Organic Brain Biopsychology Chapter 4

Front 1

Acetylcholine

Back 1

a chemical similar to an amino acid; a neurotransmitter

Front 2

Alzheimer's disease

Back 2

condition characterized by memory loss, confusion, depression, restlessness, hallucinations, delusions, sleeplessness, and loss of appetite.

Front 3

Anterior

Back 3

toward the front end.

Front 4

Anterior commissure

Back 4

set of axons connecting the two cerebral hemispheres; smaller than the corpus callosum.

Front 5

Autonomic nervous system

Back 5

set of neurons that regulate funcioning of the internal organs.

Front 6

Basal forebrain

Back 6

the forebrain area anterior and dorsal to the hypothalamus; includes cell clusters that promote wakefulness and other cell clusters that promote sleep.

Front 7

Basal ganglia

Back 7

set of subcortical forebrain structures lateral to the hypothalamus including the caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus pallidus

Front 8

Bell-Magendie law

Back 8

observation that the dorsal roots of the spinal cord carry sensory information and that the ventral roots carry motor information toward the muscles and glands.

Front 9

binding problem

Back 9

question of how the visual, auditory, and other areas of the brain influence one another to produce a combined perception of a single object.

Front 10

brainstem

Back 10

hindbrain, midbrain, and posterior central structures of the forebrain.

Front 11

caudate nucleus

Back 11

large subcortical structure, one part of the basal ganglia.

Front 12

central canal

Back 12

fluid-filled channel in the center of the spinal cord.

Front 13

central nervous system (CNS)

Back 13

the brain and spinal cord.

Front 14

central sulcus

Back 14

large groove in the surface of the primate cerebral cortex, separating frontal from parietal cortex.

Front 15

cerebellum

Back 15

the large, highly convoluted structure in the hindbrain.

Front 16

cerebral cortex

Back 16

the layer of cells on the outer surface of the cerebral hemispheres of the forebrain.

Front 17

cerebrospinal flud (CSF)

Back 17

liquid similar to blood serum, found in the ventricles of the brain and in the central canal of the spinal cord.

Front 18

column

Back 18

collection of cells having similar properties, arranged perpendicular to the laminae.

Front 19

contralateral

Back 19

on the opposite side of the body (left or right).

Front 20

coronal plane

Back 20

the plane that shows brain structures as they would be seen from the front.

Front 21

corpus callosum

Back 21

the large set of axons that connects the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex.

Front 22

cranial nerves

Back 22

part of a set of nerves controlling sensory and motor information of the head, connecting to nuclei in the medulla, pons, midbrain, or forebrain.

Front 23

delayed-response task

Back 23

an assignment in which an animal must respond on the basis of a signal that it remembers but that is no longer present.

Front 24

distal

Back 24

located more distant from the point of origin or attachment.

Front 25

dorsal

Back 25

toward the back, away from the ventral (stomach) side.

Front 26

dorsal root ganglia

Back 26

set of sensory neuron somas on the dorsal side of the spinal cord.

Front 27

fissure

Back 27

a long, deep sulcus.

Front 28

follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)

Back 28

anterior pituitary hormone that promotes the growth of follicles in the ovary.

Front 29

forebrain

Back 29

most anterior part of the brain, including the cerebral cortex and other structures See also Cerebral cortex; Hypothalamus.

Front 30

frontal lobe

Back 30

section of cerebral cortex extending from the central sulcus to the anterior limit of the brain, containing the primary motor cortex and the prefrontal cortex.

Front 31

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Back 31

a modified version of MRI that measures energies released by hemoglobin molecules in an MRI scan, and then determines the brain areas receiving the greatest supply of blood and oxygen.

Front 32

gamma waves

Back 32

repetitive activity in neurons at a rhythm of 30 to 80 action potentials per second.

Front 33

ganglion

Back 33

cluster of neuron cell bodies, usually outside the CNS.

Front 34

gene-knockout approach

Back 34

use of biochemical methods to direct a mutation to a particular gene that is important for certain types of cells, transmitters, or receptors.

Front 35

globus pallidus

Back 35

large subcortical structure, one part of the basal ganglia.

Front 36

gray matter

Back 36

areas of the nervous system with a high density of cell bodies and dendrites, with few myelinated axons.

Front 37

gyrus (pl: gyri)

Back 37

a protuberance or elevation of the brain, separated from another gyrus by a sulcus.

Front 38

hindbrain

Back 38

most posterior part of the brain, including the medulla, pons, and cerebellum.

Front 39

hippocampus

Back 39

large forebrain structure between the thalamus and cortex.

Front 40

horizontal plane

Back 40

the plane that shows brain structures as they would be seen from above.

Front 41

Huntington's disease

Back 41

an inherited disorder characterized initially by jerky arm movements and facial twitches, later by tremors, writhing movements, and psychological symptoms, including depression, memory impairment, hallucinations, and delusions.

Front 42

hypothalamus

Back 42

forebrain structure near the base of the brain just ventral to the thalamus.

Front 43

inferior

Back 43

below another part.

Front 44

inferior colliculus

Back 44

swelling on each side of the tectum in the midbrain.

Front 45

ipsilateral

Back 45

on the same side of the body (left or right).

Front 46

Kluüver-Bucy syndrome

Back 46

the condition in which monkeys with damaged temporal lobes fail to display normal fears and anxieties.

Front 47

lamina (plural: laminae)

Back 47

layer of cell bodies parallel to the surface of the cortex and separated from other laminae by layers of fibers.

Front 48

lateral

Back 48

toward the side, away from the midline.

Front 49

limbic system

Back 49

set of forebrain areas traditionally regarded as critical for emotion, which form a border around the brainstem, including the olfactory bulb, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, cingulate gyrus of the cerebral cortex, and several other smaller structures.

Front 50

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Back 50

method of imaging a living brain by using a magnetic field and a radio frequency field to make atoms with odd atomic weights all rotate in the same direction and then removing those fields and measuring the energy that the atoms release.

Front 51

medial

Back 51

toward the midline, away from the side.

Front 52

medulla

Back 52

hindbrain structure located just above the spinal cord; the medulla could be regarded as an enlarged, elaborated extension of the spinal cord.

Front 53

meninges

Back 53

membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

Front 54

midbrain

Back 54

middle part of the brain, including superior colliculus, inferior colliculus, tectum, and tegmentum.

Front 55

motor neuron

Back 55

a neuron that receives excitation from other neurons and conducts impulses from its soma in the spinal cord to muscle or gland cells.

Front 56

Myelinated axon

Back 56

an axon covered with a myelin sheath.

Front 57

nerves

Back 57

sets of axons in the periphery, either from the CNS to a muscle or gland or from a sensory organ to the CNS.

Front 58

neuroanatomy

Back 58

the anatomy of the nervous system.

Front 59

Norepinephrine

Back 59

a neurotransmitter.

Front 60

nucleus

Back 60

(a) structure within a cell that contains the chromosomes (b) cluster of neuron cell bodies within the CNS.

Front 61

nucleus basalis

Back 61

the area on the dorsal surface of the forebrain; a major source of axons that release acetylcholine to widespread areas in the cerebral cortex.

Front 62

occipital lobe

Back 62

the posterior (caudal) section of the cerebral cortex.

Front 63

optic nerve (or optic tract)

Back 63

the bundle of axons that travel from the ganglion cells of the retina to the brain.

Front 64

parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)

Back 64

the system of nerves that facilitate vegetative, nonemergency responses by the body's organs.

Front 65

parietal lobe

Back 65

the section of the cerebral cortex between the occipital lobe and the central sulcus.

Front 66

Parkinson's disease

Back 66

malady caused by damage to a dopamine pathway, resulting in slow movements, difficulty initiating movements, rigidity of the muscles, and tremors.

Front 67

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Back 67

the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord.

Front 68

phrenology

Back 68

the pseudoscience that claimed a relationship between skull anatomy and behavioral capacities.

Front 69

pituitary gland

Back 69

endocrine gland attached to the base of the hypothalamus.

Front 70

pons

Back 70

hindbrain structure, anterior and ventral to the medulla.

Front 71

positron emission tomography (PET)

Back 71

a method of mapping activity in a living brain by recording the emission of radioactivity from injected chemicals.

Front 72

postcentral gyrus

Back 72

a gyrus of the cerebral cortex just posterior to the central gyrus; a primary projection site for touch and other body sensations.

Front 73

posterior

Back 73

toward the rear end.

Front 74

precentral gyrus

Back 74

the gyrus of the cerebral cortex just anterior to the central sulcus, site of the primary motor cortex.

Front 75

prefrontal cortex

Back 75

the anterior portion of the frontal lobe of the cortex, which responds mostly to the sensory stimuli that signal the need for a movement.

Front 76

prefrontal lobotomy

Back 76

the surgical disconnection of the prefrontal cortex from the rest of the brain.

Front 77

primary motor cortex

Back 77

area of the frontal cortex just anterior to the central sulcus; a primary point of origin for axons conveying messages to the spinal cord.

Front 78

primary visual cortex (V1)

Back 78

the area of the cortex responsible for the first stage of visual processing.

Front 79

proximal

Back 79

located close (approximate) to the point of origin or attachment.

Front 80

putamen

Back 80

a large subcortical structure, one part of the basal ganglia.

Front 81

Raphe system

Back 81

a group of neurons in the pons and medulla whose axons extend throughout much of the forebrain.

Front 82

reflex

Back 82

a consistent, automatic response to a stimulus.

Front 83

regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF)

Back 83

method of estimating activity of different areas of the brain by dissolving a radioactive chemical such as xenon in the blood and measuring radioactivity from different brain areas.

Front 84

reticular formation

Back 84

a network of neurons in the medulla and other parts of the brainstem; the descending portion controls motor areas of the spinal cord; the ascending portion selectively increases arousal and attention in various forebrain areas.

Front 85

sagittal plane

Back 85

the plane that shows brain structures as they would be seen from the side.

Front 86

somatic nervous system

Back 86

nerves that convey messages from the sense organs to the CNS and from the CNS to muscles and glands.

Front 87

spinal cord

Back 87

the part of the CNS found within the spinal column; it communicates with the sense organs and muscles below the level of the head.

Front 88

substantia nigra

Back 88

the midbrain area that gives rise to a dopamine-containing pathway.

Front 89

sulcus (plural: sulci)

Back 89

a fold or groove that separates one gyrus from another.

Front 90

superior

Back 90

above another part.

Front 91

superior colliculus

Back 91

the swelling on each side of the tectum in the midbrain.

Front 92

sympathetic nervous system

Back 92

the network of nerves that prepare the body's organs for vigorous activity.

Front 93

tectum

Back 93

the roof of the midbrain.

Front 94

tegmentum

Back 94

the intermediate level of the midbrain.

Front 95

temporal lobe

Back 95

the lateral portion of each hemisphere, near the temples.

Front 96

thalamus

Back 96

a structure in the center of the forebrain.

Front 97

tract

Back 97

a set of axons within the CNS.

Front 98

vagus nerve

Back 98

the tenth cranial nerve, which has branches to and from the stomach and several other organs; it conveys information about the stretching of the stomach walls.

Front 99

ventral

Back 99

toward the stomach, away from the dorsal (back) side.

Front 100

ventricles

Back 100

any of the four fluid-filled cavities in the brain.

Front 101

white matter

Back 101

area of the nervous system consisting mostly of myelinated axons.

Front 102

working memory

Back 102

the temporary storage of memories while we are working with them or attending to them.