Barron's AP Psychology Ch. 3

Neuroanatomy

study of neurons

Neuron

nerve cell

Dendrites

synaptic connections

Cell Body or Soma

nucleus, center

Axon

sends messages

Myelin sheath

cover axon, speed impulses

Terminal buttons

contain neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters

chemicals, communicate

Synapse

space between neurons

Receptor sites

where neurotransmitters go on dendrites

Threshold

amount of neurotransmitters needed to fire

Action potential

firing

All-or-none principle

either fire or not fire

Neural firing

receive enough neurotransmitters to get neuron past threshold and fire

Excitatory Neurotransmitters

make next neuron fire

Inhibitory Neurotransmitters

make next neuron not fire

Acetylcholine (ACh)

movement, lack=Alzheimer's

Dopamine

movement and alertness, lack=Parkinson's, surplus=schizophrenia

Endorphins

pain control, involved in addictions

Serotonin

mood control, lack=depression

Afferent neurons or Sensory neurons

take info from senses to brain

Efferent neurons or Motor neurons

take info from brain to rest of body

Central nervous system (CNS)

brain & spinal cord

Spinal cord

bundle of nerves through center of spine, transmits info from rest of body to brain

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

all other nerves in body - autonomic/somatic

Somatic nervous system

voluntary movement

Autonomic nervous system

automatic functions, fight-or-flight, sympathetic/parasympathetic

Sympathetic nervous system

arouses body to respond to stress

Parasympathetic nervous system

calms body after stress

Lesioning

brain tissue is removed

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

brain waves, sleep

Computerized axial tomography (CAT or CT scan)

x-ray, structure of brain

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI scan)

magnetic, structure

Positron emission tomography (PET scan)

chemicals in brain

Functional MRI (fMRI)

MRI + PET = structure + blood flow in brain

Hindbrain

basic biological functions

Medulla

heart & breathing

Pons

facial expressions

Cerebellum

habitual movement

Midbrain

integrates sensory + muscle

Reticular formation

body arousal, focus attention

Forebrain

thought & reason

Thalamus

send sensory signals

Hypothalamus

metabolism, libido, body temperature, hunger/thirst, endocrine system, biological rhythm

Amygdala

emotion

Hippocampus

memory

Limbic system

hippocampus, hypothalamus, thalamus

Cerebral cortex

wrinkled surface of brain

Left hemisphere

controls right half of body, logic/sequential

Right hemisphere

controls left half of body, spatial/creative

Brain lateralization or Hemispheric specialization

special jobs of right and left hemispheres

Corpus callosum

nerve bundle that connects hemispheres

Association areas

parts of brain responsible for complex thoughts like judgment and humor

Frontal lobes

top front part of brain, prefrontal cortex (thought processes) and motor cortex (sends signals to muscles)

Broca's area

speech, frontal lobe

Parietal lobes

behind frontal lobe, sensory cortex (touch)

Occipital lobes

very back of brain, visual cortex (eyes)

Temporal lobes

by ears, auditory cortex (sound)

Wernicke's area

interpret language, temporal lobe

Brain plasticity

brain can adapt if damaged

Endocrine system

hormones, controlled by hypothalamus

Adrenal glands

adrenaline, fight-or-flight, ANS

Monozygotic twins

identical twins, develop from one zygote

Roger Sperry & Michael Gazzaniga

split-brain

Thomas Bouchard

identical twin studies, IQ heavily influenced by genetics