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25 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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neuron |
-specialized cells the receive/transmit information throughout the body and brain -we have roughly 80-100 billion neurons in our body by adulthood -located throughout the body, with the highest concentration in the brain regions -different shapes and sizes -primary tools for/involved in almost all mental tasks |
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cell body |
the cell's life support center |
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dendrite |
receives messages from other cells |
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axon |
passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands |
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neural impulse |
electrical signal traveling down the axon |
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terminal branches of axon |
form junctions with other cells |
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myelin sheath |
covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses |
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synapse |
very small space that separates the terminal buttons of one neuron from the dendrites of another |
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neurotransmitters |
chemicals that are released by pores in the terminal buttons of neurons. -excited: increase chances of/cause the second neuron to release its neurotransmitters -inhibited: reduce the likelihood that the second neuron releases its neurotransmitters
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activation |
neurotransmitters temporarily "cling" to the dendrites of another neuron, and influence the neuron based on the type of neurotransmitter that was released |
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reuptake |
the axon terminal eventually "sucks back" the neurotransmitters that were released |
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diffusion/metabolized |
the neurotransmitter can be broken down, washed away, or used up by other cells and enzymes that are located in the synapse
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glia(l) cells |
cells that support neurons by: -removing waste -synchronizing activity -insulating neurons
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dopamine (neurotransmitter) |
-implicated in 'reward'/positive emotional sensation motivation -high levels of DA are associated with schizophrenic hallucinations
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serotonin |
-implicated in psychological wellness/mood -also linked to areas that control hunger, sleep cycle arousal
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central nervous system |
brain, midbrain, hindrain, and spinal cord |
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peripheral nervous system |
collection of nerves(neuron clusters) and neurons located throughout the body |
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electrophysiology |
the activity of our neurons can be detected by monitoring small electrical changes in the nervous system: -Electroencephalogram (EEGs) -Event Related Potentials (ERPs) -Electrocorticography (ECog)
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Positron Emission Tomography (PET) |
measures cerebral blood flow by tracking the presence of a radioactive tracer (an unstable isotope) injected into the bloodstream |
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psychology |
the scientific study of behavior and the processes of the mind |
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cognitive pyschology |
the scientific study of "internal" mental processes
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Hermann Ebbinghaus |
-sought to examine the concept of memory from a purely scientific viewpoint -only had himself to use in his studies -his studies, used lists of nonsense syllables in his attempts to examine how our memories work -research was based on discovering how fast a normal individual can learn and forget information
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different types of memory tests |
-free recall (Ebbinghaus' work) -cued recall (states and sentences) -recognition (name the dwarfs) -savings (elemental tables example) -implicit memory performance (impaired memory example) |
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sensory memory |
-proposed first temporal category of memory -capacity is thought to be infinite -though to involve not only vision, but all of our senses -most information is said to only last in our memory for a fraction of a second -after this fraction of a second, you tend to remember only the information you deemed relevant |
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short-term memory(working memory) |
-said to have capacity of 7+ or -2 itams -contains information that we deemed relevant (at least for the time being) -information can be stored in this stage of memory from anywhere between 10 seconds to a few days -after that, most researchers propose that memories stored are either a)forgotten b)placed in our long-term memory store |
