Ch.3: Neural And Hormonal Systems

Front 1

The scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes.

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Biological Psychology

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A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.

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Neuron

Front 3

The neuron’s bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body.

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Dendrite

Front 4

The neuron’s extensions that pass messages through its branching terminal fibers that form junctions with other neurons, muscles, or glands.

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Axon

Front 5

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.

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Action Potential

Front 6

The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.

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Threshold

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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.

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Synapse

Front 8

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across synapse and bind to receptor sites on receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.

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Neurotransmitters

Front 9

”morphine within” – natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

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Endorphins

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The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.

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Nervous System

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The brain and spinal cord.

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Central Nervous System (CNS)

Front 12

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body.

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Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Front 13

Bundled axons that form neural “cables” connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs.

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Nerves

Front 14

Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord.

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Sensory Neurons

Front 15

Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands.

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Motor Neurons

Front 16

Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.

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Interneurons

Front 17

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system.

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Somatic Nervous System

Front 18

The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.

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Autonomic Nervous System

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The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations.

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Sympathetic Nervous System

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The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy.

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Parasympathetic Nervous System

Front 21

A simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response.

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Reflex

Front 22

The body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.

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Endocrine System

Front 23

Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues.

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Hormones

Front 24

A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress.

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Adrenal Glands

Front 25

The endocrine system’s most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

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Pituitary Gland