Chapter 7: Biological Bases: The Brain and Nervous System

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Physiological psychology

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53 Terms

1

Physiological psychology

is the study of behavior as influenced by biology.

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2

Huntingtons chorea

is a genetic disorder that results in muscle impairment that does not typically occur until after age 40.

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3

Roger Sperry

demonstrated that the two hemispheres of the brain can operate independently of each other.

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4

Hippocampus

involved in processing and integrating memories.

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terminal buttons

The axons end in ________, knobs on the branched end of the axon.

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6

Stressful situations

cause the pituitary to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which stimulates the adrenal glands, resulting in fight- or- flight reactions.

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7

EEG

(electroencephalogram) measures subtle changes in brain electrical activity through electrodes placed on the head.

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8

Traits

are distinctive characteristics or behavior patterns that are determined by genetics.

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9

formation

It also plays a role in learning, memory ________, and language processing.

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10

Michael Gazzaniga

has not only done pioneering research in this area, focusing on split- brain patients, but also published works in cognitive neuroscience for the general reader.

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11

axon

is a long, tubelike structure that responds to input from the dendrites and soma.

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12

nodes of Ranvier

The myelin looks like beads on a string; the small gaps between the "beads "are known as the ________.

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13

Reflexes

are quick and involuntary responses to environmental stimuli.

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14

Thalamus

relays sensory information; receives and directs sensory information from visual and auditory systems.

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15

forebrain

is responsible for higher- level thinking such as abstract thought and decision making.

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16

REM

The pons is also implicated in ________ sleep.

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17

genotype

is the genetic makeup of a cell or of an organism.

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18

Genes

are the basic biological elements responsible for carrying information about traits between successive generations.

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sensory information

It also plays an important role in processing ________ from the body and sending it back to other parts of the brain.

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20

Excitatory neurotransmitters

serve to excite the cell or cause the neuron to fire.

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21

MRI

uses extremely powerful electromagnets and radio waves to get 3- D structural information from the brain.

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22

Functional MRI

(fMRI) and PET scans (positron emission tomography) do allow scientists to view the brain as it is working.

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endocrine system

provides another way by which various parts of our bodies relay information to one another.

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24

Inhibitory neurotransmitters

________ inhibit (or stop) cell firing.

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25

terminal button

releases neurotransmitters, chemical messengers, across the synapse, where they bind with receptors on subsequent dendrites.

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cortex

covers two symmetrical- looking sides of the brain known as the left and right cerebral hemispheres.

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27

thyroid gland

located at the front of the neck, produces thyroxine, which is important for regulating cellular metabolism.

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28

Leak channels

are channels that are open all the time and that simply allow ions to "leak "across the membrane according to their gradient.

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sympathetic nervous system

is associated with processes that burn energy.

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30

Peripheral nervous system

comprising all other nerves in the body.

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parasympathetic nervous system

is the complementary system responsible for conserving energy.

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32

Hypothalamus

controls the temperature and water balance of the body; controls hunger and sex drives; orchestrates the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system; and it can be divided into the lateral hypothalamus and ventromedial hypothalamus, the combination of which regulates eating behaviors and body weight.

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33

forebrain

is the part of the brain located at the front of the head, consisting mainly of the cerebrum.

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34

Nerves

are bundles of neurons, the basic unit of the nervous system.

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35

Imaging techniques

allow researchers to map the structure and/or activity of the brain and correlate this data with behavior.

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Computerized axial tomography scans

better known as CAT scans, generate cross-sectional images of the brain using a series of X-ray pictures taken from different angles.

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37

afferent neurons

Nerves sending information to the brain are sensory

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38

efferent neurons

those conveying information from the brain are motor

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39

somatic nervous system

is responsible for voluntary movement of large skeletal muscles.

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40

autonomic nervous system

controls the nonskeletal or smooth muscles, such as those of the heart and digestive tract.

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41

Medulla oblongata

controls involuntary actions, such as breathing, digestion, heart rate, and swallowing (basic life functions)

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42

Pons

Latin for “bridge,” the pons is a way station, passing neural information from one brain region to another.

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43

Cerebellum

controls muscle tone and balance

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44

Reticular activating system (RAS)

controls arousal (wakefulness and alertness).

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45

Paul Broca

who observed that brain damage to the left hemisphere in stroke patients resulted in expressive aphasia, or loss of the ability to speak.

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Carl Wernicke

discovered an area in the left temporal lobe that, when damaged in stroke patients, resulted in receptive aphasia, or the inability to comprehend speech.

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47

action potential

also referred to as a nerve impulse, is a disturbance in this membrane potential.

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48

Excitatory

neurotransmitters serve to excite the cell or cause the neuron to fire.

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49

Inhibitory

neurotransmitters inhibit (or stop) cell firing.

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50

endocrine system

provides another way by which various parts of our bodies relay information to one another.

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51

hormones

a release substance from glands

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52

Down syndrome

occurs when there are three copies of the 21st chromosome, which generally causes some degree of intellectual disability.

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53

Huntington’s chorea

is a genetic disorder that results in muscle impairment that does not typically occur until after age 40.

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