AP Psych. MOD 9-13

Action Potential

Pores in the axon, electrical nerve impulses

Resting Potential

Lack of stimulation inside of a cell

Refractory Period

Number of time after a response within a synapse

Threshold

Minimum level of excitatory impulse (neural signal that increases the likeliness of a neuron firing action potential) needed to start an action

Synapse

Gap between neurons, used to stop electrical reactors from jumping from neuron to neuron

Neurotransmitters

Chemical for neurons, spills into synaptic gap/clef of the synapse

Sensory Neurons (afferent)

Signals that travel towards the brain and spinal cord

Motor Cortex

Within cerebral cortex and frontal lobe, responsible for conscious movement

Motor Neurons (Efferent)

Sends signals away from brain and spinal cord

Interneurons

Connectors with the CNS, facilitates communication with other neurons

Sensory Cortex

Processes information like touch, temperature, pressure, and pain to the brain

Sensory Gland

Also known as the endocrine, it is located on the bottom of the brain below the hypothalamus, and it helps maintain homeostasis, overall growth such as metabolism, respiration, and reproductive processes

Association Areas

Regions within the cerebral cortex that create meaningful perception, supports language, memory, planning, and higher cognition

Somatic Nervous System

The rest of the nervous system without the brain or spinal cord, allows control over muscle and feeds information from the four senses (touch, sight, hearing, and taste) into the brain

Sympathetic Nervous System

Accounts for faster heartrate, dilated pupils, the visible ‘stress’

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Accounts for the inverse of the ‘sympathetic nervous system’, slower heartrate and deeper breathes, ‘relax’

Frontal Lobe

Higher level of mental decision (planning and decision making)

Parietal Lobe

Behind the frontal lobe, sense of touch

• Right: lets you find position of things in 3d spaces

• Left: helps you find speech sounds

Occipital Lobe

Located in the back of the brain, related to vision, perceives information and relates it to visual context,

Temporal Lobe

Lower side of hemisphere, possess auditory context, left processes speech sounds, Wenniche’s area (left temporal lobe) pieces together sight and sound

Neural Networks

Model of how connected units process information, learn from experience, and produce behavior

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Enables muscle action, learning, and memory

Dopamine

Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

Serotonin

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

Norepinephrine

Helps control alertness and arousal

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

A major inhibitory neurotransmitter

Glutamate

A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved with memory

Glial Cells

Central support system for neurons, handles essential tasks like handling brain’s environment and managing signaling efficiency

Limbic System

A group of structures in the brain that regulates emotions, behaviors, motivation, and memory

Hypothalamus

Hunger, thirst, body temperature, and sexual activity (pleasure center)

Amygdala

A small brain structure that controls emotions, memory, and learning

Reticular Formation

The spinal cord to the thalamus, controls attention and arousal

Cerebral Cortex

Control and information ‘control center’, controls thinking, language, and emotions

Medulla

Spinal cord enters the skull, controls heart rate and breathing

Thalamus

Relays sensory and motor information to cerebral cortex

Hippocampus

Fight or flight respondant

Corpus Callosum

Nerve fibers that allow brain’s left and right hemispheres to communicate (JK Rowling)

Substance P (neurotransmitters)

Small signaling molecules that is involved with signaling pain to the brain

Myelin Sheath

Protects cells, speeds up transmission along cells

Nature vs. Nurture

How does genetics effect human behavior versus environment