Biological Psychology By James W. Kalat: Chapter 2

Front 1

neurons:
(a) definition
(b) connected or separate? says who?
(c) how many in adult human brain?
(d) what do they combine to do? [which is the study of biopsychology, e.g. the biology that explains psychology]

Back 1

(a) =one of the two different types of cells in the nervous system
(b)-(in the late 1800s, Santiago Ramon y Cajal demonstrated that a single nerve cell, or NEURON, does not merge with its neighbors.) *** Each cell is distinct; a small gap separates it from each neighboring cell.
(c) The adult human brain contains approximately 100 billion neurons.
(d) The billions of neurons in the adult human brain combine to produce both unified experience and coordinated, organized behavior.

Front 2

What are the two different types of cells in the nervous system called?

Back 2

Neurons
and
Glia.

Front 3

Korsakoff's syndrome

Back 3

Korsakoff's syndrome is the name of a kind of memory loss that is caused by a deficiency in the nutrition of neurons

Front 4

Is the human experience and/or perception as well as human behavior are the result of
a) Tghe product of the 100 billion distinct cells of the nervous system, or NEURONS, working together and communicate with each other to create the single whole perception/experience and behaviors of the human being at any given time.
b) Certain interesting points about behavior can be related directly to what we know about the individual neuron.

True or false: Although neurons work together to create unified experience and coordinated/organized behavior, there are significant points about behavior that can be related directly to what we know about the individual neuron.

Back 4

"a" and "b" are both correct

Front 5

How does alcohol exert some of its long-term effects on the brain?

Back 5

Alcohol exerts some of its long-term,\ effects by changing the structure OF NEURONS;

Front 6

Alcohol changes the structure of . . .
a) the entire brain
b) the distinct neurons (separated by gaps) that combine to make up the brain

Back 6

the correct answer is "b."

Front 7

What do anesthetic drugs do to the funnnctioning of neurons?

Back 7

Anesthetic drugs prevent the transmission of information n amongst each other by neurons to create the one experience/action that each human being displays as a whole; a single effect of the combination of many distinctive, separate neurons;

Front 8

What are the BASIC structures of a NEURON (same as the BASIC structures of most other animal cells)?
[remember that cells differ in the exact size, shape, arrangement, and abundance of the structures that make them up.)`

Back 8

The basic structures of a neuron (and almost all other animal cells):
-plasma membrane: control of material exchanges, mediation of cell environment interactions
-Golgi complex: modification and distribution of materialsad
-Lysosome: degradation, reycling
-Endoplasmic reticulum: isolation, modification, transport of proteins and other substances (ribosomes cover the surface area of the endoplasmic reticulum)
-Ribosomes: the sites at which the cell synthesizes new protein molecules
-Nucleus: membrane enclosed region containing DNA (hereditary control)
-Nuclear envelope: the membrane surrounding the nucleus
-Mitochondrion: aerobic energy metabolism

-

Front 9

What is the estimated number of neurons in the adult human central nervous system?
(according to R.W. Williams and K. Herrup: 1988)

Back 9

central nervous system= cerebral cortext and associated areas + cerebellum + spinal cord 100 billion:

Front 10

# of neurons in: the cerebral cortext and associated areas + the cerebellum + the spinal cord = total estimated number of neurons in the adult human nervous system

Back 10

cerebral cortext and associated areas= 12 to 15 billion neurons

cerebellum= 70 billion neurons

spinal cord= 1 billion neurons

entire nervous system= 100 billion neurons

Front 11

plasma membrane/membrane ( a. composed of, b. controls what?,

Back 11

a) (a plasma membrane is)a structure composed of two layers of fat molecules, which are free to flow around one another.
b.)The plasma membrane controls the flow of materials between the inside of the cell and the outside environment.

Front 12

What is the fluid inside the cell membrane called?

Back 12

the cytoplasm

Front 13

Which types of cells contain a nucleus?

Back 13

All animal cells (except red blood cells) contain a nucleus.

Front 14

Mitochondria (pl.)
mitochondrion (sing.)

Back 14

The mitochondrion is the site where the cell performs metabolic activities. (The metabolic activities provide the energy the cell requires for all its other activities.)

Front 15

What do mitochondria require to function?

Back 15

Mitochondria require fuel and oxygen to function.

Front 16

Ribosomes

Back 16

the sites at which the cell synthesizes new protein molecules

Front 17

What is the function of the proteins? (synthesized at the ribosomes)

Back 17

The function of the proteins that the ribosomes synthesize are:
-to provide building materials for the cell
and
-to facilitate various chemical reactions

Front 18

Where are ribosomes located within the animal cell?

Back 18

Some ribosomes float freely within the cell; others are attached to the endoplasmic reticulum.

Front 19

endoplasmic reticulum

Back 19

a network of thin tubes transporting newly synthesized proteins to other locations

Front 20

lysosomes

Back 20

contain enzymes that break down many chemials iinto their component parts so thery can ber recycled for other uses

Front 21

Golgi complex

Back 21

a network of vesicles preparing hormones and other products for secretion.

Front 22

What sets a neuron apart from other cell?

Back 22

The shape of a neuron sets it apart from other cells. From the central part of the neuron, many small, thin fibers may emanate. Some of these fibers extend great distances, some branch widely. (the size and shape of neurons vary almost endlessly)

Front 23

What determines a neuron's connections with other neurons?

Back 23

The distinctive shape of a given neuron determines its connections with other neurons and thereby determines how it will contribute to the overall functioning of the nervous system.

Front 24

What are the three major components of most neurons?

Back 24

1. the cell body (a.k.a. soma)
2. dendrites
3. an axon`

Front 25

the dendrites

Back 25

-carry information toward the neuron
-thin, widely branching fibers that get narrower as they get farther from the cell body.
Since the dendrites surface is lined with specialized junctions at which the dendrite receives information from other neurons, the greater the surface area of the dendrite is, the more information it can receive.

Front 26

dendritic spines

Back 26

short outgrowths along the dendrites that expand the surface area of many dendrites

Front 27

the axon

Back 27

-carries information away from the cell body/soma
-a single fiber thicker and longer than the dendrites

Front 28

the point where the axon begins in large neurons . . .

Back 28

Axon hillock

Front 29

How many axons does a mature neuron have?

Back 29

Mature neurons have either one axon or none.

Front 30

How many dendrites does a mature neuron have?

Back 30

A neuron may have any number of dendrites.

Front 31

How do neurons communicate with each other?

Back 31

They have axons that carry information from the cell body's; a neuron without an axon can convey information onnly to toher neurons immediately adjacent to it.

Front 32

myelin sheath

Back 32

the insulating material covering the axon of a motor neuron (invertebrate axons NEVER have myelin sheaths; some but not all vertebrae axons have myelin sheaths.)

Front 33

presynaptic terminal

Back 33

(a.k.a. end bulb) The swelling at the tip of each axon where the axon releases chemicals that cross through the synapse (the junction between one neuron and the next) and influence the next cell. (presynaptic terminals contain many mitochondria, since the release of chemicals requires considerable energy.)

Front 34

What are the three types of neurons?

Back 34

1. receptor neurons (a.k.a. sensory neurons)
2. motor neurons
3. interneurons

Front 35

receptor neuron/sensory neuron

Back 35

specialized to be highly sensitive to a particular type of stimulation, such as light, sound waves, touch, or certain chemicals (even though the rule is that each receptor is highly sensitive to one kind of stimulus and relatively insensitive to most others, the selectivity is not absolute--> all receptors can be stimulated by electricity and other intense stimuli.

Front 36

motor neuron

Back 36

=receives excitation from other neurons and conducts impulses from its soma in the spinal cord to muscle or gland cells

Front 37

interneurons

Back 37

=receive excitation from other neurons (either receptor neurons or interneurons) and send it to either motor neurons or interneurons.
-Many interneurons connect only to other interneurons, not to receptor or motor neurons.

Front 38

What type of neuron are the majority of neurons in the human nervous system? (remember there are 3 types: motor neurons, receptor/sensory neurons, and interneurons)

Back 38

interneurons

Front 39

efferent axon versus afferent axon

Back 39

An efferent axon carries information AWAY from a structure/ whereas, an afferent axon brings information INTO a structure

Front 40

intrinsic neuron

Back 40

one whose axons and dendrites are all confined within a given structure (e.g. an intrinsic neuron of the cerebral cortex has no dendrites or axons that extend beyond the borders of the cortex)