Vocabulary Terms 1-35

Question 0

biological psychology

Answer 0

links between biology and behavior

Question 1

phrenology

Answer 1

popular but ill-fated theory that claimed bumps on the skull could reveal our mental abilities and our character traits

Question 2

neuron

Answer 2

nerve cell

Question 3

dendrite

Answer 3

bushy branching extensions; receive messages and conduct impulses

Question 4

cell body

Answer 4

cell’s life- support center

Question 5

axon

Answer 5

extension of a neuron; ending in branching terminal fibers

Question 6

myelin sheath

Answer 6

fatty tissue

Question 7

terminal branches

Answer 7

form junctions with other cells

Question 8

action potential

Answer 8

neural impulse

Question 9

threshold

Answer 9

level of stimulation

Question 10

synapse

Answer 10

axon tip of the sending neuron

Question 11

neurotransmitters

Answer 11

chemical messenger

Question 12

acetylcholine (Ach)

Answer 12

enables learning and memory; triggers muscle movement

Question 13

dopamine

Answer 13

influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

Question 14

serotonin

Answer 14

affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

Question 15

norepinephrine

Answer 15

helps control alertness and arousal

Question 16

adrenaline (epinephrine)

Answer 16

hormone secreted by adrenal glands

Question 17

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

Answer 17

major inhibitory neurotransmitter

Question 18

endorphins

Answer 18

natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters

Question 19

agonist

Answer 19

chemical that binds/activates to a receptor and produce a biological response

Question 20

antagonist

Answer 20

block the agonist at a receptor molecule

Question 21

nervous system (NS)

Answer 21

speedy, electrochemical communication network

Question 22

central nervous system (CNS)

Answer 22

brain/spinal cord

Question 23

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Answer 23

sensory and motor neurons

Question 24

nerves

Answer 24

neural “cables” containing many axons

Question 25

sensory neurons

Answer 25

carry incoming information

Question 26

motor neurons

Answer 26

carry outgoing information

Question 27

interneurons

Answer 27

internally communicate and intervene

Question 28

somatic nervous system (skeletal NS)

Answer 28

controls the body’s skeletal muscles

Question 29

autonomic nervous system (ANS)

Answer 29

controls glands and muscles of internal organs

Question 30

sympathetic nervous system

Answer 30

arouses the body

Question 31

parasympathetic nervous system

Answer 31

calms the body

Question 32

homeostasis

Answer 32

tendency to maintain a balanced and constant internal state

Question 33

reflex

Answer 33

simple, automatic, inborn response

Question 34

neural network

Answer 34

interconnected neural cells