Topic_1._Nerves

Biopsychology

The study of the evolutionary and developmental mechanisms of behavior and experience, emphasizing that all psychology is biological.

Physiological Explanation

A biological explanation of behavior that relates to the activity of the brain and other organs.

Ontogenetic Explanation

A biological explanation that describes how a behavior or structure develops over the lifespan.

Evolutionary Explanation

A biological explanation that reconstructs the evolutionary history of a structure or behavior.

Functional Explanation

A biological explanation that describes why a structure or behavior evolved as it did.

Neuroethics

A field of study addressing the ethical implications and disputes in neuroscience research, particularly involving human and animal subjects.

The Three Rs

A legal standard in research involving animals that emphasizes Reduction, Replacement, and Refinement.

Motor Neuron

A neuron that has its soma in the spinal cord and conducts impulses to muscles or glands.

Sensory Neuron

A neuron sensitive to a particular type of stimulation, such as touch, light, or sound.

Interneuron

A neuron that connects motor and sensory neurons.

Afferent Axon

An axon that brings information into a structure.

Efferent Axon

An axon that carries information away from a structure.

Blood–Brain Barrier

A mechanism that surrounds the brain and blocks most chemicals from entering, protecting it from harmful substances.

Action Potential

A rapid change in the membrane potential of a neuron that propagates along the axon, facilitating nerve impulse transmission.

Resting Potential

The state of a neuron at rest, maintaining a slight negative charge of approximately -70 millivolts.

Sodium-Potassium Pump

A protein complex that pumps sodium ions out of the cell and potassium ions into the cell, helping to maintain the electrical gradient.

Myelin Sheath

An insulating layer composed of fats and proteins that surrounds certain axons, facilitating rapid impulse conduction.

Saltatory Conduction

The process by which action potentials jump from node to node along myelinated axons, increasing the speed of neural conduction.

Node of Ranvier

The unmyelinated sections of an axon that facilitate the regeneration of action potentials.