Plasticity
The brains ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience
Neurogenesis
The formation of new neurons
Corpus callosm
The long band of neural fibers connecting to the two brain hemispheres and carry messages between them.
Split brain
A condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brains 2 hemispheres by cutting the fibers. Mainly those of the corpus callosum… connecting them.
If a neuro surgeon stimulated your right motor cortex, you would most likely:p
Move your LEFT leg.
How do different neural networks communicate with one another to let you respond when a friend greets you?
The visual cortex is a neural network of sensory neutrons connected via interneurons to other neutral networks, including auditory networks. This allows you to integrate visual and auditory information to respond when a friend you recognize greets you at a party.
Which of the following body region has the greatest representation in the somatosensory cortex?
The lips
Judging and planning are enabled by______ lobes.
Frontal lobes
What would it be like to talk on the phone if you didn’t have temporal lobe association areas? What would you hear? What would you understand?
You would hear sounds, but without the temporal lobe association areas you would be unable to make sense of what you were hearing.
The “uncommitted” areas that make up about 3/4 of the cerebral cortex are called _________ ____________.
Association areas
Plasticity is especially evident in the brains of:
Young children
An experimenter flashes the word heron across the visual field of a man who’s corpus callosum has been severed. Her is transmitted to his right hemisphere and ON to his left hemisphere. When asked to indicate what he saw, the man said :
He saw ON but points to HER
Studies of people with split brains and brain scans of those with undivided brains indicate that the left hemisphere excels in:
Processing languages.
Damage to the brains right hemisphere is most likely to reduce a persons ability to:
Make references
Psychoactive drugs
A chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods.
Substance use disorder
Continued substance (abuse) craving and use despite significant life disruption and/or physical risk.
Tolerance
The diminishing effect with regular use at the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drugs effect.
Addiction
Compulsive craving of drugs or certain behaviors (such as gambling) despite known adverse experiencing the drugs effect.
Withdrawal
The discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing use of an addictive drug or behavior.
Alcohol use disorder
(Alcoholism) alcohol use marked by tolerance, withdrawal, and and a drive to continue problematic use.
Depressants
Drugs such as alcohol, barbiturates and opiates that reduce neural activity and slow body’s functions.
Barbiturates
Drugs that depress the central nervous system activity, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgement.
Neuroleptic drugs
Given to help with mental disorders
Opiates
Opium and its derivatives such as morphine and heroin; depress neural activity, temporarily leasing pain and activity
Stimulants
Drugs such as caffeine and nicotine and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine That excite neural activity and speed up body function.
Amphetamines
Drugs that stimulate neural activity causing accelerated body functions and associated energy and mood change.
Nicotine
A stimulating and highly addictive psychoactive drug in tobacco.
Cocaine
A powerful and addictive stimulant derived from the coca plant; produces temporarily increased alertness and euphoria
Methamphetamine
A powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system with accelerated body functions and associated energy and mood changes; overtime appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels.
Ecstasy (MDMA)
A synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogenic. Produces euphoria and social intimacy but with short term health risks and long term harm to serotonin- producing neurons and mood and cognition
Hallucinogens
Psychedelic (mind manifesting) drugs such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input.
LSD
A powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid ( lysergic acid diethyl-amide )
THC
The major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects including mild hallucinations.
After continued use of a psychoactive drug, the drug user needs to take larger doses to get the desired effect. This is referred to as:
Tolerance
The depressants include alcohol, barbiturates and:
Opiates
Why might alcohol make a person more helpful or more aggressive?
It is a disinhibitor- makes one more likely to do what we would have done sober, wether that is being helpful or be more aggressive.
Long term use of ecstasy can:
Damage serotonin producing neurons
Near- death experiences are strikingly similar to the experience envoys by____________ drugs.
Hallucinogenic.
Use of marijuana:
Impairs motor coordination perception, reaction time, and memory