Psychology Module 4

Front 1

Biological Psychology

Back 1

a branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior. (Some biological psychologists call themselves behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, physiological psychologists, or biopsychologists)

Front 2

Neuron

Back 2

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.

Front 3

Sensory Neurons

Back 3

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord.

Front 4

Motor Neurons

Back 4

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands.

Front 5

Interneurons

Back 5

neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.

Front 6

Dendrite

Back 6

the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body.

Front 7

Axon

Back 7

the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands.

Front 8

Myelin Sheath

Back 8

a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.

Front 9

Action Potential

Back 9

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.

Front 10

Threshold

Back 10

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.

Front 11

Synapse

Back 11

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft.

Front 12

Neurotransmitters

Back 12

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind the receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.

Front 13

Nervous System

Back 13

the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.

Front 14

Central Nervous Systems (CNS)

Back 14

the brain and spinal cord

Front 15

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Back 15

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body.

Front 16

Nerves

Back 16

bundled axons that form neural “cables” connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs.

Front 17

Somatic Nervous System

Back 17

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system.

Front 18

Autonomic Nervous System

Back 18

the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.

Front 19

Sympathetic Nervous System

Back 19

the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations.

Front 20

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Back 20

the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy.

Front 21

Reflex

Back 21

a simple, autonomic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response.

Front 22

Endocrine System

Back 22

the body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.

Front 23

Hormones

Back 23

chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues.

Front 24

Adrenal Glands

Back 24

a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress.

Front 25

Pituitary Glands

Back 25

the endocrine system’s most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.