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31 Cards in this Set
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- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
Nervous System |
Consists of the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. |
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Central Nervous System |
Consists of the brain and the spinal cord and is the origin of all complex commands and decisions. |
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Peripheral Nervous System |
Sends information to the central nervous system from the outside world, and transmits messages from the CNS to muscles and glands in the body. |
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Somatic Nervous System |
Transmits information from receptor cells in the sense organs to the central nervous system. It also receives information from the CNS that directs muscles to act. |
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Autonomic Nervous System |
Transmits information to and from internal bodily organs. It is automatic as the system operates involuntarily. It has two main divisions: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. |
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Neuron |
The basic building blocks of the nervous system, neurons are nerve cells that process and transmit messages through eletrical and chemical signals. |
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Sensory Neuron |
These carry messages from the PNS to the CNS. They have long dendrites and short axons. |
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Relay Neurons |
These connect the sensory neurons to the motor or other relay neurons. They have short dendrites and short axons. |
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Motor Neurons |
These connect the CNS to effectors such as muscles and glands. They have short dendrites and long axons. |
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Localisation of Function |
The theory that different areas of the brain are responsible for different behaviours, processes or activities. |
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Motor Area |
A region of the frontal lobe involved incregulating movement. |
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Somasensory Area |
An area of the parietal lobe that processes sensory information such as touch. |
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Visual Area |
A part of the occipital lobe that receives and processes visual information. |
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Auditory Area |
Located in the temporal and concerned with the analysis of speech-based information. |
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Broca's area |
An area of the frontal lobe of the brain in the left hemisphere responsible for speech production. |
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Wernicke's area |
An area of the temporal lobe in the left hemisphere responsible for language comprehension. |
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Plasticity |
This describes the brain's tendency to change and adapt as a result of experience and new learning. |
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Functional Recovery |
A form of plasticity. Following damage through trauma, the brain's ability to redistribute or transfer functions usually performed by a damaged area(s) to other, undamaged area(s). |
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Hemispheric Lateralisation |
The idea that the two halves of the brain are functionally different and that certain mental processes and behaviours are mainly controlled by one hemisphere rather than the other. |
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Split-Brain Research |
A series of studies which began in the 1960s involving epileptic payients who had experienced a surgical separation of the hemispheres of the brain. This allowed researchers to investigate the extent to which brain function is lateralised. |
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Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging |
A method of used to measure brain activity while a person is performing a task uses MRI technology. This enables researchers to detect which regions of the brain are rich in oxygen and thus are active. |
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Electroencephalogram (EEG) |
A record of the tiny eletrical impulses produced by the brain's activity. By measuring characteristic wave patterns, the EEG can help diagnose certain conditions of the brain. |
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Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) |
The brain's eletrophysiological response to a specific sensory, cognitive or motor event can be isolated through statisitical analysis of EEG data. |
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Post-Mortem Examinations |
The brain is analysed after death to determine whether certain observed behaviours during the patient's lifetime can be linked to abnormalities. |
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Biological Rhythms |
Distinct patterns of changes in body activity that conform to cyclical time periods. Biological rhythms are influenced by internal body clocks as well as external chnages to the environment. |
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Circadian Rhythm |
A type of biological rhythm, subject to a 24-hour cycle, which regulates a number of body processes. Sleep/Wake cycle. |
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Infradian Rhythm |
A type of biological rhythm with a frequency of less than one cycle in 24 hours. Menstrual cycle. |
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Ultradian Rhythm |
A type of biological rhythm with a frequency of more than one cycle in 24 hours. Stages of sleep. |
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Endogenous Pacemakers |
Internal body clocks that regulate many of our biological rhythm. |
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Exogenous Zeitgebers |
External cues that may affect or entrain our biological rhythms. |
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Sleep/Wake Cycle |
A daily cycle of biological activity based on a 24-hour period that is influenced by regular variations in the environment. |
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