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| The building blocks of our neural information system. Interconnected cells which consist of many different parts. |
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| Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord |
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| Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands |
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| Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs |
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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 the 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. Degeneration of this can cause multiple sclerosis. |
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| Terminal branches of the axon |
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| Forms junctions with other cells/tissues through which message pass |
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| A neural impulse, a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon via voltage gated channels which open when stimulated. The intensity remains the same throughout the length of the axon. |
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| The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse - each neuron receives excitatory and inhibitory signals from many neurons. When the excitatory signals or the inhibitory signals exceed a minimum intensity, the neuron fires an action potential |
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| A strong stimulus can trigger more neurons to fire, and to fire more often, but it does not affect the action potential's strength or speed |
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| A junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron - neurotransmitters cross its gap. |
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| Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, these 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's reabsorption by the sending neuron, applying the brakes on its action |
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Neurotransmitter
Function: Enables muscle action, learning, and memory
Ex. of Malfunctions: Alzheimer's Disease (neurons that produce this deteriorate) |
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Neurotransmitter
Function: Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion
Ex. of Malfunction: Excess receptor activity is linked to schizophrenia. Starved receptors cause the brain to produce tremors/decreased mobility associated with Parkinson's disease. |
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Neurotransmitter
Function: Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal
Ex. of Malfunction: Undersupply linked to depression, Prozac raise levels of this |
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Neurotransmitter
Function: Helps control alertness and arousal
Ex. of Malfunction: Undersupply can suppress mood |
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| GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) |
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Definition
Neurotransmitter
Function: A major inhibitory neurotransmitter
Ex. of Malfunction: Undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, insomnia |
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Neurotransmitter
Functions: A major excitatory neurotransmitter, involved in memory
Ex. of Malfunction: Oversupply can overstimulate brain, causing migraines and seizures (some avoid MSG - monosodium glutamate) |
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| Neurotransmitters bind to the receptors of the receiving neuron |
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| A molecule similar enough to a neurotransmitter to mimic its effects/block its reputake |
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| A molecule that is similar enough to a neurotransmitter to occupy its receptor site and block its action, but not similar enough to stimulate the receptor. Curare poisoning paralyzes its victims by blocking ACh receptors involved in muscle movement. |
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| Brain and spinal cord. Communicates with the body's sensory receptors. |
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| Peripheral Nervous System |
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| Sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body |
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| Bundled axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sensory organs |
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| The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles |
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| The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls glands and the muscles of the internal organs (i.e. heart). Sympathetic arouses, parasympathetic calms |
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| Sympathetic Nervous System |
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| Division of Autonomic Nervous System that arouses and expends energy by accelerating heartbeat, raising blood pressure, slowing digestion, raising blood sugar, and cooling with perspiration. "Fight-or-flight" |
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| Parasympathetic Nervous System |
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| Division of the Autonomic Nervous System that conserves energy and calms by decreasing heart beat, lowering blood sugar, etc. |
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| Consists of all nerve cells in the body. It is the body's speedy, electrochemical communication system. |
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| Automatic response to a sensory stimulus, knee-jerk response |
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| Brain's neurons cluster together to create shorter pathways between neurons, so the brain can work faster. Certain behaviors are determined by this. |
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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 that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues |
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| Brain region controlling the pituitary gland, lies below thalamus, and directs several maintenance activities - eating, drinking, body temperature, control of emotions |
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| The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, this regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands. Anterior lobe releases hormones that regulate other glands, posterior lobe regulates water and salt balance |
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| Gland affecting metabolism, among other things |
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| Glands that help regulate the level of calcium in the blood |
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| A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress - "fight-or-flight" response. Medulla secretes epinephrine/norepinephrine, cortex regulates carbohydrate metabolism |
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| gland that regulates level of sugar in the blood |
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| Glands that secrete sex hormones |
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| Hormone that increases heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, and feelings of excitement during emergency situations |
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| High testosterone in women can cause personality changes, acne = stimulation of the sebaceous glands of the skin that make oil, voice deepening in women, Hirsutism (excessive growth of body hair in women), Virilization (masculinizing of the body) |
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| Pituitary lobe that releases hormones that regulate other glands |
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| Pituitary lobe that regulates salt and water balance |
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| Secretes hormones (norepinephrine and epinephrine) during stressful and emotional situations |
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| Regulates carbohydrate metabolism |
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| Selectively destroying tiny clusters of normal or defective brain cells to test functions of the brain |
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| Electroencephalogram (EEG) |
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| Amplified read-out of electrical waves throughout the brain's neurons |
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| PET (positron emission tomography) scan |
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| Depicts brain activity by showing each brain area's consumption of its chemical fuel, the sugar glucose. |
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| MRI (magnetic resource imaging) |
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| Brain is placed in strong magnetic field, aligning the spinning atoms of brain molecules. Pulse disorients the atoms, and then the atoms return to their original position to provide strong image of brain. |
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| The oldest and innermost region of the brain, beginning where spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; responsible for automatic survival functions (breathing, heartbeat) |
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| Base of brainstem that controls heartbeat and breathing. Problems affect movement, pupils, comas, and breathing patterns. |
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| Brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla |
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| Nerve network that plays an important role in controlling arousal |
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| The "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem; coordinates voluntary movements, balance, enables one type of nonverbal learning and memory, helps us judge time, modulate our emotions, discriminate sounds and textures |
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| A donut-shaped system of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and cerebrum; associated with emotions (fear, aggression) and drives (hunger, sex). Includes hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala |
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| Two lima bean-sized clusters in the limbic system, linked to emotion (fear, anger) |
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| Balance, normal functioning of anxiety levels |
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| Intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing centers |
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| Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons |
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| Portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments. Association areas in this lobe enables judgment, planning, and processing of new memories. |
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| 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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| Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields |
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| portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear |
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| an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements |
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| Area at the front of parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations |
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| Cortex of the occipital lobes at rear of brain that receives input from your eyes |
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| Cortex in temporal lobes that receives information from ears (active in hallucinatory patients) |
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| 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. This portion of the brain is more prominent in more intelligent animals |
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| The brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experiences |
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| Allows a word to be pronounced |
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| Receives written words as visual stimulation |
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| Transforms visual representations into an auditory code |
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| Controls speech muscles via the motor cortex |
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| Specialization/integration |
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| Different areas of brain take over different parts of an action/process (i.e. hearing/seeing/speaking words) |
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| Large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them |
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| A condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers connecting them. Reveals the complementary functions of the two hemispheres of the brain |
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