Test 4, Biological Bases of Behavior

Question 1

Placisticity

Answer 1

the brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience

Question 2

amygdala

Answer 2

lima-bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion

Question 3

hypothalamus

Answer 3

below (hypo) the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temp) and is linked to reward

Question 4

hippocampus

Answer 4

helps process explicit memories for storage

Question 5

Pituitary Gland

Answer 5

regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

Question 6

Corpus Callosum

Answer 6

the large band of neural fibers connects the two brain hemispheres and carries messages between them

Question 7

split brain

Answer 7

a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain’s two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them.

Question 8

Sperry

Answer 8

He theorized about the chemicals and axons in the brain. He severed the corpus callosum of a few cats (dividing their brains in two). Found that the brains function separately if not communicating.

Question 9

Gazzinga

Answer 9

Found that the two halves of the brain have numerous functions and specialized skills. Concluded that each hemisphere really has its own functions.
- Flashed He-ART on a screen, then spoke art but pointed to he.

Question 10

cerebral cortex

Answer 10

the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center

Question 11

glial cells

Answer 11

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; also play a role in learning and thinking.

Question 12

Frontal lobe

Answer 12

Just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments.

Question 13

Parietal Lobe

Answer 13

Top of the head and toward the back; receives sensory input for touch and body position.

Question 14

Occipital Lobe

Answer 14

The back of the head; includes areas that receive information from visual fields.

Question 15

Temporal lobe

Answer 15

Roughly above the ears; includes auditory areas, each receiving information from the opposite ear.

Question 16

Motor cortex

Answer 16

area at the rear of the frontal loves that controls voluntary movements (contains a left and right side)

Question 17

Somatosensory cortex

Answer 17

area at the front of the parietal loves that registers and processes body touch and movement sensation (contains a left and right side)

Question 18

Broca’s area

Answer 18

a region in the frontal love of the dominant hemisphere, usually the left, of the brain with functions linked to speech production

Question 19

Wernicke’s area

Answer 19

region of the brain that contains motor neurons involved in the comprehension of speech

Question 20

association areas

Answer 20

areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in high mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.

Question 21

neuron

Answer 21

transmit messages when stimulated by signals from our senses or when triggered by chemical signs from neighboring neurons.

Question 22

dendrites

Answer 22

receives messages and conducts impulses toward the cell body

Question 23

axon

Answer 23

passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscle glands

Question 24

myelin sheath

Answer 24

enables faster transmission speed

Question 25

refractory period

Question 26

threshold

Question 27

synapse

Answer 27

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

Question 28

neurotransmitters

Answer 28

chemical messengers

Question 29

central nervous system

Answer 29

The body’s speedy electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems

Question 30

peripheral nervous system

Answer 30

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body

Question 31

sensory neurons

Answer 31

Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

Question 32

motor neurons

Answer 32

Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

Question 33

interneurons

Answer 33

Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

Question 34

somatic nervous system

Answer 34

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles (also called the skeletal nervous system)

Question 35

autonomic nervous system

Answer 35

Part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart)

Question 36

sympathetic

Answer 36

Division arouses and expends energy if something alarms or challenges you, your sympathetic nervous system will accelerate your heartbeat, raise your blood pressure, slow you digestion, raise your blood sugar, and cool you with perspiration, making you alert and ready for action.

Question 37

Lesion

Answer 37

tissue destruction, a brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue.

Question 38

EEG

Answer 38

an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain’s surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.

Question 39

MRI

Answer 39

A technique that uses magnetic field and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue. MRI scans show brain anatomy.

Question 40

fMRI

Answer 40

a technique for revealing blood flow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. fMRI scabs show brain function as well as its structure.

Question 41

Medulla/pons

Answer 41

the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

Question 42

Pons

Answer 42

just above the medulla, helps coordinate movements

Question 43

Thalamus

Answer 43

the brain’s sensory control center, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.

Question 44

Reticular formation

Answer 44

nerve network that travels through the brainstem and thalamus and plays an important role in controlling arousal.

Question 45

responsibilities of the left brain

Answer 45

the left brain has analytical, speech, and writing roles.

Question 46

responsibility of the right brain

Answer 46

the right brain has creative roles

Question 47

agonist

Answer 47

stimulates response

Question 48

antagonist

Answer 48

blocks a response