Chapter 3 & 4

Front 1

physiological explanation

Back 1

describes the mechanism that produces a behavior

signals that tell a bird to migrate-- amount of sunlight per day

Front 2

evolutionary explanation

Back 2

relates behavior to the evolutionary history of a species

evolutoin

Front 3

electroencephalograph EEG

Back 3

uses electrodes on the scale to record rapid changes in brain electrical activity

Front 4

magnetoencephalograph MEG

Back 4

records magnetic change

Front 5

positron-emission tomography PET

Back 5

records radioactivity of various brain areas emitted from injected chemicals

Front 6

functional magnetic resonance imaging fMRI

Back 6

uses magnetic detectors outside the head to compare the amounts of hemoglobin with and without oxygen in different brain ares

most active areas of the brain use oxygen-- fMRI shows where the brain is most active

Front 7

central nervous system

Back 7

brain and spinal cord

Front 8

peripheral nervous system

Back 8

central nervous system communicates with the rest of the body through this--

bundles of nerves between the spinal cord and the rest of the body

Front 9

sensory nerves

Back 9

bring info from other body areas to the spinal cord to the muscles where they cause muscle contractions

Front 10

autonomic nervous system

Back 10

control heart, stomach, and other organs with peripheral nerves

Front 11

cerebral cortex

Back 11

outer covering of the forebrain

Front 12

forebrain

Back 12

occipital, parietal, temporal, and frontal

Front 13

occipital lobe

Back 13

rear of the head-- specialized for vision

Front 14

temporal lobe

Back 14

located toward the left and right sides of the head-- main area for hearing and some complex aspects of vision

damage causes motion blindness: do not track its speed or direction of movement

auditory temporal lobe damage: impaired at recognizing sequences of sounds in music or speech

also critical for emotion-- amygdala (subcortical structure deep within the temporal lobe that responds to emotional situation

Front 15

parietal lobe

Back 15

anterior (forward) from the occipital lobe which is specialized for the body senses including touching, pain, temperature, and awareness of location of body parts in space

Front 16

primary somatosensory cortex

Back 16

a strip in the anterior portion of the parietal lobe that has cells sensitive to touch in different body areas

damage impairs sensation from the corresponding part of the body.

touch sensation

Front 17

primary motor cortex

Back 17

anterior pole of the brain frontal lobe

important for planned control of fine movements

ex. moving one finger at a time

Front 18

prefrontal cortex

Back 18

anterior frontal lobe contributes to certain aspects of memory and to the organization and planning of movements-- decision making

damage= impulsive decisions that hurts individual

Front 19

pons and medulla

Back 19

control the muscles of the head -- chewing, swallowing, and breathing

Front 20

spinal cord

Back 20

output for motor control goes through the P&M then the spinal cord

controls muscles from the neck down

knee jerk reactions

Front 21

reflex

Back 21

rapid automatic response to a stimulus

unconscious adjustments of your legs while you are walking or quickly jerking your hand away from something hot

Front 22

cerebellum

Back 22

part of hindbrain

important for any behavior that requires aim or timing

tapping out a rhythm

Front 23

autonomic nervous systems

Back 23

closely associated with the spinal cord

controls the internal organs such as the heart

involuntary or automatic

Front 24

sympathetic nervous system

Back 24

two parts of the autonomic nervous systems:

1. controlled by a chain of cells lying just outside the spinal cord-- increase heart rate, breathing rate, sweating, inhibits digestion, sexual arousal

not important emergency functions

Front 25

parasympathetic nervous system

Back 25

controlled by cells at the top and bottom levels of spinal cord

decreases heart rate, increases digestive activities, promotes activities of the body that take part in rest and relaxation

Front 26

endocrine system

Back 26

set of glands that produce hormones and release them into the blood

hormones are controlled by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland also regulate the other endocrine organs

Front 27

hormones

Back 27

chemicals released by glands and conveyed by the blood to alter activity in various organs

Front 28

corpus collosum

Back 28

a set of axons that connect the left and right hemispheres of the cerebral cortex

Front 29

epilepsy

Back 29

a condition in which cells somewhere in the brain emit abnormal rhythmic, spontaneous impulses

surgeons cut corpus collosum to relieve

Front 30

split brain patient

Back 30

corpus collosum has been cut

feels with left hand but cannot describe it because it goes to the right himisphere

Front 31

the binding problem

Back 31

how do separate brain areas combine forces to produce a unified perception of a single object

only for precisely simultaneous events

parietal cortex is important for localizing all kinds of sensations

Front 32

neurons

Back 32

brain processes information in these nerve cells

Front 33

glia

Back 33

cell in the nervous system

supports the neurons in many ways such as by insulating them, synchronizing activity with other neurons, and removing waste

Front 34

sensory neurones

Back 34

carry information from the sense organs to the central nervous system

neurons process the information and compare it to past information and exchange info with other neurons

Front 35

three parts of a neuron

Back 35

1. cell body-- with nucleus of the cell
2. dendrites-- branching structures that receive transmissions from other neurons
3. axon-- single, long, thin, straight fiber with branches near its tip

Front 36

synapses

Back 36

specialized junction between one neuron and another

a neuron releases a chemical that either excites or inhibits the next neuron

Front 37

terminal bouton

Back 37

budge at the end of an axon

also called presynaptic ending

Front 38

neurotransmitter

Back 38

chemical that can activate receptors on other neurons

Front 39

post-synaptic neuron

Back 39

the neuron on the receiving end of the synapse

fits into its receptor like a key into the lock

Front 40

Parkinson's disease

Back 40

a condition that affects about 1% of people

main symptoms are difficulty in initiating voluntary movement, slow movement, tremors, rigidity, and depressed mood

traced to a gradual decay of a pathway of axons that release the neurotransmitter dopamine

Front 41

brain and plasticity

Back 41

structure of the brain shows change with experience

Front 42

stimulants

Back 42

amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine

increase the release of transmitters

Front 43

dopamine synapses

Back 43

critical for almost anything that strongly motivates people-- sex to food to gambling

amphetamines hijack the brain's motivational system

Front 44

sensation

Back 44

general detection of stimuli (energies from the world around us that affects us in some way)

Front 45

receptors

Back 45

eyes, ears, other sensory organs packed with these specialized cells that convert environmental energies into signals for the nervous system