Chapter 3 Psych

Front 1

Neurons

Back 1

Cells in the nervous system that communicate with one another to perform information-processing tasks

Front 2

Cell body

Back 2

Largest part of the neuron; coordinates information-processing tasks and keeps the cell alive

Front 3

Dendrites

Back 3

Receives information from other neurons and relays it to the cell body

Front 4

Axon

Back 4

Carries information to other neurons, muscles, or glands

Front 5

Synapse

Back 5

The junction or region betwren the axon of one neuron and the dendrites or cell body of another

Front 6

Myelin sheath

Back 6

An insulating layer of fatty material

Front 7

Glial cells

Back 7

Digest lartd of dead neurons, provide physical/nutritional support, and form myelin

Front 8

Sensory neurons

Back 8

Received information from the external world and conveys this information to the brain via spinal cord

Front 9

Interneurons

Back 9

Composes most of the nervous system, connects sensory neurons, motor neurons, or other interneurons

Front 10

Motor neurons

Back 10

a nerve cell forming part of a pathway along which impulses pass from the brain or spinal cord to a muscle or gland

Front 11

Conduction

Back 11

Process when information travels inside the neuron from dendrite to cell body to axon via electrical signals

Front 12

Transmission

Back 12

Signals passed from one neuron to another via chemical messengers traveling across the synapse

Front 13

Ion

Back 13

a charged particle

Front 14

Resting potential

Back 14

the difference in electric charge between the inside and outside of a neuron's cell membrane

Front 15

Action potential

Back 15

an electric signal that is conducted along the length of a neuron's axon to a synapse

Front 16

Terminal buttons

Back 16

knob-like structures that branch out from an axon, filled with tiny vesicles that contain neurotransmitters

Front 17

Neurotransmitters

Back 17

chemicals that transmit information across the synapse to a receiving neuron's dendrites

Front 18

Receptors

Back 18

parts of the cell membrane that receive the neurotransmitter and initiate or prevent a new electric signal

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Presynaptic neuron

Back 19

the sending neuron

Front 20

Postsynaptic neuron

Back 20

the receiving neuron

Front 21

Synaptic transmission

Back 21

electrochemical action that allows neurons to communicate with one another

Front 22

reuptake

Back 22

process when neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by the terminal buttons of the presynaptic neuron's axon

Front 23

Enzyme deactivation

Back 23

neurotransmitters destroyed by enzymes in synapse

Front 24

autoreceptor

Back 24

what neurotransmitters bind to

Front 25

Gluatamate

Back 25

excitatory neurotransmitter that enhances transmission of into between neurons

Front 26

Gamma-amino

Back 26

inhibatory neurotransmitter that stops/slows transmission of information between neurons

Front 27

Agonists

Back 27

drugs that increase the action of a neurotransmitter

Front 28

Antagonists

Back 28

Drugs that block the function of a neurotransmitter

Front 29

Nervous system

Back 29

interacting network of neurons that conveys electrochemical information throughout the body

Front 30

Centran Nervous System (CNS)

Back 30

part of the nervous system composed of brain and spinal cord

Front 31

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Back 31

part of the nervous system that connects the CNS to the body's organs and muscles

Front 32

Somatic Nervous System

Back 32

a set of nerves that conveys information between voluntary muscles and the CNS

Front 33

Automatic Nervous System (ANS)

Back 33

a set of nerves that carries involuntary and automatic commands that control blood vessels, body organs, and glands

Front 34

Sympathetic Nervous System

Back 34

set of nerves that prepares the body for action in challenging or threatening situations

Front 35

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Back 35

set of nerves that helps the body return to a normal resting state

Front 36

Spinal Reflexes

Back 36

simple pathways in the nervous system that rapidly generates muscle contractions

Front 37

Hindbrain

Back 37

area of the brain that coordinates information coming into and out of the spinal cord

Front 38

Medulla

Back 38

extension of the spinal cord into the skull that coordinates heart rate, circulation, and respiration

Front 39

Reticular formation

Back 39

brain structure that regulates sleep, wakefulness, and levels of arousal

Front 40

Cerebellum

Back 40

large structure of the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills

Front 41

Pons

Back 41

brain structure that relays information from cerebellum to the rest of the brain

Front 42

Midbrain

Back 42

important for orientation and movement

Front 43

Tegmentum

Back 43

regulates awareness, attention, and some autonomic functions

Front 44

tectum

Back 44

direct behavioral response toward or away from a stimuli

Front 45

Forebrain

Back 45

controls complex cognitive, emotional, sensory, and motor functions

Front 46

Subcortical structures

Back 46

areas of the forebrain housed under the cerebral cortex near the very center of the brain

Front 47

Thalamus

Back 47

relays and filters information from the senses (except smell) and transmits information to the cerebral cortex

Front 48

Hypothalamus

Back 48

regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst, and sexual behavior

Front 49

Pituitary gland

Back 49

master gland of body's hormone-producing system, which releases hormones that direct the functions of many other glands in the body

Front 50

Hippocampus

Back 50

critical for creating new memories and integrating them into a network of knowledge so that they can be stored indefinitely in other parts of the cerebral cortex

Front 51

Amygdala

Back 51

part of the limbic system that plays a central role in many emotional processes, particularly the formation of emotional memories

Front 52

Basal ganglia

Back 52

set of subcortical structures that directs intentional movement

Front 53

Cerebral cortex

Back 53

outermost layer of the brain, visible to naked eye and divided into 2 hemispheres

Front 54

Corpus callosum

Back 54

thick band of nerve fibers that connects large areas of the cerebral cortex on each side of the brain and supports the communication of information across the hemispheres

Front 55

Occipital Lobe

Back 55

region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information

Front 56

Parietal Lobe

Back 56

processes information about touch

Front 57

Somatosensory cortex

Back 57

represents sensitivity of skin areas

Front 58

Motor cortex

Back 58

initiates voluntary movement and sends messages to the basal ganglia, cerebellum, and spinal cord

Front 59

Temporal lobe

Back 59

region of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing and language

Front 60

Frontal lobe

Back 60

has specialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgment

Front 61

Association area

Back 61

composed of neurons that help provide sense and meaning to information registered in the cortex

Front 62

Mirror neurons

Back 62

active when an animal performs a behavior, such as reaching for or manipulating an object, and they are also activated when another animal observes the first animal as it performs the same behavior

Front 63

Gene

Back 63

major unit of hereditary transmission

Front 64

chromosomes

Back 64

strands of DNA wound around each other in a double-helix configuration

Front 65

epigenetics

Back 65

environmental influences that determine whether or not genes are expressed, or the degree to which they are expressed without altering the basic DNA sequences that constitute the genes themselves

Front 66

Electroencephalograph (EEG)

Back 66

Device used to record electrical activity in the brain

Front 67

Functional brain imaging

Back 67

Provides information about the brain when people perform various kinds of cognitive/motor tasks

Front 68

Computerized axial tomography (CAT) Scan

Back 68

Svanner rotates around head and takes X-ray photos

Front 69

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Back 69

Uses strong magnetic field to round up nuclei of specific molecules in the brain tissue

Front 70

Positron emission tomography (PET)

Back 70

Brain scanned by radiation detectors as person performs perceptual or cognitive tasks

Front 71

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Back 71

Detects difference between oxygenated hemoglobin and deoxygenated hemoglobin when exposed to magnetic pulses