Unit 3A: Neural Processing and the Endocrine System

Question 1

biological psychology

Answer 1

a branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior

Question 2

neuron

Answer 2

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

Question 3

sensory neurons

Answer 3

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

Question 4

motor neurons

Answer 4

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

Question 5

interneurons

Answer 5

neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

Question 6

dendrite

Answer 6

the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

Question 7

axon

Answer 7

the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

Question 8

myelin sheath

Answer 8

a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hopes from one node to the next

Question 9

action potential

Answer 9

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

Question 10

resting axon description

Answer 10

negative inside, positive outside, has resting potential

Question 11

what happens when a neuron fires

Answer 11

Na+ comes in, depolarization, next gate opens, Na+ comes in, depolarization, next gate opens, etc

Question 12

refractory (resting) period

Answer 12

Na+ is pumped back out

Question 13

threshold

Answer 13

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Question 14

how strength of reaction is determined

Answer 14

by number of neurons that fire/how often

Question 15

synapse

Answer 15

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 (connection between nerves)

Question 16

neurotransmitters

Answer 16

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to the receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural response

Question 17

reuptake

Answer 17

a neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

Question 18

acetylcholine (ACh)

Answer 18

enables muscle action, learning, memory

Question 19

dopamine

Answer 19

influences movement, learning, attention, emotion

Question 20

serotonin

Answer 20

affects mood, hunger, sleep, arousal

Question 21

norepinephrine

Answer 21

helps control alertness and arousal

Question 22

GABA

Answer 22

inhibitory

Question 23

glutamate

Answer 23

excitatory, involved with memory

Question 24

endorphins

Answer 24

“morphine within” - natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

Question 25

agonist

Answer 25

mimics neurotransmitters’ effects, binds to its receptor

Question 26

antagonist

Answer 26

blocks neurotransmitters’ functioning by binding to receptor

Question 27

nervous system

Answer 27

the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems

Question 28

central nervous system (CNS)

Answer 28

the brain and spinal cord

Question 29

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Answer 29

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body

Question 30

nerves

Answer 30

bundled axons that form neural “cables” connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs

Question 31

somatic nervous system

Answer 31

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system

Question 32

autonomic nervous system

Answer 32

the part of the PNS that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms

Question 33

sympathetic nervous system

Answer 33

the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

Question 34

parasympathetic nervous system

Answer 34

the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

Question 35

neural network

Answer 35

a group of neurons that communicate more often with each other than with other neurons

Question 36

spinal cord

Answer 36

connection between PNS and CNS

Question 37

reflex

Answer 37

a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response

Question 38

endocrine system

Answer 38

the body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Question 39

hormones

Answer 39

chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues (reason why feelings last longer than thoughts)

Question 40

adrenal glands

Answer 40

a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and excrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress

Question 41

pituitary gland

Answer 41

the endocrine system’s most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands