AP Psychology: Module 10

Agonists

Drugs that make neurons fire.

Antagonists

Drugs that stop neural firing.

Reuptake inhibitors

Drugs that block reuptake.

Nervous system

The body's speedy electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.

Central nervous system (CNS)

The brain and spinal cord.

Spinal cord

A two-way information highway, connecting the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and brain.

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body.

Nerves

Bundled axons that form neural cables, connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs.

Sensory (afferent) neurons

Neurons that carry incoming sensory information from the body's tissues and sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord.

Motor (efferent) neurons

Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands, controlling voluntary and involuntary physical processes.

Interneurons

Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and process information between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.

Somatic nervous system

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's voluntary skeletal muscles.

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of internal organs.

Sympathetic nervous system

The division of the ANS that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy.

Parasympathetic nervous system

The division of the ANS that automatically slows and calms the body after a stressful event.

Endocrine system

The body's slow chemical communication system, consisting of a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.

Hormones

Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues.

Hypothalamus

The brain region controlling the pituitary gland, the most influential gland in the endocrine system.

Pituitary gland

The gland responsible for growth hormones, contractions in childbirth, milk production in women, etc.

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.