| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Biological Psychology | Branch of psychology concerned with the link between biology and behavior |
| Neuroscientist | Works mostly with animals; studies brain function |
| Neropsychologists | Work almost exclusively with humans; use imaging such as MRIs, CAT scans; interested in complex processes in brain |
| Behavior Geneticists | Mostly statisticians; have access to the human genome |
| Epigenetics | Refers to change in gene expression that are stable between cell divisions |
| Physiological Psychologists | Interested in muscles, specifically muscle tone |
| Biopsychologists | Interested in psychology at a molecular level |
| Neuron | A nerve cell; the basic building block of all the nervous system |
| Dendrite | Bushy, branching extensions of a neuron receive messages and conduct impulses toward cell body; business surface area making the signal more likely to be received |
| Axon | Extension of a neuron; ending in branching terminal fibers; sends messages |
| Myelin Sheath | A layer of fatty cells segmentally encasing fibers of neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses |
| Neural Impulse | A brief electrical charge that travels down an axon; generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of the channels in the axon's membrane; whether or not it is triggered depending on the incoming information |
| Threshold | Level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse |
| Synapse | Junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite, or cell body, of the receiving junction; the tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or cleft |
| Neurotransmitters | Chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons; when released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to the receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether or not it will generate a neural impulse |
| Reuptake | If chemical transmitter is accidentally left, then you don't want constant stimulation; the originating cell is allowed to take back the chemical transmitter for later use |
| Acetylcholine | Chemical transmitter involved in muscle movement; implicated in Alzheimer's disease |
| Dopamine | Chemical transmitter involved in fine movement; involved in mental disorders such as schizophrenia and motor disorders such as Parkinson's disease |
| Serotonin | Chemical transmitter responsible for maintenance functions such as sleep, hunger, and arousal; associated with depression |
| Norepinephrine | Helps control alertness and arousal |
| GABA | A major inhibitory transmitter; can lead to seizures if it's not working correctly |
| Glutamate | A major excitatory neurotransmitter; too much is linked to seizures |
| Endorphins | Natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters; linked to pair control and pleasures |
| Antagonist | A substance which blocks a neurotransmitter receptor |
| Agonist | A substance which mimics a neurotransmitter (e.g. narcotics) |
| Nervous System | The body's speedy, electrochemical communication system; consists of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems |
| Central Nervous System (CNS) | Brain and spinal cord |
| Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) | Sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body |
| Sympathetic Nervous System | Division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations |
| Parasympathetic Nervous System | Division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy |
| Nerves | Bundles of axons; neural "cables" containing many axons; part of the peripheral nervous system; connects the CNS with muscles, glands, and sensory organs |
| Sensory Neurons | Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the CNS |
| Motor Neurons | Carry information from the CNS to muscles and glands |
| Interneurons | CNS neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs |
| Somatic Nervous System (Skeletal Nervous System) | The division of the PNS that controls the body's skeletal muscles |
| Autonomic Nervous System | The heart; Sympathetic Nervous System (fight or flight); Parasympathetic Nervous System (calming) |
| Reflex | A simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus |
| Neural Networks (Neural Assemblies) | Interconnected neural cells; with experience, networks can learn, as feedback strengthens or inhibits connections that produce certain results; computer simulations of neural networks show analogous learning |
| Endocrine System | The body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream |
| Hormones | Chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands, that are produced in one tissue and affect another |
| Adrenal Glands | A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys; secrete the hormones epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine (noradrenaline), which help arouse the body in times of stress |
| Pituitary Gland | Under the influence of the hypothalamus; regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands |
| Lesion | Any kind of anomaly in the brain; a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue |
| Electroencephalogram (EEG) | A type of brain imaging; an amplified recording of waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface; these waves are measured by electrodes places on the scalp |
| CT (Computed Tomography) / CAT Scan | A 3-D map of the brain; static image; used to identify dead tissue or burst blood vessles; generated from multiple x-rays from multiple angles |
| PET (Positron Emission Tomography) Scan | A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task; subject is injected with radioactive form of glucose into blood prior to scan |
| Brainstem | The oldest part and central core of the brain; anything below the frontal lobes; looks like a stalk; responsible for survival functions |
| Medulla | Base of the brainstem; controls respiration (heartbeat and breathing) |
| Reticular Formation | Group of cells responsible for arousal of the nervous system (serotonin, etc.) |
| Thalamus | 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 |
| Cerebellum | The "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem; helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance |
| Limbic System | A group of cells (nuclei) that functions together; responsible for instinctual (basal) drives |
| Amygdala | Two almond-shaped neural clusters that are part of the limbic system and linked to fear and emotion |
| Hypothalamus | Controls eating, drinking, and body temperature; controls most ways of dealing with the outside world; helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland; linked to emotion |
| Cerebral Cortex | The intricate fibers of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information processing center |
| Glial Cells | Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons |
| Frontal Lobes | Involved in speaking and muscles movement and in making plans and judgement |
| Parietal Lobes | Includes the sensory cortex |
| Occipital Lobes | Responsible for vision |
| Temporal Lobes | Responsible for hearing |
| Motor Cortex | Area at the rear of the frontal lobes that control voluntary movements |
| Sensory Cortex | Area at the front of parietal lobes that registers and processes body sensations |
| Aphasia | Impairment of language; caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's Area or Wernicke's Area |
| Broca's Area | Your ability to speak in a way that people understand you |
| Wernicke's Area | Inability to understand spoken words |
| Plasticity | The brain's capacity for modification, as evident in brain re-organization following damage (esp. in children) and in experiments on the effects of experience in brain development |
| Corpus Callosum | Axons that exist between the 2 hemispheres; large band of neural fibers; connects the 2 brain hemispheres; carries messages between the hemispheres |
| Split Brain | A condition in which the 2 hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) between them |
| Pituitary Gland | Master endocrine gland |
| Genes | Biochemical units or heredity that makes up the chromosomes; a segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein; what is expressed in our bodies and behaviors |
| Chromosomes | Threadlike structures made of DNA that contain genes |
| DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) | The information we have in our bodies; complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes; has 2 strands which form a "double-helix" which is held together by bonds between pairs of nucleotides |
| Genome | The complete instructions for making an organism; consisting of all the genetic material in its chromosomes |
| Natural Selection | The principle that among the range of inherited trait variation, those that lead to increased repoduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations |
| Mutation | A random error in gene replication that leads to a change in the sequence of nucleotides; the source of all genetic diversity |
| Evolutionary Psychology | The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using the principles of natural selection |
| Gender | In psychology, the characteristics, whether biologically or socially influenced, by which people define as male or female; gender is not the same as sex; it is more masculinity vs. femininity |
| Behavior Genetics | The study of relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences of behavior |
| Environment | Every non-genetic influence |
| Identical Twins (Monozygotic) | Develop from a single fertilized egg that splits into 2, creating 2 genetically identical organisms; not completely identical however; genes turn on in different sequences causing small differences |
| Fraternal Twins (Dizygotic) | Develop from separate eggs; genetically no closer than brothers and sisters, but they share the same fetal environment |
| Temperament | A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity |
| Heritability | The proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes; may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied |
| Interaction | The dependance of the effect of one factor (such as environment) on another factor (such as heredity) |
| Molecular Genetics | The subfield of biology that studies the molecular structure and function of genes |
| Environmental Influence | Two placental arrangements in identical twins |
| Culture | The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next |
| Norm | Understood rule for accepted and expected behavior |
| Personal Space | Buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies |
| Memes | Self-replicating ideas, fashions, and innovations passed from person to person |
| X-Chromosome | The sex chromosome found in both men and women; females have 2; males have 1; an X-chromosome from each parent produces a female child |
| Y-Chromosome | The sex chromosome found in only men; when paired with an X-chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child |
| Testosterone | The most important of the male sex hormones; both males and females have it; additional testosterone in males stimulated growth of male sex organs in the fetus and development of male sex characteristics during puberty |
| Rule | A set of expectations (norms) about a social position; defining how those in the position out to behave |
| Gender Role | A set of expected behaviors for males and females |
| Gender Identity | One's sense of being male or female |
| Gender Typing | The acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role |
| Social Learning Theory | Theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished |
| Gender Schema Theory | Theory that children learn from their cultures a concept of what it means to be male and female and that they adjust their behavior accordingly |
Combine with other sets
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