Unit 1 Part 2 Terms Flashcards
GABA
A major inhibitory neurotransmitter which is synthesized from the amino acid glutamic acid.
Substance P
A neuropeptide that functions as a neurotransmitter in both peripheral and central nervous system. Plays role in the modulation of pain
Acetylochline
A major, predominantly excitatory but also inhibitory, neurotransmitter both in the central nervous system, where it plays an important role in memory formation and learning and is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, and in the peripheral nervous system, where it mediates skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle contraction and is implicated in myasthenia gravis and other movement disorders.
Adrenaline
Also called epinephrine, an adrenal hormone formed from dopamine secreted in large amounts when an individual is stimulated by fear, anxiety, or stress-related actions. Increases the heart rate
Leptin
A protein, manufactured and secreted by fat cells, that may communicate to the brain the amount of body fat stored and may help to regulate food intake
Ghrelin
A peptide secreted by endocrine cells in the stomach that binds to growth hormone receptors in the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary, stimulating appetite and the release of growth hormone.
Melatonin
Helps to regulate seasonal changes in physiology and may also influence puberty. It is implicated in the initiation of sleep and in the regulation of the sleep–wake cycle.
Oxytocin
A peptide produced in the thalamus and released by the posterior pituitary gland into the blood. Known for its role in stimulating contractions of smooth muscle in the wall of the uterus to facilitate labor and in the mammary glands to facilitate expression of milk—the so-called milk letdown reflex—oxytocin is present and serves important functions in both sexes. Facilitator of social affiliation
Pituitary gland
Pea-sized gland which secretes hormones which regulate the production of other hormones, has resulted in its designation as the “master gland of the endocrine system.”
Reuptake inhibitors
A substance that interferes with the reabsorption of neurotransmitters by the presynaptic neurons that released them
Reticular activating system
A part of the reticular formation thought to be particularly involved in the regulation of arousal, alertness, and sleep–wake cycles.
Nucleus accumbens
One of the largest of the septal nuclei, which receives dopaminergic innervation from the ventral tegmental area. Dopamine release in this region may mediate the reinforcing qualities of many activities, including drug use.
Reward center
Any of various areas of the brain that have been implicated in producing pleasure.
Cerebral Hemispheres
The hemispheres are separated by a deep longitudinal fissure, but they are connected by commissural, projection, and association fibers so that each side of the brain normally is linked to functions of tissues on either side of the body.
Wernicke’s Area
A brain area, usually in the left temporal lobe, involved in language comprehension and expression.
Broca’s Area
A frontal lobe brain area, usually in the left hemisphere, that helps control language expression by directing the muscle movements involved in speech.
Prefrontal cortex
The most anterior (forward) part of the cerebral cortex of each frontal lobe in the brain. Functions in attention, planning, working memory, and the expression of emotions and appropriate social behaviors
Aphasia
Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding).
Amplitude
Magnitude or extent or peak value
Volley theory
The principle that individual fibers in an auditory nerve respond to one or another stimulus in a rapid succession of rhythmic sound stimuli, whereas other fibers in the nerve respond to the second, third, or nth stimulus.
Broca’s Aphasia
One of eight classically identified aphasias, characterized by nonfluent conversational speech and slow, halting speech production
Wernicke’s Aphasia
Loss of the ability to comprehend sounds or speech, in particular to understand or repeat spoken language and to name objects or qualities
Social jet lag
Mismatch between circadian rhythms and the demands of your social life or work, leading to irregular sleep patterns
Beta waves
Type of brain wave associated with alert wakefulness and intense mental activity
Theta waves
Occur during REM sleep in nonhuman animals, Stage 2 NREM sleep in humans, and the drowsy state prior to sleep onset in newborn infants, adolescents, and adults
Somnambulism
Sleepwalking disorder
Perception
The process or result of becoming aware of objects, relationships, and events by means of the senses, which includes such activities as recognizing, observing, and discriminating.
Just noticeable difference
The smallest difference between two stimuli that can be consistently and accurately detected on 50% of trials
Synesthesia
A condition in which stimulation of one sense generates a simultaneous sensation in another
Visual transduction
Biochemical and biophysical process in which light energy is converted to a neural signal in a photosensitive cell containing a retinal photoreceptor
Nearsightedness
A refractive error due to an abnormally long eye: The retinal image is blurred because the focal point of one or both eyes lies in front of, rather than on, the retina. Blurred perception of distant objects
Farsightedness
A refractive error due to an abnormally short eyeball, which causes the image of close objects to be blurred because the focal point of one or both eyes lies behind, rather than on, the retina.
Bipolar cell
A neuron with only two extensions—an axon and a dendrite—that run from opposite sides of the cell body. Found primarily in the retina and also elsewhere in the nervous system
Ganglion cell
Only type of neuron in the retina that sends signals to the brain resulting from visual stimulation.
Afterimage
The image that remains after a stimulus ends or is removed
Dichromatism
Partial color blindness in which the eye contains only two types of cone photopigment instead of the typical three: Lack of the third pigment leads to confusion between certain colors.
Monochromatism
A partial color blindness in which the eye contains only one type of cone photopigment instead of the typical three: Everything appears in various shades of a single color
Prosopagnosia
A form of visual agnosia in which the ability to perceive and recognize faces is impaired, whereas the ability to recognize other objects may be relatively unaffected
Eardrum
Separates the external ear from the middle ear and serves to transform the pressure waves of sounds into mechanical vibration of the ossicles
Ossicles
Chain of three tiny bones in the middle ear that transmit sound vibrations from the tympanic membrane (eardrum) to the oval window of the inner ear.
Auditory nerve
A nerve fiber that carries sound signals from the inner ear to the brain
Basilar membrane
In response to sound, the basilar membrane vibrates; this leads to stimulation of the hair cells
Oval window
A membrane-covered opening in the bony wall of the cochlea in the ear. Vibration of the stapes (see ossicles) is transmitted to the oval window and into the cochlear fluids.
Stereocilia
AKA Hair cells.
Any of the sensory receptors for hearing, located in the organ of Corti within the cochlea of the inner ear. They respond to vibrations of the basilar membrane via movement of the fine hairlike structures
Pinna
The funnel-shaped part of the external ear that projects beyond the head. Consisting of cartilage, it collects and focuses sounds toward the external auditory meatus (auditory canal)
Auditory perception
The organization and interpretation of sensory information received through the ear
Olfactory cilium
A hairlike structure arising from an olfactory receptor
Taste bud
A goblet-shaped structure which occur in the human mouth
Papilla
Any of the four types of swellings on the tongue
Gustatory cortex
Part of the brain that processes taste and flavor
Gustatory transduction
The sequence of events involved in converting the detection of chemical molecules into taste signals
Umami
“Savory” Denoting the taste of foods rich in protein (e.g., meats, fish, some vegetables, cheeses), as represented by the taste of monosodium glutamate, which is used primarily to enhance other flavors
Oleogustus
The taste of fat; fatty taste
Somatosensory cortex
A cerebral cortex area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
Gate control theory
The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.
Phantom limb
The feeling that an amputated limb is still present, often manifested as a tingling or, occasionally, painful sensation in the area of the missing limb
Subliminal
Below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
Priming
The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response.
Difference threshold
The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference
Ernst Weber
Father of experimental psychology. He was the first to conduct true psychological experiments that held validity
Pitch
A tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency
Middle ear
The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window.
Cochlea
A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses.
Inner ear
The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.
Weber’s Law
The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount).
Sensory adaption
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
Wavelength
The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next
Place theory
In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated
Frequency theory
In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch
Gustation
Sense of taste
Olfaction
Sense of smell
Kinesthesis
Our movement sense- system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts
Vestibular sense
Our balance sense; our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance
Sensory interaction
The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.
Sensorineural hearing loss
The most common form of hearing loss, caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerve; also called nerve deafness
Conduction hearing loss
A less common form of hearing loss, caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.
Nature-nurture issue
The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s science views traits and behaviors as arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.
Eugenics
A social and political philosophy that seeks to eradicate genetic defects and improve the genetic makeup of populations through selective human breeding. Think Hitler
Heritability
Contribution of inheritance to a given trait or function in a population
Sympathetic nervous system
One of the two divisions of the autonomic nervous system. Ability to act as an integrated whole in affecting a large number of smooth muscle systems simultaneously, usually in the service of enhancing the fight-or-flight response
Parasympathetic nervous system
One of two branches of the autonomic nervous system. The system controlling rest, repair, enjoyment, eating, sleeping, sexual activity, and social dominance, among other functions
Neuron
A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
Twin study
Research utilizing twins. The purpose of such research is usually to assess the relative contributions of heredity and environment to some attribute
Dendrites
A neuron’s often bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body.
Genome
The complete instructions for making an organism
Family study
Research conducted among siblings, parents, or children to assess evidence for genetic links for characteristics or outcomes
Adoption study
A research design that investigates the relationships among genetic and environmental factors in the development of personality, behavior, or disorder by comparing the similarities of biological parent–child pairs with those of adoptive parent–child pairs
Axon terminal branches
Changes electrical impulses or action potentials within a neuron into chemical messages in the form of neurotransmitters
Epigenetics
“Above” or “in addition to” (epi) genetics; the study of the molecular mechanisms by which environments can influence genetic expression (without a DNA change)
Nervous system
The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems
Central nervous system (CNS)
The brain and spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body
Axon
The segmented neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands
Myelin sheath
A fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; it enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next
Glial cells (glia)
Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they may also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory
Action potential (depolarization)
A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
Threshold
The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
Refractory period (repolarization)
In neural processing, a brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; subsequent action potentials cannot occur until the axon returns to its resting state
All or none response
A neuron’s reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing
Synapse
The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft
Neurotransmitters
Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse
Reuptake
A neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron
Endorphins
Natural, opioid-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure
