Download Neuroscience and behavior

Neuroscience and behavior
Chapter 2
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Biological psychology
Branch of psychology
concern with the links
between biology and
behavior
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Neuron
A nerve cell; the basic building block of the
nervous system.
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Dendrite
The bushy, branching extensions of a
neuron that receives messages and
conduct impulses toward the cell body.
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Axon
The extension of a neuron, ending in
branching terminal fibers, through which
messages passed to other neurons or to
muscles or glands.
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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.
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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.
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Threshold
The level of stimulation required to trigger
a neural impulse.
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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.
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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.
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Acetylcholine
A neurotransmitter that enables learning
and memory and also triggers muscle
contraction.
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Endorphins
Natural opiate like in neurotransmitters
linked to pain control and to pleasure.
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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.
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Sensory neurons
Neurons that carry incoming information
from the sense receptors to the central
nervous system.
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Motor neurons
Neurons that carry outgoing information
from the central nervous system to the
muscles and glance.
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Interneuron's
Central nervous system neurons that
internally communicate and intervene
between the sensory inputs and motor
outputs.
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Somatic nervous system
The division of the peripheral nervous
system that controls the body skeletal
muscles.
Also called the skeletal nervous system.
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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.
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Parasympathetic nervous system
The division of the autonomic nervous
system that calms the body, conserving its
energy.
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Reflex
Is simple, automatic, inborn response to a
sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk
response.
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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.
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Endocrine system
The bodies “slow” chemical
communication system; a set of glands
that secrete hormones into the
bloodstream.
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Hormones
Chemical messengers, mostly those
manufactured by the endocrine glands,
that are produced in one’s tissue and
affect another.
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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.
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Pituitary gland
The endocrine systems most influential
gland. Under the influence of the
hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates
growth and controls other endocrine
glands.
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Lesion
A brain lesion is a naturally or
experimentally caused destruction of brain
tissue.
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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.
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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.
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MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging
A technique that uses magnetic fields and
radio waves to produce computergenerated images that distinguish among
different types of soft tissue; allows us to
see structures within the brain.
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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.
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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.
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Medulla
The base of the brain stem; controls
heartbeat and breathing.
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Reticular formation
A nerve network in the brainstem that
plays an important role in controlling
arousal.
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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.
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Cerebellum
The (little brain) attached to the rear of the
brainstem; its functions include processing
sensory input, and coordinating movement
output and balance.
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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.
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Amygdala
Two lima beans size neural clusters that
are components of the limbic system and
are linked to emotion.
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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.
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Cerebral cortex
The intricate fabric of interconnected
normal cells that covers the cerebral
hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control
and information processing center.
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Glial Cells
 cells in the nervous system that support,
nourished, and protect neurons.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Motor cortex
An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that
controls voluntary movements.
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Sensory cortex
The area in front of parietal lobes that
register and processes body touch and
movement sensations.
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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.
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Aphasia
Impairment of language, usually caused
by left hemisphere damage either to
Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to
Wernicke’s area (impairing
understanding).
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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.
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Wernicke’s area
Controls language reception – a brain area
involved in language comprehension
expression; visually in the left temporal
lobe.
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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.
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Corpus Callosum
The large band of neural fibers connecting
the two brain hemispheres and carrying
messages between them.
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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.
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