AP unit 2 vocab (Neuro..)ALcohol al

alcohol use disorder

The prolong excessive drinking, and a continued problematic use.

Substance abuse disorder

continued substance craving and use. causing physical risk and significant life disruption.

Ex: addiction, overdose

all-or-none response

a neurons reaction of firing full or not firing at all

reflex 

a simple automatic response to a sensory stimulus

Ex: like a knee jerking response

Temporal lobes

portion on cerebral cortex, using the auditory areas, receiving information primarily from opp. ear.

Plasticity

the brains ability to change and create new neural pathways after destruction.

neurogenisis

The formation of new neurons

Split brains

Surgery that isolates the brains two hemispheres by cutting the fibers connecting them

consciousness

our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment

Motor cortex

rear of frontal lobes that control voluntary movement

Frontal lobes

Portion of cerebral cortex behind forehead, that involves speaking and muscle movement and judgments

Parietal lobes

portion of cerebral cortex on top of head, received sensory input for touch and body position

Occipital lobes

portion of cerebral cortex at the back of head, involves areas that receives information from visual fields.

Association areas 

areas of cerebral cortex involved in high mental function

NOT SENSORY OR MOTOR FUNCTIONS

Somatosensory Cortex

Front of parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

BOTH SENSORY AND MOTOR CORTEX COMBINED

Brain stem

Responsible for automatic survival functions

beginning where spinal cord swells and enters skull

Medulla

Controls heart beat and breathing

Base of the brain stem

Hippocampus

neural center in limbic system that helps process for storing explicit memories of facts and events

amygdala

Neural clusters in limbic system linked to emotion

Psychoactive drugs

Chemical Substance that changes perceptions and moods

antagonist

Molecules that decreased Neurotransmitter action by blocking

agonist

molecule that increases an neurotransmitter action

reputake

Neurotransmitters resorption by sending neuron

Ex: recycling (excess neurotransmitters drift and are broken down by enzymes/absorbed by sending neurons

refactory period

when there is a resting period occurring after a neuron is fired

Neuron

a nerve cell, also known as a building block of the nervous system

Cell body

parts of neurons that contain a nucleus, also known as a cells life support center

Central nervous system (CNS)

The body decision maker

The brains spinal cord

Nerves

Bundled axons that form neural cables, connecting to CNS

(with muscles, glands and sense organs) 

Consciousness

Biological psychology

study of the link between biological processes

(Genetic, neural and hormonal)

Stimulant

Drugs that excite neural activity and speed up the body function

Ex: self confidence, hearth, energy, awareness

cocaine

powerful addictive stimulant, derived from coca plant, that increases in alertness and euphoria.

Methamphetamine

Chemical stimulant, greater effect

Amphetamine

stimulate neural activity, causing accelerated body function and energy associated and mood changes

Hallucinogens

psychedelic drugs that distorts perceptions and evoke sensory images in absence of sensory input

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)

Powerful hallucinogenic drug acid 

Opiates

Opium/derivatives, such as morphine and heroin, that depress neural activity and temporarily lessing pain and anxiety

Endorphines

Natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure

lessing pain, better mood. ENDorPHINES

Barbiturate

Drugs that depress nervous system activity

Impairing memory or judgement

Depressants

Drugs and alcohol that slows body functions and calms neural activity 

neurotranmitters

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

When released by sending neurons they travel across the synapse and bind to receptors sites on receiving neurons. infusing a neural impulse.

Synapse

A junction between axon tip of sending neuron and dendrites OR cell body of the receiving neuron

Tiny junction = synapse gap

Threshold

Level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

excitatory signals exceed inhibitory signals by minimum intensity 

Ex: excitatory people vote more than inhibitory, so they win

action potential 

a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. Also called a neural impulse.

Ex: a reaction of a book falling, taking 1/7 for a second or more

Glial cell

Cells in the nervous system that support an protect neurons. They also help with learning, thinking, and  memory.

Ex: like worker bees

Myelin sheaths

fatty tissue encasing axons of the neurons, and enables faster transmission for neural impulses 

If they are degenerated: communication in muscles slow down, leading to eventual lessening of muscle control 

THC

A major active ingredient in marijuana, that triggers a variety of effects, such a mild hallucinations.

Dendrites

Branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses twords the cell body 

axon

neuron extensions that passes messages, through its branches to other neurons or the muscle glands 

nervous system

electrochemical communication network.

takes information from body tissues, then make decisions, then give information back to body tissues.

parasympathetic nervous system

the division of automatic nervous system (ANS) that calms the body, conserving its energy

Sympathetic nervous system

the division of the automatic nervous system (ANS) that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy

Sensory (afferent) Neurons

carry messages through body tissues and sensory receptors to the brains and spinal cord

Automatic nervous system (ANS)

The part of peripheral nervous system (PNS) that controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs, like the heart.

Somatic nervous system

the division of peripheral nervous system (PNS) that controls the bodies skeletal muscles 

(Skeletal nervous system)

Interneurons 

Neurons within the brain and spinal cord

The communication and process information between sensory inputs and motor outputs.

Motor (efferent) neurons

Neurons that carry outgoing information from brain and spinal cord to the glands a muscles.

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Sensory motor neurons that connect to central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body

responsible for getting information for CNS to transmit

Endocrine system

the bodies “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secretes hormones into the blood stream

hormons

Chemical messenger that are manufactures by endocrine glands, travel through the blood stream and effect other tissues

Pituitary glands

Endocrine systems most influential gland, under influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

lesion

Tissue distractions in brain - naturally or experimentally

Scientists can destroy tiny clusters of normal/defected brain cells and the tissue will be unharmed.

Dual processing

the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks 

Blind sight 

A condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experimenting it 

thalamus

the brains sensory control center, directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmitted replies to the cerebellum and medulla 

reticular formation 

a nerve network that travels through the brain stem into the thalamus and plays an important role in controlling arousal

limbic system

neural system located below the cerebral hemispheres: associated with emotions and drive

cerebellum

processing sensory input coordinating movement output and balance and inability nonverbal learning and memory

corpus callosum

bundle of nerve fibers that connects the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Facilitating communication and interrogation between them 

cerebral cortex

the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres: the bodies ultimate control and information - processing center

hypothalamus

below the thalamus, that directs eating, drinking, and body temperature. helps govern endocrine system via pituitary gland linked to emotion and reward.

adrenal glands

pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress

MEG

brain imaging technique that measure genetic fields form brains natural electrical activity

EEG

amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity throughout brain surfaced

measured by electrodes placed of scalp and evoked by stimulus

CT scan

many x-ray photos at different angles of brain structures that revel brain damage

cat scan

PET scan

visual display of brain activity that shows where radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain preforms a given task 

MRI

Technique using magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer generated images of soft tissue 

FMRI (functional mri)

technique revealing blood flow, showing brain functioning and structure