AP Pysch - Brain Terminology/ Neural System

Actetycholine

Neurotransmitter involved in movement in memory.

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter involved in reward, pleasure, and motivation.

Norepinephrine

Neurotransmitter involved in the fight-or-flight response and increases heart rate, blood pressure, and alertness.

Serotonin

Neurotransmitter involved in mood regulation, appetite, and the sleep wake cycle.

GABA (gamma- animobutryic acid)

Inhibitory neurotransmitter that reduces the likelihood of a neuron firing.

Glutamate

Excitatory transmitter that increases the likelihood of a neuron firing.

Medulla

Part of the brainstem that controls breathing and heartbeat.

Reticular formation

Part of the brainstem is involved in arousal and the sleep-wake cycle

Thalamus

Part of brain that processes incoming sensory information and directs it to the appropriate part of the brain for processing.

Cerebellum

Part of brain involved in balance, coordination, and fine motor control.

Amygdala

Part of brain involved in fear, aggression, and recognizing emotion on faces.

Hippocampus

Part of brain that helps transfer information into long term memory.

Hypothalamus

Part of brain that monitors bodily systems, such as hunger and thirst, and oversees the endocrine system.

Pituitary gland

Part of brain controlled by hypothalamus.

Frontal lobes

Part of brain that contains the prefrontal cortex and the motor cortex.

Prefrontal cortex

Part of brain involved in personality and executive functioning, such as problem solving, morality, and decision making.

Motor cortex

Part of brain that enables voluntary muscle movement.

Broca's Area

Part of brain involved in physical production of speech.

Parietal lobe

Part of brain that contains the somatosensory cortex.

Somatosensory cortex

Part of brain that processes physical sensations from the body.

Temporal lobe

Part of brain involved in auditory processes and long term memory.

Wernicke's Area

Part of brain involved in comprehension of speech.

Occiptial lobe

Part of brain involved in processing vision.

Corpus callosum

Part of brain that connects the two hemispheres.

Pons

Part of brain - function is unconscious processes and jobs.

Brainstem

Part of brain - function is basic survival functions.

Limbic system

Interconnected neural cells in the cerebral cortex.

Dendrites

Part of nerve cell that receives messages from other neurons.

Axon

Part of nerve cell that passes messages from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, and glands.

Myelin sheath

Part of nerve cell that covers the axon and helps speed neural impulses.

Axon terminal

Part of a nerve cell - end of the axon, forms synapses with other cells.

Threshold

Level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.

All or nothing principal

Property that a neuron either fires or it doesn't.

Refractory period

The time in between neuron firing.

Absolute threshold

Minimum stimulation needed for a response to make the neuron fire.

Resting potential

When a neural cell is not conducting an impulse.

Action potential

When the neural cell is firing.

Somatic nervous system

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles.

Autonomic nervous system

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and other muscles, such as the heart.

Sympathetic nervous system

The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations (fight or flight).

Parasympathetic nervous system

The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving it's energy (rest and digest).

Suprachiasmic nucleus

Pair of cluster cells in the hypothalamus that control circadian rythmn,

Latent content

Hidden meaning of a dream

Manifest content

Actual content of a dream