Studied by 2 people
PET scans
use a radioactive sugar injected into the bloodstream to track the activity of brain cells, which is enhanced and color- coded by a computer
Aerial perspective
the haziness that surrounds objects that are farther away from the viewer, causing the distance to be perceived as greater
Acetylcholine
is cleared out of the synapse by enzymes that break up the molecules
Serotonin
is associated with sleep, mood, and appetite
Myelin
insulates and protects the axons of neurons that travel in the body
Overlap (interposition):
the assumption that an object that appears to be blocking part of another object is in front of the second object and closer to the viewer
Dopamine
is associated with Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia
Contiguity
the tendency to perceive two things that happen close together in time as being related
Habituation
tendency of the brain to stop attending to constant, unchanging information sensory
Cochlea
snail- shaped structure of the inner ear that is filled with fluid.
Endorphins
are neural regulators that control our pain response Most neurotransmitters are taken back into the synaptic vesicles in a process called reuptake
Curare
is a poison that blocks its effect
Accommodation
as a monocular clue, the brain's use of information about the changing thickness of the lens of the eye in response to looking at objects that are close or far away
Synesthesia
disorder in which the signals from the various sensory organs are processed in the wrong cortical areas, resulting in the sense information being interpreted as more than one sensation
Parapsychology
the study of ESP, ghosts, and other subjects that do not normally fall into the realm of ordinary psychology
Adaptation
tendency of sensory receptor cells to become less responsive to a stimulus that is unchanging
thyroid gland
The is located inside the neck
EEG
The allows researchers to measure the electrical activity of the surface of the brain through the use of electrodes placed on the scalp
Afterimages
images that occur when a visual sensation persists for a brief time even after the original stimulus is removed
thalamus
The ________ is the relay station that sends sensory information to the proper areas of the cortex
Auditory canal
a short tunnel that runs from the pinna to the eardrum
reticular formation
The ________ runs through the medulla and the pons and controls our wakefulness and arousal
limbic system
The ________ consists of the thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, and the fornix
pancreas
The ________ controls the level of sugar in the blood by secreting insulin and glucagons
cortex
The ________ is the outer covering of the cerebrum and consists of a tightly packed layer of neurons about one- tenth of an inch in thickness
special receptors
Sensation: the process that occurs when ________ in the sense organs are activated, allowing various forms of outside stimuli to become neural signals in the brain
optic nerve
Blind spot: area in the retina where the axons of the three layers of retinal cells exit the eye to form the ________, insensitive to light
sexual growth
They secrete hormones to regulate ________, activity, and reproduction
gonads
The ________ are the ovaries in women and testes in men
sleep wake
It secretes melatonin, a hormone that influences the ________ cycle in humans and some animals in response to changes in light
metabolism
It controls ________ (the burning of energy) by secreting thyroxin
Great strides
________ are being made in spinal cord repair and the growth of new neurons in the central nervous system.
sexual behavior
The hypothalamus controls hunger, thirst, sleep, ________, sleeping and waking, and emotions
Binocular disparity
________: the difference in images between the two eyes, which is greater for objects that are close and smaller for distant objects
Transduction
________: the process of converting outside stimuli, such as light, into neural activity
Rods
________: visual sensory receptors found at the back of the retina, responsible for noncolor sensitivity to low
neuron
A(n) ________ contains charged particles called ions
Gustation
the sensation of a taste
Hertz (Hz)
cycles or waves per second, a measurement of frequency
Proximity
the tendency to perceive objects that are close to each other as part of the same grouping
Neurotransmitters
may be either excitatory or inhibitory
left temporal lobe
An area called Wernicke's area in the ________ is responsible for the understanding of language.
Olfaction (olfactory sense)
the sensation of smell
Auditory nerve
bundle of axons from the hair cells in the inner ear
attention
It stimulates muscles, is involved in arousal and ________, and helps in memory formation.
left frontal lobe
An area called Broca's area in the ________ is responsible for producing fluent, understandable speech.
MRI scans--->
use a magnetic field and a computer to give researchers an even more detailed look at the structure of the brain
GABA
is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter; high amounts of GABA are released when drinking alcohol
CT scans
are computer-aided X- rays of the brain and show a great deal of brain structure
spinal column
The medulla is at the very bottom of the brain and top of the ________
