Psy Quiz # 2

Front 1

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Back 1

The part of the nervous system that includes the brain and spinal cord.

Front 2

Spinal Cord

Back 2

A bundle of neurons that leaves the brain and runs down the length of the back and is the main means for transmitting messages between the brain and the body.

Front 3

Reflex

Back 3

An automatic, involuntary response to an incoming stimulus.

Front 4

Sensory (afferent) Neurons

Back 4

Neurons that transmit information from the perimeter of the body to the central nervous system.

Front 5

Motor (efferent) Neurons

Back 5

Neurons that communicate information from the nervous system to muscles and glands.

Front 6

Interneurons

Back 6

Neurons that connect sensory and motor neurons, carrying messages between the two.

Front 7

Peripheral Nervous System

Back 7

The part of the nervous system that includes the autonomic and somatic subdivisions; made up of neurons with long axons and dendrites, it branches out from the spinal cord and brain and reaches the extremities of the body.

Front 8

Somatic division

Back 8

The part of the peripheral nervous system that specializes in the control of voluntary movements and the communication of information to and from the sense organs.

Front 9

Autonomic division

Back 9

The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary movement of the heart, glands, lungs, and other organs.

Front 10

Sympathetic division

Back 10

The part of the autonomic division of the nervous system that acts to prepare the body for action in stressful situations, engaging all the organism's resources to respond to a threat.

Front 11

Parasympathetic division

Back 11

The part of the autonomic division of the nervous system that acts to calm the body after an emergency or stressful situation has ended.

Front 12

Evolutionary Psychology

Back 12

The branch of psychology that seeks to identify behavior patterns that are a result of our genetic inheritance from our ancestors.

Front 13

Behavioral Genetics

Back 13

The study of the effects of heredity on behavior.

Front 14

Endocrine system

Back 14

A chemical communication network that sends messages throughout the body via the bloodstream.

Front 15

Hormones

Back 15

Chemicals that circulate through the blood and regulate the functioning or growth of the body.

Front 16

Pituitary gland

Back 16

The major component of the endocrine system, or "master gland" which secretes hormones that control growth and other parts of the endocrine system.

Front 17

Central core

Back 17

The "old brain"," which controls basic functions such as eating and sleeping and is common to all vertebrates.

Front 18

Cerebellum

Back 18

The part of the brain that controls bodily balance.

Front 19

Reticular formation

Back 19

The part of the brain extending from the medulla through the pons and made up of groups of nerve cells that can immediately activate other parts of the brain to produce general bodily arousal.

Front 20

Thalamus

Back 20

The part of the brain located in the middle of the central core that acts primarily to relay information about the senses.

Front 21

Hypothalanus

Back 21

A tiny part of the brain, located below the thalamus, that maintains homeostasis and produces and regulates vital behavior, such as eating, drinking, and sexual behavior.

Front 22

Medulla

Back 22

Responsible for regulating largerly unconscious functions such as breathing and circulation.

Front 23

Corpus callosum

Back 23

Bridge of fibers passing information between the two cerebral hemispheres.

Front 24

Limbic system

Back 24

The part of the brain that controls eating, aggression, and reproduction.

Front 25

Cerebral cortex

Back 25

The "new brain," responsible for the most sophisticated information processing in the brain; contains four lobes.

Front 26

Lobes

Back 26

The four major sections of the cerebral cortex: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital.

Front 27

Motor area

Back 27

The part of the cortex that is largely responsible for the body's voluntary movement.

Front 28

Sensory area

Back 28

The site in the brain of the tissue that corresponds to each of the senses, with the degree of sensitivity related to the amount of tissue allocated to that sense.

Front 29

Association areas

Back 29

One of the major regions of the cerebral cortex; the site of the higher mental processes, such as thought, language, memory, and speech.

Front 30

Neuroplasticity

Back 30

Changes in the brain that occur throughout the life span relating to the addition of new neurons, new interconnections between neurons, and the reorganization of information processing areas.

Front 31

Hemispheres

Back 31

Symmetrical left and right halves of the brain that control the side of the body opposite to their location.

Front 32

Lateralization

Back 32

The dominance of one hemisphere of the brain in specific functions, such as language.

Front 33

Biofeedback

Back 33

A procedure in which a person learns to control through conscious thought internal physiological processes such as blood pressure, heart and respiration rate, skin temperature, sweating, and the constriction of particular muscles.

Front 34

Behavior neuroscientists

Back 34

Psychologists who specialize in considering the ways in which the biological structures and functions of the body affect behavior.

Front 35

Neurons

Back 35

Nerve cells, the basic elements of the nervous system.

Front 36

Dendrites

Back 36

A cluster of fibers at one end of a neuron that receive messages from other neurons.

Front 37

Axon

Back 37

The part of the neuron that carries messages destined for other neurons.

Front 38

Terminal buttons

Back 38

Small bulges at the end of axons that send messages to other neurons.

Front 39

Myelin sheath

Back 39

A protective coat of fat and protein that wraps around the axon.

Front 40

All-or-none law

Back 40

The rule that neurons are either on or off.

Front 41

Resting state

Back 41

The state in which there is a negative electrical charge of about 270 millivolts within a neuron.

Front 42

Action potential

Back 42

An electric nerve impulse that travels through a neuron when it is set off by a "trigger," changing the neuron's charge from negative to positive.

Front 43

Synapse

Back 43

The space between two neurons where the axon of sending neuron communicates with the dendrites of receiving a neuron by using chemical messages.

Front 44

Neurotransmitters

Back 44

Chemicals that carry messages across the synapse to the dendrites ( and sometimes the cell body ) of a receiver neuron.

Front 45

Excitatory message

Back 45

A chemical message that makes it more likely that a receiving neuron will fire and an action potential will travel down its axon.

Front 46

Inhibitory message

Back 46

A chemical message that prevents or decreases the likelihood that a receiving neuron will fire.

Front 47

Reuptake

Back 47

The reabsorption of neurotramitters by a terminal button.