Unit 2: Biological Bases of Behavior (2)

Cyton

contains cytoplasm and the nucleus, which directs synthesis of such substances as neurotransmitters.

Glutamate

\________ is a major excitatory neurotransmitter involved in information processing throughout the cortex and especially memory formation in the hippocampus.

Nonconscious

\________ is the level of consciousness devoted to processes completely inaccessible to conscious awareness, such as blood flow, filtering of blood by kidneys, secretion of hormones, and lower- level processing of sensations, such as detecting edges, estimating size and distance of objects, recognizing patterns, and so forth.

Psychoactive drugs

\________ are chemicals that can pass through the blood- brain barrier into the brain to alter perception, thinking, behavior, and mood, producing a wide range of effects from mild relaxation or increased alertness to vivid hallucinations.

Glial cells

\________ guide the growth of developing neurons, help provide nutrition for and get rid of wastes of neurons, and form an insulating sheath around neurons that speeds conduction.

Functional MRI

________ shows the brain at work at higher resolution than the PET scanner.

Circadian rhythm

\________ is a natural, internal process that regulates the sleep- wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours.

Tay Sachs syndrome

\________ produces progressive loss of nervous function and death in a baby.

Freud

\________ tried to analyze dreams to uncover the unconscious desires (many of them sexual) and fears disguised in dreams.

Stimulants

\________ are psychoactive drugs that activate motivational centers and reduce activity in inhibitory centers of the central nervous system by increasing activity of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine neurotransmitter systems.