Chapter 2: Neuroscience And Behavior

Front 1

Neuron

Back 1

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

Front 2

Dendrite

Back 2

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

Front 3

Axon

Back 3

The extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal

Front 4

Myelin Sheath

Back 4

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 5

Action Potential

Back 5

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. The action potential is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the axon's membrane.

Front 6

Threshold

Back 6

The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.

Front 7

Synapse

Back 7

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.

Front 8

Neurotransmitters

Back 8

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

Front 9

ACh (Acetylcholine)

Back 9

Enables muscle action, learning and memory. Not enough marks Alzheimer's disease.

Front 10

Dopamine

Back 10

Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion. Excessive marks schizophrenia, lack produces Parkinson's disease.

Front 11

Serotonin

Back 11

Affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal. Lack linked to depression

Front 12

Norepinephrine

Back 12

Controls alertness and arousal also linked to depression

Front 13

GABA

Back 13

Major inhibitory neurotransmitter, undersupply linked to seizures, tremors and insomnia.

Front 14

Glutamate

Back 14

Excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory. Oversupply produces migraines or seizures.

Front 15

Endorphins

Back 15

Neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure.

Front 16

Nervous System

Back 16

The body's speedy, electrochemical communication system, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.

Front 17

CNS (Central Nervous System)

Back 17

brain and spinal cord

Front 18

PNS (Peripheral Nervous System)

Back 18

Sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body.

Front 19

Nerves

Back 19

Neural 'cables' containing many axons. Connect the CNS with muscles, glands and sense organs.

Front 20

Sensory Neurons

Back 20

Neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the CNS

Front 21

Interneurons

Back 21

CNS neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.

Front 22

Motor Neurons

Back 22

Neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands.

Front 23

Somatic Nervous System

Back 23

The division of the PNS that controls the skeletal muscles

Front 24

Autonomic Nervous System

Back 24

Part of the PNS that controls glands and muscles of the internal organs.

Front 25

Sympathetic Nervous System

Back 25

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

Front 26

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Back 26

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

Front 27

Reflex

Back 27

A simple, automatic, inborn response to sensory stimulus.

Front 28

Neural Networks

Back 28

Interconnected neural cells. They learn.

Front 29

Lesion

Back 29

Tissue destruction

Front 30

Brainstem

Back 30

the oldest and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; is responsible for automatic survival functions.

Front 31

Medulla

Back 31

the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing.

Front 32

Reticular formation

Back 32

a nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal.

Front 33

Thalamus

Back 33

The brain's sensory switchboard, located ontop of the brainstem; directs messages to the sensory srecieving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

Front 34

Cerebellum

Back 34

Little brain at the rear of the the brainstem; it helps coordinate voluntary movement and balence.

Front 35

Limbic System

Back 35

System of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and cerebral hemisphere; associated with base emotions

Front 36

Amygdala

Back 36

Member of limbic system and linked to emotion

Front 37

Hypothalamus

Back 37

A neural structure lying below the thalamus that directs maintenance activities and helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland and is linked to emotion.

Front 38

Cerebral Cortex

Back 38

The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.

Front 39

Glial Cells

Back 39

Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish and protect neurons

Front 40

Frontal lobes

Back 40

The portion of the cerebral cortex lying just below the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movement and in making plans and judgements.

Front 41

Parietal Lobes

Back 41

The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head towards the rear. Includes sensory cortex

Front 42

Occipital Lobes

Back 42

The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; including the visual areas, which receive visual information from opposite visual fields.

Front 43

Temporal Lobes

Back 43

The portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory information primarily from the opposite ear.

Front 44

Motor Cortex

Back 44

An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.

Front 45

Sensory Cortex

Back 45

The area at the front of the parietal that registers and processes body sensations.

Front 46

Association Areas

Back 46

Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking and speaking.

Front 47

Aphasia

Back 47

Impairment of language usually caused by damage to either Broca's area (impaired speaking) or Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).

Front 48

Broca's Area

Back 48

Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.

Front 49

Wernicke's Area

Back 49

Controls language receptions - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe.

Front 50

Plasticity

Back 50

The brain's capacity for modification

Front 51

Corpus Callosum

Back 51

The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.

Front 52

Split Brain

Back 52

A condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers between them.

Front 53

Endocrine System

Back 53

The body's slow chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Front 54

Hormones

Back 54

Chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands that are produced in one tissue and affect another.

Front 55

Adrenal Gland

Back 55

A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys. The adrenal secrete the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (nonadrenaline) which helps arouse the body during times of stress

Front 56

Pituitary gland

Back 56

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and conttrols other endocrine system