AP Psychology - Chapter 3: Biological Bases of behavior - Key term & people

Neuron

are individual nerve cells → make up our entire nervous system

Dendrites

• rootlike parts of the cell that stretch out from the cell body

• grow to make synaptic connections with other neurons

Cell body

contains the nucleus and other parts of the cell needed to sustain its life

Axon

wirelike structure ending in the terminal buttons that extends from the cell body

Myelin sheath

a fatty covering around the axon of some neurons that speeds neural impulses

Terminal buttons

the branches end of the axon that contain neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters

• chemicals contained in terminal buttons that enable neurons to communicate

• fit into receptor sites on the dendrites of neurons like a key fits into a lock

Synapse

the space between the terminal buttons of one neuron and the dendrites of the next neuron

Threshold

a state when enough neurotransmitters are received

Action potential

• is electric message firing

• Neurons generate and conduct these signals along their processes in order to transmit them to the target tissues.

• Upon stimulation, they will either be stimulated, inhibited, or modulated in some way.

All-or-none principal

Neuron either fires completely or it does not fire → this is called the …

Neural firing

• transmits electrical signals through the body to carry information to other parts of the body and the brain

Excitatory neurotransmitters

• promotes the generation of an electrical signal called an action potential in the receiving neuron

  • Examples: glutamate, epinephrine and norepinephrine

Inhibitory neurotransmitters

• block or prevent the chemical message from being passed along any farther

  • Example: GABA and glycine

Acetylcholine

is an organic compound that functions in the brain and body of many types of animals (including humans) as a neurotransmitter.

Dopamine

• is a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells.

• is most notably involved in helping us feel pleasure as part of the brain's reward system

Endorphins

• are the body's natural painkillers

• are released when your body feels pain or stress

Serotonin

GABA

• is an inhibitory neurotransmitter

• It lessens a nerve cell's ability to receive, create or send chemical messages to other nerve cells.

Glutamate

• is the most abundant neurotransmitter in your brain

• is an excitatory neurotransmitter

Norepinephrine

• is both a neurotransmitter and a hormone.

• As a neurotransmitter, it’s a chemical messenger that helps transmit nerve signals across nerve endings to another nerve cell, muscle cell or gland cell.

• As a hormone, it’s released by your adrenal glands, which are hat-shaped glands that sit on top of each kidney.

Afferent neurons

take information from the senses to the brain

Efferent neurons

take information from the brain to the rest of the body

Central nervous system

consists of out brain and spinal cord

Spinal Cord

is the tube-like structure that runs from your brain to your lower back.

Peripheral nervous system

consists of all the other nerves in your body

Somatic nervous system

controls our voluntary muscle movements

Autonomic nervous system

controls the automatic functions of our body

Sympathetic nervous system

• mobilizes our body to respond to stress

• carries messages to the control system of the organs, glands, and muscles that direct our body’s response to stress

• is the alert system of our body

• speeds up some functions (heart rate, blood pressure & respiration) but conserves resources needed for a quick response

Parasympathetic nervous system

carries messages to the stress response system that causes our body to slow down after a stress response

like a brake pedal that slows down the body’s autonomic nervous system

Lesioning

is the removal or destruction of part of the brain

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

is a test that measures electrical activity in the brain

Computerized axial tomography (CT)

• is a sophisticated X-ray

• use several X-ray cameras that rotate around the brain and combine all the pictures into a detailed three-dimensional picture of the brain’s structure

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

use magnetic fields to measure the density and location of brain material → more detailed images

Positron emission tomography (PET)

measures how much of a certain chemical parts of the brain are using (e.g. glucose, neurotransmitter,…)

Functional MRI (fMRI)

• is a new technology that combines elements of the MRI and PET scans

• can show details of brain structure with in4 about blood flow in the brain, typing brain structure to brain activity during cognitive task

Hindbrain

• consists of structures in the top part of the spinal cord

• controls the basic biological functions that keep us alive

Medulla

is involved in the control of our blood pressure, heart rate and breathing

Pons

• connects the hindbrain with the midbrain and forebrain

• involved in the control of facial expressions

Cerebellum

• means little brain

• coordinates some habitual muscle movements

Midbrain

• is located just above the spinal cord but still below the fore brain

• very small, controls some very important functions

• coordinates simple movements with sensory information

Reticular formation

a netlike collection of cells throughout the midbrain that controls general body arousal and the ability to focus our attention.

Forebrain

• control what we think of as thought and reason

• very large

Thalamus

is located on top of the brain stem

responsible for receiving the sensory signals coming up the spinal cord and sending them to the appropriate areas in the rest of the forebrain

Hypothalamus

is a small structure right next to the thalamus

controls several metabolic functions, including body temperature, sexual arousal, hunger, thirst and the endocrine system

Limbic system

support a variety of functions including emotion, behavior, long-term memory, and olfaction

Cerebral cortex

is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in humans and other mammals.

Left hemisphere

gets sensory messages and controls the motor function of the right half of the body

Right hemisphere

gets sensory messages and controls the motor function of the left half of the body

Brain lateralization

is the relegation of cognitive processes to different regions in the brain

• Ex: Language is generally lateralized to the left hemisphere, though there are also language-related processes in the right hemisphere as well.

Corpus callosum

the nerve bundle that connects the two hemispheres

Association area

any area of the cerebral cortex that is not associated with receiving sensory information and controlling muscle movements

Frontal lobes

• located directly behind the forehead

• is the largest lobe in the brain

• contain motor cortex

• is responsible for high-cognitive functions like self-control, memory, and emotional expression.

Broca’s area

• in left hemisphere

• an area of the lateral frontal lobe in the dominant hemisphere concerned with the production of speech

Wernicke’s area

is associated with the understanding of spoken and written language

Motor cortex

is the region of the cerebral cortex involved in the planning, control, and execution of voluntary movements

Parietal lobes

• located behind the frontal lobe but still on the top of the brain

• contain the sensory cortex. which located right behind the motor cortex in the frontal lobe

Sensory cortex

a broad term for all of the areas in a brain that lets humans process sensory input

Occipital lobes

• at the very back of our brain, farthest from our eye

• Major function: interpret messages from our eyes in our visual cortex

Temporal lobes

• process sound sensed by our ears (auditory cortices)

• the second language is located in this lobe

Brain plasticity

• other parts of the brain can adapt themselves to perform other functions id needed

• if one part of the brain is damaged, dendrites might be able to make new connections in another part of the brain that would be able to take over the functions usually performed by the damaged part

Endocrine system

is a system of glands that secrete hormones that affect many different biological processes in our bodies

Adrenal glands

• are small, triangular-shaped glands located on top of both kidneys

• produce hormones that help regulate your metabolism, immune system, blood pressure, response to stress and other essential functions

Monozygotic twins

• Twins conceived from one egg and one sperm

• The biological mechanisms that prompt the single fertilised egg to split in two remain a mystery.

Roger Sperry

won the Nobel Prize in 1981 for his breakthrough discoveries on functional specialisation of the hemispheres

Paul Broca

was a surgeon who was closely associated with the development of modern physical anthropology in France and whose study of brain lesions contributed significantly to understanding the origins of aphasia, the loss or impairment of the ability to form or articulate words.

Michael Gazzaniga

• is a major founder of the field of cognitive neuroscience

• Like the earlier field of cognitive science, which borrowed much from behaviorism, cognitive neuroscience has a strong deterministic flavor.

Carl Wernicke

was a German neurologist who related nerve diseases to specific areas of the brain

Thomas Bouchard

is an American psychologist known for his behavioral genetics studies of twins raised apart

Amygdala

is vital to our experiences of emotion

Hippocampus

• is vital to our memory system

• Memories are processed through this area and then sent to other locations in the cerebral cortex for permanent storage