Flashcards: AP Psych - Neuroscience
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Created by:
kasielasserre1 on September 20, 2010
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Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Dendrite | parts of the neuron that recieve messages from other neurons |
| Axon | where the electric charge transfers from neuron to neuron |
| Myelin Sheath | a fatty tissue that may cover/surround the axon; speeds up neuron transfers |
| Action Potential | electrical charge, neural impulse |
| Synapse | (synaptic gap or synaptic cleft) area between two neurons |
| Neurotransmitters | needed for neuron transfer, contained in the vesicles |
| Threshold | level of stimulation required to trigger an action potential |
| All-or-None Principle | no matter how many excititory messages, the same amount of action will occur |
| Acetylcholine | helps with muscles, learning, & memory; is a neurotransmitter; Alzheimer's Disease is caused by lack of Acetylcholine |
| Dopamine | helps with movement, learning, attention, & emotions; is a neurotransmitter; too much Dopamine = Schizophrenia; too little = Parkinson's Disease |
| Serotonin | mood, hunger, sleep, arousal; not enough = depression; is a neurotransmitter |
| Norepinephrine | alertness & arousal; is a neurotransmitter & a hormone |
| GABA | (gamma-amino-brutyric acid) - inhability (stops things) - tremors, seizures, insomnia |
| Central Nervous System | brain & spinal chord - anything encased in bone - designed to be protected |
| Peripheral Nervous System | the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body |
| Sensory (afferent) neurons | messages to the brain from the sense |
| Motor (efferent) neurons | info from the brain to the rest of the body |
| Interneurons | CNS neurons that intervene between sensory & motor neurons & help them to communicate |
| Somatic Nervous System | controls body's skeletal muscles |
| Autonomic Nerous System | controls glands & muscles of the internal organs |
| Sympathetic Nervous System | "fight or flight"; heart reat goes up, digestion goes down, blood sugar goes up, arteries dlate |
| Parasympathetic Nervous System | slows down after a "fight or flight" situatoin |
| Reflex | body's automatic response to stimuli; does not go through the brain |
| Neural Network | formed by neural clusters; many are hardwired, most are "floating" with no specific tasks |
| Lesion | deliberately destroying brain tissue to find out what it does |
| Electroencephalogram (EEG) | measures electrical activity in the brain; neurocommunication |
| CT Scan | (x-rays) - computerized tomography - series of x-rays put together into one image |
| PET scan | position emission tomography - inject radioactive glucose through an IV to track the flow of blood while doing various tasks |
| MRI | (computer-generated images) - magnetic resonance imaging - computer generates a 3-D image |
| fMRI | (functional) - live & tracks the blood flow as it moves from region to region |
| Brainstem | reptillian brain, hinde brain, ole brain; first part of the brain that developed |
| Medulla | (heartbeat, breathing) - first thing in the brain you come to from the spinal chord |
| Reticular Formation | (arousal) - fignerlike structures |
| Thalamus | disseminates or sends sensory info to higher brain regions, except for smell |
| Cerebellum | non-verbal learning & memory; coordiantes voluntary muscle movements; "little brain" - observing, balance |
| Limbic System | fear, aggression, etc; drives food, sex, etc. EMOTIONS! |
| Amygdala | emotions |
| Hippocampus | processes NEW memories |
| Hypothalamus | controls the Pitruitary gland; reward centers; DOPAMINE, eating, drinking, sex, body temp |
| Cerebral Cortex | thinking part of brain; processes & recieves info |
| Glial Cells | support, nourish, & protect other cells - billions in the Cerebral Cortex |
| Frontal Lobes | (Prefrontal Cortex) - planning, judgement, moral reasoning, personality |
| Parietal Lobes | moror cortex - vbery back of frontal lobes - body movement |
| Occipital Lobes | visual cortex |
| Temporal Lobes | auditory cortex |
| Motor Cortex | very back of frontal lobes - body movement - parietal lobe |
| Sensory Cortex | very front of the parietal lobe - everything sensory |
| Association Areas | 75% of the brain - neurons that "integrate" info - sensory inputs with stored memories - makes connections with past memories |
| Aphasia | problems expressing/understanding language - left hemisphere |
| Broca's Area | frontal lobe, left hemisphere, muscle movements involved in speech |
| Wernicke's Area | left hemisphere, temporal lobe, language comprehension & expression |
| Plasticity | ability of the brain to regain itself |
| Corpus Callosum | band of naural fibers that connects the two hemispheres of thebrain - info is transfered from hemisphere to hemisphere |
| Optic chiasm | cross over part of the brain - what sends the info from each hemisphere to the other |
| Endocrine System | "slow" chemical communications system - hormonal system |
| Hormones | chemical messengers |
| Adrenal Glands | on top of kidnys - secrete adrinaline and nonadrinaline - stress hormones |
| Pituitary Gland | secretes a growth hormone; controls all other glands |