chapter 21 Neuroscience and behavior Chapter 2

chapter 22 Biological psychology Branch of psychology concern with the links between biology and behavior

chapter 23 Neuron A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.

chapter 24 Dendrite The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receives messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body.

chapter 25 Axon The extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages passed to other neurons or to muscles or glands.

chapter 26 Myelin sheath A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neuron; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulsive off from one node to the next.

chapter 27 Action potential 1.And neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that troubles down an axon. The action potential is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in an out of channels in the axon’s membrane.

chapter 28 Threshold The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.

chapter 29 Synapse The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron in the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or cleft.

chapter 210 Neurotransmitters Chemical messengers that transverse the synaptic gaps between neurons. One released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across a synapse and bind to receptors sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.

chapter 211 Acetylcholine A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction.

chapter 212 Endorphins Natural opiate like in neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

chapter 213 Nerves Neural cables containing many axons. These bundle axons, which are part of the peripheral nervous system, connect the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs.

chapter 214 Sensory neurons Neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system.

chapter 215 Motor neurons Neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glance.

chapter 216 Interneuron's Central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.

chapter 217 Somatic nervous system The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system.

chapter 218 Autonomic nervous system The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs. It’s sympathetic division arouses; it’s parasympathetic division calms.

chapter 219 Parasympathetic nervous system The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy.

chapter 220 Reflex Is simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response.

chapter 221 Neural networks Interconnected neural cells. With experience, networks can learn, as feedback strengthen or inhibits connections to produce certain results. Computer simulations of neural network show analogous learning.

chapter 222 Endocrine system The bodies “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.

chapter 223 Hormones Chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands, that are produced in one’s tissue and affect another.

chapter 224 Adrenal glands A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys. The adrenals secrete the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline) norepinephrine (noradrenaline), which helped to arouse the body in times of stress.

chapter 225 Pituitary gland The endocrine systems most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

chapter 226 Lesion A brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue.

chapter 227 Electroencephalogram (EEG) and amplified recording of the ways of electrical activity that sweep across the brains surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.

chapter 228 PET Positron Emission Tomography A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task.

chapter 229 MRI Magnetic resonance imaging A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer- generated images that distinguish among different types of soft tissue; allows us to see structures within the brain.

chapter 230 fMRI Functional magnetic resonance imaging A technique for revealing blood flow and therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. MRI scans show brain anatomy; fMRI scans show brain function.

chapter 231 Brainstem The oldest part in central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is response for andautomatic survival functions.

chapter 232 Medulla The base of the brain stem; controls heartbeat and breathing.

chapter 233 Reticular formation A nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal.

chapter 234 Thalamus The brain sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmit replies to the cerebellum and the medulla.

chapter 235 Cerebellum The (little brain) attached to the rear of the brainstem; its functions include processing sensory input, and coordinating movement output and balance.

chapter 236 Limbic system A doughnut shaped system of neural structures at the borders of the brainstem and cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotion such as the fear and aggression and drives such as those for food and sex. Includes a hippocampus, amygdala, the hypothalamus.

chapter 237 Amygdala Two lima beans size neural clusters that are components of the limbic system and are linked to emotion.

chapter 238 Hypothalamus A neural structure lying below the thalamus. It directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion.

chapter 239 Cerebral cortex The intricate fabric of interconnected normal cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information processing center.

chapter 240 Glial Cells cells in the nervous system that support, nourished, and protect neurons.

chapter 241 Frontal lobes The portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind a forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments.

chapter 242 Parietal lobes The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position.

chapter 243 Occipital lobes The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes visual areas, which receive visual information from the opposite visual field.

chapter 244 Temporal lobes A portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each of which receives auditory information primarily from the opposite ear.

chapter 245 Motor cortex An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.

chapter 246 Sensory cortex The area in front of parietal lobes that register and processes body touch and movement sensations.

chapter 247 Association areas 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.

chapter 248 Aphasia Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding).

chapter 249 Broca’s area Controls language expression An area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.

chapter 250 Wernicke’s area Controls language reception – a brain area involved in language comprehension expression; visually in the left temporal lobe.

chapter 251 Plasticity The brains capacity for modification, as evident in brain reorganization following damage (especially in children) and in experiments on the effects of experience on brain development.

chapter 252 Corpus Callosum The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.

chapter 253 Split brain A condition in which two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers [mainly those of the corpus callosum] between them.