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| a branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior. (some biological psychologists call themselves behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, physiological psychologists, or biopsychologists.) |
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| a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system. |
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| the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body. |
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| the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse. |
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| the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and 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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| chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons. when released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse. |
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| A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction. Malfunction example is Alzheimer's disease when Ach-producing neurons deteriorate. |
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| neurotransmitter that influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion. Malfunction examples - excess dopamine = schizophrenia. undersupply dopamine = Parkinson's disease |
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| neurotransmitter that effects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal. Malfunction examples - undersupply = depression |
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| neurotransmitter that helps control alertness and arousal. Malfunctions = undersupply can depress mood. |
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| GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) |
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| A major inhibitory neurotransmitter. Malfunctions = undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia. |
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| A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory. Malfunctions - oversupply can overstimulate brain, producing migraines or seizures. (same reason why some people avoid MSG, Monosodium glutamate, in food) |
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| "morphine within" natural, opiate like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure. |
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| body's speedy electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems. |
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| central nervous system (CNS) |
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| the brain and spinal cord. |
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| Peripheral nervous system (PNS) |
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| the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body. |
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| neural "cables" containing many axons. these bundled axons, which are part of the peripheral nervous system, connect the central nervous system with muscles, glands and sense organs. |
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| neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system. |
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| neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands. |
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| central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs. |
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| the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system. |
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| the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart.)Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms. |
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| sympathetic nervous system |
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| the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations. |
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| parasympathetic nervous system |
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| the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy. |
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| a simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response. |
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| interconnected neural cells. with experience, networks can learn as feedback strengthens or inhibits connections that produce certain results. Computer simulations of neural networks show analogous learning. |
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| the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream. |
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| chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands, that are produced in one tissue and affect another. |
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| a pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys. the adrenals secrete the hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline), which help to arouse the body in times of stress. |
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| the endocrine system's most influential gland. under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands. |
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| tissue destruction. a brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue. |
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| electroencephalogram (EEG) |
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| an amplified recording of the waves 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) scan |
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| a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose does while the brain performs a given task. |
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| MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) |
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| 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. |
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| fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) |
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| a technique for revealing flood flow, and therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. MRI scans show brain anatomy; fMRI scans show brain function. |
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