Major Field Test: Psych

Front 1

motor neuron

Back 1

neuron that sends signals to muscles to control movement

Front 2

interneuron

Back 2

neuron connected to other neurons, not sense organs or muscles

Front 3

sensory neuron

Back 3

neuron that responds to input from sense organs

Front 4

glial cell

Back 4

cell that fills the gaps between neurons, influences communication between neurons, and is involved in the care and feeding of neurons

Front 5

brain circuit

Back 5

set of neurons that affect one another

Front 6

axon

Back 6

sending end of a neuron, extends from cell body, (usually) covered by myelin sheath

Front 7

terminal button

Back 7

structure at end of axon that releases chemicals into synaptic cleft when neuron is triggered

Front 8

dendrites

Back 8

receive messages from the axons of other neurons

Front 9

neuromodulator

Back 9

chemical that alters the effects of neurotransmitters

Front 10

reuptake

Back 10

process by which surplus neurotransmitter is reabsorbed back into the sending neuron

Front 11

agonist

Back 11

chemical that mimics the effects of a neurotransmitter, sometimes by preventing reuptake

Front 12

antagonist

Back 12

chemical that blocks the effects of a neurotransmitter, sometimes by blocking a receptor or enhancing the reuptake mechanism

Front 13

CNS

Back 13

brain and spinal cord

Front 14

PNS

Back 14

autonomic nervous system and skeletal system

Front 15

ANS

Back 15

sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems

Front 16

occipital lobe

Back 16

devoted entirely to different aspects of VISION

Front 17

temporal lobe

Back 17

processing sound, entering new information into memory, storing visual memories, comprehending language

Front 18

parietal lobe

Back 18

registering spatial location, attention, motor control

Front 19

frontal lobe

Back 19

speech, search for specific memory, reasoning, emotions

Front 20

FPOT

Back 20

Free Pot=Frontal, Parietal, Occipital, Temporal

Front 21

unilateral visual neglect

Back 21

results from damage to parietal lobe, typically ignore everything on side opposite damage e.g. shave one side of face

Front 22

split-brain patients

Back 22

have had corpus callosum severed

Front 23

Forebrain

Back 23

cortex, thalamus, limbic system, and basal ganglia

Front 24

Midbrain

Back 24

brainstem structures that connect forebrain and hindbrain, incl. part of reticular formation

Front 25

Hindbrain

Back 25

medulla, pons, cerebellum, parts of reticular formation

Front 26

thalamus

Back 26

subcortical region, receives inputs from sensory and motor systems, plays crucial role in attention, often thought of as switching center

Front 27

hypothalamus

Back 27

crucial role in eating, drinking, regulating body temp, blood pressure, heart rate, hormone regulation

Front 28

hippocampus

Back 28

allows us to store new info in brain's memory banks

Front 29

amygdala

Back 29

involved in emotions such as fear, anger; ability to read facial expressions

Front 30

limbic system

Back 30

set of brain areas incl. hippocampus and amygdala involved in fighting, fleeing, feeding and sex

Front 31

basal ganglia

Back 31

involved in planning, producing movement, learning habits

Front 32

brainstem

Back 32

set of neural structures at the base of the brain, incl. medulla, pons, reticular formation

Front 33

medulla

Back 33

automatic control of breathing, swallowing, and blood circulation

Front 34

reticular formation

Back 34

two-part structure, ascending part (RAS) keeps you awake and alert, descending part important in producing ANS reactions, connecting impulses from involuntary muscles to voluntary muscles

Front 35

pons

Back 35

bridge connecting brainstem and cerebellum, involved in physical coordination, estimating time, paying attention

Front 36

neuroendocrine system

Back 36

makes hormones, regulated by CNS, provides CNS with information

Front 37

EEG

Back 37

electroencephalograph, records electrical current produced by the brain, e.g. in response to a particular stimulus

Front 38

Neuroimaging

Back 38

brain scanning techniques that produce a picture of the structure/functioning of neurons

Front 39

CAT

Back 39

computer-assisted tomography, technique that produces a 3D image of brain structure using X-rays

Front 40

MRI

Back 40

magnetic resonance imaging, technique that uses the magnetic properties of atoms to take pictures of brain structures

Front 41

PET

Back 41

positron emission tomography, technique that uses small amounts of radiation to track blood or energy consumption in the brain

Front 42

fMRI

Back 42

functional magnetic resonance imaging, type of MRI that detects the amount of oxygen being brought to a particular place in the brain

Front 43

TMS

Back 43

transcranial magnetic stimulation, technique where brain is stimulated from outside by putting wire coil on person's head and delivering a magnetic pulse to make neurons under the coil fire.

Front 44

Mendelian inheritance

Back 44

transmission of characteristics by individual elements of inheritance, each acting separately

1) for each trait, offspring inherits an element from each parent

2) in some cases, one element is dominant; only when both elements are recessive will a recessive trait be expressed

Front 45

knockout mice

Back 45

mice in which part of genetic code has been snipped away, deleting all or crucial parts of a gene so that it is disabled

Front 46

knockin mice

Back 46

mice in which a new sequence of genetic code is added or is substituted for one already there

Front 47

pruning

Back 47

neural process whereby certain connections among neurons are eliminated; "use it or lose it"

Front 48

passive interaction

Back 48

when genetically shaped tendencies of the parents/siblings produce an environment that is passively received by the child, eg. more intelligent parents create a more intellectually stimulating environment

Front 49

evocative/reactive interaction

Back 49

when genetically influenced characteristics draw out behaviors from other people, e.g. "blondes have more fun"

Front 50

active interaction

Back 50

when people choose, partly based on genetic tendencies, to put themselves in specific situations and avoid others e.g. timid person avoids loud amusement park

Front 51

dizygotic twins

Back 51

grow from two separate eggs fertilized by two different sperm

Front 52

monozygotic twins

Back 52

grow from one egg fertilized by one sperm