Module 7: Neurons: The Basic Elements Of Behavior

Front 1

Def: Neurons

Back 1

Nerve cells, the basic elements of the nervous system

Front 2

How many neurons are there?

Back 2

perhaps as many as 1 trillion neurons throughout the body are involved in the control of behavior

Front 3

What are neurons physically held in place by?

Back 3

Glial cells

Front 4

Glial cells

Back 4

provide nourishment to neurons, insulate them, help repair damage, and generally support neural functioning

Front 5

Neurons distinctive feature from other cells?

Back 5

the ability to communicate with other cells and transmit information across relatively long distances

Front 6

Def: Dendrite

Back 6

a cluster of fibers at one end of a neuron that receives messages from other neurons

Front 7

Def: Axon

Back 7

The part of the neuron that carries messages from other neurons

Front 8

Def: terminal buttons

Back 8

small bulges at the end of axons that send messages to other neurons

Front 9

_____ detect messages from other neurons; _______ carry signals away from the cell body

Back 9

• dendrites
• axons

Front 10

Def: Myelin sheath

Back 10

a protective coat of fat and protein that wraps around the axon

Front 11

Messages that travel through a neuron are _______ in nature

Back 11

electrical

Front 12

Electrical messages that move through a neuron (impulses) generally move across the neuron how?

Back 12

in one direction

Front 13

The impulses through a neuron follow which route?

Back 13

1. Dendrites
   
2. cell body
3. leads ultimately along the tube - like extension (axon)
4. to adjacent neurons

Front 14

What prevents messages from short circuiting one another?

Back 14

myelin sheath

Front 15

Myelin sheath also serves to increase what?

Back 15

the velocity with which electrical impulses travel through axons

Front 16

Def: all or none law

Back 16

the rule that neurons are either on or off

Front 17

Def: resting state

Back 17

the state in which there is a negative electrical charge of about -70 millivolts within a neuron

Front 18

Def: Action potential

Back 18

an electric nerve impulse that travels through a neuron's axon when it is set off by a "trigger," changing the neuron's charge from negative to positive

Front 19

Def: Mirror neurons

Back 19

Specialized neurons that fire not only when a person enacts a particular behavior, but also when a person simply observes another individual carrying out the same behavior

Front 20

How do mirror neurons affect children?

Back 20

They suggest that the capacity of young children to imitate others may be an inborn behavior

Front 21

Def: Synapse

Back 21

the space between two neurons where the axon of a sending neuron communicates with the dendrites of a receiving neuron by using chemical messages

Front 22

Chemical process between a synapse (the junction between an axon and dendrite)

Back 22

1. neurotransmitters are produced and stored in the axon
2. if an action potential arrives, the axon releases neurotransmitters
3. neurotransmitters travel across the synapse to receptor sites on another neuron's dendrite
4. when a neurotransmitter fits into a receptor site, it delivers an excitatory or inhibitory message. If enough excitatory messages are delivered, the neuron will fire

Front 23

Def: Neurotransmitters

Back 23

chemicals that carry messages across the synapse to the dendrite (and sometimes the cell body) of a receiver neuron

Front 24

Messages inside neurons are transmitted in _____ form, whereas messages traveling between neurons travel via ______ means

Back 24

1. electrical
2. chemical

Front 25

Def: Excitatory message

Back 25

a chemical message that makes it more likely that a receiving neuron will fire and an action potential will travel down its axon

Front 26

Def: Inhibitory message

Back 26

a chemical message that prevents or decreases the likelihood that a receiving neuron will fire

Front 27

Def: Reuptake

Back 27

the reabsorption of neurotransmitters by a terminal button

Front 28

The dendrite or a neuron receives both excitatory and inhibitory messages simultaneously....

Back 28

the neuron must integrate the messages by using a kind of chemical calculator. If the excitatory messages (FIRE!) outnumber the inhibitory ones (DONT FIRE!) the neuron fires and vise-versa

Front 29

SSRI's - acronym

Back 29

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

Front 30

What do SSRI's do?

Back 30

they permit certain neurotransmitters to remain active for a longer period at certain synapses in the brain, thereby reducing the symptoms of depression

Front 31

Acetylcholine (neurotransmitter):

• Location
• effect
• function
  

Back 31

• Brain, spinal cord, peripheral nervous system, especially some organs of the parasympathetic nervous system
• Excitatory in brain and autonomic nervous system; inhibitory elsewhere
• muscle movement, cognitive fuctioning

Front 32

Glutamate (neurotransmitter):

• Location
• effect
• function

Back 32

• brain, spinal cord
• excitatory
• memory

Front 33

Gamma-amino butyric acid (Neurotransmitter):

• Location
• effect
• function

Back 33

• Brain, spinal cord
• main inhibitory neurotransmitter
• eating, aggression, sleeping

Front 34

Dopamine (Neurotransmitter):

• Location
• effect
• function

Back 34

• Brain
• inhibitory or excitatory
• movement control, pleasure and reward, attention

Front 35

Serotonin (Neurotransmitter):

• location
• effect
• function

Back 35

• brain, spinal cord
• inhibitory
• sleeping eating, mood, pain, depression

Front 36

Endorphins (Neurotransmitter):

• location
• effect
• function

Back 36

• brain, spinal cord
• primarily inhibitory, except in hippocampus
• pain suppression, pleasurable feelings, appetites placebos

Front 37

Diminished production of what neurotransmitter may be related to Alzheimer's disease?

Back 37

Acetylcholine

Front 38

Diminished production of what neurotransmitter may be related to Parkinson's disease?

Back 38

Dopamine

Front 39

Drugs that block the reception of dopamine reduce symptoms of what?

Back 39

schizophrenia

Front 40

Serotonin may also be associated with?

Back 40

alcoholism, depression, suicide, impulsivity, agression, and coping with stress

Front 41

Endorphins are similar to what family of drugs?

Back 41

pain-killing drugs such as morphine