Unit 1 Bases of behavior

Central nervous system

made up of the brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body

Autonomic nervous system

controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Consists of sympathetic NS and parasympathetic NS Part of Peripheral NS

Parasympathetic nervous system

Calms the body, conserving its energy Part of Autonomic NS

Sympathetic nervous system

Arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations Part of Autonomic NS

Somatic nervous system

Controls the body's skeletal musclesPart of Peripheral NS

Neurons

nerve cells,basic building blocks of the nervous system

sensory neurons

afferent,carries messages from body (senses) to brain CNS

carries messages from body (senses) to brain CNS

motor neurons

efferent,carries messages from brain CNS to body

interneurons

carries messages within the brain

Reflex arc

Connection between a sensory neuron and a motor neuron that allows an extremely rapid response to a stimulus, often without conscious brain involvement.

dendrite

receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body,branchlike

soma (cell body)

contains nucleus and other parts,cell's life support center

axon

messages are passed through to other neurons or muscles or glands,"super hero"

Axon terminals or Terminal buttons

endpoint of a neuron where neurotransmitters are stored,turns electrical charge into chemicals during action potential

myelin sheath

protects the axon,"rubber band around the electrical cord"

Nodes of Ranvier

Gaps in the myelin sheath where voltage-gated sodium channels are

Schwann cells

Cells of the peripheral nervous system responsible for making myelin.

Glial cells

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons

Threshold

Level of stimulation needed to trigger a neural impulse

Action potential

neural impulse; brief electrical charge that travels ,sodium goes in, potassium goes out Toilet analogy: During the process of flushing a toilet, the negative, gross stuff gets flushed out

Resting potential

electrical charge across the cell membrane of a resting neuron gives neuron a break, gets it set and ready to fire

Refractory period

neuron can't fire until it generates another action potential REpolarized = REfractory, Potassium goes back in, Sodium goes out, Toilet analogy: You can't reflush a toilet right after you have first flushed it.

All-or-nothing principle

neuron will either FIRE or NOT FIRE, there is no partway, Toilet analogy: A toilet either will flush or not flush, there is no half flush

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that cross synaptic gaps between neurons to bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron

Synapse or Synaptic cleft

space between terminal buttons and dendrites (receptor site)

reuptake

process in which excess neurotransmitter molecules are reabsorbed by the sending neuron to be reused, like a vacuum

acetylcholine (ACh)

enables muscle action, learning, and memory; messenger at every junction between the motor neurons and skeletal muscle

Agonists

drugs which mimic the activity of neurotransmitters

Antagonists

drugs that block the function of a neurotransmitter

Reuptake inhibitors

Drugs that interfere with the reuptake of neurotransmitters in the synapse so that a greater amount remains in the synapse

Psychoactive drugs

chemicals that affect the central nervous system and alter activity in the brain

Hallucinogens

Drugs that alter moods, thoughts, and sense perceptions including vision, hearing, smell, and touch

Depressants

drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

Stimulants

drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions

Opioids

synthetic opiates that are prescribed for pain relief

Tolerance

A progressive decrease in a person's responsiveness to a drug.

Withdrawal

the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug

Neuroplasticity

the ability within the brain to constantly change both the structure and function of many cells in response to experience or trauma

excitatory neurotransmitters

chemicals released from the terminal buttons of a neuron that excite the next neuron into firing

inhibatory neurotransmitters

chemicals released from the terminal buttons of a neuron that inhibit the next neuron from firing

dopamine

pleasure and reward

serotonin

mood, hunger, sleep, arousal

norepinephrine

alertness and arousal

GABA

takes away anxiety, stops message, v

endorphins

pain control and pleasure

glutamate

main excitory message, sends message, balances out GABA

substance P

a neurotransmitter released by axon terminals that transmits pain impulses across a synapse

Hormones

chemical messengers

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals that transmit information from one neuron to another

adrenaline

A hormone released into the bloodstream in response to physical or mental stress

Ghrelin

A hunger-arousing hormone secreted by an empty stomach (stomach growls)

Leptin

hormone that signals the hypothalamus and brain stem to reduce appetite and increase the amount of energy used

Melatonin

A hormone manufactured by the pineal gland that produces sleepiness.

Oxytocin

A hormone released by the posterior pituitary that stimulates uterine contractions during childbirth and milk ejection during breastfeeding.

Visual cortex

pituitary gland

master gland under the direction of the hypothalamus,
directly controls hormone production in other endocrine glands,
on underside of brain

adrenal glands

pair of glands that are involved in the human stress response, produces epineprine and norepinephrine, above kidneys

EEG

records electrical activity

Lesion

tissue destruction. A brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue

MRI

magnetic field of brain to provide detailed picture of brain's soft tissues

fMRI

reveals brain structure and function, not harmful

brainstem

top of the spinal column, oldest and innermost region

medulla

closest to the heart,life sustaining functions (blood pressure, digestive and circulatory systems)

pons

relaxing, sleep, dreaming, REM sleep, carries information from the brain to the spinal cord

reticular formation (reticular activating system)

responds to the stimuli in the environment, attention, arousal, alert functions

cerebellum

balance, muscle movements

thalamus

switchboard of the brain, sensory relay center for all senses except smell

amygdala

influences emotions (anger)

hypothalamus

most important structure, governs endocrine system via pituitary gland, regulates fight/flight, eating/drinking, etc. -Lateral (controls hunger) -Ventromedial (controls satiety)

hippocampus

process and storage of memories

corpus callosum

divides the left and right hemispheres and allows them to communicate

frontal lobe

emotional behaviors, muscle movement, speech

motor strip

muscle movement, voluntary movement

Broca's area

production of speech,located in left frontal lobe

aphasia

inability to understand (Wernicke's) or use (Broca's) language

parietal lobe

sensory information (touch, temperature, pain)

somato-sensory strip

receives information from the skin

occipital lobe

processes visual information

temporal lobe

hearing, smell, understanding language and music

visual cortex

The visual processing areas of cortex in the occipital and temporal lobes.

Wernicke's area

understanding language

Prefrontal cortex

area in the frontal lobe responsible for higher-level cognitive functioning (attention, working memory, decision making, appropriate social behavior, and personality)

Phineas Gage case study

Phineas Gage: railroad worker who survived a brain injury that changed his personality and behavior,studied the localization of brain function

Olds and Milner Study

Establishing neural pathways for reward -Electrical stimulation of pleasure centers (hypothalamus) Rat will choose electrical shock over food

left hemisphere

logic, details, facts, math and science

right hemisphere

feeling, emotions, imagination, art and music

split brain research (Robert Sperry)

surgery for epilepsy, cut the corpus callosum -eyes have left and right visual fields -see something in the right eye, can use words to describe it -see something in the left eye, can't use words to describe it but can pick it up

nature and nurture

they work together,genes are self-regulating, human differences result from genetic and environmental influences

natural selection

-organisms' varied offspring compete for survival

-certain biological and behavioral variations increase organisms' reproductive and survival chances in a particular environment

-offspring that survive are more likely to pass their genes to next generations

Eugenics

science dealing with improving hereditary qualities

corpus callosum

a broad band of nerve fibers joining the two hemispheres of the brain.

contralateral control

each hemisphere of the brain controls the opposite side of the body