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| Central Nervous system | Recieves, processes and stores incoming sensory info; consisting of the brain and spinal cord |
| Spinal Cord | Collection of neurons and supportice tissue running from the base of the brain down the center of the back |
| Peripheral Nervous system | all portions of the nervous system outside the brain and spinal cord, including sensory and motor nerves |
| Somatic nervous system | The subdivision of the peripheral nervous system that connects to sensory receptors and skeletal muscles |
| Autonomic nervous system | the subdivision ofg the peripheral nervous system that regulates the internal organs and glands |
| Sympathetic nervous system | Subdivion of autonomic nervous system that mobilizes body resources and increases output (moves you into action) |
| Parasympathetic nervous system | Subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that operates during relaxed states, conserves energy (Slows body down) |
| Neuron | Communication specialists, and a cell that conducts electrochemical signals, basic unit of the nervous system |
| glial cells | Nervous system cells that aid the neurons by providing them with nutrients, insultation and removing cellular debris when they die |
| dendrites | branch of nueron that recieve info from other neurons and transmit it toward the cell body |
| cell body | the part of the neuron that keeps it alive and determines whether it will live |
| axon | neuron's extending fiber, conducts impulses away from cell body and transmits them to other neurons |
| myelin sheath | a fatty insulation that may surround axon of neuron |
| nerve | a bundle of nerve fibers in the peripheral nervous system |
| synapse | the site where a nerve impulse is transmitted from one nerve cell to another. Includes: *axon terminal *Synaptic cleft *receptor sites |
| neurotransmitter | a chemical substance that is released by a transmitting neuron at the synapse and that alters the activity of a recieving neuron |
| endorphins | chemical substances in nervous system, similar to opiates involved in pain reduction, pleasure, memory |
| hormones | chemical substances secreted by organs called glands that affect the functioning of other organs |
| endocrine glands | internal organs that prodce hormones and release them into the bloodstream |
| melatonin | hormone secreted by pineal gland involved in daily regulation of logical rhythms (promotes sleep) |
| adrenal hormones | Hormones produced by the adrenal glands and that are involved in emotion and stress |
| sex hormones | regulate developement and functioning of reproductive organs and stimulate the developement of male and female sexual characteristics |
| Electroencephalogram (EEG) | A recording of neural activity detected by electrodes |
| Electrodes | measure electrical activity of neurons |
| PET scan | a method for analyzing biochemical activity in the brain |
| MRI | A method of studying body and brain tissue using magnetic fields and special radio recievers |
| localization of function | specialization of particular brain areas for particular functions |
| brain stem | At top of the spinal cord, made of medulla and pons |
| medulla | in brain stem responsible for certain automatic functions such as breathing and heart rate |
| pons | in brain stem responsible for sleeping, waking, and dreaming |
| Reticular activating system | a dense network of neurons found in the core of the brain stem, arouses cortex and screens incoming info |
| cerebellum | regulates movement and balance and leanring of certain kinds of simple responses |
| thalamus | relays sensory messages to cerebral cortex |
| hypothalmus | involved in emotions and drives vital to survival (fear, hunger, thirst, reproduction), regulates autonomic nervous system |
| pituitary gland | small endocrine gland at the base of brain, releases hormones and regulates other endocrine glands |
| limbic system | group of brain areas involves in emotional reactions and motivated behavior |
| amygdala | involved in arousal and regulation of emotion and initial emotional response to sensory info |
| hippocampus | involved in storage of new info in memory |
| cerebrum | largest brain structure, upper part of brain, |
| Cerebral hemispheres | 2 halves of the cerebrum |
| corpus callosum | bundle of nerve fibers connecting the 2 cerebral hemispheres |
| lateralization | specialization of the 2 cerebral hemispheres for particular operations |
| cerebral cortex | collection of several thin layers of cells covering the cerebrum, responsible for higher mental functions |
| occipital lobes | contain areas that recieve visual info |
| parietal loves | recieve info on preassure, pain, touch and temperature |
| temporal lobes | involved in hearing, memory, perception, emotion, and language comprehension |
| frontal lobes | involved in short term memory, initiative, speech production |
| Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep | sleep periods characterized by fast eye movement los of muscle tone and dreaming |
| activation-synthesis theory | the theory that dreaming results from the cortical synthesis and interpretation of neural signals triggered by activity in the lower part of the brain |
