Unit 3&4 Flashcards
Olfactory
Part of the brain that processes smell
Endocrine system
The body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the blood stream
Mirror neurons (cubelli neurons)
A neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observed the same action performed by another. Thus the neuron “mirrors” the behavior of the other
Nature vs nurture
Decides whether a person’s development is predisposed in their DNA or if it is influenced by their life experiences and environments
Medulla
The base of the brain stem; controls heart beat and breathing
Hypothalamus
Maintaining eating, drinking, body temp. Close connection to the endocrine system. (Hunger & sex drive)
Hippocampus
Memory
Amygdala
Emotions
Cerebellum
Coordination, motor cortex, thinking. (“Little brain”)
Opponent-processed theory (color)
Developed by Ewald Hering. States that the come photoreceptors are linked together to form 3 opposing color pairs; blue/yellow, red/green, and black/white
Action potential
A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down axon
Refractory period
A period of inactivity after a neuron has fired
Innate
Applies to ones inner essential nature
Gestalt principles
Rules of the organization of perceptual scenes. We usually perceive complex scenes composed of many groups of objects on some background, with the objects the,selves consisting of parts, which may be composed of smaller parts
Change blindness
A perceptual phenomenon that occurs when a change in a visual stimulus is introduced and the observer doesn’t notice it
