Unit 3 Neuroscience/Biological Bases of Behavior Flashcards
Announcing discoveries about the interplay of our biology and our behavior and mind at and exhilarating pace
Biological psychologists
Nerve cells
Neurons
Receive info and conduct it toward the cell body
Dendrites
Passes the message through its terminal branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands
Axon
Layer of fatty tissue that insulates them and speeds axons pulses
Myelin sheath
Brief electrical charge that travels down its axon
Action potential
Resting pause
Refractory period
Combined signals trigger an action potential
Threshold
Neurons reaction
All or none response
Meeting point between neurons
Synapse
Release of chemical messengers
Neurotransmitters
Sending neuron reabsorbs the excess neurotransmitters
Reputake
Neurotransmitters molecules that help explain good feelings
Endorphins
Binds its receptors and mimics its effects
Agonist
Bind to receptors but block a neurotransmitters function
Antagonists
Body’s speed electrochemical communication network
Nervous system
Brain and spinal cord
Central nervous system
Sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body
Peripheral nervous system
Bundled axons that form neural “cables” connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sends organs
Nerves
Neurons that carry incoming info from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord
Sensory neurons (afferent)
Neurons that carry outgoing info from brain to spinal cord to muscles and glands
Motor neurons (efferent)
Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
Interneurons
Division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles
Somatic nervous system
Part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs
Autonomic nervous system
Division of the automatic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations
Sympathetic nervous system
Division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy
Parasympathetic nervous system
Simple automatic response to a sensory stimulus
Reflex
The body’s slow chemical communication system
Endocrine system
Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissues
Hormones
Pair of endocrine glands that sir above the kidneys and secrete hormones
Adrenal glands
Endocrine systems most influential gland
Pituitary gland
