Psychology neuron

• Excitatory neurotransmitters —

Make the next neuron more likely to fire.

• Inhibitory neurotransmitters —

Make the next neuron less likely to fire.

• Dopamine —

Involved in reward, motivation, movement, and learning.

• Serotonin —

Helps regulate mood, sleep, and appetite.

• Norepinephrine —

Helps control alertness, attention, and arousal.

• Glutamate —

Main excitatory neurotransmitter; important for learning and memory.

• GABA —

Main inhibitory neurotransmitter; reduces neural activity.

• Endorphins —

Natural chemicals that reduce pain and can create pleasure.

• Substance P —

Helps transmit pain signals.

• Acetylcholine —

Helps with muscle movement, learning, and memory.

• Hormones —

Chemical messengers carried through the bloodstream.

• Adrenaline —

Triggers the fight-or-flight response.

• Leptin —

Signals fullness and helps regulate energy balance.

• Ghrelin —

Signals hunger.

• Melatonin —

Helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle.

• Oxytocin —

Involved in bonding, social connection, and childbirth.

• Psychoactive drugs —

Substances that affect consciousness, mood, or behavior.

• Agonists —

Mimic or increase a neurotransmitter's effects.

• Antagonists —

Block a neurotransmitter's effects.

• Reuptake inhibitors —

Prevent neurotransmitters from being reabsorbed into the sending neuron.

• Stimulants —

Speed up central nervous system activity.

• Caffeine —

A stimulant that helps you feel more awake.

• Cocaine —

A stimulant that increases neurotransmitters in synapses.

• Depressants —

Slow down central nervous system activity.

• Alcohol —

A depressant that slows brain activity and impairs judgment.

• Hallucinogens —

Drugs that alter perception and can cause hallucinations.

• Marijuana —

A drug that can change perception, memory, coordination, and mood.

• Opioids —

Drugs that reduce pain by acting on opioid receptors.

• Heroin —

A powerful opioid with a high risk of addiction and overdose.

• Tolerance —

Needing more of a drug to get the same effect.

• Addiction —

Compulsive substance use despite harmful consequences.

• Withdrawal —

Symptoms that occur when reducing or stopping a substance after dependence develops.

The Brain: Structures

• Brain stem —

Connects the brain to the spinal cord and controls basic survival functions.

• Medulla —

Controls breathing, heart rate, and other automatic functions.

• Reticular activating system —

Helps control alertness and wakefulness.

• Reward center —

Brain circuits involved in motivation, pleasure, and reinforcement.

• Cerebellum —

Controls balance and coordination.

• Cerebral cortex —

Outer brain layer involved in complex thinking and perception.

• Limbic system —

Group of brain structures involved in emotion, memory, and motivation.

• Thalamus —

Relays most sensory information to the cerebral cortex.

• Hypothalamus —

Regulates hunger, thirst, body temperature, and other basic drives.

• Pituitary gland —

Releases hormones and helps control other endocrine glands.

• Hippocampus —

Helps form new explicit memories.

• Amygdala —

Helps process emotions, especially fear and threats.

• Corpus callosum —

Connects the left and right brain hemispheres.

• Occipital lobes —

Process vision.

• Temporal lobes —

Process hearing and help with language and memory.

• Parietal lobes —

Process touch and other body sensations.

• Frontal lobes —

Involved in planning, decision-making, and movement.

• Association areas —