Psych 3

Action potential

The electrical signal that typically moves from the cell body down the axon to the axon terminals

Agonist

All-or-none

• An incoming signal from another neuron is either sufficient or insufficient to reach the threshold of excitation

• There is no in-between, and there is no turning off an action potential once it starts

Amygdala

Is involved in our experience of emotion and in tying emotional meaning to our memories

Antagonist

Blocks or impedes the normal activity of a neurotransmitter at the receptor

Auditory cortex

The main area responsible for processing auditory information

Autonomic nervous system

Controls our internal organs and glands and is generally considered to be outside the realm of voluntary control

Axon

• Major extension from the soma

• Signals transmitted electrically down it

Biological perspective

• The focus on the physiological causes of behavior assert that psychological disorders like depression and schizophrenia are associated with imbalances in one or more neurotransmitter systems

• In this perspective, psychotropic medications can help improve the symptoms associated with these disorders

Broca’s area

Essential for language production

Central nervous system (CNS)

Brain and spinal cord

Cerebellum

• Receives messages from muscles, tendons, joints, and structures in our ear to control balance, coordination, movement, and motor skills

• Thought to be an important area for processing some types of memories (procedural memory, or memory involved in learning and remembering how to perform tasks)

Cerebral cortex

• Surface of the brain

• Associated with higher level processes such as consciousness, thought, emotion, reasoning, language, and memory

Computerized tomography (CT) scan

• Involves taking a number of x-rays of a particular section of a person’s body or brain

• The x-rays pass through tissues of different densities at different rates, allowing a computer to construct an overall image of the area of the body being scanned

• Often used to determine whether someone has a tumor or significant brain atrophy

Corpus callosum

A thick band of neural fibers connecting the two hemispheres

Dendrite

• Branching extension of soma

• Dendrites serve as input sites where signals are received from other neurons

Fight or flight response

Allows the body access to energy reserves and heightened sensory capacity so that it might fight off a threat or run away to safety

Forebrain

• The largest part of the brain

• The forebrain contains the cerebral cortex and a number of other structures that lie beneath the cortex (called subcortical structures): thalamus, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and the limbic system (a collection of structures)

• It controls high-level thinking, sensory processing, and voluntary movement

Frontal lobe

• Located in the forward part of the brain, extending back to a fissure known as the central sulcus

• The frontal lobe is involved in reasoning, motor control, emotion, and language

• Contains motor cortex, prefrontal cortex, and Broca’s area

Glial cell

Provide scaffolding on which the nervous system is built, help neurons line up closely with each other to allow neuronal communication, provide insulation to neurons, transport nutrients and waste products, and mediate immune responses

non-neuronal cells in the central and peripheral nervous systems that provide physical and chemical support, protection, and insulation for neurons

Gyrus

Folds or bumps on cerebral cortex

Hindbrain

• Is located at the back of the head and looks like an extension of the spinal cord

• It contains the medulla, pons, and cerebellum

• controls basic survival functions like breathing and heartbeat

Hippocampus

An essential structure for learning and memory.

Hypothalamus

• Regulates a number of homeostatic processes, including the regulation of body temperature, appetite, and blood pressure

• The hypothalamus also serves as an interface between the nervous system and the endocrine system and in the regulation of sexual motivation and behavior

Lateralization

• Specialization of function

• The left hemisphere controls the right half of the body, and the right hemisphere controls the left half of the body.

Limbic system

• Is involved in processing both emotion and memory

• Interestingly, the sense of smell projects directly to the limbic system; therefore, not surprisingly, smell can evoke emotional responses in ways that other sensory modalities cannot

• Contains hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus

Membrane potential

Difference in charge across the membrane, which provides energy for the signal

Midbrain

• Comprised of structures located deep within the brain, between the forebrain and the hindbrain

• Contains reticular formation, substantia nigra, and ventral tegmental area (VTA)

Motor cortex

Involved in planning and coordinating movement

Myelin sheath

• Fatty substance that insulates axons

• Increases speed at which the signal travels

Nervous system

• Composed of two basic cell types: glial cells (also known as glia) and neurons

Neuroplasticity

• Refers to how the nervous system can change and adapt

• Neuroplasticity can occur in a variety of ways including personal experiences, developmental processes, or, as in Woodruff's case, in response to some sort of damage or injury that has occurred

Neurotransmitter

Chemical messengers of the nervous system

Nodes of Ranvier

Gaps in the myelin sheath

Occipital lobe

• is located at the very back of the brain, and contains the primary visual cortex, which is responsible for interpreting incoming visual information

• The occipital cortex is organized retinotopically, which means there is a close relationship between the position of an object in a person’s visual field and the position of that object’s representation on the cortex

Pancreas

• An internal organ that secretes hormones that regulate blood sugar levels: insulin and glucagon

• These pancreatic hormones are essential for maintaining stable levels of blood sugar throughout the day by lowering blood glucose levels (insulin) or raising them (glucagon)

Parasympathetic nervous system

Is associated with returning the body to routine, day-to-day operations

Parietal lobe

• Is located immediately behind the frontal lobe, and is involved in processing information from the body’s senses

• Contains somatosensory cortex

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

PNS connects the CNS to the rest of the body.

Prefrontal cortex

Responsible for higher-level cognitive functioning, decision-making, and self-control

Receptor

Proteins on the cell surface where neurotransmitters attach, vary in shape, with different shapes “matching” different neurotransmitters

Resting potential

The neuron membrane’s potential is held in a state of readiness

Somatic nervous system

• Associated with activities traditionally thought of as conscious or voluntary

• It is involved in the relay of sensory and motor information to and from the CNS; therefore, it consists of motor neurons and sensory neurons.

• voluntary muscle movements and processes sensory information

Somatosensory cortex

• Is essential for processing sensory information from across the body, such as touch, temperature, and pain

• Area of the brain which processes touch and sensation

• Fascinating because each different area of the cortex processes sensations from a different part of your body

• The larger the surface area of the specific body part and the greater amount of nerves in that body part, the larger the area dedicated to processing sensation from that body part in the somatosensory cortex.

Sulcus

Grooves on cerebral cortex

Sympathetic nervous system

Involved in preparing the body for stress-related activities

Synaptic vesicle

Tiny, membrane-bound sacs inside the nerve endings of neurons that store and release neurotransmitters

Temporal lobe

• Is located on the side of the head (temporal means “near the temples”), and is associated with hearing, memory, emotion, and some aspects of language

• Contains auditory cortex and Wernickes area

Terminal button

• The small, bulb-like structure at the very end of a neuron's axon that sends chemical messages to other cells

• Signals end here

• Contain synaptic vesicles

Thalamus

• A sensory relay for the brain

• All of our senses, with the exception of smell, are routed through the thalamus before being directed to other areas of the brain for processing

What is the basic job of neurons?

To communicate info throughout the nervous system

Which ions move during an action potential?

NA moves into the cell and K moves out

Agonist

Chemicals that mimic a neurotransmitter at the receptor site