Studied by 109 PeopleCentral Nervous System (CNS)
Tags & Description
Central Nervous System (CNS)
brain and spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System
the sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body
Autonomic Nervous System
the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (consists of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system)
sympathetic nervous system
fight or flight (arouses)
parasympathetic nervous system
rest and digest (calms)
endocrine system
the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
pituitary gland
Under the influence of the hypothalamus, it regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands (master gland)
adrenal gland
Just above the kidneys and secretes hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress (adrenaline)
hormones
chemical messengers made by endocrine glands
lateralization
brain hemispheres are functionally different
corpus callosum
neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and allowing communication between them
split brain
a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the corpus callosum
brain plasticity
the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing or building new pathways
neuron
nerve cell
synapse
reuptake
neurotransmitters that didn't bind to receptor sites are taken back into the synaptic vesicles
neurotransmitters
chemicals that transmit information from one neuron to another
acetylcholine (ACh)
neurotransmitter involved in learning, memory and muscle movement (linked the Alzheimer’s)
serotonin
neurotransmitter that affects hunger, sleep, arousal, and mood
dopamine
neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention and learning and the brain's pleasure and reward system (linked to Parkinson’s, too little dopamine vs and schizophrenia, too much dopamine)
endorphins
natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure
resting potential
the state of the neuron when not firing a neural impulse
action potential
a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
all-or-nothing principle
Once action potential reaches threshold, either fires or doesn't
refractory period
a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired
stimulant drugs
drugs that stimulate or excite the central nervous system (ex. caffeine, cocaine)
depressant drugs
drugs that tend to slow down the central nervous system (ex. alcohol, Xanax)
hallucinogens
distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input (ex. LSD, cannabis)
opiates
depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety (ex. heroin)
circadian rhythm
the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle (ex. wakefulness, body temp)
agonist drug
mimics and enhances a neurotransmitter's effect
antagonist drug
binds to a receptor and blocks a neurotransmitter's effect
dendrites, cell body, axon, axon terminals/terminal buttons (contains neurotransmitters)
parts of a neuron
afferent neurons
sensory neurons ("as")
efferent neurons
motor neurons ("em")
left hemisphere
controls the right side of the body; analytical, language, math
right hemisphere
controls the left side of the body; creative, intuitive, spacial
effect of split brain
able to say the word on right side of the dot but only able to draw the word on the left side of the dot
parallel processing
process many aspects simultaneously, used to process well-learned info and solve familiar problems
NREM 1
falling asleep, brain still active but everything is slowing down, high amplitude theta wave
NREM 2
light sleep, less aware of surroundings, sleep spindles, eye movements stop, body temp drops
NREM 3
deep sleep, muscles completely relaxed, brain consolidates memories, delta waves
REM
rapid eye movement, vivid dreams occur, brain consolidates emotional memories, brain activity similar to when awake but body paralyzed
GABA
inhibitory neurotransmitter that blocks signals going through neurons, good for calming stress and anxiety
norepinephrine
excitatory neurotransmitter important in controlling alertness, wakefulness, mood, and attention
thalamus
part of brain stem that is the sensory switchboard, directs all sensory messages except smell
medulla
part of brain stem that controls heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing
reticular formation
part of brainstem that controls alertness
limbic system
system that consists of hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala (associated with emotional drives, memory formation, sexual drive, etc.)
