Unit 2: Part 1 Flashcards
A nerve cell is the basic building block of the nervous system
Neuron
The part of a neuron that contains the nucleus; cells life support center
Cell Body (Soma)
A Neurons often bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body
Dendrites
The neuron extension passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles and/or glands
Axon
A fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of the same neurons
Myelin sheath
Cells in the nervous system support, nourish, and protect neurons; they also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory
Glial cells
A neural impulse; is a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
Action Potential
The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
threshold
In neural processing a brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; action potentials cant occur until its back to its resting state
refractory period
A neurons reaction of either firing or not firing
all or nothing response
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.
Synapse
Chemical messengers 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
Neurotransmitters
A neurotransmitter reabsorption by a sending neuron
reuptake
“the morphine within”-natural opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain, control, and pleasure
endorphins
a molecule that increases the activity of a neurotransmitter like opiates
agonist
A molecule that inhibits or blocks the actions of a neurotransmitter like botox
antagonist
The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system
nervous system
The brain and spinal cord; oversee the sensory and movement of reflexes
central nervous system(CNS)
Sympathetic and parasympathetic movement,sensory and motor output
peripheral nervous system(PNS)
Bundled axons of many neurons form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs
nerves
Contain afferent nerve fibers; carry information from the sense organs to the CNS
sensory (afferent) neurons
contain efferent neurons; carry messages from the CNS to the muscles and glands
motor (efferent) neurons
neurons within the brain and spinal cords that communicate internally and process info between sensory inputs and motor outputs
interneurons
controls skeletal muscles
somatic nervous system
controls glands and muscles of internal organs
autonomic nervous system (ANS)
flight, fright, or freeze
sympathetic nervous system
sense receptors in the skin send signals to interneurons (calming)
parasympathetic nervous systems
Sense receptors in the skin send signals, interneurons receive signal such as moving away from a fire after feeling heat
reflex
The body’s slow chemical communication system; is a set of glands that secrete hormones, into the bloodstream
endocrine
Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissue
hormones
a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidney and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress
Adrenal glands
The endocrine system’s most influential gland under the influence of the hypothalamus regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands
Pituitary gland
Tissue destruction that is caused naturally or experimentally
Lesion
An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain’s surface. Measured by the electrodes placed on the scalp
EEG
A brain imaging technique that measures magnetic fields from the brain’s natural electrical activity
MEG
A series of X-Ray photos taken from different angles and combined into a representation of a slice of the brain structure
CT
A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes when the brain does a task
PET scan
A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue
MRI
Looks at the function of the brain rather than the organs, tissue, and bones
fMRI
The oldest and most important part of your brain; functions include automatic survival functions
Brain stem
At the base of the brain stem and controls heartbeat and breathing
medulla
At the top of the brainstem and controls outgoing and incoming sensory info besides the smell (In the limbic system)
thalamus
Nerve network that travels through the brainstem into the thalamus and controls arousal and sensory stimulation
reticular formation
At the rear of the brainstem and controls processing sensory input as well as coordinating input and balance
cerebellum
The part of the brain involved in behavioral and emotional responses
Limbic system
Two lima bean-sized neural clusters linked to fear and aggression (part of the Limbic system)
amygdala
directs eating, drinking, and body temp, and helps govern the endocrine system with emotional reward ( part of the Limbic system)
hypothalamus
a small structure with two arms that wrap around the thalamus and helps process for storage of explicit memories, facts, or events ( part of the Limbic system)
hippocampus
The outer layer that lies on top of your cerebrum and connects your two brain hemispheres
cerebral cortex
Functions include speaking, motor movements, judgment, and decision making
frontal lobes
Receives and processes sensory input for touch and body position
Parietal lobes
Receives visual info from the opposite visual field
Occipital Lobes
Receives auditory info primarily from the opposite ear
Temporal Lobes
Controls voluntary movements
Motor Cortex
registers info from skin senses and body movement
somatosensory cortex
areas of the brain working or not working together in order to complete or not complete a task
association areas
The brain’s ability to change when aging by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience
plasticity
The formation of new neurons
neurogenesis
A wide band of axon fibers connecting the two hemispheres of the brain
corpus callosum
our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment
consciousness
The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (this includes perception, thinking, memory, and language.)
cognitive neuroscience
The principle that info is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks
dual processing
A condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it
blindsight
proccessing many aspects of a problem simultaneously. Used to process well-learned info and solve simple problems
parallel processing
processing in one aspect of a problem at a time. Used to process new info or solve difficult problems.
Sequential processing
The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior
behavior genetics
The genetic transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring
heredity
every nongenetic influence from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us
enviorment
a complex molecule containing the genetic info that makes up chromosomes
DNA-Deoxyribonucleic acid
The biochemical units of heredity that makeup chromosomes. segments of DNA capable of synthesizing proteins.
genes
The complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism’s chromosomes
genome
Identical(monozygotic) twins developed from a single fertilized egg that splits in two creating two genetically identical organisms
Identical(monozygotic) twins
fraternal (dizygotic) twins developed from separate fertilized eggs, genetically no closer than regular siblings but sharing a prenatal environment
fraternal (dizygotic) twins
The proportion of variation among individuals in a group that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a gene depends on the range of populations and environments studied
Heritability
The interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor(environment) depends on another(heredity)
interaction
The subfield of biology that studies the molecular structure and function of genes
molecular genetics
The study of how the structure and function of genes interact with our environment to influence behavior
molecular behavior genetics
The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind using principles of natural selection
evolutionary psychology
“in addition to” genetics; the influence on gene expression that occurs without a DNA change
epigenetics
inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will most likely be passed on
natural selection
A random error in gene replication that leads to a change
mutation
A culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations
social script
