| A | B |
|---|
| Neuron/nerve cell | nerve cell which transmits electrical and chemical info. (via NT) throughout body |
| Motor neurons/efferent | take info. from the brain to the body |
| sensory neurons/afferent | take info. from the senses to the brain |
| interneuron | make up spinal cord and brain;process information |
| axon | elongated fiber on neuron down which an impulse travels to dendrites |
| dendrite | bushy branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body |
| synapse | synaptic cleft where two neurons meet but don't touch; NT released into this area |
| Action potential | ability for impulse to move after reaching threshold level; all or nothing response |
| synaptic vesicles | bubblelike containers of neurotransmitters located at the end of the dendrites |
| neurotransmitters | chemicals in the endings of nerve cells that send info across the synapse to the receptor sites of the next neuron; affects behavior |
| serotonin | NT that plays a role in mood, mania, depression, bipolar |
| dopamine | NT which plays a critical role in schizophrenia and body movement |
| acetylcholine | NT which regulates bodily processes such as movement |
| endorphins | NT which come from pain and pleasure centers; feel euphoric naturally, relieve pain, gives sense of well being |
| left brain | hemisphere of brain which controls language, logic, rationality, non emotive, speech |
| right brain | hemisphere of brain which is visual, emotive, spatial |
| corpus callosum | a large bundle of nerve fibers that connects and transfers information from one half of the brain to the other |
| brainstem | inner core area; basic life functions |
| thalamus | center of the brain, receives all in coming messages and transfers all messages to specific parts of the brain |
| reticular formation | brain's attention and waking system that acts like a filter and regulates how alert we are |
| hypothalamus | regulates hunger and thirst drives, and controls body temperature, etc. |
| basal ganglia | gross motor movement (arms, legs, and trunk) |
| limbic system | emotion and motivation, contains hippocampus |
| hippocampus | helps est. long term memory |
| occipital lobe | interprets visual information |
| temporal lobe | hearing |
| parietal lobe | integrates sensory input |
| somatosensory | skin and muscle sensation |
| frontal lobe | creativity, personality, uniqueness, higher level thinking |
| motor cortex | fine muscle movement; ex. toes |
| medulla oblongata | cardiovascular, respiration, controls vomitting |
| pons | works with cerebellum for smooth movement and sleep and arousal |
| cerebellum | coordinates and organizes bodily movements for balance and posture |
| cerebral cortex | unit that covers the lower brain and controls higher level functioning |
| EEG (electroencphalograph) | glue electrodes to skull, monitor brainwave patterns |
| PET (position emissions tomography) | inject radioactive glucose in system to brain to detect problem areas, shows how brain is working |
| brain lesions | part of brain destroyed accidentally by disease, tumor, stroke |
| MRI | reveal abnormalities;radio waves and magnetism |
| CAT scan | xray of brain |
| electric brain stimulation (EBS) | go into brain with electrode and send current to see how one reacts |
| ablation (psychosurgery) | intentionally remove part of brain, outlawed to use for behavioral reasons, primarily used for seizures |
| central nervous system | brain and spinal cord |
| autonomic nervous system | controls involuntary responses |
| peripheral nervous system | contains all other nerves going away from cns; autonomic and somatic |
| somatic nervous system | voluntary muscle movement |
| reflex | an automatic behavior of the body involving movement that is activated through the spinal cord without using the higher brain |
| glands | units of the body that contain the hormones |
| pineal glands | thalamus region; releases melatonin used in the sleep/wake cycle |
| melatonin | hormone in sleep and wake cycle, light and dark cycle |
| ductless (endocrine) | secrete contents into bloodstream: pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, gonads, pineal, and pancreas |
| duct (exocrine) | secrete contents directly on surface of body or into cavity; salivary, sweat, tear |
| hormones | chemical regulators that control bodily processes such as emotional responses, growth, and sexuality |
| pancreas | controls blood sugar level |
| pituitary | in hypothalamus, controls all other glands, responsible for growth; "master gland" |
| thyroid | in front of windpipe, produces thyroxin, speed at which the body operates or the speed at which it uses up energy, controls metabolism |
| gonads | sex glands that make sperm or eggs for reproduction |
| adrenal glands | attached to kidney; 2 functions/hormones |
| adrenaline | chemical that prepares the body for emergency activity by increasing blood pressure, breathing rate, energy level |
| cortisone | prolonged muscle use, fighting infections |
| genotype | internal genetic makeup |
| phenotype | outward physical expression of genetic makeup |
| myelin sheath | insulation around axon which allows for faster movement of impulse; made up of glial cells |
| sympathetic nervous system | part of ans; gets the "body going" |
| parasympathetic nervous system | part of ans; brings the "body down" |
| phermones | from exocrine glands; scents and tastes taht attract opposite sex; more dominant in animals |
| metabolism | rate at which body uses enerby; controlled by thyroid |
| lateral hypothalamus | signals the body to want to eat |
| ventromedial hypothalamus | signals the body that it is full and doesn't want to eat |
| reflex | simple, automatic, inborn response; sensory neuron to interneuron to motor neuron; goes through spinal cord not brain |
| plasticity | brain's capacity to modify itself; sculpted by genes and experience |
| aphasia | impairment of language; usually damage is in the left hemisphere |
| Broca's area | controls language expression/ability to speak |
| Wernike's area: | controls language reception/ability to comprehend language |
| GABA | inhibits neuron firing; Huntington’s disease; Valium, anti convulsants |
| amygdala | fear and aggression |
| resting potential | the neuron at rest before stimulation |
| threshold | trigger point of firing; an “all or nothing” event regardless of the size of the stimuli |
| fMRI | shows function of the brain vs just merely structure |
| negative after potential | drop below resting after firing |
| nodes of Ranvier | gaps in myelin sheath |
| reuptake mechanisms | allow NTs to go back to neuron 1/ sending neuron |
| agonists | drugs that block reuptake |
| antagonists | drugs which inhibit release of NTs |
| angular gyrus | transforms visual rep to auditory code |
| Gazzaniga and Sperry | split brain research |
| basal metabolic rate | body's resting rate of energy expenditure |
| neurogenisis | regeneration of brain cells/neurons |
| refactory period | resting period or pause after neural firing |
