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| the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes. |
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| a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system. |
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| the neuron’s extension that passes messages through its branching terminal fibers that form junctions with other neurons, muscles, or glands. |
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| a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. |
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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 synaptic cleft. |
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| chemical messengers that cross 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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| “morphine within”—natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure. |
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| the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems. |
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| the brain and spinal cord. |
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| Peripheral Nervous System |
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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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| bundled axons that form neural “cables” connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs. |
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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 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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| Sypathetic 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 response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response. |
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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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a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and nor-epinephrine) that help 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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| involved in learning, memory, muscle coordination |
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| involved in attention, movement, emotion |
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| involved in arousal, mood, sleep, hunger |
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| major inhibitory neurotransmitter |
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