biological psychology
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Created by:
hgoldstein on November 7, 2010
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37 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 phrenology | bumps on the skull believed to reveal our mental abilities and character traits |
| biological psychologists | study links between biological activity and psychological events |
| neurons | interconnected cells that help fathom our thoughts and actions, memories and moods |
| sensory neurons | carry messages from the body's tissues and sensory organs inward to the brain and spinal cord |
| motor neurons | carry outoging information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands |
| interneurons | within the brain and spinal cord. communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs |
| dendrite | neural fibers that receive information and conduct it toward the cell body |
| axon | passes messages from cell body to neurons, muscles or glands |
| myelin sheath | covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulse |
| action potential | neural impulse. brief electrical charge that travels down an axon |
| threshold | the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural response |
| synapse | meeting point between neurons. causes brief interruption in transmission |
| neurotransmitters | chemical messengers that cross synaptic gaps between neurons |
| reuptake | a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron |
| endorphins | natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure |
| psychoactive drugs | change perceptions and moods thru their actions at the neural synapses |
| tolerance | the diminishing effect of drugs with regular use, requiring a user to take successively larger doses to feel the same effect |
| neuroadaption | brain adapts its chemistry to offset the drug's effect |
| withdrawal | discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug |
| physical dependence | physiological need for a drug, marked by withdrawal |
| psychological dependence | mental need to use a drug because of associations made with it |
| addiction | compulsive drug craving and use despite adverse consequences |
| depressants | drugs that calm neural activity and slow body functions |
| expectancy effects | behavioral effects that stem from the user's expectations |
| stimulants | drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions |
| hallucinogens | drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input |
| terminal button | located at the end of the neuron and responsible for sending the signal on to other neurons |
| lesion | tissue destruction |
| EEG | amplified recording of the waves of electrical acitivty that cross the brain's surface |
| PET | depictrs brain activies by showing brain consumption of glucose |
| fMRI | reveals bloodflow in the brain |
| MRI | brain scans that produce computer-generated images of soft tissue |
| cerebrum | two large hemispheres of the brain |
| glial cells | cells in nervous system that support, nourish and protect neurons. Provide nutrients and myelin |
| plasticity | brain's ability to modify itself after some types of damage |
| association areas | areas in cerebral cortex not involved in primary motor or sensory functions but higher mental processes |
| neurogeneses | formation of new neurons |
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