Psychology. David G. Myers. Chapter 2

1. The basic building block of the brain is a nerve cell called a

Neuron

2. The neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands

Axon

3. A fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons that enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next.

Myelin sheath

4. A neuron's bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

Dendrites

5. It is said that dendrites listen and axons_____

Speak

6. The brain is vastly more complex than a computer but ________ at executing simple responses.

Slower

7. What one neuron tells another is simply how much it is _______

Excited

8. When a neuron fires an action potential, the information travels in what order?

Dendrites, axon's terminal branches, axon

9. Our_________________allows us to distinguish between a slap and a tap on the back because the stronger stimuli (slap) cause more neurons to fire and to fire more frequently than happens with weaker stimuli (tap).

Nervous system

10. Action potential is a neural impulse, i.e., a brief electrical charge that travels down __________

An axion

11. What do we call the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse?

The threshold

12. What do we call the meeting point between neurons?

The synapse

13. When an action potential reaches the knoblike terminals at the axon's end, it triggers the release of chemical messengers called ___________.

Neurotransmitters

14. What is the term used when a sending neuron reabsorbs excess neurotransmitters?

Reuptake

15. Neurons send neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) to one another across the tiny space between one neuron's terminal branch and the next what?

Neurons dendrite

16. Each of the brain's differing chemical messengers has designated pathways where it operates.

Chemical pathways

17. At the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving body there is a gap called

The synaptic gap

18. What do we call the chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons so that when released by the sending neuron these messengers travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse?

Neurotransmitters

19. Serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins are all what?

Neurotransmitters

20. Endorphins (short for endogenous or produced within) are natural opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to `_______ and pleasure.

Pain control

21. What is acetylcholine's major function(s)?

Enables muscle action, learning, and memory

22. What is dopamine's major function(s)?

It Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

23. What is serotonin's major function(s)?

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

24. What is norepinephrine's major function(s)?

Helps control alertness and arousal

25. What is GABA's (gamma-aminobutyric acid) major function(s)?

Is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

26. What is glutamate's major function(s)?

. Is a major excitatory neurotransmitter involved in memory

The body's speedy electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells if the peripheral and central nervous systems is known collectively as _________.

The nervous system

28. What do we call molecules that are so similar to a neurotransmitter that they bind to its synaptic receptors and mimic its effects, such as some opiate drugs, thereby causing a temporary high?

Agonists

29. What do we call molecules that bind to synaptic receptors and whose effect is to block neurotransmitter's functioning?

Antagonists

30. The central nervous system consists of the brain and ________.

Spinal cord

31. What do we call the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body and mobilizes its energy in stressful situations?

Sympathetic nervous system

32. What do we call neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands?

Motor neurons

33. What do we call bundled axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs?

Nerves

34. What do we call the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart), which its sympathetic division arouses and its parasympathetic division calms.

Autonomic nervous system

35. What do we call neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs?

Interneurons

36. What do we call the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body?

Peripheral nervous system

37. What do we call neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord?

Sensory neurons

38. What do we call the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles (aka the skeletal nervous system)?

Somatic nervous system

39. A _______is a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response?

Reflex

40. What do we call the body's slow chemical communication system, i.e., a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream?

The endocrine system

41. What do we call chemical messengers that are manufactured in the endocrine glands, travel throughout the bloodstream, and affect other tissues?

Hormones

42. What do we call the pair of glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress?

Adrenal glands

43. What do we call the endocrine system's gland that acts under the influence of the hypothalamus to regulate growth and control other endocrine glands (aka the endocrine system's most important gland), viz., by secreting hormones that trigger other endocrine glands to secrete hormones that influence our brain and behavior?

Pituitary glands

44. When we experience a stressful event, it triggers the hypothalamus to instruct the ______ to release a hormone that causes the adrenal glands to flood the body with cortisol, a stress hormone that increases blood sugar. This feedback system (brain®pituitary®other glands®hormones®body and brain) reveals the intimate connection of the nervous and endocrine systems.

Pituitary glands

45. What technique involves an amplitude recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain surface, as measured by electrodes placed on the scalp?

EEG (electroencephalogram)

46. What technique uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue showing brain anatomy?

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

47. What technique involves a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task?

PET (positron emission topography) scan

49. What is the oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull and the part that is responsible for automatic survival functions?

The brain stem

50. What is the "little brain" at the rear of the brain stem whose functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance?

The cerebellum

51. What is the brain's sensory switchboard located on top of the brain stem that directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla?

The thalamus

52. What is at the base of the brain stem that controls heartbeat and breathing?

The medulla

53. What is a nerve network that travels through the brain stem and plays an important role in controlling arousal?

The reticular formation 64

54. Nerves from the which side of the brain are mostly linked to the right side of the body.

Left

55. What do we call the neural system located below the cerebral hemispheres that is associated with emotions and drive and that includes the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus?

The limbic system

56. The amygdala is two lima-bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system linked to ______.

Emotion

57. What is the small but important neural structure that helps keep the body's internal environment in a steady state? It lies below the thalamus and directs several maintenance activities, to include eating, drinking, and body temperature. It also helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland and is linked to emotion and reward.

The hypothalamus

58. What do we call axon fibers that connect the two cerebral hemispheres?

The corpus callosum

59. The amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus are the three key structures of the limbic system. What is the function of the amygdala?

Involved in aggression and fear responses

60. The amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus are the three key structures of the limbic system. What is the function of the hypothalamus?

Involved in bodily maintenance, pleasurable

61. The amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus are the three key structures of the limbic system. What is the function of the hippocampus?

Involved in processing memory

62. What do we call cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons and may also play a role in learning and thinking?

Glial cells

63. What do we call that portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear that receives sensory input for touch and body position?

Parietal lobes

64. What do we call that portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead that is involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments?

Frontal lobes

65. What do we call that portion of the cerebral cortex at the back of the head that includes areas which receive information from visual fields?

Occipital lobes

66. What do we call that portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears, to include the auditory areas, each retrieving information primarily from the opposite ear?

Temporal lobes

67. The _______ cortex is the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres and constitutes the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.

Cerebral

69. What do we call areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor and sensory functions but rather are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking?

Association areas

70. What do we call the area in front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations?

Sensory cortex

71. What do we call the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience?

Plasticity

72. What technical term describes the formation of new neurons?

Neurogenesis