Psychology unit 1 - bio vocab

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons to excite or inhibit the receiving neuron

Peripheral nervous system

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body

Cerebral Cortex

The surface layer of interconnected neural cells that cover the cerebral hemispheres and is divided into four lobes on each side of the brain

sympathetic nervous system

The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body; “fight or flight”

Agonist

A molecule that increases a neurotransmitter’s action

synapse

The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

Neuroplasticity

The brain’s ability to change by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience

central nervous system

The brain and spinal cord

motor neurons

Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands; also called “efferent”

Parasympathetic Nervous System

The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body; “rest and digest”

Action Potential

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

split brain

A condition caused by surgery that separates the two hemispheres of the brain by cutting the fibers (corpus callosum) that connect them

Reuptake

A neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron from the synaptic gap

The endocrine system

The body’s “slow” chemical communication system made up of a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

The refractory period

A brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired, preventing it from firing again until the axon returns to resting state

Inhibitory

A molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter’s action

sensory neurons

Neurons that carry incoming information from the body’s senses and tissues to the brain and spinal cord; also called “afferent”

hormones

chemical messengers that are created by endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissues

threshold

The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Association areas

Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions but with higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking

neurons

A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

The limbic system

The system located below the cerebral hemispheres associated with emotions, drives, and memories