Unit 3A vocab Flashcards
a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
neuron
a branch of psych concerned with the links between biology and behavior
biological psych
aka: behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, physiological psychologists, biophysiologists
neurons that carry incoming info from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord
sensory neurons
neurons that carry outgoing info from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands
motor neurons
neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
interneurons
the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body
dendrite
the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles and glands
axon
a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next
myelin sheath
a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down the axon
action potential
the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
threshold
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
synapse
chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. when released by the sending neuron, these go thru synapse and bind to receptors on the receiving neuron, influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse
neurotransmitter
a neurotransmiter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron
reuptake
morphine within
natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure
endorphins
the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems
nervous system
