AHHH!!! DADDY

SMOOTH MUSCLES

control the digestive system and other organs

SKELETAL / STRIATED MUSCLES

control movement of the body in relation to the environment

CARDIAC MUSCLES

control the heart

NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTION

synapse between a motor neuron axon and a muscle fiber

ANTAGONISTIC MUSCLES

opposing sets of muscles

FLEXOR MUSCLE

brings your hand toward your shoulder

EXTENSOR MUSCLE

straightens the arm

FAST-TWITCH FIBERS

fast contractions and rapid fatigue

SLOW-TWITCH FIBERS

less vigorous contractions and no fatigue

AEROBIC

they use oxygen during their movements

ANAEROBIC

using reactions that do not require oxygen at the time but need oxygen for recovery.

OXYGEN DEBT

refers to the usage build up of aerobic and anaerobic

BERTIL JARLAKER

Swedish ultramarathon runner; built up so many slow-twitch fibers in his legs that he once ran 2,188 mi (3,521 km) in 50 days (an average of 1.7 marathons per day) with only minimal signs of pain or fatigue

PROPRIOCEPTOR

a receptor that detects the position or movement of a part of the body

STRETCH REFLEX

caused by a stretch; it does not produce one

MUSCLE SPINDLE

a receptor parallel to the muscle that responds to a stretch

GOLGI TENDON ORGANS

respond to increases in muscle tension; Located in the tendons at opposite ends of a muscle, they act as a brake against an excessively vigorous contraction.

REFLEXES

consistent automatic responses to stimuli

INVOLUNTARY

they are insensitive to reinforcements, punishments, and motivations

BALLISITIC MOVEMENT

such as a reflex, is executed as a whole: Once initiated, it cannot be altered.

CENTRAL PATTERN GENERATORS

neural mechanisms in the spinal cord that generate rhythmic patterns of motor output

MOTOR PROGRAM

A fixed sequence of movements

YAWN

includes a prolonged open-mouth inhalation, often accompanied by stretching, and a shorter exhalation

HUGGING

not a built-in motor program, but it is interesting to note that the average nonromantic hug lasts 3 seconds for people throughout the world

PRIMARY MOTOR CORTEX

the precentral gyrus of the frontal cortex, just anterior to the central sulcus elicits movements

CEREBRAL CORTEX

particularly important for complex actions such as talking or writing.

POSTERIOR PARIETAL CORTEX

monitors the position of the body relative to the world

BRAIN SURGERY

sometimes conducted on people who are awake and alert, with only the skin of their scalp anesthetized.

SUPPLEMENTARY MOTOR CORTEX

also important for planning and organizing a rapid sequence of movements

PREMOTOR CORTEX

most active immediately before a movement; receives information about the target to which the body is directing its movement, as well as information about the body's current position and posture

PREFRONTAL CORTEX

active during a delay before a movement, stores sensory information relevant to a movement.

SACCADE

a voluntary eye movement from one target to another.

ANTISACCADE TASK

not a particularly important behavior for its own sake, but a convenient one for psychologists to study

MIRROR NEURONS

active both during preparation for a movement and while watching someone else perform the same or a similar movement

PARALYSIS

Inability for voluntary movement in part of the body; Damage to motor neurons or their axons in the spinal cord

PARAPLEGIA

Loss of sensation and voluntary muscle control in the legs; A cut through the spinal cord in the thoracic region or lower

QUADRIPLEGIA (or TETRAPLEGIA)

Loss of sensation and voluntary muscle control in both arms and legs; Cut through the spinal cord in the cervical (neck) region (or cortical damage)

HEMIPLEGIA

Loss of sensation and voluntary muscle control in the arm and leg of either the right or left side; Cut halfway through the spinal cord or damage to one hemisphere of the cerebral cortex

TABES DORSALIS

Impaired sensations and muscle control in the legs and pelvic region, including bowel and bladder control; Damage to the dorsal roots of the spinal cord from the late stage of syphilis

POLIOMYELITIS

Paralysis; A virus that damages motor neurons in the spinal cord

AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS

Gradual weakness and paralysis, starting with the arms and spreading to the legs; Unknown.

CORTICOSPINAL TRACTS

Paths from the cerebral cortex to the spinal cord

LATERAL CORTICOSPINAL TRACT

A pathway of axons from the primary motor cortex, surrounding areas of the cortex, and from the red nucleus

RED NUCLEUS

A midbrain area that controls certain aspects of movement

PYRAMIDS

Bulges of the medulla; the lateral tract crosses to the contralateral (opposite) side of the spinal cord.

MEDIAL CORTICOSPINAL TRACT

Includes axons from many parts of the cerebral cortex, not just the primary motor cortex and its surrounding areas.

VESTIBULAR NUCLEUS

A brain area that receives input from the vestibular system

CEREBELLUM

"Little Brain"

CEREBELLAR DAMAGE

People with ___ do lose balance and coordination, but that description understates the importance of this structure.

FINGER-TO-NOSE TEST

The person is instructed to hold one arm straight out and then, at command, to touch his or her nose as quickly as possible

CEREBELLAR CORTEX

The surface of the cerebellum

PURKINJE CELLS

Are flat (two dimensional) cells in sequential planes, parallel to one another.

PARALLEL FIBERS

Axons parallel to one another and perpendicular to the planes of the Purkinje cells.

NUCLEI OF THE CEREBELLUM

Clusters of cell bodies in the interior of the cerebellum

VESTIBULAR NUCLEI

Send information to the midbrain and the thalamus.

BASAL GANGLIA

A group of large subcortical structures in the forebrain

CAUDATE NUCLEUS, PUTAMEN, GLOBUS PALLIDUS

Parts of the basal ganglia

STRIATUM (or DORSAL STRIATUM)

Caudate nucleus and putamen together are known as ___; receives input from the cerebral cortex and substantia nigra and sends its output to the globus pallidus, which then sends output to the thalamus and frontal cortex

READINESS POTENTIAL

Motor cortex produces a kind of activity called a ___; before any voluntary movement, and on the average, begins at least 500 ms before the movement.

PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Strikes 1 to 2 percent of people over age 65, results from the gradual loss of dopamine-releasing axons from the substantia nigra to the striatum (part of the basal ganglia).

MPTP

A chemical that the body converts to MPP+

MPP+

Accumulates in, and then destroys, neurons that release dopamine, partly by impairing the transport of mitochondria from the cell body to the synapse

L-DOPA

Precursor to dopamine that does cross the barrier, might be a good treatment.

STEM CELLS

Immature cells that are capable of differentiating into other cell types; guide their development so that they produce large quantities of L-dopa, and then transplant them into the brain.

HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE

A severe neurological disorder. The prevalence varies geographically and ethnically; increase produces the involuntary jerky movements

CHOREA

Comes from the same root as choreography. The rhythmic writhing of chorea resembles dancing.

CHROMOSOME NO. 4

In 1993, researchers located the gene for Huntington's disease

C-A-G (Cytosine-Adenine-Guanine)

The critical area of the gene includes a sequence of bases

HUNTINGTIN

Identification of the gene for Huntington's disease led to the discovery of the protein that it codes; occurs throughout the human body, although its mutant form produces no known harm outside the brain.

ENDOGENEOUS CIRCANNUAL RHYTHM

Birds generate a rhythm that prepares them for seasonal changes

ENDOGENEOUS

Generated from within

CIRCANNUAL

"Circum" means about

ANNUM

Year

ENDOGENEOUS CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS

Animals also produce ___ that last about a day.

ZEITGEBER

Meaning "time-giver."; stimulus that resets the circadian rhythm

LIGHT

The dominant zeitgeber for land animals

SOCIAL STIMULI

The effects of other people; are ineffective as zeitgebers,

JET LAG

A disruption of circadian rhythms due to crossing time zones

PHASE-DELAY

Going west, we stay awake later at night and then awaken late the next morning

PHASE-ADVANCE

Going east, sleep earlier and awaken earlier

STRESS

Elevates blood levels of the adrenal hormone cortisol

HIPPOCAMPUS

Brain area important for memory

MORNING PEOPLE

Or larks; awaken early, reach their peak of productivity early, and become less alert later in the day.

EVENING PEOPLE

Or owls; warm up more slowly, both literally and figuratively, reaching their peak in the late afternoon or evening.

CURT RICHTER

introduced the concept that the brain generates its own rhythms—a biological clock

BIOLOGICAL CLOCK

generates its own rhythms; insensitive to most forms of interference

SUPERCHIASMATIC NUCLEUS (SCN)

a part of the hypothalamus; the main driver of rhythms for sleep and body temperature

RETINOHYPOTHALAMIC PATH

A small branch of the optic nerve; from the retina to the SCN, alters the SCN's settings

MELANOPSIN

SCN comes from a special population of retinal ganglion cells that have their own photopigment

BLUE LIGHT

These ganglion cells respond mainly to ___

DROSOPHILIA

fruit fly; found several genes responsible for a circadian rhythm

PERIOD & TIMELESS

Two of these genes, known as ___; concentration of these two proteins, which promote sleep and inactivity oscillates over a day

PINEAL GLAND

an endocrine gland located just posterior to the thalamus

MELATONIN

pineal gland releases the hormone ___; a widespread chemical, found in nearly all animals

COMA

an extended period of unconsciousness caused by head trauma, stroke, or disease.

VEGETATIVE STATE

alternates between periods of sleep and moderate arousal, although even during the more aroused state, the person shows no awareness of surroundings and no purposeful behavior

BREATHING

more regular, and a painful stimulus produces at least the autonomic responses of increased heart rate, breathing, and sweating

MINIMALLY CONSCIOUS STATE

one stage higher, with brief periods of purposeful actions and a limited amount of speech comprehension.

BRAIN DEATH

a condition with no sign of brain activity and no response to any stimulus

ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPH (EEG)

records an average of the electrical potentials of the cells and fibers in the brain areas nearest to each electrode on the scalp