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cerebellum

“little brain” ; involved in balance, coordination, and classically conditioned response

hypothalamus

monitors your blood chemistry, oversees the endocrine system by controlling pituitary gland, involved in eating, drinking, and sexual activity

broca’s area

involved in speech production

wernike’s area

involved in understanding the meaning of language

prefrontal cortex

involved in personality, problem solving, decision making, planning, and other executive functions

motor cortex

controls voluntary muscles movement

somatosensory cortex

processes physical sensation

occipital lobes

processes vision

temporal lobes

involved in hearing, language processing, and long-term memory storage

basal ganglia

involved in procedural memory (completing tasks that don’t require conscious effort)

GABA

§ Calms/slows down the brain

§ Tells neurons to stop firing

Glutamate

§ Encourages neurons to fire

§ Too much can cause seizures

excitatory

Norepinephrine

§ Involved in fight-or-flight

§ Arousal (the type that helps with fight or flight)

Serotonin

§ Mood regulation

§ Low levels associated with depression

Dopamine

§ Motivation/reward/pleasure

Acetylcholine

§ Muscle contraction

§ Learning

§ Memory

Endorphins

§ Body’s natural opiates (pain killers)

§ Released during exercise

agonist

a substance that activates the receptors for certain neurotransmitters and mimics or strengthen the effects

antagonist

a substance that activates the receptors for certain neurotransmitters and blocks the effects

neuron

nerve cell; basic building block of nerveuos system

cell body

contains nucleus; life support system

dendrites

bushy, branching extensions, that receive and integrate message, conduct impulses towards cell body

axon

neuron extension that passes messages to nuerons, muscles / glands

mylein sheath

encases axon, enables increased speed

gilal cells (glia)

cells in nervous system that support nourish and protect our neurons; plays a role in memory, learning and thinking

action potential

neural impulse; electrical charge that travels down axon

threshold

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

synapse

junction between axon tip of the sending neuron and dendrites of the receiving neuron

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that cross synaptic gaps

nervous system

the body’s electrochemical communication network

peripheral nervous system

the sensory and motor neurons that connect to the rest of the body

somatic nervous system

division of peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles

autonomic nervous system

controls glands and muscles of the internal organs

pituitary gland

most influential; regulates physical growth and conrols other endocrine glands

adrenal glands

pair of endocrine glands that side above the kidneys and secrete hormones that arouse the body when stressed

brainstem

oldest and innermost; responsible for automatic survival functions

amygdala

lima bean sized neural clusters in the limbic system; involved in fear, aggression, and detecting emotion on people’s faces

medulla

part of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

reticular formation

part of the brainstem; involved arousal and the sleep-wake cycle

hippocampus

in limbic system; involved in learning and the storage of long-term memories

pons

part of the brainstem that corrdinates movements

midbrain

part of brainstem that serves important functions in motor movement, particularly eye movement and in auditory and visual processing

thalamus

sensory control center (switchboard); auditory and visual processing; directs messages to the sensory recieving areas in cortex

electroencephalogram (EEG)

electrodes placed in scalp to measure electrical activity in neurons

magnetoencephalography (MEG)

head coil records magnetic fields from the brain’s natural electrical currents

computed tomography (CT)

X-rays of the head generate images that may locate brain damage

positron emission tomography (PET)

tracks temporarily radioactive form of glucose goes while the the brain of a person performs a given task

magnetic resonance imagining (MRI)

chamber that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to provide a map of brain structures

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

measures blood-flow to brain regions by comparing continuous MRI scans

sympathetic

a division of autonomic nervous system arouses

parasympathetic

a division of autonomic nervous system arouses

sensory neurons

from body’s tissues inwards and sensory receptors to CNS

motor neurons

carry instruction from CNS outwards to muscles/glands

interneurons

allow motor and sensory neurons to communicate internally