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Meyer's AP Psychology: Unit 3 (3rd Edition)

Key Concepts:

Terms in this set (100)

Basic Building Block in the nervous system, also called nerve cells.

Part of the neuron that contains the nucleus; the cell's life support system.

The bushy, branching part of the neuron that receives messages and conducts impulses toward the cell body.

Extension of the neuron where messages pass into other neurons or muscle glands, like tiny wires of the neuron.

Layer of fatty tissue insulating the axons of some neurons which help speed their impulses. If the tissue degenerates, it causes multiple sclerosis where your muscle movement slows.

glial cells (glia)

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory.

action potential

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

Minimum level of stimulation needed to trigger a neural response.

Refractory Period

In neural procession, a brief resting period that occurs after a neuron has fired; subsequent action potentials cannot occur until the axon returns to its resting state.

all-or-none response

a neuron's reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing.

Looks like a button at the tip of the terminal branch.

Where the "button" on the axon terminal meets the dendrite of another.

synaptic vesicles

Bubbles filled with neurotransmitters to send messages.

Process where excess neurotransmitters are sucked back up in terminal buttons.

Neurotransmitters

Little chemicals that send messages from one neuron onto the next neuron.

Acetylcholine (Ach)

Affects neurons involved in muscle action, cognitive function and memory.

In the brain, involved with voluntary movement, learning, memory, if you dont havee enough, its associated with Parkinson's disease.

Norepinephrine (NE)

Mainly excitatory; involved in arousal and mood. Undersupply can lead to depression

Serotonin (5-HT)

In the brain, affects neurons involved with sleep, mood, pain suppression, deficit can result in severe depression.

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

A major inhibitory neurotransmitter. Undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia.

A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory. Oversupply can overstimulate the brain causing migraines or seizures (Linked with the seasoning MSG commonly found in Chinese food)

Has a similar shape to neurons and excites it to fire more.

Inhibits the neuron from firing.

In brain, involved in pain reduction, pleasure, and memory.

the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems

Central Nervous System (CNS)

The brain and the spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body. Think peripheral as eyes, which is a motor skill.

bundled axons that form neural "cables" connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs

Sensory Neurons

Neurons that carry messages from tissue and organs inward to the brain and spinal cord.

Neurons that carry outgoing messages from brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands.

Between the sensory and motor neurons, where info is processed in the brains internal communication system (A LOT of these).

Somatic Nervous System

Part of the PNS that controls voluntary movement over skeletal muscles.

Autonomic Nervous System

Part of PNS that controls our glands and internal organs, which operate autonomously, meaning, we don't think about it, its automatic!

Sympathetic Nervous System

Part of the Autonomic Nervous System that arouses and expends energy in stressful situations, heartbeat goes up, sweating, bloosd pressure etc. Fight or Flight!

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Part of the Autonomic Nervous system that calms the body and conserves our energy.

a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response

Endocrine System

The slow chemical communication system that secretes hormones (like neurons) into the bloodstream.

Chemical messengers that are made by endocrine glands that travel through our blood stream and affect other tissues like the brain which then influence interest in sex, food, fear, and aggression.

Pair of glands that are just above the kidneys and secrete epinephrine and non epinephrine that help arouse the body while in stress.

Pituitary Glands

The endocrines most influential gland. Regulates growth and controls other glands.

Gland in the neck that regulates metabolism then influencing weight and growth.

The little space between the receptor sites and synapse.

tissue destruction. A brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue

Electroencephalograph EEG

Present stimuli to persons and through EEG, monitor the electrical activity in different parts of their brains. They learn what parts of the brain are involved in different functions.

MEG (magnetoencephalography)

technique that measures brain activity by detecting tiny magnetic fields generated by the brain

CT Scan (Computed Tomography, also called CAT)

A series od X-ray photographs taken from different angels and combined by computer into a a composite representation of a slice of the brain's structure

PET Scan (Positron Emission Tomography)

A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task.

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computed-generated images of soft tissues. MRI scans show brain anatomy.

fMRI (Functional MRI)

A technique for revealing bloodflow and, therefore brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans.
fMRI Scans show brains function as well as structure (Combines both a MRI and PET scan)

Oldest part and central core of the brain, it begins where the spinal cord swells and enters the skull. It is responsible for automatic survival functions.

The first slight swelling of the base of brain stem which controls heart beat and breathing.

Above the Medulla, this helps coordinate movement.

The Brain's sensory control center, located on the top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.

Reticular Formation

a nerve network that travels through the brainstem and into the thalamus and plays an important role in controlling arousal

the "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance, and enabling nonverbal learning and memory (

neural system (including the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives.

Two lima-bean-sized neutral clusters in limbic system linked to emotions; like rage and fear.

A neural structure lying below (hypo) the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward.

a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process for storage of explicit (conscious) memories of facts and events.

Cerebral Cortex

The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.

portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements, and in making of future plans and judgements.

portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position

portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields

portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear

an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

Somatosensory Cortex

an area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

Association Areas

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

the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience.

Formation of new neurons. (You are not necessarily born with all your brain cell's)

Corpus Callosum

the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them

Our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Cognitive Neuroscience

Interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition. (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)

a condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it

Dual Processing

Principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks, like two minds.

parrallel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; generally used to process well-learned information, or to solve easy problems.

behvaior genetics

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

sequential processing

the processing of one aspect of a problem at a time; generally used to process new information or to solve difficult problems.

Genetic transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring.

every nongenetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us

threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

A complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes.

the complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism's chromosomes

fraternal twins

twins who develop from separate fertilized eggs. They are genetically no closer than brothers and sisters, but they share a fetal environment.

the interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity)

The proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied.

a random error in gene replication that leads to a change

molecular genetics

the subfield of biology that studies the molecular structure and function of genes

molecular behavior genetics

the study of how the structure and function of genes interact with our environment to influence behavior

"above" or "in addition to" (Epi) genetics; the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without DNA change.

evolutionary psychology

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

natural selection

the principle that inherited trait that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will (in competition with other trait variations) most likely to be passed on to succeeding generations.

culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron

a condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it

behavior genetics

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

the biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; a segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein

identical twins

twins who develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two, creating two genetically identical organisms

a random error in gene replication that leads to a change

the interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity)

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