Key Terms Quiz #2

Front 1

Amygdala

Back 1

ocated in the tip of the temporal lobe, receives input from all the senses. It plays a major role in evaluating the emotional significance of stimuli and facial expressions, especially those involving fear, distress, or threat.

Front 2

Axon

Back 2

a single threadlike structure that extends from, and carries signals away from, the cell body to neighboring neurons, organs, or muscles.

Front 3

Broca’s aphasia

Back 3

a person cannot speak in fluent sentences but can understand written and spoken words.

Front 4

Broca’s area

Back 4

usually located in the left frontal lobe, is necessary for combining sounds into words and arranging words into meaningful sentences. Damage to this area results

Front 5

Cell body

Back 5

(or soma) a relatively large, eggshaped structure that provides fuel, manufactures chemicals, and maintains the entire neuron in working order.

Front 6

central nervous system

Back 6

made up of the brain and spinal cord. From the bottom of the brain emerges the spinal cord, which is made up of neurons and bundles of axons and dendrites that carry information back and forth between the brain and the body.

Front 7

Dendrites

Back 7

branchlike extensions that arise from the cell body; they receive signals from other neurons, muscles, or sense organs and pass these signals to the cell body.

Front 8

Endocrine system

Back 8

made up of numerous glands that are located throughout the body.

Front 9

Frontal lobe

Back 9

located in the front part of the brain, includes a huge area of cortex. The frontal lobe is involved in many functions: performing voluntary motor movements, interpreting and performing emotional behaviors, behaving normally in social situations, maintaining a healthy personality, paying attention to things in the environment, making decisions, and executing plans. Because the frontal lobe is involved in making decisions, planning, reasoning, and carrying out behaviors, it is said to have executive functions, much like the duties of a company’s executive officer.

Front 10

Glial cell

Back 10

have at least three functions: providing scaffolding to guide the growth of developing neurons and support mature neurons; wrapping around neurons to form a kind of insulation to prevent interference from other electrical signals; and releasing chemicals that influence a neuron’s growth and function

Front 11

Homeostasis

Back 11

the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems work together to keep the body’s level of arousal in balance for optimum functioning.

Front 12

 Interneuron

Back 12

a relatively short neuron whose primary task is making connections between other neurons.

Front 13

Myelin sheath

Back 13

separate tubelike segments composed of fatty material that wraps around and insulates an axon. The myelin sheath prevents interference from electrical signals generated in adjacent axons.

Front 14

Neuron

Back 14

a brain cell with two specialized extensions. One extension is for receiving electrical signals, and a second, longer extension is for transmitting electrical signals.

Front 15

Neurotransmitter

Back 15

a dozen different chemicals that are made by neurons and then used for communication between neurons during the performance of mental or physical activities.

Front 16

Occipital lobe

Back 16

located at the very back of the brain and is involved in processing visual information, which includes seeing colors and perceiving and recognizing objects, animals, and people.

Front 17

Parasympathetic division-

Back 17

the other part of the autonomic nervous system, decreases physiological arousal and helps return the body to a calmer, more relaxed state. It also stimulates digestion during eating.

Front 18

Parietal lobe

Back 18

involved with perception and sensory experiences

Front 19

Peripheral nervous system

Back 19

all the nerves that extend from the spinal cord and carry messages to and from various muscles, glands, and sense organs located throughout the body.

Front 20

Reflex-

Back 20

an unlearned, involuntary reaction to some stimulus. The neural connections or network underlying a reflex is prewired by genetic instructions.

Front 21

Split-brain operation

Back 21

nvolves cutting the wide band of fibers, called the corpus callosum, that connects the right and left hemispheres. The corpus callosum has 200 million nerve fibers that allow information to pass back and forth between the hemispheres.

Front 22

Sympathetic division

Back 22

part of the autonomic nervous system, is triggered by threatening or challenging physical stimuli, such as a snake, or by psychological stimuli, such as the thought of having to give a public speech. Once triggered, the sympathetic division increases the body’s physiological arousal.

Front 23

Temporal lobe

Back 23

-located directly below the parietal lobe and is involved in hearing, speaking coherently, and understanding verbal and written material.

Front 24

Wernicke’s aphasia

Back 24

a difficulty in understanding spoken or written words and a difficulty in putting words into meaningful sentences.

Front 25

Wernicke’s area

Back 25

usually located in the left temporal lobe, is necessary for speaking in coherent sentences and for understanding speech.