Studied by 76 PeopleHow is depolarization like a toilet?
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How is depolarization like a toilet?
The sodium gates open up and let sodium ions (Na+) flow into the axon just like a toilet flushes.
How is the all-or-none principle like a toilet?
Action potential is triggered or not at all, a toilet flushes completely or not at all
How is the direction of impulse like a toilet.
A nerve impulse only goes one way, a toilet flushing only goes one way.
How is the refractory period like a toilet?
A neuron won't fire for a brief period of time after firing an impulse, just like how a toilet won't flush for a period of time after flushing.
How is threshold like a toilet?
Neurons must absorb a certain level of excitatory neurotransmitters before it will fire
How is resting potential like a toilet?
When the neuron is charged and ready for the action potential it is like when the toilet has water on the tank and is ready to use.
How is action potential like a toilet?
Neurons fire and creates an impulse that travels from the dendrites down to the axons to the axon terminals, just like how the toilet has a flap that opens and water(impulse) rushes through the pipes.
What was the study of phrenology?
The study of the bumps on the skull to reveal a person's mental abilities and traits was made by Franz Gall, in the early 1800s.
What did phrenology lead to?
It helped with the realization that different areas of the brain having different functions
What is biological psychology?
The scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes.
What is plasticity?
Plasticity is the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience
London cab drivers who have to learn 25,000 streets will have a larger....
hippocampus, one of the brain's memory centers that processes spatial memories
What are neurons?
A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
What is a cell body?
The part of a neuron that contains the nucleus; the cell's life-support center
What is a dendrite?
a neuron's often bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body.
What is an axon?
The neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or the muscles or glands.
Dendrites... and axons.....
Dendrites listen, axons speak.
What is the myelin sheath?
a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next
What happens if the myelin sheath degenerates?
multiple sclerosis results: communication to muscles slows, with eventual loss of muscle control
What are glial cells?
cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons which also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory
What is action potential?
a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
What is resting potential?
the state of the neuron when not firing a neural impulse
What is depolarization?
when sodium channels open and sodium diffuses into cell and becomes more positive
What is threshold?
the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
What is the refractory period?
in neural processing, a brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; subsequent action potentials cannot occur until the axon returns to its resting state
What is the all or none response?
a neuron's reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing at all.
How does our nervous system allow us to experience the difference between a slap and a top on the back?
Stronger stimuli (the slap) cause more neurons to fire and to fire more frequently than happens with weaker stimuli (the tap)
What is a synapse?
The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron, The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or the synaptic left.
What are neurotransmitters?
Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.
How long does it take for the neurotransmitter molecules to cross the synaptic gap and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron?
1/10,000th of a second
What is reuptake?
a neurotransmitters' reabsorption by the sending neuron.
What happens at the synaptic gap?
Neurons send neurotransmitter's (chemical messengers) across tiny space between one neurons terminal branch and the next neurons dendrite body.
Other than reuptake, what are two other things that can happen to extra neurotransmitters ?
Neurons can drift away or be broken down by enzymes
What are endorphins?
"morphine within"- natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure
serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins are all chemical messengers called...
neurotransmitters
What are agonist molecules?
A molecule that increases a neurotransmitter's action
What are antagonist molecules?
A molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitters action.
What is the nervous system?
The body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system.
What is the central nervous system (CNS)?
The brain and spinal cord (the body's decision makers)
What is the peripheral nervous system (PNS)?
The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body.
What are nerves?
Bundled axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands,and sense organs.
What are sensory (afferent) neurons?
Neurons that carry incoming information from the bodies tissues and sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord.
What are motor (efferent) neurons?
Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and the glands.
What are interneurons?
Neurons within the brain and spinal cord; they communicate internally and process information between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.
What is the somatic nervous system?
the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles, also called the skeletal nervous system.
What is the autonomic nervous system (ANS)?
the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart) Itys sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy.
What is the parasympathetic nervous system?
The division of the autonomic nervous system the calms the body, conserving its energy.
What is a reflex?
a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus,such as a knee jerk response
What is the endocrine system?
The body's "slow" chemical communication system: a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream (part of the CNS)
What are hormones?
Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues
What do hormones do when they act on the brain?
They influence our interest in sex, food and aggression
What are adrenal glands?
a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress.
What is epinephrine and norepinephrine?
Also called adrenaline and noradrenaline, are hormones that increase heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar, providing a surge of energy
What is the pituitary gland?
The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.
Why is the pituitary gland called the' "master gland"?
Responding to signals from the hypothalamus, the pituitary releases hormones that trigger other endocrine glands to secrete hormones, which in turn influence brain and behavior.
How are the nervous and endocrine systems alike, and how do they differ?
Both of these communication systems produce chemical molecules that act on the body's receptors to influence our behavior and emotions. The endocrine system, which secretes hormones into the bloodstream, delivers its messages much more slowly than the speedy nervous system, and the effects of the endocrine system's messages tend to linger much longer than those of the nervous system.
The neuron fiber that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles and glands is the…
axon
Regarding a neuron's response to stimulation, the intensity of the stimulus determines…
whether or not an impulse is generated
In a sending neuron, when an action potential reaches an axon terminal, the impulse triggers the release of chemical messengers called
neurotransmitters
The sympathetic nervous system arouses us for action and the parasympathetic nervous system calms us down. Together, the two systems make up the ____ nervous system
autonomic
what is a lesion?
Tissue destruction. A brain lesion is naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue.
What is an electroencephalogram (EEG)?
an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.
What is a magnetoencephalography (MEG)?
a brain-imaging technique that measures magnetic fields from the brain's natural electrical activity.
What is a PET (positron emission tomography) scan?
a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task.
What is an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)?
a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue. MRI scans show brain anatomy.
What is an fMRI (functional MRI)?
a technique for revealing bloodflow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. fMRi scans show brain function as well as structure.
What is the brain stem?
the oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions.
what is the medulla
The base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing
What is the thalamus?
the brain's sensory control center, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.
What is the reticular formation?
a nerve network that travels through the brainstem into the thalamus and plays an important role in controlling arousal.
What is the definition of arousal (psychology) ?
The state of being physiologically alert, awake, and attentive.
What is the cerebellum?
the "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance, and enabling nonverbal learning and memory.
If you suffer a gunshot to the the cerebellum, what kinds of problems would you have?
You will have the loss of coordination, walking, enabling nonverbal learning and memory.
The _____ is a cross- over point where nerves from the left side of the brain are mostly linked to the right side of the body, and vice versa.
brainstem
What is the limbic system?
neural system (including the amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus) located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives.
What is the amygdala?
two lima-bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion (fear and anger)
What is the hypothalamus?
a neural structure lying below (hypo) the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward.
What are the four F’s (to remember what the hypothalamus does)
Flight, fight, food, fornication.
What is the hippocampus?
a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit (conscious) memories-of facts and events.-for storage.
What are the three key structures of the limbic system, and what functions do they serve?
(1) The amygdala is involved in aggression and fear responses. (2) The hypothalamus is involved in bodily maintenance, pleasurable rewards, and control of the hormonal systems. (3) The hippocampus processes memory of facts and events.
The lower brain structure that governs arousal in the ____ .
reticular formation
The part of the brain that coordinates voluntary movement and enables nonverbal learning and memory is the ______ .
cerebellum
Two parts of the limbic system are the amygdala and the ______
hippocampus