Unit 3: Modules 12-15 Flashcards
Intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres, the body’s ultimate control and information processing center
Cerebral Cortex
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead, involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgements
Frontal Lobes
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and towards the rear, receives sensory input for tough and body position
Parietal Lobes
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head includes areas that receive information from the visual fields
Occipital Lobes
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears, includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear
Temporal Lobes
Area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movement
Motor Cortex
Area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations
Somatosensory Cortex
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
Association Areas
The brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based off of experience
Plasticity
The formation of new neurons
Neurogenesis
Large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them
Corpus Callosum
Condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain’s two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them
Split Brain
Our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment
Consciousness
The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)
Cognitive Neuroscience
Principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks
Dual Processing
Condition in which a person can respond to visual stimuli without consciously experiencing it
Blindsight
Processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously, generally used to process well-learned information or to solve easy problems
Parallel Processing
Processing one aspect of a problem at a time, generally used to process new information or to solve difficult problems
Sequential Processing
Study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior
Behavior Genetics
Genetic transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring
Heredity
Every non-genetic influence, fro prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us
Environment
Threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain genes
Chromosomes
Complex molecule containing genetic information that makes of chromosomes
DNA
Biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes, segments of DNA capable of synthesizing proteins
Genes
Complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all genetic material in the organisms chromosomes
Genome
Develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two, creating two genetically identical organisms
Identical Twins (monozygotic)
Develop from separate fertilized eggs, geneticallyy no closer than ordinary brothers and sisters but share a prenatal environment
Fraternal Twins (dizygotic)
Proportion of variation among individuals in a group that we can attribute to genes. can vary depending on range of population and environment
Heritability
Interplay that occurs when the effect of one facto such as environment, depends on another factor, such as heredity
Interaction
Subfield of biology that studies molecular structure and function of genes
Molecular Genetics
Study of how structure and function of genes interact with environment to influence behavior
Molecular Behavior Genetics
“Above” or “in addition” to genetics, study of environmental influences of gene expression, that occur without a DNA change
Epigenetics
Study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection
Evolutionary Psychology
Principle that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive, and reproduce in an environment will most likely to be passed on the succeeding generations
Natural Selection
Random error in gene replication that leads to change
Mutation
Culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations
Social Script
