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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 are sent to other neurons or to muscles or glands. |
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| A segmented layer of fatty tissue encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node 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 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 it will generate a neural impulse. |
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| A neurotransmitter that, among its functions, triggers muscle contraction. |
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| “morphine within” – natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure. |
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| The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication system, 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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| Neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system |
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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 neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands. |
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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 gland 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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| Tissue destruction. A brain lesion is a naturally of 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 brain’s surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp. |
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| CT (computed tomography) Scan |
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| A series of x-ray photographs taken from different angles and combined by computer into a composite representation of a slice through the body. Also called a CAT scan. |
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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 goes 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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| 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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| 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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| The brain’s capacity for modification; as evident in brain reorganization following damage and in experiments on the effects of experience on brain development. |
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| Condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain’s two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them. |
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| A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys. The adrenals secrete the hormones epinephrine and norpinephrime, which helps 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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